Loaner lights

what have you got for the sole purpose of loaning out?
why? price? low output? ease of use? battery type? beam pattern?

what did you have that became a loaner light?
why? bored of it? damaged already? etc

what is the ultimate loaner light? although i think it depends on the person or situation.

for example i like to loan out my 2aa minimags with 3led accessory. it's bright enough 30 lumens? simple twist on/off, long runtime..

i've noticed kids tend to shine lights in their eyes or other eyes especially siblings . some of the brighter lights really need to be used responsibly so no high power stuff for them.

The perfect loaner light is a pink Disney Princess light, PR bulb using some old but never used alkaline cells that came included with something.

You are guaranteed it will not walk away, and will always be returned (by adults at least).

That's awesome someone should make a Q5 drop-in modded disney princess light run off of two 14500 cells. 200 lumen 5 mode and has a princess paint job. Don't loan to women or girls though as it will most likely disappear, yes I know older women who'd love a bright pink flashlight.

I only have 2 loaner lights.One is a 3aaa chinese light with a 2w led the other is a minimag with a 1w terralux dropin.Why? Because they are both single mode lights with enough output for general use and I don't have to explain how to use them.

when I go camping with friends i have a few 2D mags laying around, some incan, some led that I hand out. Everyone knows how they work, don't care if they get dropped, and won't be too upset if they get lost, i got a bunch at lowes one year for $10 each.

But on a daily basis, most of the people I work with know i carry a light, the ones i trust i just hand over my 120P, and i make SURE i get it back.

Loaner? Lights?

You seem to imply that I would actually trust my friends, family, coworkers with my babies. Fat chance

LOL

Actually, I do trust those people, so I'll give them anything they need. I'm not real picky, if I really value a light, I might hold off on giving it out. Anything else is fair game, I just make sure they return it.

If a neighbor I don't know knocks on the door needing a light, I'd probably hand them a 2D cell Maglite.

Though I almost had to commit domestic violence (kidding, kidding) a few months back when my wife decided to take my 7060 camping with her and her friends without asking. The light came back fine...but I didn't have it for work for 3 days...Sad times

The light loaned is dependant on the person that is barrowing it. If they are a close friend, they understand the cost of my lights and they understand they will owe a LOT of money to replace it. It usually ends up being a 6P with M60 Malkoff......by loaning out a light like this, it usually turns into them wanting one for themselves.
It's kinda my evil plan to turn everyone into flashaholics.:devil:

For the people that I am not close with or those that I know will likely loose or dent/ding/knick it, they get whatever cheap piece of crap is around...along with a warning that it best be returned in the same condition or they owe me money.

pfccypret said:

If a neighbor I don't know knocks on the door needing a light, I'd probably hand them a 2D cell Maglite.

Click to expand...

If a neighbor I don't know knocks on the door needing a light I'd tell 'em to bugger off.

A lot of the people in my neighbourhood I wouldn't trust as far as I can throw them.

Black Rose said:

If a neighbor I don't know knocks on the door needing a light I'd tell 'em to bugger off.

A lot of the people in my neighbourhood I wouldn't trust as far as I can throw them.

Click to expand...

We live in a smallish subdivision that is a bit out of the way. I've seen most people around and probably have talked to them a time or two at a HOA or neighborhood watch meeting or something. So I've met most of my neighbors, even if I don't know their name. I wouldn't hand my a light to a complete stranger, but if I've seen someone around the neighborhood, I'd help them out if they needed something.

scottaw said:

i just hand over my 120P,

Click to expand...

I Lend Out A 6P w/ P60 W/ Surefire Primaries.

Why?

Because It Is Cheap, Easy To Replace, Built Like A Tank, And Easy To Operate.

DaFABRICATA said:

they understand the cost of my lights and

Click to expand...

this is a very interesting point. i think one of the tricks of the trade is to let the person know of the cost of the light. then it becomes a responsibility. some ppl just honestly don't know the value or the cost in some of these non dept store lights.
that would give the person the option to reject the offer based on the cost.

I have a L2, E1e w/Aussie mini-tower, and KL3 on a 9P tube as loaner lights. Robust, long runtimes, and lots of character marks. If they get lost or stolen it would suck royally but would not kill me.

I only loan out lights to people I trust.

Too everybody else I'm the **** who won't loan them a light even though I usually have 3 or 4 on hand.

kelmo said:

I only loan out lights to people I trust.

Click to expand...

My Thoughts EXACTLY.

I Dont Want My Lights Being Blatantly Abused.

I only loan light to people I know, and then I do not really have any restriction on what the can borrow. If I know they have to replace batteries or use the light for longer time, it will be a light with AA batteries or rechargeable batteries.
Children like to play with power full lights and are very good at figuring out the UI. When 6 year old no explanation is needed to lock a Surefire L1 on or switch a Fenix TK10 to high.

Just last week I loaned out my two 3D Luxeon Mags to my girlfriend's parents because of a power outage. They're pretty indestructible, they're cheap enough, bright and easy to use, they have good run time, and they're difficult to lose.

The only thing I worried about was the cheap glass lenses I put in them, but I have spares.

All the old Maglites I still have around from the days when they were the best flashlight around. Most people still think they're the Cadillac of flashlights, so they think I'm really loaning a great light! If it never comes back, I don't lose sleep over it.

I only loan out a AA MiniMag with TerraLux TLE5 extreme or a 2D Mag with TLE-6EXB MiniStar 5 running on 2 AA Eneloops in adapters. (I refuse to buy D cells for something I don't use.) The Mags are great loaners because they need no explanation and, as n4zov pointed out, non-flashaholics think they are the best. I also talk them up saying that they are specially converted to be super Mags (they don't know any better) and therefore very dear to me and I want 'em back. The lights then seem to be treated with due reverence and given back without issue. Everyone's a winner!

DaFABRICATA said:

It usually ends up being a 6P with M60 Malkoff......by loaning out a light like this, it usually turns into them wanting one for themselves.
It's kinda my evil plan to turn everyone into flashaholics.:devil:

Click to expand...

+1

Task Force 2Cs and/or a 2D mag with terralux P4 drop-in. Durable lights with plenty of runtime but easy to replace. Impressive enough to get them asking questions.