What did you use your flashlight for today?

[DaveTheDude]

Used a FourSevens Quark Mini Mark II that lives in my pocket to help my neighbor's kid find her escaped six-month old kitty last night. The urgency here was a weather forecast calling for an overnight low of 4F (that would be -15C in Canadian).

[YAK-28]

good work dtd helping the neighbors.

today i install some pull out drawers in some kitchen base cabinets for the boss. used my nitecore tipse to help drill and attach the drawer assemblies. worked perfectly, laid flat, more than enough light. happy campers all around.

[Megalamuffin]

I use a light for something every day, especially at my day job (which is at night sometimes). Today I’ve used my aaa streamlight microstream a lot while working on my truck. Then the mail came in with my malkoff M61WLL, so I popped it in my 6p and started using that too.

[bykfixer]

Oh boy, the WLL is sweet!!
One year while teeth holding a microstream I found out drool can enter the tailcap button when I heard 'zzzzt' and things went dark while applying silicone sealant to my son's windshield.

I used a nearby 1aaa Husky flashlight last evening to add light to a dvd case to read the fine print on what year the movie had been released.

[Poppy]

My daughter used my Nite eye MSC20 to find the dog's ball that rolled under the hot water heater.

Flashlights are handy tools!

[Hooked on Fenix]

Took a hike yesterday from Black Mountain in Ramona, CA to Sutherland Dam. It's about 13 or 14 miles round trip. It got dark on the way back. Used my Nitecore HC60 headlight on the 1000 lumen high for over half an hour to get past the windy dirt road that cars drive on too fast so I didn't get ran over. Once I got past a footbridge and onto more of a trail, I switched to my Nitecore Tiny Monster TM06s on the 4000 lumen high until the batteries died (one cell over discharged and the light wouldn't turn back on after giving it a break to cool down). This trail is very dark and has mountain lions frequently so you need a lot of light. I switched to my Nightcore E4K and MH10 v2 bungeed together in a figure 8 pattern. (Two bands wrapped around both lights in a configuration where they don't scratch each other). This gave me a max of 2250 lumens with a good balance of spot and throw light. I used this setup for the rest of the trip. The return trip was completed in 2.5 hours and it definitely wore me out.

[bykfixer]

I drank an extra glass of water before bed so I'd have to wake up during the night to use my little incan Rayovac Industrial 2aa.


The red/white/blue sleeve makes it feel like a 6P sized barrel.

[parang]

Awesome life hack! Flashlights keep us hydrated.


A regular job for my Manker E14 III is to help me navigate around mole hills on my way to the workshop and the shed. Its a 200 yards/meters treacherous round-trip.

[razor541]

Used my HM61r to get more focused light on a solar battery box project I'm plugging away on. Plus the ensuing reorganization and sorting of tools back into the tool chest. Day before used the UC35 to see my way around a reclaimed lumber/antique-y type store. Overall a solid purchase imo

[CanAm]

Used my Peli M6 last night to jump a car. We needed a little extra light to dig out the cables and find the battery terminals. 75 lumens was just about perfect.

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Used a Convoy S2 to light up the view from the rear view mirror so I could back up onto an unlit street after making a wrong turn.

[YAK-28]

where is the picture for that one?

[Katherine Alicia]

My Manker E04 mule light (modded), Perfect for late night "Berlin School" jam sessions!

[CanAm]

The last few days we've been having a problem with carpenter ants. I've been using an LF E2 w/ a malkoff NLL drop in and a M@g XL50 Warm White to follow the trail through the house, into a closet, into the wall, and then pick up their trail in the crawlspace and look for structural damage (thankfully doesn't seem to be an issue).
"Why do you need two lights to go into the crawlspace?" - My partner
"Well, need is a funny word..."

[bykfixer]

CanAm how does the beam color of the warm XL50 compare to the NLL? Do you prefer one over the other? Also the M6?

I have warm minimags and solitaires but have not tried the XL50.

And next time anybody asks you can reply the CPF slogan "2 is 1, 1 is none"……

[CanAm]

CanAm how does the beam color of the warm XL50 compare to the NLL? Do you prefer one over the other? Also the M6?

I have warm minimags and solitaires but have not tried the XL50.

And next time anybody asks you can reply the CPF slogan "2 is 1, 1 is none"……

The warm XL50 is warmer than the Malkoff NLL, but not quite as warm as the PM6. I'd guess 3700k. It's a nice light, having a high (200lm) and low (80lm) is handy, but I wish they would've left off the strobe or given it a third power level. A little more throw than the Malkoff as well, or at least a tighter beam. The Malkoff has a smoother, floodier, and slightly cooler light, and I think a slightly higher CRI. The LF body feels a little more solid than the Mag. Still a solid light, though - someone liked mine enough to take it home on a job in the fall, and I recently recommended it to a friend who's tired of using their cellphone at work. The warm version is much easier on the eyes than the circa 2013 XL50 it replaced.
Mostly I reach for the Malkoff'd light when I need a floodier beam or dead-simple UI, and the Mag when I want more lumens or a tighter spot. The tint difference, while noticeable, isn't enough to be a deciding factor.

The M6 is my favorite of all three, but it eats batteries so for a prolonged use it's not what I reach for.

"2 is one" is why I have two pocketable lights at work, plus a headlamp and a 2d mag in my full kit.

[Megalamuffin]

The last two days I’ve had to do work in the crawlspace under two different houses, naturally a light is necessary and my surefire E1L took the job and handled it well. I really like the simplicity of that light.

[hsa]

Used the red emitter in a Pelican 7600 to navigate to and from the scope with the grandkids to look at M-42. (Orion nebula). Yeah I hugged the grandkids, I've been vaccinated.

