Rusty Joe
Newly Enlightened
Purchasing and dreaming of purchasing more lights has been so much fun lately. My most recent addition is the Coleman Max 144 Lumen...not an improvement over the 90 lumen model, and missing a useful strike besel, but brighter.
Well, this post is more or less the result of the latest wisdom I've come to in the endless search for flashlight-topia. The wisdom is this: There is a work light and a play light. Most of what I have are play lights. I have about 5 work lights, one or two of which I find darn near irreplaceable. They go with me everywhere.
Lately, my focus has been on budget lights, lights that use AA and AAA rechargeable batteries. I have quit buying CR123s that are eating my budget on, quite frankly, a criminal level. I have the money for high-end lights, but the funny thing is, I find myself more apt to protect them and scrutinize them in competitive play to my older ones than to take them out and actually use them.
The beauty of a good work light is that I don't have to care about them, which makes me work better with them. They are there for a purpose(s) and that is my single, non-distracting focus.
Believe it or not, my most valued go to light is the Coleman 90 Lumen. Its so cheap and irreplaceable that I dont care how fast I grab it out of (or throw it into) my pocket, with change and other scratch-capable items. I dont safeguard it. Its there when I need it, and its bright enough to be useful, unlike some other Wally World lights.
If I drop it and lose it in a search rescue, no probs. When I confront teens and suspicious persons in the darker sections of the building or parking lot, it's there and ready to go the distance (time-wise and beam-wise). The battery life can replace perfect regulation (which it certainly isn't) by being recharged bi-weekly. Problem solved.
The real disheartening thing about the flashaholics journey is that we realize the true great enemy of flashlights--ambient lighting. No matter how bright your light, the average set of parking lot lights will ruin your fun and take the awe out of your retina scorchers searing beam. So why play that game?
Like you, I'm never satisfied, and what I've come to accept is that a flashlight is best when it serves the purpose for which it is carried. In other words, when you need to use it to see. So, my little dinged-up, pocket-sized, strike besel-equipped banger is ready to go, being multi-functional and not prone to accidental activation--another huge drawback of high-end clickies that can't stand on end.
Im not done experimenting, of course, but I relish the feelings of contentment. Does anyone else share this light-sheding wisdom? What is your go to light and what, in your opinion, makes it so?
Well, this post is more or less the result of the latest wisdom I've come to in the endless search for flashlight-topia. The wisdom is this: There is a work light and a play light. Most of what I have are play lights. I have about 5 work lights, one or two of which I find darn near irreplaceable. They go with me everywhere.
Lately, my focus has been on budget lights, lights that use AA and AAA rechargeable batteries. I have quit buying CR123s that are eating my budget on, quite frankly, a criminal level. I have the money for high-end lights, but the funny thing is, I find myself more apt to protect them and scrutinize them in competitive play to my older ones than to take them out and actually use them.
The beauty of a good work light is that I don't have to care about them, which makes me work better with them. They are there for a purpose(s) and that is my single, non-distracting focus.
Believe it or not, my most valued go to light is the Coleman 90 Lumen. Its so cheap and irreplaceable that I dont care how fast I grab it out of (or throw it into) my pocket, with change and other scratch-capable items. I dont safeguard it. Its there when I need it, and its bright enough to be useful, unlike some other Wally World lights.
If I drop it and lose it in a search rescue, no probs. When I confront teens and suspicious persons in the darker sections of the building or parking lot, it's there and ready to go the distance (time-wise and beam-wise). The battery life can replace perfect regulation (which it certainly isn't) by being recharged bi-weekly. Problem solved.
The real disheartening thing about the flashaholics journey is that we realize the true great enemy of flashlights--ambient lighting. No matter how bright your light, the average set of parking lot lights will ruin your fun and take the awe out of your retina scorchers searing beam. So why play that game?
Like you, I'm never satisfied, and what I've come to accept is that a flashlight is best when it serves the purpose for which it is carried. In other words, when you need to use it to see. So, my little dinged-up, pocket-sized, strike besel-equipped banger is ready to go, being multi-functional and not prone to accidental activation--another huge drawback of high-end clickies that can't stand on end.
Im not done experimenting, of course, but I relish the feelings of contentment. Does anyone else share this light-sheding wisdom? What is your go to light and what, in your opinion, makes it so?
