I have posted this on the other forum months ago but I’d like to know and probably share among ourselves in this site what are the things in this hobby of ours that, if given the chance, or I would say, if you are to start this hobby all over again, what are the things you should have done/not have done, bought or not have bought, and so on and so forth…
In my case, my first baptism was a dynamo-driven bicycle light way back in the Sixties. Fast forward to a 3 D-cell Maglite in the 80s. Then a long hiatus. Then late last year I saw on display a Chinese-made LED, zoomable at that, that started to awaken my love again with bright lights and well-made things. If I stumbled on this forum, ( and on the other one ) earlier I should not have bought that flashlight, instead gather information for a much better one.
Anyway, my reading on this forum has shortened my learning process (and saved a lot by not buying on impulse) considerably.
Your thoughts and experiences to be shared will surely have the same effect to the other people here, especially to the newer ones. Thanks
I wish I had discovered BLF before I started night riding, but alas, BLF did not exist at that point...
Instead, I researched and followed a very good forum for MTB riding and bought a few rather expensive dedicated bike lights. They were good, but really overkill for my style of riding, as I don't do technical mountain biking. And at $200-$350 a pop for upper-middle range lights, pretty much overpriced. When I think of the flashlights I could buy for $350 now.... :~
I should probably do less impulse buying, as several have been dogs, but if it weren't for impulse buys, I wouldn't have some really cool lights like my Sipik clone, HD2010 and of course my custom mods like the JohnnyMac Mini-Mag, Chicago-X's turbo charged XM-L SE-1 or Old Lumen's Triple AA Mini-Mag.
I still don't know or understand much about electronics and may never do my own mods, but through BLF I have learned a tremendous amount and can appreciate the work that others do. And I have some killer flashlights.
I'm afraid I've become a bit of a light snob since I got here . Everything about a light matters more . The UI , the beam profile , the tint , and the looks of a light have to meet my increasingly narrowing standards to pass muster .
Now that I have experienced having custom mods done ( by E1320 ) I find few commercially available lights that can compete .
I paid too much for some Mini Maglite upgrades on eBay. They were a little behind the times even then and I don’t use them much. They are maybe 60 lumens, but I thought they were really bright! Then I bought a Fenix L2D, but the LD20 was available. The L2D had a lot of good reviews and the LD20 hadn’t been out long enough, with some people saying it wasn’t as good. Should have bought the newer edition, but the L2D is nice too. To try out different things, I also got a battery tube for 1xAA and a tube and switch for 1xCR123A. Disappointment all around: the L2D is bright, but too long, the 1xAA is the right length but much dimmer, and the 1xCR123A just seems too short. It was a learning experience, but I spent almost $100 getting the light and extra parts, probably.
I bought a 3xAAA zoomie on eBay and wound up giving it away. I bought a fake Solarforce L2 because it included an extension for 2x18650, but the light is just too long with the extension and I only recently got a drop-in that can handle the extra voltage.
Other than that, I’m happy with most of the lights I have. I certainly don’t need all of them, but at the same time I would have a hard time giving very many of them away. The lights that make me happiest are ones I have custom built with neutral emitters and drivers with non-flashy modes. I couldn’t believe people would buy a $15 light and tear it up to put another $15 worth of parts in it, but now I’ve done that.
I definitely would have made the jump from 2xRCR123 to 18650 a lot sooner. I have been a CPFer since 2005 and for probably my first ~3-4 years I would only buy lights that used 2-RCR123. Back then lights were not fully regulated with one 18650. In hindsight however, the single cell convenience and safety outweighs the slowly diminishing output, and I should have gone this route to begin with. Fast forward to today and lights are better regulated at lower Vin.
I definitely would have made the jump from 1xRCR123 to Eneloop 1AA a lot sooner. The RCR123 lights at that time were in the 150 Lumen vicinity, but only ran for ~20-25 minutes. I would have to belt-pack carry extra RCR123 cells to supplement run times. The 1AA designs were a little bigger and not quite as bright, but ran longer. The 1-RCR123 format is still great though if size is a concern.
