What was your FIRST FLASHLIGHT?

the first that was mine was given to me
by my Uncle in the Army and it sort of
looked like the picture above.

A whole bunch before, but I got these in bulk from Rat Shack…

2AA Minimag was my first “real” one.

My whole life, from childhood until age 54, I struggled with the usual sub-junk flashlights that were a constant source of irritation. When I reached the early 50's, I embarked on a journey to discover where decent flashlights live.

I had (and still have) a few "first" flashlights. 3 x D cell Maglight, Brinkmann 2 x AA led, Mini-Mag 2 x AA, True Value Rayz 1,000 lumen 9 x AA, Coleman C-Tac60 600 lumen XM-L2 18650, Snap-On BCF.950BL 5 x blue led 2 x CR123, etc.

Brinkmann 2 x AA led rear clicky is easily actuated with tongue tip in mouth hold. I bought it in 2001 and used it to do 15 minute beadchecks when on overnite shift when I was night staff supervisor at the local secure facility for extreme at risk teenage girls. Topics such as this topic bring back memories fairly regularly when such topics come up.

None of these lights satisfied my flashlight urges; they only stimulated them further. Finally, I discovered the existence of my first real flashlight:

1) Four-Sevens MMU-X3. Oct. 2014, 1,600 lumens, 26650, 3 x XM-L2. I purchased from Sears Marketplace/Overstock. Nice beam profile. There is no way that I could have picked a better item at that time.

Link to the rest: My lights: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/9150/287


Technically belonged to my dad, but that was the one that got me hooked on flashlights. Wish I still had it, but that was 45 years ago.

This was the first….

A few years later a AA MiniMag was second. :white_check_mark:

Like this one, that’s how old I am. Given to me by an uncle, who had already used and abused it for a couple of years. It was black, not olive drab and I remember the glass was severely scratched and cracked but still in place. It used a large, square and flat 4.5 volt battery that, of course, was always empty too quickly.
The tiny sliders to get a corresponding color plastic filter in front of the lens were also beaten up and difficult to operate. But that didn’t matter; as a child it was just wonderful to be able to signal your playmates after dark or to have a light in tree- or underground huts.

I don’t remember mine, i think it was a mini maglite 2AA

But i know my two sons their first flash light.
The cars & Paw patrol touch sensitive GoGlo,
Modded with high cri 3400k 5mm leds from rngwn.

They are perfect for small kids (once you get rid of the horrible 7000k leds)
No buttons or anything to fiddle with at night,
They just need to touch it, it turns on and acts like a bedside table lantarn.
Or pick it up, and its a flashlight. The 5-10ish lumens are perfect for at night.

This one.

I guess one of those 3x5mm leds or eventually 9x5mm was the first one, but I can’t actually remember.

When I went to faculty, my parents gave me this one

Later on, I bought a Nebo Micro Redline as my first “serious” flashlight :smiley:

My first one that wasn’t a toy was this one.

Strange, I never forgot what it looked like.
.

first decent l;d one was something from fasttech, using CR123A, cost about $11.00
2010 or so

that one is still working
i like CR123A for lights that will sit for months with no use
alkalines leak in those situations

next was an XTAR WK42
another CR123A/16340
i liked it but it broke after being dropped one time
inductor broke off

ultimately i settled on small 18650 EDCs like DQG and now FW3A
DQGs broke, manker light broke, FW3A still hanging in after 2 years

wle

Fenix TK70 :disguised_face:

another early one was a 2-C cell led light from home depot, that cost about $25, which i used briefly as a bike headlight

it did work but the pattern is too narrow, and it was hard to mount, and i discovered the 4x18650 cheap chinese bike headlights
i still have the 2-C light, as a basement backup

wle

That looks like my first light, too! Mine was a silver Eveready incan running on 2 C cells.

My first cool flashlight was a free Radio Shack 5 D flashlight. I think the gimmick was to buy the batteries from them. It was the brightest of the flashlights by far in the house, but not worth the cost of the batteries to run it vs the regular 2 D flashlights.


Sweet pics! I think Radio Shack retro lights are super interesting. Amazing to see how far flashlight technology has come!

Everready Motormate. Circa 1975, if I recall correctly. I don’t remember getting rid of it, but I suspect it fell off my radar probably ten or fifteen years ago.

With a brand new 6-volt lantern battery, it could even run both the blinky red and the white spot at the same time.

I don’t have any pictures but it was a small carbide light. Fill it with stinky grey rocks and water and enjoy a bright light for a fair while.

My first Li-ION flashlight.

I had a Maglite single AAA when i was about 15yrs old and Pelican tracker pocket in my early 20s?