Is your hobby sustainable?

The Incan collectors might understand this...

So, you have an awesome tricked out collection of flashlights, thousands of dollars invested.

Then, the technology changes or improves. Your lights become obsolete, and you have to purchase a whole new set of lights for your collection.

Of course this is great, but not all of us have bottomless pockets for this hobby.

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What I am saying is:

Is your hobby sustainable in the long run, given the rate of change in flashlight technology?

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As a personal example, there's a light that I really want to purchase. It looks and performs great.

But I also want to be able to purchase lights 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now.

So I conserve my budget instead of spend it on lights that I want now, so I can purchase lights that I want in the future when technology changes and improves.

Anyone else think the same way?

Quiksilver said:

Your lights become obsolete, and you have to purchase a whole new set of lights for your collection.

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I guess that would depend entirely on what the reasons for purchasing the specific lights (for your collection) was, some of my lights are work horses while others have aesthetic appeal OR sentimental value, how often would you replace your tools? I buy new tools when they no longer suit the task or no longer work at all not when I see a new ratchet drive has just been released...

Agreed with Maelstrom

If flashlights are your hobby, then flashlights have a collector's value for you. So even if a flashlights is outdated, they still worth a lot for many collectors.

Like many of Surefire's incan lights: I always criticized them about not keeping up with the other companies, and even though I saw many models including the M6 Guardian, M4 Devastator, C2 Centurion etc. on sale,but I still bought Fenix light because I was rather new and all I wanted was lumens and different modes. Now I regret that I didn't pull the trigger on one of them :mecry:

So point is, that for a collector, even though performance technology wise, it's obselete. It still worth a lot for them.

Quite a few of my current lights are modular (6P, Mag, etc) so I can upgrade them if a new technology were to come out next week that does to LEDs what LEDs did to incandescents. The only real issue would be if a new battery system were to enter the market that wouldn't fit my 18650 lights.

Quiksilver said:

So I conserve my budget instead of spend it on lights that I want now, so I can purchase lights that I want in the future when technology changes and improves.

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Technology always changes and improving. Saving up for future unknown could leave you with no light and a lot of money, if you gt what i mean...

Quiksilver said:

Your lights become obsolete, and you have to purchase a whole new set of lights for your collection.

Click to expand...

Obsolete: Adjective form, No longer produced or used; out of date.

'Have To:' Verb form, Obliged or bound by necessity

I don't think either of these apply in the strong sense... After all, the only thing that could make a flashlight absolutely out of date is if it ceases its function: Producing light reliably. Unless it's a collector light; Looking shiny on a shelf. Or a sentimental light, which would be obsoleted by Alzheimer's or death. That said...

I have bought lights I don't need, but I usually gift 'obsolete-to-enthusiast' lights.

My new flashlights replaced 5 year old Surefire's that still worked fine.

I am retired and on a fixed budget, but I still could afford three new Eagletac lights (D25C, D25C2, & G25C).

I consider flashlights a working tool and not only a hobby. I will most likely give my Surefire's to my friends and family after I am sure the new Eagletac ones are at minimum equal to the old Surefire ones.

AnAppleSnail said:

Obsolete:I don't think either of these apply in the strong sense... After all, the only thing that could make a flashlight absolutely out of date is if it ceases its function: Producing light reliably. Unless it's a collector light; Looking shiny on a shelf. Or a sentimental light, which would be obsoleted by Alzheimer's or death. That said...

I have bought lights I don't need, but I usually gift 'obsolete-to-enthusiast' lights.

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Agree i dont think a flashlight can truly be outdated. If it can light up a entire field, then it's prob able to light up that same field 10 years later. Stuff like a pc gets outdated because the programs we use demands more and more power. cant run win 7 on a 386

The leds is getting brighter and brighter, but they have grown in size, so we havent made a huge progress for increased throw yet. It's rather a step back. The led manufacterers are using the same metods as the cavemen. "If you want more light, you need a bigger campfire (or led) If we want the new led's to throw as well as a "outdated" xr-e, you need a light with a bigger reflector, and you get less runtimes becase that bigger led needs more juice. So in many ways, the old "outdated" xr-e's are still one of the champs (in compact throwy lights). The day we get 1000 lumens out of a 1x1mm led die without sucking 3 amps from the battery, then i might call the older lights "slightly outdated" :laughing:

We all like the new bright stuff. I like it because it's fun. I rarely use over 60 lumens when i need the light as a tool. I cant use 1000 lumens under the kitchen sink. My dark adapted eyes starts to roll in my skull if i use a 1000 lumen light out in the bush when camping/fishing. Im having a hard time even thinking up a scenario where i would really need 1000 lumens. When used as a toy.. well thats another story

I usually swap the leds when new ones arrive. Thats a fun hobby in itself. No need to buy a new light.

how long does it usually take for manufacturers replace a light with a new one?
like fenix ld 40 now ld41
how old is ld40?

