Can you remember

Can you remember what is was that made you EDC in the first place? In my case, it was getting a flat tyre in a dark place (no moonlight even) followed quickly by reading the 911 Report ("Civilian Preparedness"). I went from owning only a 4 D Cell Maglite to having flashlights everywhere. My first actual EDC was a 2 AAA Minimag, since replaced by something smaller and much more powerful. I now have flashlights on my keyring, in our cars, upstairs, downstairs and by my bedside. I've given them to all my family but not all of them get the idea of EDC.

Good idea for a thread!

For me, being Type 1 diabetic I have always had to prepare for potential worst case scenarios and even if gone for a few hours, I would have to carefully pack and make sure I had everything I could possibly need for the next half-day.

For flashlights, well, that came around when I was looking for a good light for my home-defense rifle a few years ago. After getting my first "real" flashlight (Eagtac G25C2 mkII) for the rifle, and after that light spent little-to-no time on rifle and most of the time in my hands or pocket, I quickly got a Zebralight to have in my pocket every day and to let the G25 do it's real thing. Ever since, I've had at least 2 lights on my person, 2 in my bag, 2 in my car.....

6 1/2 years ago, I just got fed up with not being able to see all the time, mainly due to the time it takes for outside daylight eyes to adjust to indoors, even with installed lighting. I was living in Florida at the time. It was the Florida sun and shadow that did it, not darkness. But I took it out on shadow and darkness, both.

Yes, I thought my first miniMag was 'space odyssey' cool. This is exactly an example of how if present tech, sent back just 2 decades would seem alien-magical in that ancient time.

Work related. Being night staff supervisor at a secure facility for extreme at risk teens.

Mechanic.

First light was a 2x AA Mini Mag. Used only at the office for a while, but it quickly turned into "Hey, you have your light with you?"

Since then, I've always carried a light, and some other tools.

Still keep a 2x AA Mini Mag in my ruck as a spare/ backup to my primary EDC light.

I`v never Not carried, I used to go to sleep with one in my hand every night as child, and at the end of the school year the teachers drawer was always half full of the flashlights that I`d been caught with during the year.
I don`t know why but it always felt important (for reasons I don`t understand), to carry a light with me at all times, day or night, asleep or awake.
Even at home where you`re never more than 10 foot away from a flashlight, if I`m feeling anxious or worried I`ll grab a flashlight and just hold onto it and it`ll calm me down, go figure! LOL

This is a fun thread.
Minimag was my first edc. But it was also the reason I began using LED lights. One night I needed more light than my minimag with old batteries was putting out when a coworker pops out his 3D sized wall charging number that was bright like a police helicopter light. Yup I gotta get me one of those.
$300? Forget about it. It was $1 per lumen he said. Well so was my minimag back in 1991. Time for an upgrade.

A trip to Lowes and I had me a zoomie like a 2D Maglite but it was a lot smaller than a 2C Maglite. Made in China but I was ok with that. The minimag sets on a shelf and that first bright number, a Coast was used this week at work. That thing has been beat up, rained on, dropped in wet concrete, run over by traffic after falling off my hood at 35mph (where I forgot I'd left it) and still fires up each time. The minimag would have probably endured the same abuse and still work but probably after light bulbs were changed.

When I lived at a place zero light pollution the minimag was great. But with street lights, parking lot lights etc everwhere now you have issues with shadows like crazy. So more output is required than once was, just to even out things. Carrying a pocket sized or keychain sized modern marvel just makes sense these days. Like having an umbrella, it's not always needed but very handy when duty calls.

---Starting An Obsession---

I suppose I have always been into gear since I was a kid but the real kickoff was a specific moment of frustration.

A handful of years ago we were leaving a rural Fall attraction well after dark. Being first time parents and trying to shuffle our young family through a dark busy parking lot was a little nerve racking. I had a sorry old AAA powered Ozark Trail headlamp that died well before we found our vehicle. The words of my buddy now come to mind, "I'm too poor to buy cheap." He was right, the savings is almost never worth it.

