I am not clear on what is meant by “real” in this context. Might it be 3 to 6 cell Mag lights or Brinkmans?
If that does’nt fit real Maybe one of the hotwire mods with the incan bulbs that would burn up in a few minutes ?
Or maybe something like The DigiLight 2X 3 volt lithium incandescent lights (1000XB-AE) would work?
If not those, maybe it would be something like the MG L-Mini II or one of 4 Sevens Quark 18650 LED lights would fit the definition?
My latest were these Convoy lights
Convoy S21D 21700 flashlight 4500K, 8A CC 30degree BEAD, 519A
Convoy M21F 21700 flashlight GT FC40 high CRI 4000-4500K, Gray
First: Fenix LD10 at around October 2011
Last: Nearly unused Solarforce K3 with L2D Body last week from a fellow user at German Taschenlampen-Forum to complete my Solarforce collection.
My 1st real flashlight is Surefire E2e, purchased back in 2002/2003, which I still have till now
The incandescent bulb is still glowing, as I mainly used KL1 LED head since many years ago
Last purchase: Zebralight SC64c LE, which is still en-route from Nkon
First:Maglite… if you want to call it a ‘real’ flashlight… 6 D cells,soon after,I did the TerraLux LED upgrade.
Last:(maybe not last,but)Nealsgadgets LEP.HB
My first ‘real’ led flashlight was Zanflare F2.
I had read review on BLF and imediatelly purchase it.
Before that I have numerous chinese no name led flashlights and Zanflare was big step up over in every aspect.
Last purchase is Convoy L21B sft 40 and I bought it after reading review from BLF forum member Funtastic.
If I don’t consider the Nebo Micro Redline a “real flashlight”, I guess a Convoy S2+ (black, 3/5 mode driver, XML2 U2-1A, 6500K) was my first real flashlight!
My last real flashlight purchase was the Lumintop Frog!
In the 1960’s I bought a Boy Scout angle-head flashlight (2xD cell), and in the 1990’s I bought a mini Maglite (2xAA), but I don’t know if those qualify as “real flashlights” according to the op.
Mine was this Nitecore MH12S, which came with a tactical nylon holster. First real purchase for me, because Nitecore Singapore was having a Lunar New Year Sale in February 2021, offering a 40% discount.
That was before I discovered this BLF, Banggood, and Ali Express, from where I have bought cheaper flashlights. Can no longer afford Nitecore anymore. Astrolux, Sofirn, Wurkkos and Convoy are my favourite brands now. Good and affordable.
My latest purchase is Astrolux EC06. Still waiting for its delivery.
After a lengthy afternoon power-outage extended itself toward evening, I spent a hectic couple of hours trying to piece together a working flashlight. All my old ones had been ruined by alkaleaks. Fortunately, by the time I finally got one sort-of working, the lights came back on.
That experience sent me to interwebs to search out a decent replacement, where I landed at CPF. There I found a great review by a fellow called selfbuilt for a flashlight called the Nitecore P36. Although it has been discontinued, I still like it today. 2000 lumens, 10 output levels, perfectly neutral tint, and an artifact-free beam from it's Cree MT-G2 emitter are a few of the reasons why.