I lost a 9P with a M61 last night...

Someone A-hole(s) broke into my truck and took it along with a spydeco knife I keep in the center console. They didn't damage the truck, the door might not have been left unlocked or they were very conscientious theives with a slim jim. They locked the door when they left. Go figure.

It could have been worse, I removed my emergancy kit (EK) a while back. That has got another Surefire in it (Minimus plus extra cells), MRE's, water, thermals, 1st aid kit, football, etc. etc. etc. Yes you read right, I keep a football in my kit, hey if your stuck somewhere with your buddies you might as well have some fun. I put alot of gear in this kit over the years.

I guess I shall keep a G2 in the console from now on and only load up my EK when travelling.

I knew I would eventually be ripped off but never the less it still stings.

Thanks for sharing.

kelmo

Thats a total bummer. Ive only been broken into once. I dont even know if I can say broken into as I left the door unlocked. However, I had my Surefire 6P and Ipod FM Transmitter in the center console. What did they steal you ask? My cigarettes and lighter.

Sorry dude. That stinks. I lost a G2 to some crooks who snagged it from my car too, so I can feel your pain. :sigh:

That sucks, guess Toronto isn't the only place with scum. At least nothing was damaged.

I feel your pain. My car has been stolen once and broken into several times, each time losing anything of value inside - sunglasses, flashlights (Twintask, Princeton Tecs, Streamlight 4AAs), EKs, etc. I've taken to keeping the emergency clothing inside a clear plastic zippered bag from a comforter purchase, on the theory that thieves will see immediately what it is. Briefcases, rucksacks, purses etc. are likely to contain valuables and I figure they'd be grabbed without much thought. Now I never leave anything of value inside even for short periods (including expensive lights, phones, iPods, computers, sunglasses) and I even leave the glove box open most of the time. And The Club. It's the world we live in.

And the door locks are worthless unless it's a 5 year old - they're never damaged! My first clue I've been hit is that all the doors are unlocked/ajar and the hatch is loose.

Hang in there, buddy... just try to convince yourself in "you lose on one side and you gain on the other"...

cummins4x4 said:

That sucks, guess Toronto isn't the only place with scum. At least nothing was damaged.

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It's survival of the fittest out here in the wild wild west!

What really kills me is that I also have a $20 dollar flashlight that is a give away incase I come across a stranded motorist who needs a light next to the expensive one they took. They left that one!

louie said:

I've taken to keeping the emergency clothing inside a clear plastic zippered bag from a comforter purchase, on the theory that thieves will see immediately what it is. Briefcases, rucksacks, purses etc. are likely to contain valuables and I figure they'd be grabbed without much thought. Now I never leave anything of value inside even for short periods (including expensive lights, phones, iPods, computers, sunglasses) and I even leave the glove box open most of the time.

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It would be funny to keep a locked hardcase filled with sand inside your car. Being heavy, it would feel 'expensive' and the thief would probably run away with it instead of your valuables, especially if it was cumbersome enough to prohibit anything else getting carried away. Furthermore, since sand is 'soft' (unlike, say, a cinderblock), you're risking only minimal damage if the thief returns to replace the goods, say, through the windshield.

kelmo said:

What really kills me is that I also have a $20 dollar flashlight that is a give away incase I come across a stranded motorist who needs a light next to the expensive one they took. They left that one!

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That was actually very considerate of them to be looking out for you - you might get stranded and really need a flashlight. Very commendable.

Kestrel said:

It would be funny to keep a locked hardcase filled with sand inside your car. Being heavy, it would feel 'expensive' and the thief would probably run away with it instead of your valuables, especially if it was cumbersome enough to prohibit anything else getting carried away.

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Sorry brother.

Side note, Kestrel, I'm building a "dummy wallet" right now. Collecting dummy credit cards, business cards that aren't mine, etc. If someone demands my wallet I can say "okay, here you go, just don't hurt me".

troika said:

Sorry brother.

Side note, Kestrel, I'm building a "dummy wallet" right now. Collecting dummy credit cards, business cards that aren't mine, etc. If someone demands my wallet I can say "okay, here you go, just don't hurt me".

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That's an awesome idea! I'm totally gonna do that. :thumbsup:

troika said:

Sorry brother.

Side note, Kestrel, I'm building a "dummy wallet" right now. Collecting dummy credit cards, business cards that aren't mine, etc. If someone demands my wallet I can say "okay, here you go, just don't hurt me".

