I'm coming out of my own personal dark age...Been years since i saw the light.

WOW. :wave:

This place has grown and changed so much in the years I have been gone. I see some very familiar users, dealers, and manufacturers. Very interesting stuff...It looks like I have missed quite a few innovations.

The last notable light I owned/bought was a Raidfire Spear.


A quick scan of CPF tells me that I have ALOT to catch up on. It almost feels overwhelming. But I am up for the challenge. Especially since I wont have a job as of Monday.


So what are the main things I have missed my fellow flashaholics?

RdlyLite said:

WOW. :wave:

This place has grown and changed so much in the years I have been gone. I see some very familiar users, dealers, and manufacturers. Very interesting stuff...It looks like I have missed quite a few innovations.

The last notable light I owned/bought was a Raidfire Spear.


A quick scan of CPF tells me that I have ALOT to catch up on. It almost feels overwhelming. But I am up for the challenge. Especially since I wont have a job as of Monday.


So what are the main things I have missed my fellow flashaholics?

Click to expand...

If you have indeed been gone since roughly 2007 then yes, you have missed a LOT.

I hope this lack of a job is a good thing (retirement) and not a bad thing.

In so far as technology goes though...I think four generations of LEDs have passed now, maybe five. The coming and going of the selector ring, even though some manufacturers still have an option these days, it seems they have fallen out of style. The LED isn't the only thing that has improved either but efficiency has nearly tripled since 2007. And now you can get a light that you can program using your phone, via a Bluetooth radio connection. Outputs in the range of 300-500 lumens on a single CR123A are not just commonplace, but some might consider them sedate. Throwing 700-1000 lumens on a single 18650 is common even if not for very long.

Personally I think just about the biggest thing to happen is that Surefire is now producing somewhat competitive lights again. They seem to be using more current generation LEDs...at least for some models. While they do seem to be trying to innovate (Intellibeam), they also seem to be sticking with the trend toward inaccessible heads/emitters that they started a few years ago. Sealed heads. Costs have only continued to rise with them though.

Welcome back

Haven't missed a thing.
Flashlights are still generally round battery operated light emitting firebrands. Brighter and smaller would be the significant changes.

RdlyLite said:

WOW. :wave:

So what are the main things I have missed my fellow flashaholics?

Click to expand...

We caught up to some of the "Back to the Future tech"
we have hover boards, but they sometimes catch on fire.

We surpassed some "Star Trek" tech. We used to use flip phones, now many use "smart" phones. They have GPS locators, and people use them to take pictures.

Facebook is still around.

Now our flashlights are taking their own selfies and posting them.

You missed a lot!
Welcome back :thumbsup:

^^ And it seems the whole LED thing wasn't just some hoola-hoop fad afterall.

WB:wave:

WOW you have some major reading up!!!

Crazy thinking about it, as now i have got the LED side covered, all shapes,sizes,flavours...............and gone back to your era of surefire's(give/take a few year)!!!

Some amazing customs if that floats your boat, amazing p60 drop ins of all flavours which can now get towards 4000lm.............(of course need the right fuel and tail cap to help!!!)

Throwers wise, well from an LED 1300kcd!!!! from the Deft X

Flood, well pretty much 21,000lm in the Fenix TK75vn77 is about the peak/just affordable with out going too crazy!

Soda can lights of 12-13000lm of xhp70 goodness
Fuel wise for balance of power/runtimes the 18650 cell has allowed some amazing things to happen (think like 4x AA cells in an 18mm wide and 65-69mm long cylinder)

Pretty exciting times.............but not for you bank balance :laughing:

Maglite has finally produced a multi mode light with current generation LED technology ML300

man you have missed what has been a near revolution in LED lights. From battery technology to massive strides in electronics and LED technology the stuff available today would have seemed the stuff of science fiction in 2007.....I suggest you start in the reviews section...

+1

CelticCross, you hit it!

Since you did not know what you were missing, just think about how much money you saved! Now, you can skip something like three or four generations, without having to buy the in-between stuff!

Today, good value can be had with some of the custom designs from BLF and CPF Italia. Check out the Astrolux S1, S2 and S3, and also the CPFi Cometa. For good measure, toss in the BLF-348.

Convoy and ThorFire are another pair of budget manufacturers who have earned reputations for quality. You might like the recent C8 offerings from these companies. XinTD is another company known for its quality C8 flashlight. Convoy also makes the very popular S-series, which includes the Convoy S2 and S2+.

At the high end of mid-level, ZebraLight makes some of the best compact flashlights and headlamps you can get.

HDS has increased from 42 lumens to 325 ... [emoji14]

Light is light, physics, and all that. It only depends on how much light and what color Temp. you want? Throw or flood?

LOL.

I been gone for probably 3-4 years. If I was gone since 2007, I probably wouldn't even dare come back considering the sheer amount of stuff I missed. I just got laid off from a job of over a decade and have some soul searching to do regarding what my next step is. Which is precisely where I need a little cpf...er...light in my life. I been spending a lot of time in the reviews section. Jeeepers!

I appreciate all the pointers, guys. The couple different things I am noticing is all the new manufactures, dealers, the light output increase. But its nice to see surefire alive and kicking and that fact that our wallets are still suffering from the onslaught of light! And its really nice to see some of the OG's of cpf still around. I am keen to also see where battery technology has gone.

Milky vanished.
Mac is now shipping orders from 2007.

Check out the sub-forums of Vinh and Okluma.


Welcome back!!!







Barry