My best friend has no interest in lights other than using them when needed. So since he wont even listen to me about li-ions and their intricacies….AAA/AA for him too.
Very true. Asking a good friend for a “deposit” on a “flashlight” would not be good. 
i doubt he/she would quite understand the point your trying to make and would argue that they are in a different category (them thinking you mean something different then your actual point)
though i would enjoy watching two people having this discussion, i prefer buttered popcorn :party:
Ummmm.... I was joking...
I have leant friends li ion lights, after a serious conversation about not frigging about. My stepson borrows li ion lights for scout camp now and again, kind of upsets the leaders when they get out a 5*5mm head lamp and dylan produces a 4a photon cannon :bigsmile:
For day to day acquaintances, no, in my mind any man who does not have a torch in the home, however puny compared to what we consider the norm is not really a man, what do they do if they have a power cut or something?
A torch is something no one should need to borrow, they may not always carry one, but they should have one available for use, particularly if they need it “for a few days” one of the first things I bought with my first wage was a maglite pack, back in the days when incans were all that was available, guess I’ve always been a latent flashaholic, it just seemed to me that I needed a well made reliable torch, at that time, a couple of maglites fulfilled that role and two decades later, I still have them, they are just awaiting a freshen up for the new millennium.
well then, i will share with you the popcorn 
If I had friends I would let them play with my lights. :8)
Seriously though, It would all depend on which one of my friends and what they needed it for. My best friends can borrow anything they want but my wife. They are the kind of guys who would make sure to make it right if anything did go wrong. As for the rest of my buddies there are some I would give lesser lights to use and some that I simply know better than to trust them will anything other than giveaways and maybe not even them, because I don’t want to be ticked off when they lose it and don’t make it right. Although I have a few friends that I could get rid of and that might be a cheap way of finding out which ones need to go first.
+1
It's not something you just go out and say to a good friend. "Oh hey, by the way, this is an expensive flashlight that costs $150, and batteries are $10 a piece, if you break it or lose it, you bought it."
It depends. I have some friends to which I'd lend any flashlight or power tool I have and there are family members that will never touch anything worth more than a few bucks.
Some people have respect for other peoples property and some dont. Some appreciate a nice built flashlight and some dont..
This is not a fair comparison ………….
flashlights are treasured more than gf/wives……
dont quote me, a friend told me that
from past experience i never lend friends or family my good lights, they get my old lights like the UF C3 P4, if i really don’t like them they get a keyring light
case in point my mother wants to borrow a light she gets the SS UF C3
i’m not quoting you, am i technically?
Don’t lend out; give, instead!
That’s what mini-m@gs and SK68s are there for, after all. No, wait, the minis are for modding first, then giving them away.
Everybody who really knows how to treat a torch and cells of all chemistries sensibly can ask for almost all of my lights (except for the E2L-AA and the solarforce T4, those are just too dear and nice, and a few other shelf queens).
I was quite disappointed when I was being returned a light and found out they had discarded the erneloops in it, replaced by the cheapest alkaleaks to be found. They were proud of that, even! “The batteries were empty, so I have bought you new ones!” |( “Now, which part of ”rechargeable” didn’t you just understand?…”
I lent my zebralight to a friend. Had a 14500 in there. He was really happy with how bright it was.
Got it back a week later. He is complaining that it's not as bright. "Did you charge the battery?" (I have him a nitecore i2 charger). "No, I just put in a new battery."
He threw out the 14500... 
Partial blame to the lender for not telling them they were rechargeables.
Told him the battery was rechargeable, and gave him a freaking charger to charge it. He's never getting anything better than a AA Sipik again.
I loaned my SC600 to a colleague at work only to get it back with new scratches after a few minutes of use.
He was sorry though once I told him how much it was and that I paid for it myself.
you did it right - shame on him, next time give him a pack of matches
Scratches bother me and the only thing that bothers me more is disregarding instructions whether on batteries, dropping/damage or neglect
I keep two Maglites on hand to give out as loaners. They are factory 2-D LED Maglites with NiMh batteries in them.
They last about 8 hours so I haven’t had anyone throw the batteries away on me yet
You will, I would consider duct tape or locktite if your batteries are valuable to you, I never loan eneloops