I was looking through my old photographs the other day and I came across some pics of my very first cree light, bought, (I think) in 2009.
It must have put out at least 80 lumens or something (think it was an R2 emitter). It came with a dinky lil’ holster and I bought 2 of ’em.
I’ve since given it away but it does bring back memories.
(Back then I thought it, like, the last word in flashlight technology) 
i don’t know what the reason why i like flashlight,maybe i was a moth at previous life?
That Tank007 TK-566 is no slouch! Still mighty bright by most standards.
I started on flashlights with one of these:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/sz_8led_1aa.htm
I found it necessary to always carry a small light with commonly available batteries due to frequent power outages where I live. And it’s been quite a ride from there…
With LED lights, my brother was issued a Zabralight H51 from his work and showed me outside one night while I was visiting him.
Fast forward a few weeks after that and I was on BLF asking for advice for my first LED light.
inova x03. was a nice light
I wanted to make my Maglites brighter ...
They are .
Started by making my Vistalite halogens brighter, then my dive lights brighter, then I found BLF and became an OL junkie, then saw EDC’s match mod and had to try that. Along the way had some fun with Lumatic and the occasional BLF knockdowndragoutsomebodygetstgeaxe pissing contests. A bunch of fun people here(I use that term loosely as some of you seem like aliens) and looking forward to more good times.
Back in October 2012 when my wife and I went to Bangkok, a friend gave me a Police YAKYYA XR-E flashlight. That was my first cree-powered flashlight as I was impressed with its throw. It actually gives only 124 lumens and 8 KCD or 179 meters throw but having no prior experience with cree LEDs, it was really strong for my when I got it. It became my EDC instantly.
In December 2012, I brought my family to Puerto Princesa, Palawan to spend Christmas there. When we went to the Palawan underground river, I immediately brandished my Police XR-E to show it off, only to be humiliated by the halogen searchlight of the boatman. I found out the hard way that my XR-E is not enough since the river can stretch about 2 km straight, span about 200 meters from wall to wall in its widest and extend about 100 meters from the water level in its highest ceiling. If we turn all our lights off, its pitch black and turning my LED flashlight on didn’thelp much either.
Realizing how ill-equipped we were when facing similar situations, I started browsing for strong flashlights when we returned to our hotel room that evening.
I discovered and became a member of BLF on January 3, 2013 and instantly became interested with flashlights. I bought my first stronger flashlights in January 8, 2013 - A Police BL-8468 (SK68 clone) for my wife, a Nebo Protec Elite for my Glock 23C, and a 4Sevens Maelstrom X-10 for me.
Since then I began ‘hoarding’ flashlights which include my JetBeam BC40 bought on January 18, my BS Terminator on February 9, my SupBeam K40 on February 11, a Tank007 TK-703 on February 14 for my wife (now her EDC and the BL-8468 was passed to my mom-in-law), my SR King on March 8, my TrustFire X100 on April 19, my Mini-02 on May 24, 2 Convoy C8s on June 14, my Jacob A60 and my Small Sun ZY-T08 on July 16 and my BTU Shocker ordered on July 15 but arrived on August 10 due to our customs mess. The X-10 became my EDC and I still carry it wherever I go.
BLF has turned me into this flashlight addict but I have no regrets being one. In fact, I am happier doing this and the modding projects I do helps a lot in unwinding from all the stress at work. 
Surefire Incan lights then stopped for a year. Then somebody showed me an LED torch from Costco which was the FEIT Electric. First time a saw a flashlight that bright! Since January and joining BLF, I think I have accumulated more than a hundred! 
Bought a 2-pack Energizer 3w rechargeable for $30. On one, the LED burned out so I sent it in for repair under lifetime warranty. They said they couldn’t fix it and sent me a $40 check! Enough to buy the XinTD V3 and have $10 left over. Still have the other Energizer in a drawer somewhere.
Yes…sb56637, I agree. That’s why I thought (then) that it was the cat’s whiskers :bigsmile:
I had never owned such a bright light before. Wow!
