Haha, true
That is a sweet setup you got there.
That “local” driver sounds interesting :student:
Haha, true
That is a sweet setup you got there.
That “local” driver sounds interesting :student:
I hope you can manage to use some auto-translator. If there’s interest, I can help to acquire.
I use them to replace what I’m missing in my life. Kids are too busy for me, i buy a light. Job ticks me off i buy a light. Wife ignores me, i buy a light. Not taking my medication, i buy a light. Taking my medication…waaaaiiiittttt!!! I’m seeing a pattern
I carry a quad Samsung LH351D W6 in 5000K on my belt all the time, I made it from scratch out of Titanium with a Tellurium Copper head finned for heat displacement. It uses an 18500 cell. That said, I also have the Texas Poker around my neck, designed by me and made for me by Photon Fanatic over 6 years ago. Yes, except for bathing the little 10440 light is with me always.
My 230+ collection is used as needed, all are on standby with charged cells.
But my primary use for flashlights is to keep me busy. Modifying them is my hobby and pastime and getting the absolute most out of a light is rewarding. A few of my friends think so too. lol I’ve been here what 6 years? And have built some 1000 lights. I learned how because I was a photographer and needed easy portable light for Macro images on location, rings, invitations, like that at weddings usually. Once I learned how, I quickly became addicted and the rest is history.
Edit: By the way, while I DO talk too much I got the tremendously high post count by helping with multiple group buys here, testing prototypes and building/testing prototype drivers while also answering the tons of questions on the lights from the folks in the forum wanting to join in the group buy. I have had physical issues for a couple of decades, which means I tend to have more free time than some… or no life, however you want to look at it. lol
My EDC
I edc a single sw45k in a Ti Stepless Rotary
I also have triples in Rotaries, 3500k by the bed, 4500k on the desk…
all are High CRI
I resemble those remarks…
I also use my light to find stuff I drop, to see inside my other flashlights, to walk through a dark house, illuminate a keyhole, before bed to reset my brain to warm white w low blue stimulus, to read labels, scan the back yard and driveway for homeless people that want to spend the night
and a lot of beam color photo comparisons to post on flashlight forums… lol
I work in an auto plant and photos are a huge no-no so I don’t have any action shots (I have only ever snuck about 6 photos out and one video of the place to show close friends / family) but I mostly use my light to locate dropped nuts, bolts & clips in the engine bay / bodies. I also use it to shine into the back glass to check if the defrost coupler has broken off the glass (it looks like a shiny spec in the glass if it has). Also to get peoples attention.
At home, since I work 2nd shift (4p-1a) I use my lights for all sorts of stuff cause I’m up at night. Mainly sneaking around to not wake up my wife lol. I also walk the dogs when I get home at 2am and do my vehicle maintenance at 3 in the morning. My main doing stuff time is 2a-5a so I’m always using a light!
Mostly I play with mine. They're cheaper than guns and knives and you can use them almost anywhere. I'm currently swapping different LEDs, reflectors and optics in and out of my platoon of S2+. A SST-20 behind a 20deg optic hits that sweet spot between flood and throw.
I ran a family (6) of trash bandits out of the yard the other night. A pair of C8 lights made them uncomfortable I guess.
EDIT: Did you know that racoon eyes reflect blue green when illuminated by a flashlight? Kinda surreal when there's a group of them.
Headlamps
Cleaning lights
Bathroom light
Closet light
UV Light
Keychain lights
- RovyVon A5R - almost everyday when I enter my home’s building, instead of lighting the stairs!
Neck light
Bedside light
- Sofirn SP32 (v1.0) - I have this light on my bedside with a Convoy cone diffuser and use it every night instead of the bedside lamp. Either on Moon or Low, just before going to sleep so that I don’t have to deal with a brighter light before bedtime. It have it inside a foam ring so that it tailstands well.
Backpack light
Indoor lights
- Convoy S2+ Desert Tan Triple; Sofirn SF10 w/ Luxeon V - these have lighted tailcaps, one sits in my living room and the other in my bedroom. These are used everyday before I go to bed. Having drivers with low moonlight levels, they are ideal for the eyes starting adapting to bedtime !
Wallet light
EDC lights
Walking lights
- Olight M2R Warrior, Klarus XT1C - When I go for a night walk, alone or with my girlfriend, I normally pick one of these lights to go out. Both have immediate access to Turbo and Strobe, so they are useful to signaling my position on crosswalks of darker places. They’ve been useful as sometimes drivers are looking to the moon instead of the road…
Countryside light
Special Lights
OTHERs
Well, many other lights are just sitting in the box, waiting for a new light to come to help on the comparison. I try to use them every month so they don’t get lonely, but it’s not always possible. I normally use them when I want to compare or show something.
And this is how I use my lights! Am I sick?
My throwers for the nightly perimeter check - we live on 20 acres - and don’t mind carrying 26650 lights for that. Plus the D4S for when more flood is needed or to show off to my wife.
The 18650 lights are for coming home late at night (and to support BLF group buys). I use whatever light has a battery that needs discharging, but like the FW3’s and BLF A6 most. In fact that A6 is my favorite even though it is said to be “an old design and there are better choices now,” but it is perfect for me, like an old friend. Maybe the FW3 titanium/copper will change that when it arrives.
