Flashaholics Anonymous: The Flashlight Purchase Refusal Kudos Thread

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._

This is a very practical and realistic target. I will try to follow this, one month at a time. My last purchase (July 4) was a gray UF HD2010 from TMart. Twas a very good price ($24.76) I think. So I will resist buying a new light this July.

In the few months since I’ve been on here, I’ve bought more flashlights than I ever thought I’d own, and I already had several! I can’t vow to not buy anything else this month, because I’m waiting for the EE X6 BLF Edition light GB to produce fruit. I’m on the list for four of those! After that, I promise will try real hard not to buy any more lights for at least a month. Can I do it? Well, maybe!

Hey, I gotta start somewhere!

Yesterday I resisted buying a fourth LED camping lantern, having already bought three this week. Have yet to hit a month with no light purchases this year... HALP! :o

October is also not going to work... will be buying some LED gloves for halloween.

I wrote new firmware for two of my lights this month, thus breathing new life into old hardware and avoiding the need for new hardware. Then again, I also ended up with two new lights in the past two months. So I can’t really say I’m succeeding. (one is a gift, the other is a mod project)

It’s been a number of months between light purchases for me, but I did splurge this month on replacement ink cartridges for the pen addiction (sadly, it lives on).

ZOMG, pens. I’m glad I don’t have that particular addiction. I have a Fisher 400RB “rainbow bullet” in my purse, a black Fisher Stowaway in my wallet, and a set of red/green/teal/pink/purple gel pens for writing personal notes. And some metallic sharpies. Haven’t bought anything to write with in years.

Most of my hand writing goes onto a “Boogie Board Jot 4.5”, which gets wiped daily.

I think I have become a flashaholic. I started out slow, a single Solarforce L2P and a Z-1. Then a few parts and pieces. Then a grey L2P (you have to have a grey one, right?). More parts and additional drop ins. Then I saw a picture of a L2M mini on this website. At first I thought it was a silly waste of money. What could a L2M mini do that the Z-1 couldn’t do. Then Solarforce put the L2M on sale at a very low price so I bought one and I liked the feel of the mini but I had to put the L2T head on it to make it right. So now I am up to 4 flashlights (I know a small number compared to many here, but I don’t like clutter and 1 or 2 should have been the limit. Now I am in search of AR lenses to improve OTF lumens.

i knew I had crossed over to addiction when I bought a Solarforce low voltage (.8 - 4.2v) XP-G drop in and I compared it to the XM-L drop in I had been using. The XP-G’s voltage spread is better suited to a single CR123/RCR123 but I was so disappointed in the lux compared to the XM-L that I knew I had crossed over into full lux addiction. So I’ll keep the low voltage XP-G drop in, maybe I’ll try to upgrade it to XP-G2 with a new LED but I doubt it. It will stay in the draw for when I need to use regular and not rechargeable batteries. In the meantime I’ll use the XM-L with a smooth reflector in the Mini.

Of course, I don’t count the rechargeable battery purchases as part of the flashaholicism. I was lucky to start out with an old Dell laptop battery pack which I pulled 6 18650’s that are working fine. But since I like the CR123 I bought some 16340’s, then found out I could also use the slightly larger 18350’s and had to buy a couple. I’m using the 18350 in the mini now and it works fine very bright with the XM-L. I guess I have a little OCD, I have two hands and 4 flashlights and that makes me uncomfortable. But now I am addicted to maximizing lux. So I’m buying AR coated lenses. I hope this is the last of the addiction, but I can feel myself jonesing for a house flashlight with a need for 1500 lumens!!! :>)

Whew! That was close! I just turned down buying the Conrui!

i haven’t bought flashlights since the middle of July, and then i bought a cheap sk68 that tmart had a coupon for.

the reason for my lack of buying flashlights is that I’ve lost some interest in buying more flashlights:
-i have lots of them already (60+ i think, but that includes several sk68 for gifting), and i don’t use them that much.
-I have moved from the countryside, to the city. not much darkness and room to play with a BTU shocker…
-also i’m a married man since a month ago. my wife is a kind one, so if i wanted to buy more flashlights that’s ok. but since i neither need nor “need” new ones i haven’t bought any.

i need to start modding more though. haven’t made space for the soldering station and other tinkering stuff yet though.

oh, and i’ve also bought several really nice headphones* since march, so that’s where some of my spending money have gone.
*(beyerdynamic dt880, Creative aurvana live!2, Shure SRH840, TDK BA200, Sennheiser ie60, AKG K240, Beyerdynamic custom one pro, nuforce hp-800, vsonic gr-06, monster N-tune, nocs ns400…)

I’ve been on this forum for just over 4 weeks now. Since then I’ve bought 12 lights (I think) and 2 chargers. I need to use my money for other stuff. So I’m going to try to not buy anything flashlight related for the next month (now until 26/10). Good luck to me lol

Edit: Counted 15 to be exact.

At a month in, I was already hooked, so it may indeed be too late for you. Time will tell! :stuck_out_tongue:

I hope not buddy lol

Instead of a diamond did you get her a ring with a LED diode on it???

I got my partner a glowing steampunk necklace illuminated by a tiny slow-pulsing LED. I think I may upgrade it to use a spherical tritium vial though, since the batteries don’t last long and are inconvenient.

Another addiction I’m glad I don’t have. I use some Sony MDR-V6 cans at my music desk and some Etymotic ER-6i earbuds on the go, and that’s plenty. :slight_smile:

I hope headphones are not an addiction. I have two sets of wireless, a Sony MDR and a RCA. One hooked up to my TV so I can lsiten to the news as I move about the house and the other hooked up to my computer to be able to listen to webinars and still have mobility. My smartphone which I use for music when I am out of the house is the problem. The best earbuds I have found are the Sony MDR ED12LP. They are not round but more oblong and have small nipples that insert into the ear canal and bring both sound and some stability. The problem is Sony has discontinuted them so they are super expensive when you can find them online. I have tried others of similar design and they don’t work as well. So I have many pairs of earbuds but they are not a collection but rather just failures.

Flashlights on the other hand are an addiction. I find excuses to go out at night so I can bring a flashlight and test it out. Sitting at my desk I often find I have a flashlight in one hand twirling it around like worry beads. Clicking it on and off. I used to take out the battery so as to not waste it’s charge, but now that I have all rechargeable batteries I no longer care about running down the charge. So I guess I am a flashaholic.

You’re a better man than me, Rusty Joe! I bought a Courui due to the GearBest discount thread, and several people recommending it. But, I stand by my (almost) commitment to not buy any more flashlights for a while AFTER I get my BLF Edition X6’s! That means I need to hurry up and buy something else BEFORE they get the X6’s finalized! J)

I haven't bought a single light from a group buy in so long I can't even remember. Every time I want one, I just look back at all the ones I have modded and remember the original quality, (especially the Supbeam disaster). It keeps me from buying any more. Works like a charm.

I guess I don’t need to be in any rush to stuff myself with flashlights before the GB! It seems we’ll be waiting a while and that’s okay. Maybe I’ll even end up going a month without a single flashlight purchase before the X6’s get done. We’ll have to see.