People borrowing your lights daily struggles of a worried "flashaholic parent"

[Jerommel]

@Lightbringer

(…) it’s like giving a loaded gun to a drunk monkey (…)

Yeah, that feeling…
I have some 3 mode 700 - 1400 mA 18650 lights which are safe enough to lend out.
The AK-47 and 105 drivers have low voltage warning and shut down.
But still, when left ‘ON’ it will eventually drain the cell, but very slowly…

[mrheosuper]

thats why i have nitecore and olight light, it’s more reliable than astrolux or any budget brand
also their lights have many protection, LVP, Temp, blah blah
i still love budget lights because they have better performance/price

[CJ_Avlis]

What is this lending thing you speak of??

Nope,nope,nope…not even to my 1st born.I gave him a BLF A6(I only had it 3 weeks) a safe charger, 2 new & genuine Sanyo cells with silicone holder and about 2 hours “battery safety” talk.

Anyone else…I just pretend like I didn’t hear the request

[hIKARInoob]

Eneloop

(There’s my one word answer)

[Suncoaster]

Definitely not toys, although I have utility lights all over the place - car, toolbox, camping gear, front door, back door, shed, garage, bedside, one for the coffee grinder, one for the bbq, etc etc.
The good ones are on or near my desk and no-one else gets to use them without me.

I never loan out 18650 or other li-ion lights.

I give away cheap AA SK68s if I know they’re going to be abused or lost,
or AA Zanflare F2 as presents as they are nicer quality,
and Nitecore Tips for friends keychains.

[Lightbringer]

@Jerommel

@Lightbringer

(…) it’s like giving a loaded gun to a drunk monkey (…)

Yeah, that feeling…
I have some 3 mode 700 - 1400 mA 18650 lights which are safe enough to lend out.
The AK-47 and 105 drivers have low voltage warning and shut down.
But still, when left ‘ON’ it will eventually drain the cell, but very slowly…

I gave mum those 2 AT01s that I made the mistake of buying. 3×AAA, so she can’t hurt herself.

Crappy POS switch, moved the LED wire on the driver to bypass the µC and just go through the parallelled chip-resistors, so it’s full-on only, without slipping into epilepsy mode.

And if she burns it down by leaving it on overnight or for days at a time (which she’ll positively deny doing), worst case the alkaleaks do what they’re famous for, and I’d just get another one of those 3×AAA holders.

But NFW is she ever getting a Li-based light.

[robk]

I will lend single AA or 2AA lights with alkaline batteries installed. Not worth worrying about good lights and good cells and safety. This policy only changes in “emergency” situations.

[Sprinkles]

I couldn’t agree more with almost all the comments above. I was recently asked to get a light for my uncle who wants “something like that light you have that lights up the whole park.” (=BLFQ8). No way is that happening. He’s getting a one mode modded 2AA light. That’s it. Plenty bright - very little risk. There’s only one person I ALMoST trust - my oldest son. He’s only 11, but he is extremely responsible. He uses a UT01 with a sanyo 14500, always leaves it 1/4 turn locked out, out of reach of his 4 siblings, and never charges it at night.

What I find is that non-flashaholics don’t want modes. Ever try to explain fwd vs rev clickies? How about just mode changing in general? Don’t even bother explaining what’s inside the damn thing - you’ll just get a blank stare!!

I get the requests for lights, but I politely steer them clear of anything modded or high power. Those bargain bin Harbor Freight 3aaa lights are juuuuust fine for the uninformed.

[teacher]

I could count the people I would loan a good light to on one hand & not use the thumb.
Anyone else would get a clunker with Enoloops in it… if they even asked.

And loaning a knife is even stricter than lights.

And loaning a gun is pretty much a no way.
.

.
That’s just how it is……….

[Macka17]

I Bought three SK68’s Originally. Red. Blue and silver.
AA Battery’s. Single push. On.OFF. $6.90 del AUD.

Borrow. Fine. Return, Up to you?. Hmmm.
Have the silver one left.
They cover inside home area nicely.
and SUPER safe.

Daughter bought 2 x Ultrafire SK69’s L2.
3 way switch. With 14600’s, or AA.
$6.95 AUD the pair, Del.
We have one each.
They a perfect little home and garden walkabout lamp.
I bought a Skyray S-R5-L6 around 7ish yrs ago .
That’s the most comfortable to hold long term torch I’ve ever held.
Again. Costing around $7 or so.
Need a new end cap\sw for that one.

I was drooling over an Imalent DN35 review other night when granddaughter was round.
She says “Maybe Grandad. maybeee”.
Apart from that (if ever) I can’t see the point in having all these “expensive” ones. You can only hold one at a time.
If I ever get financial again though……
I had 27 rods and reels. 2 x boats. 7 rifles and 2 shotguns
when I worked.
Loved my Winchester “pigeon grade” O\U 12g.

