Cool Article about Flashlights, YES, Flashlights !!!

Here's something you don't see everyday ... an article about the importance of having a quality flashlight for safety and security !!!

http://www.crimezilla.com/2010/05/personal-safety-and-security-flashlights-and-emergency-lighting/

Maybe there will be some new Flashaholics .........

Pretty sweet, but judging by his list of companies, he needs to spend more time on CPF...

Nice to see him mention Ra and Novatac though.

sjmack said:

Pretty sweet, but judging by his list of companies, he needs to spend more time on CPF...

Click to expand...

The list of companies is explained by the following note at the bottom of the article:

"Thanks to all the companies that provided information and/or samples of their products."

I think flashlight articles like this one .........

http://www.crimezilla.com/2010/05/personal-safety-and-security-flashlights-and-emergency-lighting/

are important for at least two reasons .........

1 -- It helps to educate the general public about the importance of having at the ready proper quality flashlights.

I think that for many people, a flashlight is a flashlight is a flashlight.

That's why an article about flashlights, like the one above, explains to the general public that there are many, many types of flashlights and that they may be designed for different and specific uses (i.e. tactical LED flashlight vs a cheapo flashlight)

2 -- This kind of article might very well bring more people into the wonderful (and expensive) world of flashlight collecting ... more flashaholics.

Just my 2 cents .........

Nice read! Thanks for posting it.

Nothing I haven't already done firsthand, but pretty good nonetheless.

Sometimes when I tell my friends about my flashlight collection (and that sometimes I have paid $100+ for a flashlight) they think I'm "crazy" !!!!!!!!!

To many people, they think a discount mart flashlight for about $10 is the same thing as a high-tech, high quality mil-spec tactical flashlight that might sell for $100+++++++++.

Both the $10 cheapo flashlight and the $100+ tactical flashlight both shine a light, right ????????? LOL

That's why I think flashlight article like this, which is aimed at the general public, might open the mind of the average person to the world of high-tech and high quality flashlights and the importance of having the proper flashlights available ......... and even open their minds to the idea of collecting flashlights.

Have any of you had similiar experiences with your friends who just don't understand your appreciation and enjoyment of flashlights ?????????

By the way, has anyone ever "converted" a non-flashaholic to a flashaholic ?????????

I have, once.

They never spent more than a few bucks for a cheapo flashlight.

After talking with me about my flashlight collection, they soon purchased both a SureFire e2e and a CMG Infinity Ultra to start their collection !!!!!!!!!

It's always nice to see anything written about lights from a non-flashaholic source. Thanks for the link, David.

Geoff

DavidTHR said:

By the way, has anyone ever "converted" a non-flashaholic to a flashaholic ?????????

Click to expand...

My girlfriend is currently a work in progress. She's almost there. I caught her last night playing with the keychain coin cell ECD light that I gave to her a few months ago. She was shining it all around her front porch and at the trees in the front yard as we were walking into her place. This is the second time that I've caught her doing that.

Last night after I caught her red handed I said, "See? Flashlights are fun!"

She laughed, but the important thing to note is that she did not deny it!

DavidTHR said:

To many people, they think a discount mart flashlight for about $10 is the same thing as a high-tech, high quality mil-spec tactical flashlight that might sell for $100+++++++++.

Both the $10 cheapo flashlight and the $100+ tactical flashlight both shine a light, right ????????? LOL

Click to expand...

The reality is that, for typical use by consumers, the cheap light will usually work just as well as the expensive light. Usually.

That isn't to say that the extra cost of high quality lights isn't justified.

Consider Walmart's cheapest 12 point 14 mm closed end wrench. For 95% or more of 14mm nuts/bolts, it will work just as well as the finest 12 point 14 mm closed end wrench that Snap-On has to offer. But, if one encounters a hardened bolt that is seized from corrosion, there's a good chance the cheap wrench will be destroyed in the process of trying to break the nut free. The Snap-On will likely work just fine.

The point is, the typical consumer of most items doesn't often encounter situations in which the difference in quality between the best and the cheapest comes into play.

Personally, I generally find high quality items to be more enjoyable to use. It doesn't matter if it's flashlights, fishing rods & reels, bicycles, pool cues, tools, etc. But, in most cases, the cheap plastic flashlight will work fine if it has fresh cells; the $19.99 Zebco rod & reel combo will catch fish; the Roadmaster bicycle will get me from Point A to Point B; I can still shoot a decent game of pool with the house cue off the wall; and the cheap Walmart wrench will tighten that loose bolt.

It's when I don't even have the cheap version of an item that I'm in trouble.

DavidTHR said:

Have any of you had similiar experiences with your friends who just don't understand your appreciation and enjoyment of flashlights ?????????

Click to expand...

