am i the only one who uses all his lights?

for real no joke i have the box open and batteries in light in 5 minutes after they arrive.i still get very excited

I try to keep my collection to lights I actually use. While some of them might not be used often, they all have their specific purpose. When I notice that a flashlight does not get much use, I either give it to someone else or sell it. At this point I avoid buying gimmicky toys with complex interfaces that might be fun for 10 minutes, and instead focus on more rugged, simpler tools that get the job done. Most of my collection has been reduced to Surefires and a Malkoff, and it's not very big.

In just 5 minutes ? ? ?

Gee . . . . . .

First thing I do is Lube the O-ring(s), (Nyogel 760G)
then inspect 'em under UV light, to ensure no spots were missed.

Then inspect/clean all the contact areas

I forget why I ordered my 20th light of the year so I stare at it, read about it, and when I remember, stick batteries in it. Which usually takes a day or two

I check out any new light as soon as I get my hands on it. However, I am guilty of not using all of my lights due to having them in multiple places and vehicles. Therefore, some of them don't even get seen for weeks at a time.

I have more lights than I need but every one of them is ready to go right now. Most of mine don't see regular use but I do try to make sure I pick them all up at some point and turn them on for a minute or two.

I only have 4 lights and they all get used. Keychain light, headlamp, gun light, compact thrower. Id like to get several of each for long term storage so then technically will then have a large percentage of lights not being used, but still same amount of types.

I never buy anything I don't use.

Yes, I have a lot of lights and use them all. Some are pretty specialized and don't get used often, but they do get used.

Other than a very very few exceptions, I consider these tools not collectibles.

There are a couple of rarities that don't really serve a practical purpose, but those are easily less than 1% of the total :shrug:

My 47 lights are used for work or play o, for my older ones with obsolete emitters, to bring back happy memories. Any light that can't do one of these three things I get rid of, and I have not gotten rid of any of my lights yet.

I use pretty much every one, excepting a few that old ones that I just enjoy for their quality and look.
Most are seldom used used, and some just for fun but all get used.

like today for instance, I used a few for looking in cabinets etc. but my dog walking light will not get used due to 16" of snow.

I use all of mine also. As I upgrade my EDC over time, the previous ones wind up in glove boxes, tool pouches and other occasional-use places where they still have the occasion to shine in all their glory.

There are only two lights I am not using, and one that I do not light up often. The rest all live in the rotation.

I`v got about 100 lights and they all get tested from new, and serviced 6 monthly, all have batts fitted and charged ready to use, a quarter of them are incans and they get used each night in rotation, some of the LED lights are used daily so I have doubles of those, the others are used when I feel like it and chosen for specific tasks.
the Only lights I don`t use are because they`re awaiting emitter swaps, then they`ll be used like the others.

lol...Not me. I have some that I have not touched for years. That will all change in 2021 as gift away the unused.

Use, or play with?
I work night shift, and am out and about in the dark all night, so my EDC and work lights can accumulate hours of actual use in a single shift.
Everything else I call "playing flashlight", which is more fun
I regularly use 1 out of 4 of my personal headlamps, plus the cheap work-supplied one on my hardhat(that sees more runtime than all my other lights put together), and 2 out of 4 of my handheld flashlights. 2 of 5 when my latest purchase arrives, since it has no real purpose beyond my own enjoyment. I'm really digging some of these new emitters and lights, so it'll probably be 2 of 7 in a few weeks.

I often wonder what daytime people do with a "EDC" flashlight, as I don't even carry one during the day, and leave it in a cupholder in my car.

Throwers come in handy in the daytime Owen. Look into dark places in sunlight conditions like pipes or crevices. And for those in a windowless office or warehouse they are real handy when the lights go out and you can use your phone to call for assistance rather than light up the place. The modern day aaa LED light replaced my BiC lighter as the emergency illumination tool.

I'm a collector so some of my lights don't get used.

bykfixer said:

Throwers come in handy in the daytime Owen. Look into dark places in sunlight conditions like pipes or crevices. And for those in a windowless office or warehouse they are real handy when the lights go out and you can use your phone to call for assistance rather than light up the place. The modern day aaa LED light replaced my BiC lighter as the emergency illumination tool.

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I tend to favour smaller die sizes exactly because I properly use my lights more in the day than at night. Those candelas come in handy!

Owen said:

I often wonder what daytime people do with a "EDC" flashlight, as I don't even carry one during the day, and leave it in a cupholder in my car.

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Owen, my hat is off to you for working night shift. It's people like you who make things better for the rest of us.

As a (primarily) day person, there are lots of locations in my workplace where I need a flashlight, especially since the Covid shutdown. Many areas are very dark and I usually have to inspect small electronic thingies in these locations, which would be extremely difficult without a flashlight. Also it's necessary just to navigate safely in darkened areas. A phone flashlight doesn't have enough throw to illuminate a walkway adequately.

PhotonWrangler said:

It's people like you who make things better for the rest of us.

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By staying hidden away!

I'm just curious, always, about what people do with stuff that some of us obsess over, like knives and flashlights. My flashlight hobby really started over regularly needing a light for checking "cabinets" that housed machinery in a place that was well-lit, back when LED lights were mostly clusters of 5mm LEDs. Who knew how many thousands of dollars trying to find, or build, a pocketable LED light with decent output would end up costing?!?