Why do people collect flashlights?

According to my parents my first word was “lightbulb”, so, I’ve always been facisnated with light. I was also an electronics geek as a kid and LEDs were my favorite component. Back then it was just the dim red or green indicator lights but once we reached the point we’re at today it was inevitable that I would become mildly obsessed.

Maybe it’s because I was a boy scout as a kid or something but I just don’t feel right without a flashlight and a pocket knife on me.

This. I don’t “collect” I “accumulate” and every now and then the discards box yields up giveaways for family and friends.

First I wanted a reliable amber light —- that took me through modifying lights to put in amber emitters, and learning about the different manufacturers, and learning about forward voltages and drivers.

Then I wanted a multiply capable light — that took me into making amber zoomies.

Then I learned about TK and Anduril and I started looking for the most me-friendly UI, which is a stern chase is a long chase situation as Anduril keeps getting better in some lights.

And somewhere along in there I learned about higher capacity cells and started scrutinizing my big steel battery box ….

It’s fascinating.
I don’t know why.
Like cameras; I don’t know how they work; but I like what they do.

Really, it’s my wife’s fault. I asked for a flashlight for Christmas and she bought me four.

But, uh, more reasonably? I have an idea for what I want out of a light, or a mod I want to do, and try to get it right. The failures accumulate, but so do the successes. It’s neat to have a couple different form factors or types of light (like zoomie, thrower, flooder), and now I have a choice of what I want to “wear” each morning and that’s kind of nice.

Way cheaper than collecting guns.

The other night when I was walking my dogs, it occurred to me that, I was carrying 5 flashlights on me. Does that make me a collector? A very old boy out playing? A technician in search of the perfect tool? Someone with OCD for flashlights?

Just ordered a high quality AA headlamp to “complete” my “collection”. OTOH, I might just have to get a BLF A6 or FW or perhaps a TH30 just to get the wow factor my “collection” is lacking. Does this make me a collector?

Who knows. Interesting question. I enjoy being able to turn night into day, have just enough light to avoid obstacles without disturbing others, or just plain see well enough to complete a given task regardless of ambient light levels. For some strange reason I also enjoy the feel in my hands and the looks of certain lights.

Perhaps a good deal of it is just being a very old boy. I remember playing with discarded carbon zinc batteries that the railroad crews would abandon along the tracks in my small town. These were big lantern batteries and were fun to tear apart. Those amazing lanterns put out a lot of light back then. Of course every one of the 5 lights mentioned above would put those lights to shame — even the tiny AAA that is in my pocket always. I just think that is cool.

Now if I were truly a collector I would have to have this:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/delta-astrolite-6v-sealed-beam-1899780140

With the kind of cell that I used to love to disassemble as a child.

Pretty sure my flashlight proclivity started with something very much like this.

Wade

> lantern batteries

Yeah, I just helped an elderly neighbor buy two 6v batteries for her big old 12v fluorescent earthquake-cache lantern.

And that led me to this

I wonder when someone will build a lantern to use it.

The LED changed the game completely, concerning flashlights. Consumer incandescent flashlights were boring. Surefire and a few other brands made some seriously impressive looking & feeling incandescent flashlights, but for major $$ to acquire. So little choice. Plus, you could forget about affordable miniaturized flashlights that had any decent illumination capability.

Now, with China manufacturing capable of achieving decent quality standards, so many reasonably priced highly capable LED flashlights are available and for not much money. It’s so easy to buy these on a whim. So, collecting is also easily facilitated.

Also, since LED emitter efficiency has achieved a phenomenal level now, compared to 10 years ago, what you buy today doesn’t feel “obsolete” all that fast.

Lastly, for us men, having hand held devices is a kind of “empowerment” thing. We love tools. We love to use them. And illumination is an important tool. I remember years ago finding myself in situations where a flashlight would sure come in handy and being frustrated. This was before cellphones had bright LED’s that could be used for illumination. Those little key chain lights were always so anemic. Today? Unbelievable the amount of micro illumination possible. An Olight i1R that’s half the size of a pinky on a large man’s hand can pump out 150 lumens. I keep one on my car fob key chain. I also pocket an AAA light at all times. Then a larger EDC when I’m heading out in the evening. I’m never without light. NEVER. :sunglasses:

And safer!

Isn’t that more like ‘hurrrr hurrrr hurrrr’ ? :laughing:
(Dutch TV ran the show too)


I always liked flashlights, even as a kid. Coupons in the Sunday paper for free Rat Shack flashlights, to my first Mag when they came out, to… this.