Yes. It's usually the same people who think I'm crazy for spending well over $1000 for a pool cue, or for spending $40 on a single bicycle tire.

I agree with the general idea, though I would say that higher performance lights aren't always higher quality, although there is a clear correlation. For example a cheap RC-G2 from DX will be a hell of a lot more useful to anyone than a crappy xenon light bought at a corner store. Whereas a top-spec surefire will only give you that little bit better, or in many cases only equal performance in output and usefulness, it's in the tough situation that the true quality of a top-spec light really shows.

JCD said:

Yes. It's usually the same people who think I'm crazy for spending well over $1000 for a pool cue, or for spending $40 on a single bicycle tire.

Click to expand...

Even I think you're crazy for spending over $1000 on a pool cue!! I understand the bike tyres though, I guess each person values different things at different levels..

RedForest UK said:

I agree with the general idea, though I would say that higher performance lights aren't always higher quality, although there is a clear correlation. For example a cheap RC-G2 from DX will be a hell of a lot more useful to anyone than a crappy xenon light bought at a corner store. Whereas a top-spec surefire will only give you that little bit better, or in many cases only equal performance in output and usefulness, it's in the tough situation that the true quality of a top-spec light really shows.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I agree. My brightest LED, an MC-E, is outperformed by my Surefire P91, except in runtime. My XR-E throwers don't outperform my P90.

Nice article

JCD said:

I'm not sure I agree. My brightest LED, an MC-E, is outperformed by my Surefire P91, except in runtime. My XR-E throwers don't outperform my P90.

Click to expand...

Hmm.. I wasnt trying to attack incans in general, I'm sure many have much higher output than some high power led lights, although for efficiency I think we have to agree that led's are simply in another league.

I'm just saying that imo the extra cost of high quality lights will often go unappreciated or even unnoticed unless it is being used by someone in a tough situation where the extra quality is really needed, or by someone that really does know and care about the true quality of their equipment.

I'm sure most people wouldnt be able to distinguish any great difference in capability between say a $35 Itp light and a similar spec $200 Surefire. Even some people who are so into flashlights that they joined a forum about it still dont see that difference as overwhelming, hence so many 'why are surefires so expensive?' threads.

I'm not saying that they aren't worth the price or even inferring that their quality is anything less than exceptional, simply that unless you truly know and appreciate the background to the light, that extra quality can often simply go unnoticed. As you can see from the majority of posts from new members to the forum, what seems to matter most to anyone new to lights is simply how bright they are, followed by runtime etc, it takes someone that really knows their lights to distinguish things such as top quality machining and manufacturing as the most important factor to the value a light.

RedForest UK said:

Hmm.. I wasnt trying to attack incans in general, I'm sure many have much higher output than some high power led lights, although for efficiency I think we have to agree that led's are simply in another league.

Click to expand...

Sorry. I misunderstood your post. Thanks for the clarification. And, yes, I agree that LED lights are generally much more efficient than incans.

JCD said:

Sorry. I misunderstood your post. Thanks for the clarification. And, yes, I agree that LED lights are generally much more efficient than incans.

Click to expand...

Dont worry about it, re-reading my post I see how it would be easy to misinterpret, so sorry for any ambiguity. By 'crappy xenon' light I didnt mean that xenons were all crap, I was just referring to your average inefficient $5 corner store light that most people sadly accept as a flashlight.

JCD said:

Personally, I generally find high quality items to be more enjoyable to use. It doesn't matter if it's flashlights, fishing rods & reels, bicycles, pool cues, tools, etc.

...usually the same people who think I'm crazy for spending... $40 on a single bicycle tire.

Click to expand...

This is exactly what makes people picky about what they use on a regular basis - if it's in their hand every day, they learn to appreciate the finer things, even though the freebie item may get the job done just as well, it's not as enjoyable to use.

I think that's a normal price for a tire isn't it?

DavidTHR said:

By the way, has anyone ever "converted" a non-flashaholic to a flashaholic ?????????

Click to expand...

All of us were born into CPF as non-flashaholics!

kaichu dento said:

I think that's a normal price for a tire isn't it?

Click to expand...

It depends on one's perspective. I could find a tire in the same size with a similar tread pattern at a discount store for $5-10. But, same size and tread type does not imply similar quality, which is why I didn't buy $5-10 tires for my bike. OTOH, people who don't often ride bikes are likely to not understand the difference between a quality tire and a discount store tire, so they might easily reach the conclusion that the extra $30-35 buys nothing more than a logo on the sidewall.

This article mentions two interesting lights .........

1 -- GREATLAND RESCUE LASER

2 -- POWERFLARE SAFETY LIGHT

Does anyone own and/or have any comments about these two lights ?????????

Thanks .........