Challenge Week #1: Incandescent Only! (2021 edition)

[Stress_Test]

.......

I'd say you're ok novice. We're talking flashlights here. Hell if we can't have our homes lit by other than incan I'm out too. I have curly fry bulbs galore.

I'm pretty sure I can do the handheld lights, and I don't think I will need the led headlamp.
I was realizing tonight that I use my desk lamp a lot, and it uses a compact fluorescent bulb. I think that almost all of the wallswitch-activated lights in the house are some version of fluorescent. I've already checked two places, and it can be difficult to even find incan bulbs, and I am not going to the local Walmart in these pandemic days. Having to go to Costco recently was scary enough.

Am I busted?

Whoa now, challenges are just flashlights only, not everything else; we're not that hardcore!

[Stress_Test]

A few of my go-to choices when I want to mess with incans. Maglite 4-C bi-pin version, with 4 AA in adapters and a lightly sanded stock lens for diffusion. Black SolarForce with a P60, and stainless steel SolarForce with a Lumens Factory EO-4, both running 18650 cells.

Gonna dig up one or two more, I think, for work this week.

[gravelrash]

Is an A2 considered cheating for this first week? My M4 is tough to pocket carry...

[Stress_Test]

Don't know if anyone ever reached a consensus on the A2. I think in general people said "it's okay" as long as you've got the incan bulb lit, and not relying on the LEDs for anything.

[jabe1]

Dog walk tonight with a ROP 2c. A little overkill.
Back home in time to see the Browns win over Pittsburgh!!!!
😁

I also remembered an old Rayovac 2d with a slide switch I have. 6aa-2d adapter and a Mag 5 cell xenon bulb make it a surprisingly useful light.

[Stress_Test]

Dog walk tonight with a ROP 2c. A little overkill...........

.

Gosh, I hope the dog is okay!

[TheFraz]

Love this idea.

...saw the username and thought I'd get to see/participate in some smashing...maybe later in the week...

Wish I had an incan other than a Wolfeyes boxer.

[Katherine Alicia]

having realised that I`ll be LED free for the week, I`v swapped out the 16340 batts in my little Pifco light and put in 18350s instead because I`ll be using it a lot more, Gotta love the old lights with nearly 1 inch of play in the spring to accomodate such a wide range of batts
the one "hardship" I am experiencing is that I`m used to EDCing the Manker E02 which is really tiny and lightweight AND IT HAS A CLIP! non of my incans have clips so it`ll be a week of hand carry for me.
The Other difficulty that I find somewhat harder to deal with is that I can feel all my LED lights looking wistfully at me from their shelf, saying things like "Why won`t you play with us Katie, what have we done that is so bad that you`re ignoring us so? all we ever wanted to do was bring you light, please play with us" with a little tremble in their tiny voices. I must admit, that shit`s hard to deal with!

[desert.snake]

It's time for physical education, I think it gives something about 1 lumen or less, but it can wake everyone around

[bykfixer]

Before retiring last evening I gulped an 8oz cup of water to ensure there'd be a 2am nature call. Nothing un-normal about that. Only instead of foraging for a AA light with a clip I was searching for a triple a tube. I installed the little key chain fob onto to Solitaire so it can drape over the side of my night stand for ease of finding when groggily searching. It worked.

Once the tiny light was found a 10-15 degree twist to loosen, not my typical tighten direction revealed a surprising amount of light in a wide circle with a giant dark spot in the middle. Now I could spend time twisting the head for a spot light in the center or just use that circle of light as a guide not that much unlike those little lights along the edges of a darkened movie theatre aisle as you exit a movie. My goal was to do what I gotta do and not crash into anything, then get back to sawing logs…… the ring of light was good enough.

Now the tinkerer this morning wonders if there is a way to move the bulb or maybe scuff the globe etc. Then I decided "nah, I like the ring of light warts and all". For a brief time at 2:30 this morning I had stepped back in time to around 1988 when the Solitaire was introduced and we all marveled at how bright that tiny little tube was.

[PoliceScannerMan]

I'll have to wait till the next challenge, I do not own a single incan LOL.

[nbp]

I’m starting today. The worst part for me is going to be lacking modes. I will miss my sublumen lights for kicking around late at night. My options for modes this week will be 90/700. Lol

[bigburly912]

I'll have to wait till the next challenge, I do not own a single incan LOL.

*gasp* that is blasphemy sir. Blasphemy!! [emoji16]

[Katherine Alicia]

I got out my 2xAA maglite clone as well because 6W and 4.5W are a bit too much light for some things. it Has made me start wanting to buy more incans again though! in fact I`m waiting on an offer for a brand new 1960`s Pifco light as a I type. LOL

[PoliceScannerMan]

*gasp* that is blasphemy sir. Blasphemy!! [emoji16]

I used to have a lot of MAg85's, like 12ish years ago lol.

[bykfixer]

Incan use in daylight:
Lost my pack of smokes after helping a motorist plug a tire at my work. When we were done he lit up a smoke from his pack. He offered me one but I don't dig on menthol so I lit one of mine. Later on I wanted one after lunch. Checked everywhere to no avail. That usually means whatever I'm looking for has fallen into the abyss between the seats of my work truck.