Energizer AA lithium primaries. They are expensive, but IMHO their reduced weight is a GODSEND for lights like Zebralight headlamps. The extra weight of Eneloops can very easily be felt on my forehead. Should have made this jump long ago, although one can’t argue with the $$$ saved using eneloops all these years.
Zebralight headlamp… DEFINITELY (absolutely) should have gotten one of these on day-1. I think I went 3-4 years knowing about ZLs, before actually getting one. My thinking was “Heck its only ~80-100 Lumens, it can’t throw farther than I can urinate, how useful can it be?” Then I borrowed one on a CPF night hike to light the ground infront of me and was like WOW.
DITCH THE ALKALINES!!! 5-6 destroyed lights later I finally learn. A lot of manufacturers include them with the light so its hard to resist the temptation to use them, “heck I paid good $$ for them”.
I didn’t believe in the lighting capabilities of budget lights, i assumed they were pure fantasy, until i met someone who bought several DX lights, i was very impressed with their brightness, and i learned a lot about lithium batteries. I wish i had met this fellow years ago!
I would like to learn more about LEDs, i now know enough to only buy xm-l chips, but i don’t understand the datasheets fully, and i’m only recently learning about drivers, i have a lot to learn still.
I would have bought only eneloops as soon as they came out (who knew at the time), and have gotten into lithium batteries already, and having a la crosse smart NiMH charger is an excellent investment. I only have one high powered flashlight so far (200 lumen), but i bought the cyclone c88 last week, so i’m waiting to be impressed by its capabilities, assuming it lives up the fanfare from awesomefoy and all the others!
I’d go so far as to say skip not only the P60’s but C8’s as well. Definitely skip alkalines and (for me) flash modes. For the most part I’ve skipped tail cap switches as well (and funky bezels and fins).
A few 18650’s and AA and AAA Eneloops are all I need. If you start with a Zebralight H51f, Thrunite TI and Ultrafire T-50 you might just decide to stop there
I wouldnt buy most of my cheap lights again. And go for better charger+cells right away.
I would buy my L2P (mainly because its blue) again, but with a custom dropin right away. Smallsun ZY-C10, UF980L, UF-H3 and Thrunite Ti would also be on my list. T50 maybe, right now I'm too cheap for it, maybe if I had bought fewer lights..
I would have made the jump to 18650, 14500 and maybe 10440 early instead of being afraid of all those urban legends of your house exploding. The first time I popped a 14500 into my Jetbeam BA-10, I realized that 14500s are the real deal and later 18650 and once I get my 10440s from Priceangel, I will prob like them as well.
I completely forgot about that. I made the same rookie mistake that many did: Bought Ultrafire 3000mAh because the number was higher, they were cheaper and the wrappers looked so shiny and new. Now with the exception of a set of Callie's Kustoms 3100, my stand by's are Xtar, Hi-Max and Solarforce level quality, although I admit to having a few carefully chosen Trustfire flames. It is so good to have the resource of HKJ, Old4570, benckie and other's reviews before buying batteries. Thanks to you all!
I’m thankful for these similar stories. Since lurking before buying, I believe I have saved a lot ( and more safe too ) that I bought straight into a C9000 and a Pila IBC without passing thru those cheap and dangerous junks.
I haven’t gone into modification yet but it seems almost all of you are into it already.
I didnt buy complete crap in the first place. I bought TF2400 from DX (fake) and then TF3000 from MF. If I had to start over again, I would buy something like Xtar, Solarforce, Himax, Keeppower, Enerpower, Redilast.. any good brand (if priced reasonable) except AW. :)
Oh, forgot about the charger. I had a 7$ noname crap from DX.. now I'd just buy the XTAR WP2 (maybe SP2 now) or something from Cottonpicker.
Even if I was pooping gold, I wouldnt buy AW. I also wouldnt buy almost any flashlight in Germany. They double the $ price for most lights. Or batterys.
That’s what I like with the Fenix TK41/70, SC600 and XT11. Those strobeflash modes are not among the power modes that you go through sequentially.
Although I’d wish someone will design a flashlight that has 3 INDIVIDUAL power mode switches (lo/med/hi) plus the power on/off.
I’d like to go to the mode directly that I like without passing through other modes.
