Well, my joke was on the edge... (I also see I misspelled/used a wrong word.)
No harm meant.
:beer:
I woke up this morning ,went outside and the sun was shining brightly ...i took it as a sign
Does signing up for a group buy count? No money has changed hands yet…
I don’t think I have this issue since I have already splurged over $450 in one month on lasers and flashlights.
And being in my final year in High School without a job I basically don’t have any money left to spend.
I do however waste an enormous amount of time window shopping and adding things to my cart in Fasttech
when I know full well I don’t have the money to pay for it 
I suppose it’s just wishful thinking.
I reordered a xml-colour that I ruined during a test, replacing things does not count, does it? (oh, and a few tiny springs, that is too little to count either 
)
I ordered two lights for $2.40 saving me about $67 on their retail price, so just over a month
excellent, my last order was the starry light group buy and before that was december (and a free light for review if it ever arrives)
I made it longer than May 9th - short of needing that 18650 SR51 battery tray - but now I’m fighting to keep from getting anything for another month.
ive been buying a bunch of stuff the past few weeks - nothing horribly excessive - as in its all within my financial means and what not
my wife today asked me - honey how many flashlights and related items did you buy this week and how much… after i told her 3 lights and a charger and about $190 she said ” oh thats not bad ”
shes not helping lol
on the bright side there was an extra $175 from overtime in my check this week
Quitters disgust me.
So you prefer people to continue smoking or drinking?
So, I really don’t need more lights. That’s not what this is about for me.
This is a hobby, a form of entertainment. Something I enjoy doing.
With that in mind, I made kind of a decision a while ago that buying stock lights cheats me out of a large part of the experience. It’s a lot more entertaining and time-consuming to make what I want instead of trying to find one already built. And thus I can easily justify buying parts and tools when I have a good idea to improve a light in my collection. And then not only do I get the pleasure of making it, but also the pleasure of using something of my own creation, and the fun of writing up a post about it.
But brand new lights which won’t get modded? Nope, it has to be something really special for me to justify that.
This approach seems to get me more for less.
Funny you mention that ToyKeeper, just yesterday the first new “expensive” light I’ve bought in 2014 got here (an SR51), I was supposed to leave it alone and just use it. Know how long that lasted? 8 hours from the time it got here, one 30 minute walk with it. Then it got a complete tear down and resistor mod, dedome and direct bond MCPCB and now even more (driver swap, series -> parallel conversion, possibly even an SBT-90) is in the works.
Reminds me of an AA meeting. Are you off the wagon, or on the wagon this week?
What would this forum be if no one bought lights? Trying to quit while in a flashlight forum is akin to committing treason.
I need serious intervention. :bigsmile:
Hopefully my vacation will help me curb my buying habit… Then again, I might see nice stores in Hong Kong that sell cheap flashlight that’s not available in US :weary:
Last time I was in that part of the world, I mostly just saw little mall vendors selling UltraFire lights for several times the price they go for on FastTech or Wallbuys. There really wasn’t much of interest.
HK is a horrible, horrible city. Whatever you do, don’t take the Tsuen Wan line to Sham Shui Po, and get off at exit A2. Do not immediately turn left and walk 5 stores. Avoid Fu Li Dat electronics with their large display of solarforce goods. Do NOT walk the length of the street in both directions (about 3 blocks) getting overwhelmed by the chance to pick up, handle and test your purchases.
If you follow these instructions, you may escape with your wallet intact. Unless you’re bringing your wife/girlfriend/partner, in which case your budget is already pretty much a goner. This city is just one huge mall connected by subways.
True. The stalls are generally to sucker tourists, and avoid the street markets everywhere. One of my friends just got 10x 32gig usb sticks for $200 hkd (about $25 usd), but they’re fakes with ~500k of storage and a really messed up allocation table.
Most of the stores along that street focus on something else (hardware, tools, knives, photography, etc) but carry a flashlight section as a sideline.
There is something to be said for re-learning to love what you already have. I allow myself one flashlight purchase per month. And guess what—I’m happier with what I have!
In How to Design and Build Flying Model Airplanes, Keith Laumer said something like “There are perfectly good model airplanes you can buy ready to fly, but that way you miss exactly half the fun.”
I tried to stop for a few months. failed. Im back in it again. last i remembered was xml-t6 was the best i seen, now they have xm-L2? time for an update._