Whip out the 1 cell aviatEr with lumens factory bulb, click it on, shine into the abyss and……tadah!! Along with about a buck in change, a couple of peanuts and a BiC lighter I gave up looking for back in the summer.

[carrot]

Count me in. Those posts by nbp about LumensFactory Xenon saw me prepared for this event. And all those guilt-free lumens, to boot.

[bigburly912]

I’ll be impressed when somebody busts out the ol Tom Thumb for a full day. I’ve been hunting the right one for a few years.

[gravelrash]

I've never carried my A2 - I AM LOVING IT!

BUT I am using primaries (I know I can use a skinny lipo in it). What currently available rechargeable incan setups are y'all using? I looked at a LF E1P pineapple setup but it's a bit of a stretch at around $150 for the parts I picked out. I like the size though.

Some future challenges maybe?
Use only dollar store lights w/dollar store batteries
Use any light but give it away at the end of the week
Only headlamps
Only keychain lights
Only lights you "rescued" from a thrift store and refurbished

[Katherine Alicia]

I will state from the outset that I will Not use primaries for any of these challenges, and will gladly forfeit rather than poison the planet further.

[bykfixer]

I’ll be impressed when somebody busts out the ol Tom Thumb for a full day. I’ve been hunting the right one for a few years.

Tom Thumb model or Tom Thumb style?
My former nightlight was a HIPCO Tom Thumb style with a #222 bulb that put out about 1 orange lumen.

This year I chose to use the Solitaire for my 2am light during the incan challenge.

[novice]

I will state from the outset that I will Not use primaries for any of these challenges, and will gladly forfeit rather than poison the planet further.

I am in agreement with you there, regarding incans, although I will consider primariies for long-lasting leds. Generally, my main criteria for accumulating some Surefire/other brands of incandescent bulbs and lamp assemblies is whether or not I have a convenient configuration for running them on rechargeable cells. I don't have an LiFePo4(?) charger. Fivemega's parts have helped a lot. P90s can run on anything from 2x16340 to 2x26650. I have acquired some P60s and P61s only because I have an FM 3xAA body to C head (although I could run them on 1x Li-Ion). If I had convenient rechargeable options for the Mn01, -02, and -03, I probably would have collected some of those, too.

[jabe1]

I like the p91 on 2x 18350 cells in a bored 6p.

[bykfixer]

Another step towards total incan dominance in my humble abode was to remove the insurectionist LED lights from my jar of flashlights on my table and install incan minimags to ensure any LED light that dared speak out against the goal was silenced.
Mwew-ah-ah-ah. By weeks end those dastardly LED lights will have no choice but to bow to the will of the mighty light bulb once again.

[Katherine Alicia]

has anyone else noticed that their Incan lights seem to be a lot brighter now than they were on Sunday? it`s purely a perspective shift, but some of mine seem Really bright now.
one of My P60s has arrived today also, it has a 7.4v 10W lamp module and takes 2x 18350 batts easily, but OMG is it ever bright! I never knew little hand held incans could do this! I had to double check the module because I thought it was a LED (it isn`t) and the beam is so perfect! this is my first ever modern incan and if I`d have known they were this good I would probably have never even considered buying a led light.
I am Seriously impressed!
This challenge suddenly got a LOT easier!

[bykfixer]

Long live the mighty P60

[nbp]

Indeed. The P60 is to a Maglite zoomie as kobe beef is to a Big Mac.

One thing I’ve learned by my second day of this challenge is how inefficient incans are. I’m glad to be using rechargeable setups - I burned through a 16340 just yesterday in my LF E1 Pineapple trying to finish a laptop repair. The color was lovely but I would have preferred less light and more runtime!! Haha

[desert.snake]

In short, I give up, these dynamic flashlights are only suitable for survival after a nuclear war, for more than 20 minutes in a row my hand gets tired of lighting + this hand falls out of work. Have to start something on batteries, like Solitaire

[Stress_Test]

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one of My P60s has arrived today also, it has a 7.4v 10W lamp module and takes 2x 18350 batts easily, but OMG is it ever bright! I never knew little hand held incans could do this! ................

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One thing I’ve learned by my second day of this challenge is how inefficient incans are. I’m glad to be using rechargeable setups - I burned through a 16340 just yesterday in my LF E1 Pineapple trying to finish a laptop repair. The color was lovely but I would have preferred less light and more runtime!! Haha

Good quality, readily available, rechargeables really changed the incan game I think. Two Li-Ion cells provide enough voltage to really make an incan impressive in a small form factor.

Even Eneloops improve things a lot with their high current capacities and easy no-fuss recharging. Just topped off the 4 "Duraloop" AA that I use in the 4-C Mag. I like these AA-to-C adapters. Not fancy, but they allow direct contact from one battery to the next, so no voltage drop going through extra springs or anything.

Almost screwed up when I cut the tailcap spring; I reduced the overall length so there wouldn't be too much force on the little AAs, but cut it a little too short and it was almost too loose. But it works.

Back in the Mag they go!

[bigburly912]

Tom Thumb model or Tom Thumb style?
My former nightlight was a HIPCO Tom Thumb style with a #222 bulb that put out about 1 orange lumen.

This year I chose to use the Solitaire for my 2am light during the incan challenge.

Sorry just saw this. The Tom Thumb I’m most familiar with is the Fulton brand however I see they have been made by several companies. Neat little lights.