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I had my house broken into and they stole my first ever flashlight. Grrrrrrr! :scowl:
I also used to do this wallet trick, I have this small mini wallet that goes into my normal wallet that contains my important cards and cash. If I go for a walk or on public transport, I'll slip the mini wallet in another pocket so if they demand my wallet, they just get maybe 5 bucks and a few store membership cards. I also used to carry a dummy phone (like the ones they stock in the phone shops that don't actually work) in my backpack.

Sorry for the loss, OP!

That sucks ...

Last month the window on my vehicle broke. I was so busy I did not have time to repair it or get it repaired. Result being the window was open for a few weeks while I went about my business.

I took care though, removed EVERYTHING from the vehicle, left the center console open and glove box open everywhere I went, as well as put The Club on every time I parked.

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Its a dilemma isn't it?

Ideally we shouldn't leave valuables in the car, but where do we put the emergency kit? The only 'valuable' I leave in the front of the vehicle is a 3D Mag-lite with Malkoff drop-in. In the glove box. I would be pissed if it got stolen but there are IMO worse things to lose.

Only theft-prevention thing I can think of is a locked container bolted inside the trunk of the vehicle.

A few weeks ago I thought I lost my EDC organizer, which carries hundreds of dollars of gear. I was devastated at the time, but when I lost it I was drunk, and turns out I actually hid it inside a mates vehicle ... Don't remember that part but I was very pleased when I found it.

Losing things sucks, having them stolen sucks more.

kelmo said:

Someone A-hole(s) broke into my truck and took it along with a spydeco knife I keep in the center console. They didn't damage the truck, the door might not have been left unlocked or they were very conscientious theives with a slim jim. They locked the door when they left. Go figure.

It could have been worse, I removed my emergancy kit (EK) a while back. That has got another Surefire in it (Minimus plus extra cells), MRE's, water, thermals, 1st aid kit, football, etc. etc. etc. Yes you read right, I keep a football in my kit, hey if your stuck somewhere with your buddies you might as well have some fun. I put alot of gear in this kit over the years.

I guess I shall keep a G2 in the console from now on and only load up my EK when travelling.

I knew I would eventually be ripped off but never the less it still stings.

Thanks for sharing.

kelmo

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I just want to know what part of Sacramento has car thieves that lock doors... certainly not Midtown. Makes me want to yank everything from my car. I live near some projects and haven't had my car messed with yet.

Natomas.

I used to live in Midtown but couldn't afford to buy a house there.

I think they wanted to delay the discovery of the theft but some things were left askew.

I like the sand in the case decoy. But the exploding dye packs that the banks use would be better.

As for the dummy wallet isn't that known as a "Chicago billfold?"

I will not let this detour me. I dug a M2 kit out of storage for my center console.

kelmo

kelmo said:

Natomas.

I used to live in Midtown but couldn't afford to buy a house there.

I think they wanted to delay the discovery of the theft but some things were left askew.

I like the sand in the case decoy. But the exploding dye packs that the banks use would be better.

As for the dummy wallet isn't that known as a "Chicago billfold?"

I will not let this detour me. I dug a M2 kit out of storage for my center console.

kelmo

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Way to go- get back on the horse, so to speak.

I had an old 76 Dodge truck that was a garbage runner and work truck. As it stayed parked all week in a bad area of town while I was on the road, I just left it unlocked. Think rust holes and bondo and you have this truck. Kept a couple cheap plastic lights and breakdown tools in there. Only thing ever taken was a jacket I left in there and a couple sticks of gum. Oddly enough they took everything out of the pockets and left it on the floorboard (so someone else wouldn't see and take it I guess). Always struck me as funny that they opened the new pack of gum, took a couple sticks and left the rest. Found out from the dock workers that apparently time to time some homeless guy would sleep in it. Never could tell so I didn't care. Only thing I could figure was they saw the truck and figured I wasn't to far from joining them on the street so they took pity on me.

Kelmo, not to pour salt in your wound, but what kind of battery run time were you getting with the 9P/M61? Gene's published times are all 2-cell oriented. Just curious.

Sorry about your light,really stinks to lose a SF/Malkoff combo! G2 incans are the most expensive lights I keep in a car just because potential theft concerns me.I think Kestral may be on to something with the dummy lockbox.

troika said:

Kelmo, not to poor salt in your wound, but what kind of battery run time were you getting with the 9P/M61? Gene's published times are all 2-cell oriented. Just curious.

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You didn't ask me but I have earlier used M61W in my 9P(now M91W). Because the brightness is similar(I think I measured very slightly higher in 9P than 6P) you should get ~50% longer runtime.

Thanks. Thinking of building a marathon light with spare bits and acquiring a 9P body as a host. With a M61L or LL, you could really get some serious runtime with that extra cell....but I digress.