The BLF LT1 lanterns will be for power outages and will get a lot of use.
Backpacking (true confession here), I just cannot leave without my cat v6. But use a headlight around camp.
Whatever provides good use and is fun!
I use my lights to be able see things like I did when I was twenty-something… lithium-ion revenge upon the calendar… had to say it…
photography
finding tiny things on floor [lay light down, shine across floor]
illuminating magnifiers
avoiding finding unfamiliar light switches in rooms i will not be in long
inspecting under a car in daylight [need lots of lumens]
reading close up things in the dark [need very few lumens]
also if the light is too bright, i will point it away from the actual subject
[like kids trying to sleep]
or tailstand it to light the room but not go bright in a face
or close my hand around it to block some of the light
wle
Basics, mainly. Lighting up things when dark, tailstanding as a small nightlight when leaving a room vs turning on a light, lighting up a room vs turning on a light (eg, haven’t turned on the basement lights in years).
I work in telephony (among other hats I wear). While I’ve considered high/ultra CRI for working with 25- to 100-pair cable, I haven’t had issues yet with my 70CRI Luxeons. I’m carrying my D25C more and more these days, especially since swapping in a Luxeon V2.
Everything else seems to fall under EDC. I guess my L6 serves “MagLite” duty as a dual-purpose illuminator and club in my home. Haven’t had to use it as a club, and hope to never. Kind of a last resort thing there.
You have got to stop showing me that incredible purple knife! It’s well established by my post history that purple is my favorite color, and other than the steel type you chose (and that’s not far off) it ticks every mark on my folder wish list.
That pair of lights is pretty cool. I think it’s awesome that you’re also carrying something unique - a sentimentality that’s sometimes lost on lumen-chasers. And it ties right in with modding, and what I love about it too: Taking a light and making it yours. If I could build a light from scratch, I absolutely would, and I’d never carry anything else (well, I would, but in addition to rather than instead of). My wife and I are both clear on that about light modding: I’m not doing it to save money vs. buying a different light, I’m doing it to make something I want (kind of like art) and for the enjoyment of the process.
P.S. You don’t talk too much Dale, this place is better for your blabbering
I’m legally blind, so streetlights aren’t enough for me when I’m walking around at night. My 5000K Convoy L4 does nicely in medium mode, though, with high in reserve.
I wear impact gloves because I’m always bashing my hands on things, so I use the L4 in 2-cell configuration to make it bigger and harder to fumble. I’m not complaining about the extra runtime, either!
I also like the L4’s forward-clicky tail switch and the very prominent side switch for mode selection, which makes the light easy to operate by touch in the dark with the gloves on.
I carry a Convoy S2+ with a 4000K 95CRI SST20 LED on my belt for general purpose EDC. High CRI helps me get the most from my remaining eyesight, and the tight beam works well with my tunnel vision.
I always have a BLF-348 with me when I’m awake, even when I’m just wearing pyjamas. That’s the light I use when I’m trying to find things I’ve dropped on the floor. I’ve also placed the clip for head-up carry, which lets me use the light as a headlamp on my baseball cap. Conventional headlamp straps foul my hearing aids, so the BLF-348 sees a lot of headlamp duty.
Finally, I have a Nitecore MT06MD on my desk for general use in the house. I use that one for wandering about at night with the lights off (to avoid disturbing people who are sleeping), finding things I’ve dropped (again) and examining things like electronic components close up. That last is a combination of extra light to read tiny print and high CRI to read colour codes, depending on the part.
That's pretty cool!
Luckily, I've never run into raccoons in real life.
found a new use for my Sofirn C01, modding:
Oh, the irony… :person_facepalming:
Yep, Raccoon City is a bit of a misnomer.
I've never seen raccoons in the Resident Evil movies or video games.
I haven't played every one of the games, however.
I have a few Zebralights, a few D4’s, a Olight M18, a armytek partner C1, and a DQG tiny 18650 in my normal EDC rotation. I don’t have a favorite or anything. They all serve the purpose I carry them for. Light when I need it. It’s a tool to me, nothing more, nothing less.
I have a bunch more lights but they are mostly a bunch of S2+’s, they are simple for the wife and kids. They are in camping boxes, near every door, and just laying about. Got 3 with extra cells in a small bag for electricity outages. Have a few soda can lights that get zero use. Just had to have them, you know how that goes. I use a few Jetbeam RRT-01 and the Sunwayman V11R around the house, all with proper emitters in them. Got a gaggle of C8’s in all kinds of emitter varieties. Nice for searching the property at night. I make rounds everytime I grab a smoke at night.
The wife use to look at me funny when I would wear a headlamp around when I was doing something. I told her it frees up a hand and puts light right where I am looking. She asked to use it in the garden at night since it was cooler. Now she’s hooked and only gardens at night now. Now I have to buy a new H03 for me again. Friend gave me a Acebeam AA/14500 headlamp, forget the model number. I use it now that she stole the H03.
EDC lights if ya care to see em. They surely aren’t shelf queens.