[Suncoaster]

@Macka17

I had 27 rods and reels. 2 x boats. 7 rifles and 2 shotguns
when I worked.
Loved my Winchester “pigeon grade” O\U 12g.

Lol.
Average price per fish was ?

[GRAY_LITNIN]

@teacher

I could count the people I would loan a good light to on one hand & not use the thumb.
Anyone else would get a clunker with Enoloops in it… if they even asked.

And loaning a knife is even stricter than lights.

And loaning a gun is pretty much a no way.
.

.
That’s just how it is……….

+1=winner

[ZozzV6]

I know the feeling!
And no one talked about scratches. The loaners don’t know how much money a light and I handle them so carefully that I have 3-4 year old convoys that I used daily and not a tiny scratch on them or missing anodizing. And I can say to anybody that is brand new and they belive. And I loan it for a day and finding 3 dents and 4-5 places where the anodizing missing showing bare aluminum and the lens has fingerprints and dust…
So I have SK68, Zanflare F2 and Eagle Eye X2R for them and that is all.

[Lightbringer]

@ZozzV6

I know the feeling!
And no one talked about scratches. The loaners don’t know how much money a light and I handle them so carefully that I have 3-4 year old convoys that I used daily and not a tiny scratch on them or missing anodizing. And I can say to anybody that is brand new and they belive. And I loan it for a day and finding 3 dents and 4-5 places where the anodizing missing showing bare aluminum and the lens has fingerprints and dust…
So I have SK68, Zanflare F2 and Eagle Eye X2R for them and that is all.

Same here. And that’s why if anyone asks to borrow a light, I’ll tell ’em to rack off.

Same with books. I used to get paperback tekkie books, databooks, handbooks, etc., and keep them in pristine condition. Apply that clear vinyl stick-on sheeting on the covers to keep them from getting worn on the edges. Keep them looking just off the bookshelf, if not off the presses.

Loan it to some putz for a day, and they come back looking like fæcal matter. Dog-eared pages, left resting open but face-down so now the pages have a perma-curl to them, cracked-open spine, nasty, nasty, nasty. They treat ’em like a daily newspaper, to be used and thrown out afterwards.

Never, ever, ever again.

[Zulumoose]

@Lightbringer

Same with books. I used to get paperback tekkie books, databooks, handbooks, etc., and keep them in pristine condition. Apply that clear vinyl stick-on sheeting on the covers to keep them from getting worn on the edges. Keep them looking just off the bookshelf, if not off the presses.

Loan it to some putz for a day, and they come back looking like fæcal matter. Dog-eared pages, left resting open but face-down so now the pages have a perma-curl to them, cracked-open spine, nasty, nasty, nasty. They treat ’em like a daily newspaper, to be used and thrown out afterwards.

Never, ever, ever again.

I remember the same with vinyl LPs. I was always careful to never ever touch the surface, edges and centre only. Never lowered the needle by hand. After decades of use my records looked brand new. Loaned an LP out to a good friend while she was in mourning over the loss of her husband, and after a week it looked like she had used sandpaper and a chisel all over it.

[Lightbringer]

@Zulumoose

I remember the same with vinyl LPs. I was always careful to never ever touch the surface, edges and centre only. Never lowered the needle by hand. After decades of use my records looked brand new. Loaned an LP out to a good friend while she was in mourning over the loss of her husband, and after a week it looked like she had used sandpaper and a chisel all over it.

Mine never went that far. I’d get a new album, clean the surface, play it once with an antistatic brush attached to the head (yet still balanced to maybe 1.0g-1.5g) to scoop up any stray dust, and set levels on my cassette deck, then the 2nd play would be recorded on TDK SAs or SA-Xes. Repeat for side B.

All my albums probably never saw more than 5-6 plays per side.

So needless to say, no one would ever so much as touch any of my albums. I’d lend out a cassette, or better just cook another copy, but that’s it.

What’s amazing is all these daytime judge shows, where one idiot lends another idiot his car, and hijinx ensue.

[Joss]

Hehe…I know that feeling too.
A friend of mine once asked me to borrow and try my Klarus XT11S for a weekend in the woods.
He always liked it much but when I carefully started to tell him the specs and some battery warnings, I suddenly saw a strange maniac smile on his face….“…you say waterproof down to 2 meters ?”. :smiling_imp:
You know how it ended…I lent him the flashlight and almost couldn’t sleep those days…
Flashlight came back intact and without a scratch.

[bibihang]

So far nobody want to borrow flashlight from me, so I don’t face such issue lol.

[GRAY_LITNIN]

@bibihang

So far nobody want to borrow flashlight from me, so I don’t face such issue lol.

You may have alot of friends soon talking like that around here lol!

[Trevi_lux]

My family use 1xAA, 2xAA, 2xAAA and 3xAAA lights with NiMH…I use the 3,7V ((although my father has appropriated my Armytek Doberman, I have placed a protected Fenix 3400 inside it)