Why— Most of my Gun Collection does exactly what my Flashlight Collection does— Take them out of the safe every so often / Try them out (not in the yard though) / clean them up / put them away till next time I feel like they need attention

I wouldn’t say I collect them, but have amounted to owning a collection :slight_smile:

Since 1 flashlight can’t accomplish every task well, there is always compromise.
I have a collection to offer options when it comes to
1)Throw vs Flood
2)Colour Temperature
3)Size

Those three variables alone translate to one too many lights.

Trying to use one light for everything is like trying to use vise-grips for everything, too. Sure, you can clamp onto a nut as a wrench would (at the risk of stripping the corners, etc.), or use the thick end of it as a hammer, etc., but it’s not a do-everything tool.

Similarly, I want a light as a nightstand light, as a take-out-the-garbage light, a what’s-making-that-noise light, a who-are-those-asshats-by-my-car light, and so on.

So size, flood/throw, color-temp, sheer power, etc., are all factors to having different lights for different uses.

Eg, for a nightstand light, sure, I can use a Q8 in moonlight mode, but it weighs 18lbs. I’d much rather have an SP10 instead.

Just pick the right tool for the job… and with a lot of jobs, that means a lot of lights.

There are some good answers and some less good answers here. Thanks to everyone who has made a contribution. Outside of having a real need to fulfill a specific purpose or set of purposes, I could not see or discern any real rational reason to 'collect flashlights'. Further, I get the impression that it is a pursuit mainly practiced by older guys, rather than say many younger age or other gendered group demographics but to reiterate, this is just an impression and of course there are exceptions - I tip a nod to Flying Luminosity.

So I return again to why do people collect flashlights. The answer it seems is multifarious and some inclusions to it have already been alluded to in some of the previous posts. Perhaps it is no coincidence that gun collecting was also frequently mentioned. Indeed, it seems as though many flashlight collectors are or were also gun collectors. With this in mind, here is my take on why people collect flashlights and I stress that this is just an expression of opinion:

1) Appreciation of well engineered and well made (now) high tech tools that can serve a very real and useful purpose. Appreciating them perhaps as art forms that have a certain beauty to them. They could be percieved as being at the pinnacle of where form meets function.

2) Size, weight, feel in the hand. Handling and manipulating a usually hand sized tool designed to be used in hand. The better ones feel really comfortable to hold and are very easy to operate in that way. The ability the hold and operate such an object, imparts a certain degree of satisfaction, much more so than operating many other handheld items, for example, a screw driver or can opener, etc.

3) There is some ego boost to having a tool that meets the above criteria that also has a certain "power" to it.

  1. Power: Most of the really well made flashlights, are really bright, much more so than the usual crop of small dollar not so well made or tech heavy flashlights that can be had at the local hardware store, that is, not so "speciality" flashlights. When I say bright, I mean either in lumens or candelas, either flood lights or search lights.

  2. Power: Ownership of one or more speciality flashlights could give an owner a real ego boost, knowing that he/she has a tool of certain "power" (as per 3i), that anybody else in their neighbourhood is most unlikely to have! Kudos.

  3. Power: Much has been talked about the 'defensive' capabilities of 'high power' flashlights. So, much like owning a gun or knife, there is a certain degree of both wanting a flashlight to act as a weapon and then also having a small sense of security that such a flashlight would give you a means of 'fighting back'. The intimation here is that used in a certain way, some flashlights can cause temporary blindness allowing you time to take other measures and/or take satisfaction that you have caused some degree of pain or debilitation to a would be assailant that was going to do you harm. However, the potential effect of such flashlights is still relatively mild thereby classing such flashlights as very low grade weapons. If they were any more effective, they'd be controls and regulations around them in abundance. People often cite those very long Maglites that could be used as billy clubs. Only a police person could or would do that because he/she sees the flashlight as just a tool to be used as such as and when the situation requires it and does not care what happens to the flashlight - another replacement can always be had. The serious collector however, would almost never do that. To the collector, the flashlight which personally cost him/her mucho dinero of their hard earned is not going to use it as a billy club, not when you can use an actual billy club that; a) will do the job much better, b) cost a fraction of the expensive flashlight, c) does not risk damaging/breaking said flashlight.

4) Collecting may be fulfilling a need to ensure that always have a 'tool that can do the job'. I think this relates to some kind of survival instinct where it behoves one to be as prepared as possible for many and/or any situation/circumstance. I would call this the 'prepper syndrome'. In some cases I think some people have a real need to have a plethora of different flashlights for a variety of reasons. In other cases, I think the 'prepper syndrome' is just a cover for wanting more flashlights, however rational or irrational the reasons involved.