Then sometime later I stumbled upon BLF and basically… that’s when the trouble started :bigsmile:
Originally, it was in about 1948 when my father bought me a big no. 6 “ignition cell”, a buzzer and some bell wire for being good in school. It took me a long time to figure out that the little sparks I saw were caused by induction.
More recently, was when my brother gave me a Nebo Red Line for Xmas, and maybe also when my daughter moved to Scandinavia and complained that she didn’t get one because she was female. Maybe that is part of why I am interested mainly in zoomies.
Led Lenser P5R, at the time I thought “there’s no way anything could be brighter at this size”
Within 5 minutes of being on this forum I’d ordered the SC52 and the poor P5R hasn’t the the light of day since 
Whoa! 
So you should be at least 72 by now if you were in the first grade when your father bought you a big no. 6 “ignition cell”. That’s what I like with this hobby - everyone from all races, all genders and all ages can do it. And that’s what I love with BLF - everyone feels at home here. :bigsmile:
This was the culprit:-
Dropped it into my 20year old+ 3C Maglite and went out for a very long walk in the dark, lighting up everything in my path and grinning inanely like a village idiot.
I wanted a light that was brighter than my 6D cell Incan Maglite, went completely overboard thinking that would stop me from buying any more of them. I purchased a Fenix TK70 and a TK35, that should have ended it right there. That was the Theory. I now have a Bookcase full of different lights of all shapes, sizes and outputs. So much for “Logic”, So much for the “Bank Account”. Sanity has left the Building.
Rest well my sweet prince.
Anyway I started the first time I held a torch as a kid. Always had a fascination with them, asking people what torches they had wanting to see more. Every time I went to the hardware store or super market I always checked the torch section to see if there were any new products.
I made my first “flashlight” when I was about 5 years old. My parents had tossed out some christmas tree lights, the small ones. I stripped the wires and ran one bulb to a 9 volt battery. I ended up making a bunch of them.
I blame BLF for my recent regression towards childhood . I had a large supply of Li-on batteries and was looking for something to use them in. I bought a rook for the 14500’s and a Small Sun ZYT08 for the 18650’s. After that I was hooked.
I was never fascinated with flashlights. I never used them. When I was a kid, growing up in the "sticks", I didn't use a light. Even when we would have to walk home from fishing in the dark (about 2-3 miles), we didn't use flashlights much at all. If we did, it was those plastic rayovac 2D lights and they were about as useless as no light at all. In my teens, I did a lot of walking at night, as in 5-7 miles some nights, on back country roads. I never carried a flashlight. I found that after you were out in it for a while, there was enough light to see to walk. I never worried about wildlife bothering me. Even the bobcats and a very few black bears we had around, hardly ever went near the roads, except to cross them and most always they didn't want any part of a human.
When I got older, I did usually have a cheap 2D light around the house, usually the plastic ones. I only ever used them on rare occasions and usually the batteries were dead. I had no clue as to what rechargeable was, nor did I care. Sometime in the 1990's I was searching for "hobbies". I had tried model building, (planes and boats), but that didn't do it for me. I stumbled upon Candlepowerforums and I got hooked fast. This was still in the "monster incan" era and I was swept away with all the Maglite hot mods. Then I tried my first SSC-P7 mod and LEDs were it. I also did a HID mod and loved it, but LEDs still became my main thing, since they were so much easier to work with than HID and less expensive too.
I gave it all up, my short career, due to CPF's natural tendency to kill off anyone who isn't in one of the clicks. I just said "F" it and never made another light again, for several years.
Then I found BLF, from an old thread on CPF talking about other forums and I searched and found this place. It's been home since and I started modding again. The stroke was the reason I really came back, modding was therapy.
I still, to this day, won't EDC anything. I don't collect anything any more and I don't carry anything except two keys, a very thin wallet and a pen. I just have no interest in carrying anything around with me, never did and since I don't collect anything, it's mod and sell, or nothing at all.