BTW, those Q8s are not mine.
I made an excel with all my flashlights, and I try to stay under 20, so usually I sell my lesser used ones so I have room to buy more
Haha, at least collecting flashlights is harmless compared to other hobbies! Yes, ff made me a deal I couldn't refuse.
you had me fooled there for a second.
Thankfully that’s not a problem for me. I try my best to not buy torches that overlap much with others I already have - UI, beam pattern, tint, at least something has to be very distinct. Both because I don’t like the idea of “jewelry” lights and because money is critically short.
As a result, my collection is at a grand total of 9 at the moment. Only two of those (a Thrunite TN12 2014 and a slightly defective Olight S30, both cool whites) see little use.
I hope you haven’t found the Cacoward-winning fan-made WADs then, for your own good 
Well said Nev!! :+1: . Spoken like a true flashlight addict…… 
I like this thread .. Downsizing is a wonderful idea ... For all those that need to unburden their weary souls there is a slot under the window in the confessional for lightly used shelf queens .
Downsize lol find another shelf. Just went through 2 hurricanes in a month. All those lights need batteries. So I have a littokala 2 bay charger. This saved my life what batteries I had . It can be used as a USB charger also. So it ran my USB fan and kept my phone charged for a week with no powe. So my wife,neighbors ,church members are now believers in my hobby. At night my queen’s like the dx80 and blf gt keep looters away as I could see them coming from a mile away lol.
I also did the same thing. I put in every flashlight (and batteries) that I’ve kept since belonging to BLF, including mods and parts into a spreadsheet. I did it more to keep track of the various parts I used in my mods and current measurements. I didn’t include the tools I acquired, like a soldering iron, since I figured they are used for other repairs around the house.
I was quite shocked with the total costs! It seemed like a lot of money for mere flashlights. More than I would’ve ever imagined spending on flashlights. But I guess it’s a hobby and I’ve learned a lot and had a bunch of fun over the years.
Downsizing? Hmm, that would be hard. I’m not sure which one I could give up. They all get used or serve a purpose.
So my dilemma now is to figure out which flashlight I want to build next. I’ve been patient, but I’ve also started a shopping cart at Mountain Electronics. :person_facepalming:
I am trying to downsize but new lights keep popping up. Lol.
D40a was the king of the AA back then… i think it was putting 1000 lumen… now rot66 is about the same size as d40a and 7000 lumen output. Technology is fast.
David already said he’d take free lights, and someone before him made the same generous offer, but he offered to pay shipping. Sadly, I think you’re third, but there may be enough to go around.
Oh, I had a drive full of ’em. Some were so obscenely huge that an “arena” where you’d see lots of stuff would bring my old laptop to a crawl. As in 4-5fps update rate with considerable lag.
So true. My case is most likely one of the worse here. I have lights still sealed in package so not considered shelf queen. But rather ” GOLDEN QUEEN ” These are doubles/triples of the same light. Here’s some examples.
BLF GT
MF Tactical Mini Monster
Various Bat Lights
Nitecore TM28
Lots of Sofirn lights
Maglite 300L Chase Silver version
plus many more.
Sadly for my ‘bottom line’, I can relate mmalive. . . :person_facepalming:
It is truly a disease isn’t it……. :money_mouth_face:
Personally, I just stopped buying lights after the initial buying spree.
I’ve already got a 15k+ lumen monster, a 5k lumen high CRI soda can, a high CRI efficient EDC, a 700m+ thrower.
The only thing I’m lacking now is a high CRI headlamp and lantern.
Yeah, I think I gotta stop before I go crazy and broke. Just bought a few more Sofirn Lights, Powertac, Thrunite and some other stuff.
I will keep key lights. Not buy every cool light that comes out.
I think my rule is if I want another light I have to sell 2-3 off.
By doing that, it helps converse space and encompasses only the light I really want.
The same goes for special editions. Only keep key ones.
Personally, I think the reason some people buy too many lights is that getting a perfect light for every form factor+usage is really hard.
I modded my Q8 with LH351Ds and BeCu springs, and AR lens. The only thing I would want to do would be to replace the driver with a FET+7135+16*7135 to get maximum runtime and efficiency.
I modded my Thorfire TK15 with an LH351D. I only want a reflector swap for an OP one, and it would become my definite EDC.
My GT Mini is already very good, no problems there. Perhaps the springs should be upgraded, but they are already good.
My MT09R is already very good since it has 80CRI 5300k XHP 70.2s along with awesome power, and only the springs should be upgraded.
These are the lights I mainly use. I probably should get rid of the Astrolux C8 and Imalent HR20 I have, as they serve no purpose to me. Perhaps I should give the Astrolux S42 to DavidEF too.
I just now need a high CRI headlamp and the BLF lantern, and I’ll be fulfilled.
I think that’s only half of it.
“The right tool for the job” is the one half. There are times you need an AA light, an 18650 light, a headlamp, a monster like a Q8, etc. Even within the 18650 class, you’d want a (B’harni forgive me for using the word) “tactical” light with a momentary-on switch and either no modes, or a separate switch for modes (eg, tail-clicky for on/off and side-clicky for modes, like the UT20), or an “everyday” light for versatility, also like the UT20 or MH20/MH20GT.
You want a flooder (aspheric or at least wide-angle TIR) for working close-in, grubbling around in a dark room, lighting your path when snowy/rainy, etc.
You want a thrower to check to see what’s making that racket in the backyard or out in the field.
No one light does it both (and zoomies suck as far as efficiency and an LED-Bat-Signal when fully zoomed), and often, different tasks are mutually-exclusive.
The other half is the fact that we keep on searching for that One Perfect Light that tries to tick all the boxes. Better UI, better tint/CT/CRI, better beam, better switches (not as in quality, but as in side/tail/both).
Most times, that’s a compromise, too.
So we don’t rely on Just One Light to do it all, but get, well, lots. :laughing:
Anyway, soapbox mode off.