Newbie has entered the waters!

Hi all,
I've been lurking around here for weeks, learning what I can and trying to get over the sticker shock of some of your flashlights. The learning curve on this stuff is pretty steep if you don't have a degree in electronics and engineering!

Well, I took the plunge last week and ordered three cheapo lights from DX based upon the reviews. I figure this is a good place to start and keep it simple for now. I'll save up and go for something more of quality down the line.

UltraFire Cree C3 Flashlight with 2xAA Extension Tube Bundle $14.46

Romisen Cree RC-N3 Single Mode LED Flashlight (1xCR123A/2xAA) $16.99

Romisen MXDL RC-G2 Cree Flashlight Gray (1xAA) $11.30

For what it's worth, I'm in the habit of moving from one hobby to the next.

It started with woodworking, then rebuilding old Japanese auto's, then cigars, then air rifles, and now flashlights. The good news is my old hobbies have pretty good resale value, so I can sell off what I don't want or need, and transfer those funds over to the new hobby. Cool.

Do some of you guys really have flashlights that cost over $500.00?:twothumbs

Romisen RC-n3

an excellent choice!

up next are some nitecore D10, D20, EZAA!

see 4sevens.com

woah.. I sound like an advertisement now.

check CPF custom B/S/T for expensive lights

those D10's sure look nicel

One bit of warning..

Countless people (and hopefully they chime in) has spent hundreds of dollars on cheap DX type lights just to realize they should have quit trying to get a bargain and just buy the real deal. Most would rather have 1 good one than ok ones.

Just get these new lights and see how they go.

Then get you a SureFire, Fenix, Nitecore, Eagletac, Dereelight, etc etc etc..

You might enjoy the ones you have, but you might realize you would rather buy a few good ones instead.

It's like jumping in a pool.. Don't just jump in if you know your going to get right out if it's cold, put your feet in first.

tedshred said:

...
Do some of you guys really have flashlights that cost over $500.00?:twothumbs

Click to expand...

My most expensive light cost me $235.00. I did have one that cost me $450.00 but I sold it. Its odd how the longer you are here the more desensitized you become to the costs. It's a hobby after all and other hobbies are no different.

if you are ready to spend a little bit more money, you can get this light for 39.00 delivered. use the cpf discount code when you order,, saves you like 3 bucks. this little aa light will blow you away.

https://www.eagletac-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=103&products_id=716

I agree with Search.... don't buy a lot of cheap lights...except for gifts to family, ect. In the $50 to $100 range you can get some really great lights that you'll keep and use.

Welcome Tedshred! I say enjoy all lights, cheap or expensive.

I happen to politely disagree with Search. None of my cheap DX-style lights have failed at all yet, but I have had one SureFire and one Fenix fail. Still love SureFire and Fenix, but price or reputation does not guarantee it will live.

Although it is bright, the one DX light I have (an "ultrafire") is truly only worth the $20 I payed for it. The clip is flimsy and bends very easily. One of the screws that connects the clip to the body goes straight through to the inside of the light, which pretty much kills any waterproofness the light might have. I can't remove the clip, or it will expose the battery to the elements.
On top of this, it has a very bad CREE ring.

Overall, I am much more statisfied with my Eagletac T10L, even though it cost over 3 tiems as much and doesn't have all that much more brightness overall.

tedshred said:

those D10's sure look nicel

Click to expand...

Good luck, if you decide to get one. It took 3 before getting one the worked properly. Several others have noted the same.

Search said:

One bit of warning..

Countless people (and hopefully they chime in) has spent hundreds of dollars on cheap DX type lights just to realize they should have quit trying to get a bargain and just buy the real deal. Most would rather have 1 good one than ok ones.

Click to expand...

warning taken. I don't plan on collection a bunch of cheap lights.The good news is ebay and craigslist have been very good to me over the years as a seller, so I can recoup any losses when needed.

I tend to lean towards the DIY home made stuff.

Back in 1990 I built my first light system for mt. bike riding at night, and used a rectangular 6 volt gel cell in my water bottle cage, and a 10 watt halogen light inside a pvc body. It worked great, but was heavy as heck.

:welcome:

Welcome to CPF tedshred

G'day tedshred,

:welcome:

I got into the LED light scene pretty much the same way you did, and started off with the Romisens (RC-G2, RC-A3, RC-N3), they are all still working by the way.

Like any hobbies, once you get hooked, it's hard to let go and suddenly , maybe that just applies to me...

Enjoy your lights, come back often to CPF and read up, soon you will be like one of us, resistance is futile...

Cheers,
Luau

tedshred said:

Do some of you guys really have flashlights that cost over $500.00?:twothumbs

Click to expand...

Some even have multiple lights costing way more than that! Check out this thread, specifically this post.

Next thing you know, you'd be owning one yourself if you don't watch it.

damn_hammer said:

Good luck, if you decide to get one. It took 3 before getting one the worked properly. Several others have noted the same.

Click to expand...

huh.. don't remember seeing that..

well, the D10 isn't any ordinary "cheap" light...
once you go adjustable, you'll never go back!

:welcome:

I hope you like the lights!

As for over $500, I don't have one but many here do. The customes and semi customs can cost more then that, for example the Spy007 is almost $1000. The Polarion lights are also over $500 along with some other HIDs.

Air rifles?

I like your style! :thumbsup:

tedshred said:

Do some of you guys really have flashlights that cost over $500.00?:twothumbs

Click to expand...

I guess...

tedshred said:

warning taken. I don't plan on collection a bunch of cheap lights.The good news is ebay and craigslist have been very good to me over the years as a seller, so I can recoup any losses when needed.

I tend to lean towards the DIY home made stuff.

Back in 1990 I built my first light system for mt. bike riding at night, and used a rectangular 6 volt gel cell in my water bottle cage, and a 10 watt halogen light inside a pvc body. It worked great, but was heavy as heck.

Click to expand...

Good deal and good luck!

I personally started out buying cheap lights but after my first few high end lights I started down a separate road.

Back in the days when I was still insane, and still had a little money, I was involved in computers. Some time around 1985 I bought storage for my Heathkit/Zenith XT compatible -- an Iomega bernoulli 10x10 box after the price had dropped a bit to only $1,800. That would be 2 drives, 10 MB each. It was far superior to my 360K floppy drives which I paid about $170 each for, if I remember right, and even the 30MB hard drive (really a 20MB, but reformatted for RLL) was a few hundred. The Heathkit (pumped up to 730K ram by using the mono video address space) itself was about -- what? -- $2600? -- I forget. I need to forget ... I go crazy thinking about how much that and all the rest cost me. Many hundreds for software (the cheap software)... The stuff became obsolete within a few years. Since then, I paid $5,000 for a system that was obsolete within 6 months.

What's $500 for a flashlight? It cost me almost that for a C++ compiler which I got just for the documentation. None of it worth anything now. Most of it is trashed or given away years ago. A penlight I bought in 1965 still works fine -- as does this one http://www.flashlightmuseum.com/Eve...oat-Switch-with-Lines-and-Ring-Hanger-2D-1939 which my grandfather got about 1940 (maybe I'll throw an LED bulb in it sometime).