Flashaholic saves the day

My girlfriend and I went up to visit my parents for the weekend over the 4th in Northern Wisconsin. Took along a few toys to impress my dad who still uses archiac 6v lantern battery flashlights from the mid-70's.

The first evening that I was up there a freak storm blew in with very high winds. Took down two huge maple trees in his yard, they came down on the power lines. Brought the utility pole down and also ripped the service from the side of the house..... And just like that the storm blew by and it was quiet again. But pitch black being out in the middle of nowhere.

Not for long! Of course I had my H51 in my pocket. And in my still unpacked duffel bag I had a SC51 in my shaving kit, SC600, and TK41. All with fresh batteries for the weekend.

I grabbed the TK41 and said lets go out for a look and see how bad it is- everyone was floored with the light output of the TK41 outside. And they couldn't believe the output of the SC600 for its size.

For moving around the house the SC51 and H51 were the cutest things ever, and can run quite a long time on mid or low settings.

Quite awesome. Even with the eye-rolling I get from my girlfriend about buying flashlights, I made believers out of everyone there on how nice it is to have QUALITY lights when you need them most! Many thanks to this forum. I would not have the lights I do now without lurking here over the last year or so...

Great story, thanks for sharing.

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It's never gets old hearing about the uneducated flashaholics getting floored by a piece of technology like the TK41. Thanks for sharing

+1 on your story. Glad that it was only some powerlines and not big damage to the house and the folks!

Lets keep those lights shining out there...

Good story! Curious how long the power was/will be out?

Power company came to clear the lines from the yard overnight, and then installed a temp pole with bracing for a day. Had to call an electrician in the morning to work with the service connected to the house. Was able to get him out there in the afternoon to install a new pipe running from the meter up to the eve line, and to ready the lines for the power company to reconnect.

Sometime during the next night the power company was out again to reconnect service. Luckily dad is somewhat prepared for things like this from living up there for a long time. He has a generator at the ready to keep fridges/freezers running. I think power was back on withing 28-30 hours after the storm came through. I thought that was pretty darned good considering how far out in the boonies they live...

Nice to hear a story like this and luckily you came prepared. The TK41 is a nice torch to go out and check the damage. At least you can identify all possible dangers. Good story.

Nice job being prepared! My wife always laughs when I throw a few lights in the car everytime we go somewhere, but this story just proves you never know what the future hold! I'd rather be prepared!

:twothumbs


i could imagine this when the lil SC600 was turned on.

Excellent story, might show my wife to prove I've got good reason on starting my collection...

Nice. Maybe you'll create some nice "informed-normal" people. Neither ignorant about flashlights, nor hobbyists. Buy one or two lights of good quality, *possibly* upgrade every 10 years or so. People like that would do absolute wonders for the industry.

mmace1 said:

Nice. Maybe you'll create some nice "informed-normal" people. Neither ignorant about flashlights, nor hobbyists. Buy one or two lights of good quality, *possibly* upgrade every 10 years or so. People like that would do absolute wonders for the industry.

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Yup, already have the girlfriend on that path last year. She has 'seen the light' of newer technology and how fantastic it is versus her incredibly outdated plastic 2C incan flashlights from years gone by.... Made believers out of several friends the past year too.

Great! People like that are the goal...

I mean...my browsing here...is a hobby, definitely, now. However 5 years ago, it was just Googling for a decent light for jogging. Reasonable people are the ones to win over...my first posts asked about a <$50 light to be my *only* light. Let's remember - that is extremely reasonable!

I like to see flasholics influencing normal people. People for whom this isn't a hobby, but is pragmatically some great info.

Nice story! I'm glad you were prepared with lots of light. It's always nice to hear stories like this to remind myself why I carry a heavy light (TK45) practically wherever I go.

Great story! I think I have a serious problem...I live for situations like that.

Excellent work, Black Frog!

edc3 said:

Great story! I think I have a serious problem...I live for situations like that.

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Me too! I would been all, "YES!! Time to break out some lights..."

edc3 said:

Great story! I think I have a serious problem...I live for situations like that.

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Schuey2002 said:

Me too! I would been all, "YES!! Time to break out some lights..."

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This seems to be a growing condition. I have the same problem when I go to someones house for dinner I can't wait till it gets dark, and I say You need some light?[right before I almost burn their eyeball's out] :devil::devil:

Were you a Boy Scout?

The motto " Be Prepared" certainly rings true here.

Way to convince your dad to buy a new flashlight Thanks for sharing your story!