I must confess, 90% of the lumen are spent to power my unrealistic adventurous fantasy I imagined to escape stressful city life, 10% of the lumen are put to real use 1% of the time. I think deep down we are all compensating for something, like how they say who drives the biggest car has the smallest dick, but hey I have spare money and its going to inflate so…
For me it’s lux instead of lumens.
Gotta have the longest beam!!!
I think that’s why I let go of the lumen obsession. Nowadays I don’t really want any of those lumen monsters or throw snipers, I just want a Convoy S2 and a smooth-reflector C8, both with Biscotti and in 5B or 4C tint.
Also, welcome to BLF! :nerd_face:
I didn’t own a flashlight until recently and my life was totally fine without them. Came to LEDs after I saw a few pcbs with high-power emitters on FPV racers (fast/ultra-agile quad- or multicopters) and thought I should look for a forum about LEDs and flashlights. I have always had older, incandescent flashlights but haven’t used them at all.
I’ll be totally frank here, I didn’t see much use for a light back when we only had incans - they’ve always been a curio for me, but little more. What got me hooked is how consistently good, efficient, versatile and hassle-free the high power LED ones are nowadays.
Ha, I like Candela too, for that I have lasers 
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@Jack Kellar
Thanks! I must complete my journey as a lumen whore first, that won’t take long, my X45 is shipping. Soon I can ascent to a tint snob, my next target is zebralight high cri headlight
The thing I like most about thrower flashlights is being able to see the long pencil beam
With lasers it’s not very visible unless you’re really close to it, because the diameter is so small.
That’s what she said. 
That escalated quickly.
Compensating for lack of sun.
My EDC is (and likely always will be) a 1-mode WF502B with 5000K XP-L with mild OP reflector (just recently swapped from SMO) being run at only 1A or so. Simple on/off, great runtime, decent light, infinitely moddable, cheap enough to be able to rebuild one in a jiffy if something were to happen to it.
When I need something brighter or with more throw, I’ll get the appropriate light and take it with me. Critter-spotting in the backyard, my F13 works wonders lighting it all up. Long-range sniping, my L2. When I smell skunk, my F1 (medium for looking, doubleclick for turbo/flare if needed). And then I just rotate my assortment of lights as I see fit or whenever the whim strikes me. But they’re tabled, not carried.
As much as I like the new crop of tubelights (Zanflare, Sofirn, etc.), it’s harder for me to carry them, as I don’t have an easy-access holster, and don’t want them getting beat to Hell by keys, coins, etc. in my pocket. And clips suck, so let’s not even go there (first thing I strip off any new light if it has one).
I just want a tool that works. Don’t need 25 modes and 5k lumens, not for an EDC light.
Kinda my philosophy right there. I’ve been using the Tool Nichia for almost everything, and not really because of the CRI as much as because it’s simple and comfortable. For extended use, I’ve been rolling with an S2 in 3x7135 or my Biscotti M1 in mode 8 (0,1% → 1% → 10% → 50%), often without a clip. For longer ranges I just pop my C8, great thrower even with the OP reflector.
Now I want an S2 with Biscotti, because the form factor of the M1 has sharp-edged fins on the head that bother my hand (very thin skin) and the S2’s stock 3/5 UI, with the blinky on low and no moonlight, comparatively speaking, just blows chunks. I want that and absolutely nothing else; not an Acebeam lumen monster, not a Thrunite mega-thrower, not even a Convoy L6 (gave up on that one with the battery size and new import rules thing).
Why people don’t need a flashlight ?
Because they switch on the chandeliers when they (!) consider it to be too dark.
If there ain’t no fixed lights to switch on where they want to go - they simply don’t go there. :weary:
Of course, I totally disagree:
It can never be too dark and I have a tendency to the dark spots.
The only time I turn on the fixed lights is when the amount of light and period I need exceeds the capacity of the flashlight I have with me. (Which is rare. :smiling_imp: ) (And btw: I have been a flashaholic ever since I can think of.)
But yes, as posted before, the power-grid has become more and more relyable and the light-pollution is rampantly expanding. 
[quote=Peardrop
I think part of it is that a lot of people don’t realise how big an improvement over what went before a modern, halfway decent LED torch is. I don’t see them in the shops much so I think they are mostly bought over the internet, and that makes a lot of people less likely to buy them.[/quote]
Yes, fully agree - unfortunately !
I have to admit I got tired of looking for/at lights in retail outlets or even “usual” online shops. I consider it alarming, unbelievable and frustrating what totally overpriced total crap is sold in most places. Ok, this might apply to other departments as well, but personally, I think for flashlights this is extreme. If it’s the 10 USD plastic gimmick in the grocery store or the 100 USD fancy allegedly high-tech LED monster in the tech-outlet - both are overpriced by the factor of 10. :confounded: Even online, on many websites you “accidentially stumble across”, you will find the same, partially even more extreme, I don’t need to tell you.
So, yes, as some posts in this thread suggest, maybe we can indeed “make the world a bit better” by showing proof to other’s what bang they can can get actually for the buck - regardless whether they spend 2, 10 or 100 USD. Showing off and educating have in common that they tend not to be appreciated, but the latter has a larger chance to make a change to the better. :innocent: :innocent: :innocent:
I usta carry my S2+ in my bag, but the damned blink-on-low just bugged me to the point where I retired that light altogether. Ain’t even in my rotation anymore (bag or table), and won’t be ’til I bother to take it apart and reflash it or just replace the driver. Shame, ’cause I really like the S2 as a host.
I still like the shape and feel of the ’502. No jagged edges or spikes coming out or anything like that. Semi-rounded where it counts. Plus, I’ve kinda been teethed on the ’501 and ’502, so to me they’ll always be Flashlights™, if you know what I mean.
I’ve thought of purchasing two Biscotti drivers to mod my S2 and C8, but ultimately I’ve decided to just get a new S2. For what it is, this S2 I have is by no means a bad light, and it’d have its uses, and I don’t care about the C8’s driver since I only use it at the highest or second-highest mode anyway.
I was going to mod my non-Biscotti C8 with the upgraded driver from Simon but after I got annoyed at how hard it was just to take off the retaining ring (I did eventually get it off), I just gave up and bought a new C8 that already had Biscotti. So much easier since I haven’t regularly used a soldering iron in 10+ years. I probably got the new C8 in the mail faster than I would have gotten the driver too.
Same here. I don’t trust my soldering hand, and a small envelope is more likely to be held in the mail.