Yeah, I tried to enlarge the hole and ripped about a third of the washer off in the process. It still works, but still intermittently fails, not as often, but it is annoying when it does. I got it for my wife, but she can't figure out how to make it work again (or won't really try.)
I'm gonna get her something trouble free. Money is not much of a consideration, since it's a personal safety thing. She's blind in one eye, and very nightblind also, so she needs something very dependable and small but bright for negotiating the back stairs and some of the dark, creepy, rarely used corridors in a student art studios building that she frequents. She won't use something that she can't depend on, or has to fuss with, or which can't be easily hung on her neck ID lanyard - so, if I want her to be safe, I have to come up with something bullet proof, light, small, bright, and dependable. Otherwise, she's gonne end up with broken bones.
I got her convinced she needs to drink water often, and not get dehydrated, which totally wears her out. (She's one of those ladies who says "If I drink that much water I'll have to pee more often!") I almost have her convinced that she needs to keep trying flashlights until she finds one that totally suits her instead of bumping into stuff in the dark. Then, all I'll have to do is convince her that she needs a nice little switchblade clipped inside her pocket at all times, eh, Jack?
I also use a flashlight daily for work, inspecting public housing projects. I have to constantly peek into mechanical closets and under sinks and such. Half the residents won't replace their own light bulbs when they burn out, and half of them tape cardboard over their windows, so it's dark inside. The little Arc would be great... I wear it on my neck lanyard with my ID card, and it is sufficient for over half my lighting tasks - when it works. I'm carrying a pen tablet computer in one hand, so the twist-on action is awkward, but less so than pulling out my Streamlight Stinger XT for small spaces, close-up lighting.
What would be just too damn cool would be if I could come up with a very tiny, bright, switchable led light that could plug into my tablet's USB port and utilize the computer's battery, since I have to carry spares for it anyway.
