More money than sense - Unbelievable

Weird... not finding "the light" in all those. Purchasing many copies of the same light seems rather strange too. Looks like he is afraid to lose or damage one.

In the end, if his income can feed such extravagance i really see no point in bashing him. He might well enjoy collecting lights. He might desire something that can't be made as his holy grail...poor soul.

+1

Well said sir!

Welcome photon1k, we're glad to see you here! Enjoy your time in the forums.

The real secret is that thee is no "Grail light".

In a discussion elsewhere this has become abundantly clear. There are better and worse approximations to it. I have spent more than most on lights and am not even interested in those 4-figure pieces of jewellery. As I spend a lot of time saying, "Perfection does not exist, so let's get on with it. But we can make it better than it is now."

The much less expensive stuff still squirts photons in the approximately right direction and amount.

There's not one of mine I'd be too upset about if I broke them - most can eventually be fixed and it can be quite a lot of fun along the way.

And I never need to worry about getting them wet or dirty.

I suppose a bit of me is jealous but it sounds like my entire collection cost less than any one of his fancy lights and it also sounds like I get way more fun out of them than the poor guy does.

Oh, and welcome to BLF photon1k and thanks Squidboy for bringing up such an interesting point for discussion.

I agree with Don, I get satisfaction out of knowing that I have spend judiciously on some decent, inexpensive lights that will serve my needs. And since the entire region where I live has an extremely high crime rate, I could easily replace my entire collection in the very probable case that I return home one day to find my entire light shelf neatly swept clean. Add to that the fact that I am more than a little forgetful and clumsy, so I don't need to worry about dropping, breaking, or losing something inordinately expensive.

Yeah i agree with you Don .. I just hate titanium ...lol ..

maybe it is just a wee bit of jealousy .. stainless works pretty well .. lights over 500 make me a little queezy .. but i'd like to see what all the fuss is .. i hate them damn lamborgini's too

I was just about to say, "In a blind test I don't think I could tell the difference between a Jetbeam and an Ultrafire", but then it occurred to me that the analogy of a blind test isn't particularly applicable to flashlights.

Sure I'm massivly jelouse of him having that kind of money to spend on things he obviously dosn't need. I've not bothered to look up prices but I imagine any 6 of his torches have a combines cost of more than my annual income.

The thing that bothers me the most is the wierd spending spree like nature of it, is he actually buying things he likes and wants or is anything expensive desirable.

It seems I saved a photo of the 6 x SPY light guys collection, very nice...but mental c.$8000

I notice the $30k guy has 7 of them on his list, I wonder if it was the same guy.

What the heck is this? Powered by Zippo fuel?

I have to do a picture one of these days. My collection is small and will never be a great one if based on numbers alone. I buy many but keep few. Currently i have only 1 AA flashlight the C3 and this one will stay for sure.

Atm my collection is around 8-9 flashlights. Bought over 50...

Always thought those Spy lights were a triumph of "I can make it" over, "but will anyone actually need or want such a ludicrously expensive device".

There are 19 lights on the desk in front of me - total cost around $200-250. Take the upper limit and 75 assorted lights would still cost less than one of those - and run for longer and give a lot more output.

But be rather bulkier.

This is a most interesting thread and is a great reason I feel much more at home here... we can talk and not get censored by the Thought Police. (Orwell, 1984)

After reading I went from blind jealousy (incompatible with my yoga practice and peace) to feeling sorry for this guy. Many thanks to all of you for the comments! Straightened me out; I really am grateful. Seriously!

Now, I have the makings of a very fine hoarder in me. I also have a lifelong mental health history thankfully under control. Had to finally quit work and go on full disability in 2005, not without a fight...worked as long as I could, dammit!

One misdiagnosis was bipolar when it was the "diagnosis of the month" in the 90's. So I can agree with the other poster here. If you have one XYZ light, what's wrong with having a dozen-or 100-of the same type, LOL!

Case in point: right now I have eight XPG triples I built into Solarforce hosts, mostly different tints. So I could be as bad. But I had a ball building them, it kept me out of trouble, and gave a wonderful sense of accomplishment. And they were cheap to make-all 8 wouldn't come close to one custom light and guaranteed, they'll blow away anything of the same size. If they were just something I went out, bought, and put on the shelf, it would be like "so what?" And they'd get ignored.

Back when I still was working in the CPF early days, I had 5 McLux lights. And you know what? Sold 'em all because I was so afraid of losing, dropping, or scratching. I couldn't enjoy them.

Oh, and as for the SPY's, I'll wait 'till a clone comes from China!!

Rich

I can identify with this 'spending spree' thing. I did something similar when I became interested in lights in mid November 2010. I bought more than a dozen lights of a certain 'fan boy' brand on that other site. It was a compulsion to get at least one of each model. Fortunately the 'fever to get more' has abated and now that I've discovered the 'budget light' approach to this hobby, I think I'm enjoying it more.

Thanks for the welcome wishes guys. I love the immediacy and hands-on feel of this forum, and it's a lot friendlier too!

Ok don't leave us hanging here you can confess it's sunday .. you went on a spending spree buying ?? what kind of light ?? The silly thing is ..Everyone here is guilty of doing the exact same thing ..tell me Who NEEDS a collection of lights and why ? Nobody so we are ALL calling the kettle black ...One thing I find a little funny is ,I invite my friends over to play with my lights ..supposedly so they can touch understand feel and know what different lights feel like..I would love to be able to go into a flashlight store and test drive 50 of their lights .Maybe take a few home for a day or so and just get a feel for them ...maybe I'm just too damn critical but the majority of my lights .Really need to be replaced with new ones to get closer to that ultimate light ...Now I agree that a guy with six 800 $ lights not being satisfied doesn't make anyone feel sorry for him ,But his feelings are probably just like mine .I wonder why someone thinks that someone who has 45 flashlights that cost 30$.. Is really much different than someone else who might have 30 at an average of 15 $ ...What does it look to a person who thinks a flashlight shouid cost 4$ and everyone should have 3 of them.

Hey, let's not be too hard on this guy. He is doing his part to get the economy going. Also, when/if he decides to sell, someone is likely to get a great deal on those lights as he won't be looking to get every last cent out of them.

Oh boy! Been there, done that. I'm like that with the L2P's/triples! One and/or two of each tint but they get used and that's how I stay in denia... oops, I mean under control!

Definitely with you on your comments!

Rich

It was nothing to compare to the 30K$ fellow, except perhaps for the compulsive nature of the purchases. I started with an iTP A1 SS and then noticed the Q Mini 123 in Ti. Then I had to have the all of the Q Minis in Ti. Then in Al. Then the regular Quarks, the Turbo 123^2 in Al and Satin and of course the G5. While waiting for these to arrive I read about Peaks and found out that some come in Brass! Must resissssst...

Isn't it incredible the compulsions you get? I'm the same way... I got a G5 in a trade and it is nice! Great thrower with a real waker-upper strobe.

Then he comes out with more lights and the 1st thought is: Get one of each!! I put the emergency brake on that fast so the runaway train in my mind screeched to a juddering halt!

Rich

Yes, and I must be ever watchful. The lure of the copper & gold S12 almost got me - I ordered it from the .pl web site because the US site was sold out. It was only when they emailed me back asking for another 40 euros for courier shipping that I came to my senses and canceled the order. I'm starting to understand that flashaholism actually exists, for me at least.

I must have it too, having just purchased my fifth ultra-budget $2 'BLF Delight'! Must go and see a shrink before this gets out of control!!!