Why do people collect flashlights?

You’re joking, right? A hand thrown object has far less range than a drone that can go several football fields away from the controller. A drone with camera sight… is far more accurate too. But let’s drop this now, given where things seem to be going.

I don’t intentionally “collect” lights. I got into flashlights back in 2016 when I was caught out in the dark on a trail in the middle of nowhere with my dog and had to use my crappy phone flash to get back to the car. I ended up with an EDC light, throwier EDC light, headlamp, and dedicated thrower. If I was smart I would have stopped there, but I eventually discovered high CRI LEDs and got interested in modding, and I now have dozens and dozens of lights. I have a bad habit of buying up several of the same light just so I can try different LEDs and other mods, especially if they’re reasonably inexpensive (e.g. I have about 8 FW3As). I also go through a lot of lights with my modding work, so I sometimes find myself ordering a dozen of the same one at a time. I keep meaning to pare things down a little, but never seem to get around to it.

Me, I was always interested in lights, like if anyone remembers Rat Shack coupons for free flashlights (just keep buying the batteries, haha), and got my first MiniMag waaaaay back when.

The turning point to go all hardcore was reading about those people in the WTC who had to go down alllll those stairs in total darkness, except those who used their phones’ displays for minimal light.

Nuh-uh, not for me. Got and started collecting better and more useful lights after that.

Those River-Rock (Target house-brand) lights kicked some serious arse back then, too.

Haha! Oh no. Nevermind that a lesser amount could probably still do the job just as well, that doesn't figure at all in people's thinking. Oh no, more, more and yet more. Bigger is better therefore more must be best! Whatever you have to offer, I want/need more regardless of the task it may be required for! It's all to do with marketing. If the job can be done at 3000 lumens, 5000 lumens will do it better. A 10K lumen output would do it even better still, and so on.

"....so I sometimes find myself ordering a dozen of the same one at a time." Young man, go seek professional help.

In a word - NO, If that were adequate I have smaller, less bulky lights that I could carry. Just yesterday I ended up at a job site after dark and the 5,000 lumen light that I had with me was not enough for what I needed to do. I will probably start carrying one or two that can do 15,000+ when I might have to be on a job site after dark.

The need for more lumens in a work light is what originally lead to my discovery of this forum, of course I stayed for the hobby. :slight_smile:

Definitely. Everyone knows you need at least 2 dozen to make-do.

Really? OMG, how have I managed to survive for so long (42 years) without any torches at all and recently (add 13 years to the previous year figure) with only 4 of them?

No idea. How hyu-mons didn’t go extinct by now is beyond me.

I like you :) I had no idea what a "hyu-mon" was, so I googled it. Turns out Google doesn't know what a "hyu-mon" is either, so I guess they did go extinct after all

So instead of the saying “One is none, two is one” now it’s “One dozen is none, two dozen is one.”

I’m gonna need a bigger gun safe.

Bit of an accent I picked up on Ferenginar…

I would accept that as an axiom.

Now you're just showing off.... The best I ever managed was a "luxury" resort on Eroticon III.

BINGO! You just clarified everything for me. So you’re needing that massive throw for work related application. And that I can certainly understand. I mean, there are guys who tunnel underground, excavating enormous tunnels that dwarf human beings. A dark place like that would require pretty beefy lumens.

I would think that if you’re gonna need over 10k lumens, you’d not be dealing with handheld lights and utilize industrial lighting units with their own power generators, like the kind you see construction workers using on roads at night.

Don’t tell me, you have a Rules of Acquisition book dedicated for flashlight ownership… :wink:

Nah, just an older edition of the ROA (only 236 rules as of its publication).

I don’t like darkness :smiley: . Each flashlight is different. Some of them are design gems. Collecting flashlights is an interesting hobby. When I go for a walk with the dogs at night, I take a flashlight and shine nicely into the night.

I’ve been fascinated with flashlights ever since I was a young kid, and back then it was just my dad’s orange plastic (Eveready?) lights.

I just love gadgets, and especially useful ones. They help me with my other hobbies of fishing, mountain biking, and trekking through the jungles here in Singapore. In the grand scheme of things, they don’t cost much either.

My 13-year old daughter is on a school trip in Thailand right now, and she’s armed with a Skillhunt H03 headlamp and two Convoy S2+ I’m happy knowing she’ll have better lights than anyone else, probably including the adults!

Ya' owe me a keyboard & another cuppa. Gotta clean the cat too...

slmjim