From then on I researched and bought the best lights I could afford. I suppose having a family immediately and greatly increased our needs for safety and utility regarding lighting. Being active in the Midwest in Fall and Winter months means handhelds and headlamps become a must. It is one of those things you wonder how you did without in the past.

Also, I have made a few converts. Especially when people find out about lumens and run times. My latest conversion was this last 4th of July. My friend liked my Fenix UC35 V2.0 enough that he ordered one a few days later.

I always had flashlights but wasn't until I became a dad that I realized how important it was to always have a light on you. Stores losing power when you have your kids. Getting them into and out of vehicles at night and of course the 1 AM diaper changes and bottle runs. So like many things in my life I blame my kids for my mental state 😁😁

Got tired of trying to trace wiring under computer room floor or above ceiling tiles.

While Ive always had a hand full of assorted lights stashed around, I would say my first real EDC light was a Maglite solitaire on my key ring but that was just so I could find a better light source. Eventually I added a pelican 2AA model when at work for checking the part numbers in the pallet racking but that stayed in my work utility pouch so not truly EDC.

Don't remember exactly when and why I started EDCing a light. I'm thinking the first was a squeeze light on my keys when I was still a kid, which gave way over the years to a Solitaire and a series of Photons. Currently I carry a LED Solitaire. I don't really EDC anything other than a key chain light during the day unless I need it for work, though I am rarely far from a larger light.

Boy Scouts in the 60's. Of course, all I EDC'd in those days was a pocket knife. Then, later when I was a cop, a firearm became part of my daily carry. Flashlights weren't carried on my person but in my home and vehicles. Finally, keychain flashlights became good enough to carry one on my keychains. I don't carry a regular flashlight on my person other than the keychain light unless I'm hiking and have my pack which is where a keep a couple small lights (like the E01 and E05 and spare batteries). My phone has acted as a momentary light when needed.

I have always been part of an outdoor family camping, hunting, fishing, hiking. It was my job at a summer camp that really started it. I was never without a knife and flashlight. I carried a aa mini mag every day. My boss also had me carry a .22 revolver to kill snakes with. Then came y2k, 9/11, getting gear for police academy, 2012, and many other things in between and my obsession has just grown.

I had an incan Mag that I had ready for use at home but I never cared about carrying a flashlight until I saw a coworker use one (Coleman 2AA) and was surprised at how small they that had become in comparison. I found CPF and the lights I still have and have been EDCing ever since.

I started carrying an incan AA MiniMag for my job as a custodian at a church. Researching bulb and battery options for it brought me to CPF, and CPF led me to full EDC.

Great thread!

There was an ad in an NRA magazine for the surefire Kroma. It looked so cool, I couldn't get over it. I knew nothing about flashlights so I started researching all about that light and about flashlights and I was blown away by my intrigue. Forking over that kind of cash for a light made my stomach turn but there was just something about that light after all the research about surefire and LEDs and the Kroma, and how cool it looked. I just couldn't get over it. I had to buy it. So I saved, crossed my fingers, held my breath, cried a little, and forked over the cash for it. Best idea I've ever had. It was so versatile. I've carried that light all around the world. It is still and always will be my nightstand light. I have three of them. But that one will always be the most special light in my collection. Its not my EDC anymore. But that is what got me hooked, and I will always be hooked on that one light the most.

I use flashlights every day, more than one time most of the days, so it was quite a logical step to put one in my trousers' pockets. And it had to be incan of course... but it should be small and put out more light than a Maglite Solitaire. So, there are not so many options out there. The SF E1e with a LF bulb in it was the one to go for. With an AW 16340 in it. I recently came back to this light, after replacing the bezel with a smooth one from Lumens Factory. Now it's about perfect, with a Keeppower 16340 with 850mAh it will run for an hour.

I think it was a combination of various power outage experiences and the availability of small easily carried lights. I am not sure exactly when I started carrying daily but by the time Fenix rolled out the P1 it became a no brainer. The P1 even with the old LUX III still offered plenty of light and usable run time in a very small package.With such small lights available it seemed silly not to EDC a light especially for a flashoholic like me!