5) Collecting as a hobby may be or become a source of pride and a means of identification. That is, you are advertising to the world that you are a specialist in flashlights and are knowledgeable about them. Further, as if to prove that, you can demonstrate ownership of a number of flashlights that is way above what most people would consider normally acceptable, For example, knowing someone has one or two flashlights is 'normal' and nothing to write home about. Knowing someone has upwards of a dozen flashlights implies that the owner of such an unreasonably large number of flashlights has 'something going on there' or otherwise may need to seek professional help. In most cases though, owners of large collections would be only too happy to show them off, talk about them and demonstrate their pride in them - just sifting through the forum posts on this site demonstrates this. It also serves as a talking point at parties or with other so likeminded people on forums such as this. So in that sense, flashlight collecting also serves as a segue in to social interactions.


6) Last and possibly most controversial, these things could be construed as metaphors for a certain part of the male anatomy. So, there could be an element of; "mine is bigger than yours" syndrome, which could be especially true if point 3 attains a high degree of prominence in any given owner's sub-conscious. I know almost nothing about the psychology of metaphors for the male anatomy so I can't speculate here, not with any degree of confidence at any rate. However, I will say that it wasn't until very recently (and that took a very long time) that I suddenly saw the correlation between images of scantily clad women wielding some unfeasibly large firearms and that certain part of the male anatomy. I never understood that until I had an epiphany and saw the light (no pun intended). I am sure something very similar is going on with flashlights although to be fair, I have not seen any images scantily clad women wielding XXXL Maglites or equivalents, then again I haven't really been looking.

That is my.....I was going to say 2cents worth, but I'd be lying. It is more like my $2.50 worth of spiel.

whiteheat1963 Why do people collect flashlights?
Welcome to BLF :slight_smile:

It is a result of the oldest and first part of the brain that develops as a infant, the ” Medulla Oblongata “.

Just kidding, I think. For me It has been a lifetime of waiting for technology to provide a flashlight worth buying.
In my younger days of camping, fishing, and hunting, the Rayovac flashlights were simply crappy.
And now with LED, the Heavens have opened and flashlights shine like cannons firing.

I cannot stop buying and playing with them. :beer:

@Whiteheat: Concerning the billy club 3) in your post, it used to be and probably still is a felony to possess a weighted night stick in the USA except for LEOs. Just a heads up.

And my guns can be used to protect my family. I would argue that adds more to our safety than having lots of flashlights, even though the torches get used more often.

As has already been stated, I’m not just looking for the perfect flashlight, I’m looking for the perfect EDC light, the perfect camping light, the perfect headlamp, the perfect BOB light (need 6 of those), the perfect car emergency light, the perfect bike headlight, the perfect bike tail light, the perfect home emergency light, and on and on.

Sometimes I get it completely wrong and try again. In some cases, you just gotta buy it to find out what you really want or need. And sometimes I get a niche filled, and then something (ostensibly) way better comes along, and I have to try it out. I’m not a collector, I just need lots of lights.

Hi there. Thanks for that. I had heard a rumour that that might be the case but I heard it nth hand and nth years ago so I wasn't at all sure, but I am not surprised. However, this being said, I am reasonably certain that that particular law may not be strictly adhered too at all times in all places. I suspect that out in the deep woods or country, that rule may not be strictly adhered to. I am also sure that these specific torches are not illegal everywhere in the world either.

Moving the train of thought along, this illegality of carrying a night stick Maglite may just apply to this actual type of torch. Let me posit this idea. Suppose you carried the Imalent MS18 around with you. It is nowhere near able to be classed as a 'stick' as it is only 26.5cm long (or 10.4" in old money), which is not long enough to be classed as a swinging stick weapon. However, it could still be used as a kinetic weapon. It weighs nigh on 2Kg. Swing the butt end of that down on someone's head and blunt force trauma is sure to ensue. So, I can with some degree of certainty know that that law against nightstick flashlights is not and cannot be so universally applied to cover each and every flashlight that could potentially be used as a kinetic weapon.

This all said, it doesn't really matter as the point I was making was that certain torches of certain dimensions do give certain people a sense of defensive security, even though most collectors would be unwilling to use their flashlights that met this criteria (being long or weighty enough) to be used as a kinetic weapon. Would one really want to risk writing of a really expensive torch such as the MS18 when other 'weapons' would do a better job at a fraction of the cost?