new flashoholics are so lucky.

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
for real i recall 10 lumens blowing my mind. now where seeing lights with 5000 lumens. hect i just bought 21 led flashlights for 17 bucks shiped. and id guess there at least 20 lumens. i give them away to those who been nice to me
 

flatline

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 6, 2009
Messages
1,923
Location
Tennessee
A $20 flashlight today beats the pants off a $100 flashlight 10 years ago.
A 10-cent pencil from the office supply store writes as nice as $1 pencil from 20 years ago.
My son's graphing calculator has more memory and compute power than my original desktop computer.

It's a good time to be alive :)
 

dotCPF

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 20, 2018
Messages
1,702
Location
New Angleland
It's a shame in some ways too, because most people don't really appreciate how useful 20 lumens, or 120 lumens can be. I'm very glad I went 'back in time' with my collection, totally changed the way I approached buying and using lights.
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
i recall my fav computer years ago had a 8 core amd cpu. now my ipad is way faster. what is even more crazy if i recall just the cpu alone in my old pc pulled like 200 watts. i love technolgy
 

tech25

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Messages
1,285
Location
Near the Big Apple
It's a shame in some ways too, because most people don't really appreciate how useful 20 lumens, or 120 lumens can be. I'm very glad I went 'back in time' with my collection, totally changed the way I approached buying and using lights.

Absolutely! I occasionally go back to my Incan lights just to remember how amazing the mini mag was and than I take out the Surefire e2e just to go wow!

Light pollution in the city does make me glad for my powerful lights but the Incans really put a smile on my face.
 

bykfixer

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
20,348
Location
Dust in the Wind
My flashaholic disease began in 2015 and frankly I feel like I missed the most fun period.

Reading old posts when folks were estatic over 10 lumens from LED's? Then 100? That must have been a real fun time. 500 was the bar when I joined here. P60 was still king then. Light bulbs were becoming an endangered species. The lights with really bright ones were collecting dust as more and more folks chose LED technology.

If I use the word lucky I'd say those who missed 'blumens' are lucky, yeah as even the grocery store checkout kind have decent tints these days.
 

richbuff

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 21, 2014
Messages
2,264
Location
Prescott Az
"new flashoholics are so lucky"

Recent advancement in flashlight performance is far and away the only, single, sole positive point in the human race in the past few years. There are no other advancement points in humanity in the past few years compared to high performance flashlights. They are far and away the material things on this earth that bring much spiritual happiness. The only other physical things worth mentioning are tools that are needed for self-defense against macro-bio threats.

In this age, the final end-stage of the decline and fall of human civilization, high performance flashlights may not be able to save human civilization, but they bring joy to people who recognize their spiritual meaning.
 

bykfixer

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 9, 2015
Messages
20,348
Location
Dust in the Wind
I dunno Rich, those battery operated tools are giving flashlight advances a good run. :grin2:

These aren't your fathers cordless drills.

But folks buying their first ever LED flashlight sure have got some mighty fine choices lately. Even bad flashlights aint bad these days.
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
13,451
I dunno Rich, those battery operated tools are giving flashlight advances a good run. :grin2:

These aren't your fathers cordless drills.

But folks buying their first ever LED flashlight sure have got some mighty fine choices lately. Even bad flashlights aint bad these days.
i have a cordless brushless circaler saw its crazy strong i also have a brushless cordless impact wrench its good for like 700 foot pounds. i love tool becuase they put food on the table
 

Jean-Luc Descarte

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 29, 2020
Messages
801
Location
Where the sun sets fast
[...] folks buying their first ever LED flashlight sure have got some mighty fine choices lately. Even bad flashlights aint bad these days.

I'll drink to that! The bad stuff has become relatively decent, and what is good has become so affordable it's not even funny. I remember back when we paid a premium for 500 lumens that lasted a few minutes before voltage sag kicked in, while most budget brands of today do it for hours as a medium mode.

Definitely a good time to enjoy flashaholism :party:
 

parnass

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
2,576
Location
Illinois, USA
Sometimes I think I had more fun back in the days of using an Inova X5, ARC AAA premiums, and Peak LED Solutions Matterhorns.
 

Derek Dean

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
2,426
Location
Monterey, CA
Yes, but I'm glad I was around to see all those changes. It was a bit heady being on the cutting edge of portable lighting tech for all those years, seeing each new innovation has they came out, showing them off to my buddies at work.

I never did buy a bunch of lights, only a few choice ones here and there that I actually needed for work, updating occasionally when my finances allowed, and most of those lights are still in use today, although they've mostly been relegated to around-the-house jobs now.

So, are new flashaholics, lucky? In some ways, sure, but I feel luck too, having had the opportunity to help shape the direction our hobby has taken, through judicious support of fledgling new and innovative companies.
 

KITROBASKIN

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 28, 2013
Messages
5,390
Location
New Mexico, USA
...I feel luck too, having had the opportunity to help shape the direction our hobby has taken, through judicious support of fledgling new and innovative companies.

What a great perspective.

Regarding spirituality and devices for illumination:
Ever had an amazing dream and then tried to describe it to a loved one? Didn't sound so momentous when described probably. Guessing an explanation to slider would be the same. But if we remember that our sun is the known primary lifesource for our precious planet, and what is given is basically photons. We can look at our torches as photon givers. The (presumably) void of darkness gives way to the light.
This brief, feeble word burst is but a pale reflection of what really is. One opinion.
 

Katherine Alicia

Enlightened
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
836
Location
Central UK.
if we remember that our sun is the known primary lifesource for our precious planet, and what is given is basically photons. We can look at our torches as photon givers. The (presumably) void of darkness gives way to the light.

That`s a big part of it coupled with the fact that we Choose this, even though some of us don`t even know why.
I think there`s Many levels to it as well, Perhaps I go to too many raves but I often can`t help but see the Magical aspect of it as well, looking at a little tiny spark inside a glass bubble, or a crystal that gives off light when you give it electricity! yes I understand about depletion zones and band-gaps but there`s still that unshakable magical feeling when I see a LED or an Incan bulb working, LOL it gets even better when you consider solar panels where you have a crystal that gives you electricity when you give it light, and then you charge a battery with it, pop it in your torch and you can have a pocket full of sunshine! :-D
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location
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On a separate but somewhat related quasi-spiritual note, I'm regularly mindful of and humbled by the knowledge that the lights in my pocket, however bright they may seem, are at best an imitation of what the sun radiates each and every second of our lives, and in the grand scheme of things, we're still in the "firefly" stage of our ability to produce light.
 

jon_slider

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Messages
5,107
New flashoholics have new LED options, with more choice of,
lumens, throw, CRI, tint, color temperature, battery type and size..

If it is true that the sun is the source of Electricity, then
Ive got canned Sunshine in my pocket. :candle:

WnJi0bYl.jpg
 
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