What was your first White LED Flashlight?

Richie, thank you for your comment.

I didn't mean with the existing array, I meant to gut the host and attempt to mod it to take a single higher-power emitter. Although, 109 aspherically-focused emitters would be a cool effect... Tongue Out

Holy cat-pee-glow batman!!!

That will scorch some retinas for sure. Thats some cool gear, thanks for sharing. A 4AA UV showerhead would be perfect for me. Where did you get those beasts?

thanks!!

LOL...hey Kramer. I only use them with proper safely glasses as you should. It just so happens the Ebay seller I purchased them from years ago is still in business and still sells them. Unfortunately the price for them is still up in the sky and is still the exact same as what I payed. Here is the link below to a current auction for the big guy, the smaller UV 51 LED is somewhere in his other auctions.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200380052476?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

my first LED was a bike rear light with 5 red-glowing LED's powered by 2xAAA in series:

( click to enlarge! )

That was almost 10 years ago! Such lights are still being sold in shops lol.

The light still works and hasnt cracked yet despite many drops. I was very impressed by its brightness. More than sufficient in a traffic situation at night. Back then I think i paid 4.99€ for the complete set (rear light + front light) at a local discounter (PLUS/NETTO), price is higher now..

I can make the LED's (with no batteries connected) flash with my DMM. Funny stuff.

I don’t remember what my first approx 0-1 lumen led light was, but its gratefully forgotten.

Rayovac Roughneck Xtreme Flashlight (focusing)

Then i had a few bike lights, that were sub 50 lumens
Can’t find a a pic for the Mountain Equipment Co-Op 1W light

still have this one, but its dead

Then I got a dorcy 41-4416, which was my flagship light till a few weeks ago, not even close to the 200 lumen claim, but very bright compared to what most people have





Now I have a Cyclone C88 running off NiMH batteries, with plans to buy lithium batteries, and a zoom xm-l light someday.

Not counting the home made ones like a solitaire AAA powered by a 12v car remote battery and a resistor, this was my first “real” led light I EDC’ed

ARC AAA I can’t believe they still have a website, and the price hasn’t changed much

I look at it now and ask myself “Why the hell did I buy that?” :~ My Underwater kinetics 2AAA Xenon was a much better lighting tool but, Guess this was the “in” light back in 2002-2003 over in CPF, Didn’t had it for much time since it was very unreliable, sometimes it didn’t light up for no reason at all, This light was the first to really piss me off, So it ended its days as a sacrifice to the lumen gods using a very heavy sledgehammer, VERY satisfying!!! I must say J)

Now I have a E1320 Ultrafire 2100 XML that is my current EDC light at the moment, and I am very pleased with it.

Fenix L2D Premium Q5. Still have it and use it and it still looks like new. At the time I couldn't believe I was spending $50 on a light, but when I got it, I was surely impressed.

Inova microlight. Nice white LED but the quality was horrible, it lasted about 3 months on my key chain before it literally fell apart.

Ive been obsessed with torches since i was 7 or 8. My first white led torch that i ever got was whwnthey first came out. I bought a rechargeable energizer 5mm torc with a decent reflector and head diameter.

The First Flashlight I Bought was in 2003

it had a Reflector but it was Zoomable , the First flashlight mod I did was when I Taped a third D cell to it and it became very bright :smiley:
Great Memories.

Led Lenser L7:

One day I tightened the body too much and the plastic cracked during temperature/pressure changes in a plane.

Hey, I have one of those too.
Made from stainless steel, HEAVY and almost indestructible.
Works well as a defense weapon, but doesn’t produce much light.

My first crazy bright light was a Ultrafire C2

First bright flashlight I ever had was a Thrunite TN12 2014, bought in May 2014.

Bought first it and, not knowing better, a VERY cruddy pair of Ultrafires and some garbage no-name charger. 1 month later, armed with a bit more knowledge and fed up with how Med, Hi and Turbo were all the same brightness, I bought a “MCC-2 charger + 2 3400mAh 18650’s” bundle for 50 bucks more. It was NW (I recognize the tint nowadays as 4C), then I broke it on a drop in mid-2015 and decided to swap it for a 1A CW for defense purposes.

Still consider it a good purchase for back then, but as of this year I wouldn’t even think of it now that I know Convoy’s torches, TK’s Biscotti firmware and Liitokala batteries and chargers.

I didn’t realize this is an old thread. but here is my first “serious” light that i consider quite expensive for flashlight probably around $25 back then. Running on 2xAA and Using Luxeon III emitter probably around 50-70Lumens the year probably 2004 what a bright light that was. :sunglasses:

Still have it in my box. Before this my light were all incandescence.

Before Oct. 2014, I struggled for years with irritating junk lights. Then, in Oct. 2014, a miracle happened. I discovered the hitherto unknown (to me) world of real led lights. My first choice was the Four-Sevens MMU-X3. I still have it; a much beloved bona fide true classic.

My first was a Peak Eiger Ultra with a custom led. XP-G2 S2 I believe, cherry-picked by Cutter from a lower bin.
Then long nothing…and I came here.

I bought my first white LED light in 2003: a “MasterLED TL 267 Pocket Light with 5 High-Output LEDs”, running on 3×AA cells, made in Germany and very well waterproofed. Five 5mm cool white LEDs arranged in a circle, but pretty decent for the time, because the LEDs had a proper white tint, rather than blue-white or purple-white.

It still works. My mother has it, she likes it and she’s refused several offers of an upgrade :slight_smile:

My first was a mod, a Maglite Solitaire with the incan replaced by a 3mm LED and 3 button cells with a plastic spacer. It gave it a significant boost in output.