Another new member, this time from northern Thailand. Well, not exactly new as I signed up 3 weeks ago but up till now I’ve been reading, reading and reading, and I think I’ve only seen a few percent of this forum full of (flash-)light knowledge. Stop writing guys, so I can catch up!
Sofar I’ve posted only 1 post, in an “I’m interested” thread but I think now it is time to introduce myself.
I’m not much of a flashoholic (yet), also no collector, just somebody that occasionally needs a light here and there, in a country where we have short days (12 hrs. light, 12 hrs darkness and very few variation between the seasons) and the frequent power cuts due to the spaghetti that hangs from those power poles.
Somewhere I do have a drawer full of various sizes and colors Maglites from a different era, most of ’m broken or parts missing, also a few old fashioned lanterns that run on kerosene, and until recently my only LED lights were a $2 “police special” with strobe(!) that a visitor left me, as well as the front- and backlight on my mountainbike.
As that “police special” would no longer even light up the path 3 meters in front of me, one day I decided I needed something better. Found a few different ones for sale here in Thailand, read up about them on this forum an pulled the trigger on a $ 30 Nitecore P30. Click on, choose mode, use, click off. That’s it, sorted!, I thought.
I kept lurking here on this forum and discovered there’s a whole new world, full of endless abbrivations and numbers I did not understand. I still don’t, and I doubt if I ever will. Do I need to? No, most of you guys know these flashlights inside out, open them up when you don’t and change them to your likings. Luckily some of you explain in simple words what it is, what it does and what it doesn’t do. Thank you!
There’s still a substantial part of this forum threads that read like a foreign language to me. More than often I find myself in search of the meaning of one of these abbrivations or other technical specs. Soon I’ll end up with a completely new vocabulary, I think.
I’m very happy with all the reviews, the photos, the thread full of coupons like Fin 17’s (thanks Fin!) and the links to more information. Problem is that, too often, I wander off the forum webpage, ending up at the manifactures website, a review on Youtube or trying to find the best price on various sites, only to end up with a completely different model light on my wishlist. I can easily have 20 or so new tabs open in the space of half an hour, getting more confused with every other new page full of goodies.
I’ll learn, hopefully, one day… I’m just more of a guy that appreciates the formfactor/design/looks of a light. That, combined with the light output makes me interested in a light. I’m not in search of 6 or 7 digits of lumens or a throw 3 villages down the road. I’m no law enforcement officer, nor a hunter or a flashlight collector so there’s no need for the best, most powerfull or the latest. Basic, simple and not too expensive for the time being (coughs).
The next few weeks I’ll have a good look at some older threads, the availability of certain lights in Thailand or on the internet and wait for my very first order on Banggood; a Sofirn SP70 and a few 26650 batteries.
For long I thought my Eneloop rechargeable collection was ’state-of-the-art’ amongst the numerous copies of famous battery brands available left and right here in Thailand, but no, I was wrong.
I’m afraid I’ll soon end up with a modest collection of 14500s, 18650s, 21700s, 26650s and more, so for my birthday a few weeks ago I got a nice Xtar VC4S battery charger so I guess I’m ready for all those …er… basic and simple flashlights.
I’m off to the market to get some food, quick, before I again start reading another thread. Have a nice 4th of July celebration! ’wadee khrap, na khrap!