Wow, why in the world do you carry a flashlight with you?

Says my friend to me today.

At around 5.45pm today, the building that I work at lost its power. For some reason the generator wasn't kicking in and it was already dark out (New Zealand winter). Everything was pitch black and my buddy and I needed to get down from the 8th floor using the stairs. He goes ahead of me and uses the flashlight app on his phone, but stops after about 30 seconds since at the end of the workday, his phone's battery was at 5% already. Well, we didn't want to feel our way down the pitch black stairwell or wait for the power to come back on.

Out comes my new Prometheus Alpha from my bag and on medium provides enough light to illuminate the entire stairwell, all 8 floors down and 8 floors up. I'm standing on the landing, headed down when I hear him ask 'Wow, why in the world do you carry a flashlight on you?' I literally stop in my tracks and give him the :thinking: face while bouncing the Alpha's beam around the pitch black of the stairwell when all of a sudden he goes 'Oh, right' . I just and we get reach the ground floor in one piece just as the lights come back on.

It seems really strange that I can't ever seem to leave the house without a watch, a knife, and a flashlight. When just last year I didn't have any of them. I couldn't imagine going through my day without the convenience of portable illumination now. Anyone else feel the same?

i feel the same way. i always have a leatherman squirt on me but not a flashlight. i'm sure this will change since i joined this site. :laughing:

Yeah, you kind of feel naked if you leave the house without a flashlight...even if it's noon.

Someone bitched at me for 5 minutes and called me an idiot because I had a flashlight in my waistband for PT at 0445 this morning. The argument "it's dark outside..." wasn't enough for him. He compared a small flashlight to being like me having NVGs with me. Put me in a sour mood.


-Alex

There's a reason I keep a Vesuvius on my keychain. (And no, it's not just "Mine's bigger than yours!"). A light is the tool that lets you use all your other tools. Without light, you can't even walk safely.

The best 'logical' answer for "Why do you have a flashlight?" is "If it MIGHT rain, you carry an umbrella. It will ALWAYS be dark 12 hours from now (Maybe longer in NZ summer), so I carry a light." The best illogical answer is to turn off the circuit breakers and then walk off with your flashlight...

Very good post, the people who hassle me are usually the first ones to come running when they need some light!! :candle:

biglights said:

Very good post, the people who hassle me are usually the first ones to come running when they need some light!! :candle:

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+1

It's ALWAYS, "Hey, Silva, let me use your light!"

:wave:
S1LVA

Q: Wow, why in the world do you carry a flashlight with you?


A: Why DON'T you?

PaleBlueDot said:

It seems really strange that I can't ever seem to leave the house without a watch, a knife, and a flashlight. When just last year I didn't have any of them. I couldn't imagine going through my day without the convenience of portable illumination now. Anyone else feel the same?

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Ah so NZ's knife laws haven't gotten draconian yet (like ours)?

M@elstrom said:

Q: Wow, why in the world do you carry a flashlight with you?


A: Why DON'T you?





Ah so NZ's knife laws haven't gotten draconian yet (like ours)?

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Oh they are. I think they are even worse than Aussie knife laws. Still, I carry my sky blue Spyderco Delica with my everyday. It's a quality of life improvement on my end.

Heh heh, I have an imaginary scenario that I think would be fun if someone hit me with that question:


POOF! Lights out. Pitch dark large interior room, or better yet, basement hallway, etc etc. The creepier the better. My flashlight comes on and now we can see again. Immediately someone asks (snarky tone) "Why the heck do you have a flashlight with you!?" In response I say something like "oh you're right, how stupid, guess I'll get rid of it" then turn off the light and toss it along the floor. Everyone hears the light bounce rattle and roll off into some far unknown corner of the dark. I say "okay, carry on now". I wait a few minutes for panic to really start setting in before pulling my second light and turning it on (then going to retrieve the light I tossed, of course)




That would be fun but unfortunately nowadays everyone has a dang cell phone that can be used for emergency, close range lighting, so that kind of spoils the fun.

POOF! Lights out. Pitch dark large interior room, or better yet, basement hallway, etc etc. The creepier the better. My flashlight comes on and now we can see again. Immediately someone asks (snarky tone) "Why the heck do you have a flashlight with you!?" In response I say something like "oh you're right, how stupid, guess I'll get rid of it" then turn off the light and toss it along the floor. Everyone hears the light bounce rattle and roll off into some far unknown corner of the dark. I say "okay, carry on now". I wait a few minutes for panic to really start setting in before pulling my second light and turning it on (then going to retrieve the light I tossed, of course)

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Thats pretty good...

I say i carry the light for geocaching and i allways have look into dark places :candle:

In my family I'm the one that gets to fix things. I'm always looking into an engine compartment, a dark place under the sink, etc. I carry the Vesuvius, but know its limitations (short run time). I usually carry another small flashlight with the same battery as backup. My car has several flashlights.... just in case.

When people ask me this question, i simply reply " Vision Problems ".

They just respond with: " Oh ".



_

My dad has 3xaaa 9-LED junkers stashed all around the house. He, at least, only asked my I need one so bright! (M61W in a 6P.) I told him it's 'cause I walk the dog every night, after his grandkids go to bed.

Everyone else, I just tell 'em "it gets dark every night." It usually works.

It's been said here many times before people carry an umbrella if there's a 20% chance of rain, there's a 100% chance of darkness for part of every day

Norm

While in the military I worked in a building without windows (the previous school was top secret and they took no chances with um nosey folk) and when severe weather struck they noticed two things; 1st being the emergency light batteries were dead, (the press to test button only confirmed the light bulb worked) and it was darker than the inside of a pitch black coal bin and 2nd virtually nobody carried a flashlight. Watches with radium dials provide very little light source after being inside the building for 4 to 5 hours. I now carry two lights when dressed, if one is good two are not too many. One is a Photon Microlight and one of the 47s titanium mini 123 lights, the photon is only marginally larger than the plastic part of a car key and is on my key ring.

Yep. Prior to joining here, I didnt even own a flashlight at that time. I didnt know how good the LED lights had become, and had lost my Maglight somewhere years earlier. But I had NEVER carried a flashlight with me, ever.

But then I bought my 1st LED light, but still didnt carry it til about 8 months ago. Then I started carrying it everywhere in my pocket. It was a BC-10, but I lost it somehow just last Wednesday. Now I am scrambling to figure out which light to carry with me. That and I sold my 2 Eagletac D25's last week. But I did get in a new Jetbeam PA-10, but I dont want to scratch it all up! Nor do I want to scratch my T20CS or G25C2 or my SC600, or my new Preon 2, etc. I've been carrying my new Thrunite Ti. But now I am waiting for the BC-10's replacement, a new PC-10. Its about the same size, still a single 123 light, with an XM-L instead of XP-G, but its brighter and has more modes.

When I dont have a flashlight with me, I always end up needing one! I now think its silly NOT to carry a flashlight!

There is a specific, if longwinded, reason why I carry a light 24-7 but this only gets trotted out if I am in the mood.

Generally this question comes up exactly in situations as described by the OP, we have just encountered some greater or lesser need for light and I provide some suitably excessive amount. Quite why people choose to question my ability to provide for their needs exactly when they have them is baffling.

S

RobertM said:

Yeah, you kind of feel naked if you leave the house without a flashlight...even if it's noon.

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I

would rather accidentally leave my clothes at home than accidentally leaving my EDC hanging in the shower or somewhere besides my neck, but

you

can decide whats comfortable for you