Uh-oh, am I becoming "un-addicted"?

I turned on my PD30 today, the first light I bought (since then, I've gotten a UV light, an UltraFire 502b, and an XTAR 900 Lumen P7-C2, not as addicted as many of you, but I just started... two months ago?) and I was quite disappointed, it's really quite dim compared to my XTAR light, which still fits comfortably in my pocket. So I've come to a point where I started to wonder "what's the point"? I know there are some lights that aren't in the same category, like the Wicked Laser "Torch", I could get that because it's so unlike any other light I have. But if I have two lights that are about that same size and one is way brighter, why keep the other one? I really like my PD30, I wouldn't even THINK about selling it, but I also can't really see using it anymore... I guess I'm just asking, did anyone else feel this way? What did you decide? I still want to be a flashaholic, it's FUN looking at all the new lights that are coming out and even more fun to GET them... But if they're all dim compared to one I've already got... should I?

na, in the beginning its all about the brightness. once that wears away, you'll find more and more uses for runtime and really low levels of light. a p7 is great outdoors or to fill a room with light..but try reading the seat number on your ticket stub in a dark theater with a p7. there are uses for all various levels of lighting. Use what suits you best.

I've been trying to become un-addicted and so far it seems to be holding

good luck to you:thumbsup:

magician13134 said:

I've come to a point...... But if I have two lights that are about that same size and one is way brighter, why keep the other one? I really like my PD30, I wouldn't even THINK about selling it, but I also can't really see using it anymore... I guess I'm just asking, did anyone else feel this way? What did you decide? I still want to be a flashaholic, it's FUN looking at all the new lights that are coming out and even more fun to GET them... But if they're all dim compared to one I've already got... should I?

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this sounds serious :thinking:.... you're a sick puppy for sure
maybe get a battery charger and some rechargable batteries to kinda spice things up ...
the only way your gonna get over this is to start dating other lights..... take em' out to dinner... get to know them a little better... get in touch with you inner self and learn to express your true feelings.
i'm gonna suggest one zebra H30 and a fauxton and plenty of rest.
it's ok to have feelings of dought but dear God man... get a hold of yourself!

MWClint said:

na, in the beginning its all about the brightness. once that wears away, you'll find more and more uses for runtime and really low levels of light. a p7 is great outdoors or to fill a room with light..but try reading the seat number on your ticket stub in a dark theater with a p7. there are uses for all various levels of lighting. Use what suits you best.

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+1
Once you get beyond the "brighter is better" phase and start to see your lights as tools there is no telling what you will eventually settle on. The myriad of possible combinations is staggering and I'm sure you will soon be contemplating another purchase......or building your own:thumbsup:

I come across lulls where there are no lights out there that interest me but eventually something comes along that reignites my interest. It may be a new product or maybe a light I wanted in the past that has just gone up on the BST. Also I found that over the years I go through phases where I reprogram my lights or try EDC'ing different size lights. I'll probably always be tweeking my gear but it keep me happy and interested.

When I got hooked on flashlights again, I was in the "brighter is better" camp.

Then one night I tried to take out the garbage and used a very bright light and couldn't see a bloody thing because it was too bright and blinded myself.
That was when I realized that you need the right light for the right job.

I am just as happy with my 10 lumen lights as I am with my 150+ lumen lights.
I actually find myself seeking lower output lights now, favoring runtime over brightness.

Many great posts already in this thread. What you are going through is only natural at this stage. The "brighter is better" stage will only last so long. Soon enough you start to realize that these lights are tool, and for a lot of tasks 30 lumens is plenty.

Of course it's always nice to bust out the 1000+ lumen lights when it's show-off time

This happens to many of us, and inevitably, the addiction returns. I was away from CPF for awhile, being relatively satisfied with my current crop of lights. However, I had been toying with the idea of an EDC, and after a quick peek on the MP, found just the right thing! What others have been reporting is generally true: first you seek out the "ultimate" light in terms of brightness. However, after a spell, you begin to take into consideration battery options, runtime, and the all-so-important (to many) tint. Hiking? Biking? Walking the dog? Finding the toilet in the middle of the night? Looking for that wheat cent under the bed? Each application has (at least) one light that will perform better. But these things take time. Enjoy your current respite. Once you've seen the light, there's no going back......

I still value runtime over brightness.

