Ideas on why we are so interested in flashlights..

I don't know if my opinions match others on this site. But I might have some explanations.
1.Its a good feeling when you are stuck on the road at night and know you have light to work on your truck.
2.I love it when a guy takes out his 6D Maglight and shows you how bright it is, and the stupid look he gets on his face when I shine my Ultrastinger.
3.I like the fact that when there is a power outage, I am helplessly blind at night.
4.The performance of some of these lights amaze me ( Ultrastinger,SureFire M6,10x)

well ever since i was a little kid i always liked flashlights. i remember getting junk lights that the switch would always screw up on. the first working light i had was probly a 2aa mag. the bulb quit working in that one and i didnt touch it for several years. I thought the light just quit working and didnt even think to change the bulb. I started reading about solar panels one day and thinking of starting a hobby system. I never got very far cause its way to much cost for me. when i was shopping around at solar websites they would often talk about led's and how little power they used. that lead me into an interest in led flashlights. i was asking questions about building a little led flashlight on a electronics newsgroup and someone pointed me over here to candle power forums. I ordered an infinity and plw-3. ever since then i've been hooked on led flashlights the plw-3 sucks but i loved the infintiy. I now have 5 led lights and probly going to buy an arcls. I like the idea that i can have a light source in total darkness that is long lasting and reliable. We used to get hit bad in the summer with storms and the power would go out quite often. its a good feeling to know you have a flashlight around. if I hadn't discovered how cool led's could be I would still have just a mini mag on rechargeable batteries. lately I don't have much use for flashlights, I live in the city and there are so many street lights outside you cant even tell its night and it hasnt been storming much so no power outageous. I still enjoy getting new lights even though i don't get to use them much

It started for me as part of my work. When I was in the Air Force we were issued these 3D cell, green, plasic flashlights that truely sucked. The only thing worse than the flashlight was the batteries. If you got 20 minutes out of a set, you were doing good.

I can remember times when I used my zippo as it was brighter and lasted at least as long.

I have been pleased and amazed as the flightlight technology and manufacturing continue to improve. I think, at least for me, there is always that search for "the best".

Speaking of kids, when my relatives come over we have bunches of little kids running about. At dusk I like to pass out all my flashlights (except the Streamlight SL-35, I am affraid one of them will bean thier sibling with it) and watch them run around. I include the traffic wands if I have one. They always seem to enjoy the experience.

God forbid I creat another flashaholic! Also one other down side, my wife can see how many I have. I keep telling her, no, I think David gave that one to Courtney...

I remember getting flashlights for Christmas when I was a little kid. One of the first presents I remember was a 6 volt lantern with a swivel head. My dad worked for the gas utility and always had lights around for working on furnaces or fixing leaks at night. As I got older, I began to amass lights, maybe I am afraid of the dark, but I dont think so. I was an Eagle Scout and always try to be prepared. I have at least one light in each of my vehicles and in each room of the house. For Christmas or birthdays I give my friends lights. I sell used cars for a living and often put a new light in the glove box of each car that I sell. My kids think I am nuts, but I really like flashlights. Five years ago I rafted the Colorado thru the Grand Canyon and I had the brightest light down there. I also had spares which I shared with some who didnt bring a light.

I used to be quite afraid of the dark -- the unknown. My younger sister had to go with me to the garage! Haha...

I got over my fears of the dark by the time I was 10, but the power of a flashlight left a lasting impression on me.

I'm sure it also appeals to my fear of not being able to see things, as I am legally blind without corrective lenses. Not being able to see things clearly EVERY DAY OF ONE'S LIFE is far more frustrating than one would imagine.

So... my flashlights need to be bullet-proof and reliable (bye bye $1 plastic crap), and also must be very bright.

MAG-Lites keep my wallet happy, LED's are nice and portable, SureFire's and Streamlights are awesome, but hurt the wallet.

hehehe...

In my case my dad was a cop before me and I saw him use Maglites and SureFires growing up so naturally I gravitated towards them. I got my MagCharger with me on duty and one of my five SureFires with me all the time. One SureFire just isn't enough. I think got all the SureFire's I want, I just need more adapters and gizmos to customize them more and more to my liking.

Just a thought: Mans obsession with flashlights goes back to our ability to create fire, maybe?!!!!!!!!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by V8TOYOTATRK:
1.Its a good feeling when you are stuck on the road at night and know you have light to work on your truck.
2.I love it when a guy takes out his 6D Maglight and shows you how bright it is, and the stupid look he gets on his face when I shine my Ultrastinger.
3.I like the fact that when there is a power outage, I am helplessly blind at night.
4.The performance of some of these lights amaze me ( Ultrastinger,SureFire M6,10x)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree with points 2 and 4, I really like that. But unfortunately we did not have any power outages here for 6 or 7 years (maybe more) and I also did not get stuck with our car at night for a decade or so.

Personally I think it comes down to one issue for me. I want to control the darkness. A sense of power. I'm a very black and white person and I like to shine a light in the dark corners once in awhile too.