[PhotonWrangler]

Used a Tattu U15-UV to locate oil spots on the driveway. It's 365nm with a Woods Glass filter... kind of a Convoy knock-off.

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Used my S2+ SST20 2700K on ceiling bounce to illuminate the bathroom while I took a shower after a kid's party. Beautiful cozy warm white light to relax to after the hours of setting up the event, the stress of not getting the reservations for swimming pool and playground on time, and the kilometers walked (the party location is about 200m and three flights of stairs from my flat, and I walked this more than 10 times back and forth).

[YAK-28]

used my nitecore tip2 to help with some wiring for a bathroom vent fan. the magnetic end held it well as i was stripping wires for some switches.

[PhotonWrangler]

I used my PD-36R to read some tiny labels on a patch panel.

[pnwoutdoors]

Malkoff M61W in a SolarForce L2, 1x AW 18650-P 2900mAh cell -- Rooted around the basement and checked the furnaces, water heater, listed the spare filters and supplies. The nice warmth of this LED proved useful, again, making it very easy to read the labels on the units.

Ten years later, I find I'm still almost exclusively using the Malkoff M61 units in SolarForce tubes. Recently swapped out all of the AW 18650 2900 for new Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mAh protected cells.

Rooted around the car's engine bay, in the hour before the sun was fully up. Poked around the house's water heater, to check on things. Have found one of the "low" (Malkoff M60LL) lights to be great for reading extra-small fonts on packaging, lately. (Getting old is fun.)

Haven't found a better light than these Malkoff drop-ins. Bomb-proof, great quality of light, great spill with sufficient throw, undeterred by any weather (even when temps fall into the single digits). Have more than half a dozen of the things and still come back to them nearly daily.

Even with SolarForce mostly (seemingly) out of the flashlight business, having initially purchased plenty of spares has left me with a great inventory of go-to lights I can rely on.

[LogansRun]

I used my JB RRT-01 (2019 ver) w/ 18500 extender on a brief walk last night along a rail trail near my home.

Tonight, I will be using my bike lights (Exposure Strada 1200 and Lezyne Strip Alert 300 Pro) for a 2hr night ride to get some air.

My Manker E04 mule light (modded), Perfect for late night "Berlin School" jam sessions!

Very cool. That Manker E04 is such a tiny right-angle light! Wish they introduced an 18350 light to replace this discontinued one.

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

Used my S2+ Nichia to check on a tooth of mine that underwent partial cavity repair (very sneaky decay that infiltrated beyond the filling, only found out because the tooth got chipped when I was eating). Couldn't finish it in one session because it's too deep, I'll need a root canal first, but it's patched up nicely and not hurting at all. The girl that worked on it did a great job so far

[bykfixer]

The warm XL50 is warmer than the Malkoff NLL, but not quite as warm as the PM6. I'd guess 3700k. It's a nice light, having a high (200lm) and low (80lm) is handy
<snip>
"2 is one" is why I have two pocketable lights at work, plus a headlamp and a 2d mag in my full kit.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner CanAm. I bought a well used life sized Hot Wheels car so have been reading a lot of "how to fix my car" material.

It's nice they did a full output warm XL50. The minimags and solitaires are throttled back some in the case of the solitaire, a lot in the case of the minimag. But to me that's ok.
The XL50 has what looks like a spotlight beam so compared to a Malkoff it's like a phillips head versus a flathead screw driver. Each has a best use. I may end up with a warm XL50 afterall. I like the beam of the XL50/100 so knowing that warm beam is a bit warmer than a Malkoff neutral definitely piques my interest.
By the way, if your source of modules for the Peli M6 dries up the Pentagon BX2 module is almost identical and works in the Pelican.

Now back to topic, I've been fixing non working $2 solar yard lights after work lately. As they'd stop working I'd put them in a "someday" pile thinking the battery no longer took a charge. Turns out some had rusty contact points so I'd clean that and shine a flashlight over the photocell to give it a boost and see if my work was complete or not. Some of the old batteries were still good. Most of the lights were salvaged. My local Home Depot no longer stocks AA size solar lamp batteries but have 10340 now. They are too short to use in these older lights without a spring stretch so I'll either buy some extra eneloops or find AA size somewhere else. But it sure is fun using a flashlight to jump start these lights.

[jimmy1970]

Used my trusty early (3 speed only) Prometheus Alpha warm MCE light whilst working on my wife’s Camry in a dimly lit home garage. Replaced the lower control arms, front brake rotors and pads, the top engine stabilizer bar, engine oil and filter change and also replaced the worn out drivers’ seat.

2 x 18650s on medium output mode later and the job was done. Fantastic warm and floody beam is always kind to these old eyes. The non-anodized finish shows up no damage after being dropped dozens of times. 😉

My most used light!

[CanAm]

Sorry I didn't respond sooner CanAm. I bought a well used life sized Hot Wheels car so have been reading a lot of "how to fix my car" material.

No worries, we all have real-life to deal with, and at least it sounds like you've been busy in a good way.
If you like the XL50 already you'll like the warm. I just wish they'd leave off the strobe. Thanks for the tip about the Peli modules.

[PhotonWrangler]

I used my PD-36R to try to determine whether an LCD TV with a blown backlight was otherwise alive. Sometimes it works but this time it didn't, probably due to heavy A/R material on the screen. You win some and you lose some.

[Burgess]

Just walked to my mailbox,
(about half a mile, round-trip)
using my Prometheus/47's Quark 2xAA Slate Blue
flashlight, on medium (about 80 Lumens, i believe).