Same thing happened here with the 'brighter is better' phase. I went from a Brinkmann Maxfire LX to a Fenix T1 to an aspheric Q5 Mag. Every time, I debated selling the other lights because I had no need for them now that I have the long throwing, eye burning new hotness. But recently I've backtracked, and am now carrying a heavily diffused streamlight microstream as my primary light. Turns out, bright lights really suck for anything but daytime conditions in my normal routine. A Fenix T1 is virtually useless in a dark room, because once I shut it off, I'm essentially blind.

For the record though, I now have an IR P60 module in the Brinkmann for my Gen1 NVGs, and the T1 has an out-of-focus PCX lens that really spreads the hotspot and makes a wonderful hiking/bicycle light. All of my old lights have found a home, and I keep the aspheric mags around for wow factor and scanning the backyard when required, or for taking on camping trips to spot wildlife.

Your addiction hasn't subsided. It has just begun.

I'm sorta there too... well, maybe I never quite made it to flashaholic... I just didn't progress to the point where I thought carrying one in my pocket every day was necessary..

At first learning about LED lights and what I like or don't like has been fun. Now that I have purchased several different models, brands, styles, made modifications, and put them to use it was clear which I liked and which I gave away.

I have settled on my picks for camping, toolbox, glovebox, garage, or whatever, now what? Exactly. There's no reason left to spend money or experiment, since I did those things to find the perfect selection of lights.

Oh yeah, brighter is not always better... I'm on board with that too.

I've completely lost interest in anything brighter than I've already got. After going through the incan buying, building, and selling phases three different times, my lone remaining incan using a Lumens Factory HO-M3T is still more than I'll probably ever have practical use for.
My interested got piqued recently after having lost interest in LEDs for over a year, too.
I got sick of buying all kinds of lights, parts, boards, emitters, and still being disappointed with the total package, no matter how carefully chosen the components. Cool whites that gave better edge definition, but turned everything into a lunar landscape, "warm" whites that sometimes gave better color separation, but made everything sickeningly yellow, 5 watters that ran short and hot, Luxeon lottery with greenies thrown into many of the better bins that made everything look like crap. Decided to skip the K2s that disappointed many users, Cree rings, P4 isolation...tint issues with all of them, I didn't care to fool with any of that stuff. Got to where it wasn't worth buying or modding, because I didn't want brighter, I wanted better than what was available. I'd spent thousands of dollars keeping up while we advanced through 1,3, and 5w Luxeons, from NX01, NX05, and Fraen optics through cheapo reflectors to the McR series ones(my favorite by far), and still wasn't completely satisfied with a single one of my lights.
I still wanted great tint, and a huge hotspot with "enough" output from a single emitter.
The Malkoff M60 caught my attention, especially comments about the W(arm) version, so I tried it, and was impressed. Got hold of an available M30F, and really liked the beam, but still wanted the W tint. Went through a little debate about battery configurations, then settled on M60W versions.
The WF and WLF models satisfy my wants, and are practical for the vast majority of my actual use. I love the tint, the output, the beamshape, possible battery configurations, the quality of the modules, and the lights I have them in. The "best of" from a couple years ago hardly even seems usable in comparison.
This should have un-addicted me, but now I'm interested in modding again, at least if I can get some 5A tinted Crees to convert a few other lights to.
I guess it comes and goes, but the addiction never really ends.
Before long something else will come along...

Wow, thanks. I guess it would help if I ever left my house
I still carry a light with me at all times, typically my XTAR now, but my PD30 feels so much better in my pocket, doesn't slip around as much.
Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go ahead and get the torch to get all the "brighter is better" out of my system, then start moving towards runtime and other features. I feel much better, thanks

Curly said:

I'm sorta there too... well, maybe I never quite made it to flashaholic... I just didn't progress to the point where I thought carrying one in my pocket every day was necessary..

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Blasphemy! oo: Only kidding, of course.

Keep your dimmer light for night vision preservation. There are really only a few scenarios where brighter is really better, for the reasons previously mentioned. My most useful light is a 6P with DX17593 drop in for its low-low output capabilities.

Yeah... I'm not yet un-addicted....... hopefully never will be. but ya never know

Illum_the_nation said:

I've been trying to become un-addicted and so far it seems to be holding

good luck to you:thumbsup:

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That's really great to hear IllumtheNation, so by calculating the differences in our post counts, I only have 8639 posts to go before I can be classified as stabilized!

For me there are frenzied waves of falling off the wagon, I have been doing pretty well lately but there are so many beautiful lights and so little time!

Good Luck

it doesn't have anything to do with post count, but has everything to do with incentive.

Money I have not, therefore is my incentive

WE NEED A MEDIC! URGENT!

ps: get a nitecore smartPD light. it'll make you addicted again.