If You are worried about the possible loss in value, then only buy lights which don't loose their valie very fast. Quality 1*18650 or 2*Cr123 lights with 200 to 300 Lumen or smaller EDc lights will always keep their utility and therefore they have a rather stable value. this is different with the large and bright lights. People looking for the strongest always look for the newest emitter with 100 Lumen more. My two powerful lights are my modded triple XP-G NovaTac and my CityCat M6. The NovaTac is unique and the CityCat is a budget light (ca. $30), where I don't care about lost value in the future.

Once I have my lights long enough, the inevitable happens, and I take my lights apart, Then I'll probably update the LED to what is most current, thus saving me from buying another round of lights.

Like others have said, as long as enough light comes out the end of the tube, it'll always be useful. Try playing Minecraft on a Pentium original, not going to happen, but a 100 year old Everyready will still provide light in the dark.

sounds like your never satisfied by the form or function of a light.Or the uniqueness 1 offers.
personally i dont have a legitimate need for 95% of my lights.
the reason i get a light has nothing to do with needing one. I buy them becouse i can and i enjoy them.
Thats all! not to be upset when something better comes along.
Also i never have looked for the best,instead i get what i want keeping a price range in mind.

I think the only potential for a light to be completely obsolete is an incandescent that no longer has spare bulbs available, or a light that takes a specific type of battery that is no longer produced or available (Surefire rechargeables come to mind).

At some point (I'm talking decades, probably), we will be unable to buy CR123 batteries, or certain Surefire incandescent lamps.

jorn said:

The leds is getting brighter and brighter, but they have grown in size, so we havent made a huge progress for increased throw yet. It's rather a step back. The led manufacterers are using the same metods as the cavemen. "If you want more light, you need a bigger campfire (or led) If we want the new led's to throw as well as a "outdated" xr-e, you need a light with a bigger reflector, and you get less runtimes becase that bigger led needs more juice. So in many ways, the old "outdated" xr-e's are still one of the champs (in compact throwy lights). The day we get 1000 lumens out of a 1x1mm led die without sucking 3 amps from the battery, then i might call the older lights "slightly outdated" :laughing:

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It's just a matter of time before manufacturers get to the point where the surface brightness of an LED or other light emitting device surpasses that of the venerable XR-E R2 for the same input wattage. Doing so at half the wattage would be awesome!

It´s a hobby, not an investment. It costs money, sure and you´ll loose money in the long term. But you´ll get something for your money apart from flashlights: FUN.

Eric

Quiksilver said:

The Incan collectors might understand this...

So, you have an awesome tricked out collection of flashlights, thousands of dollars invested.

Then, the technology changes or improves. Your lights become obsolete, and you have to purchase a whole new set of lights for your collection.

Of course this is great, but not all of us have bottomless pockets for this hobby.

--

What I am saying is:

Is your hobby sustainable in the long run, given the rate of change in flashlight technology?

--

As a personal example, there's a light that I really want to purchase. It looks and performs great.

But I also want to be able to purchase lights 5 years from now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now.

So I conserve my budget instead of spend it on lights that I want now, so I can purchase lights that I want in the future when technology changes and improves.

Anyone else think the same way?

Click to expand...

This could be the least Flashaholic thread ive ever seen posted.

I see my oldest lights increasing in value and visual interest. I have some old kerosene lanterns. Won't be throwing them away. They burn right alongside my led light bulbs. Also, most of my lights are *users.* I use them like I would any tool in the tool box. Even an old light will help me work on the car.

Its a hobby, most of us probably have more material flown in then we will use, so no, not ever will my flashlights be sustainable.
But the spin off is that I have converted fully to led lighting in the house, and will change to led in the workshop this winter.

I think lighting technology has come quite a ways in the recent past. We've now got great output small enough to truly EDC (LED, single cell) in your choice of beam pattern and tint, with great runtimes. Those same outputs will still be relevant years from now if we're honest about our needs. Wants, on the other hand...

The quality chassis is a big deal.
The electronics might improve rapidly, but a sturdy and well machined body could be hard to come by.
3d circuit printing is coming to the masses soon, but well machined, quality alloys won't be so easy.

I'm looking to get a few SF Centurion bodies for that reason.
That's also a small part of why I
feel that HDS lights are such a bargain.