Amusing CPF thread

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=267454

Why we all ought to buy stuff made in the USA. Speaking as an EU citizen, I find the arguments less than compelling. As ever in CPF it is rapidly becoming why Surefire is always better than everything else. Even if it cost 1,000,0000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000x as much. At least with the prices in Zimbabwe dollars (RIP), such arguments might have made sense. That is a literal conversion from the 1985 Zim dollar.

I think the very existence of this forum and Jayki's forum http://jayki.com answer that one. I'm currently enjoying messing with a $4 light as recommended by Mr. Admin. https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/132

Runtimes and stuff to follow. Remember that Mr. Admin and I have very different criteria by which we judge lights. Mr. A values runtime and AA compatibility above all else - me I'm never far from power and own a whole lot of cells.

Not about to count them but around 200 rechargeable cells is probably in the ballpark. If anyone asks, I will actually try to track them all down and count them. I've been accumulating the things for near on 30 years.

Well everyone has there own idea on why they buy stuff.....for me i try to buy things that i can afford and still have good quality. That is funny though because my wife was going to get me a SF but i had to say no because they only run on primaries. Too each his own i guess.........

I'm not in the SF market. Others are. Doesn't matter to me.

I'm just very glad I didn't settle in Zimbabwe in 1986 which I nearly did.

Nor did the Mozambique government want to employ me in 88. I did pester them a lot to do so. At that point the rebels were crucifying foreigners. Literally.

Again lucky - likely I'd not have survived either.

Adverticing KD or DX lights are forbidden on CPF but adverticing and praising SF´s in thread after thread are OK.

Maybe the admins dont know their own rules

Amen to that.....i have noticed that as well but since im a nobody on that site never said anything about it. And do you know what kind of hell a person goes threw if he or she said anything BAD about SF lights. I like the lights that i have because of the simple fact that they can use both liths, nimh, and primaries. I still remember that day at Bass Pro Shop where i was taking a look at the SF lights and even asked the person there if i could hold it, i see nothing special at all except for the price of course.

Good grief those SureFire lights are expensive. I don't doubt they're nice instruments, but still...

One argument I often hear in favor of extremely expensive lights is that "my life/security depends on it." This is often an exaggeration, but at any rate, in my opinion, the only thing more secure than having one reliable light is having two reliable lights. So supposing you are spelunking and you drop your $250 SureFire into a bottomless pit, it doesn't matter how reliable the thing is if you no longer have it. Whereas with Budget Lights, you can carry a whole backpack full to the brim of nice, fairly reliable flashlights for less than the cost of a single SureFire.

Another tip that i say to all- is that everything man or woman made is bound to fail at some point or another. All you hear is all this talk about the SF lights but have you heard of a member saying that when he or she got the light it was a dud.......Too me there behind the times considering all the Q5's, R2's, and R5's that are out there now.

I could not have said it better myself.

I have one SF, a G2, and only because the plastic body will not stick to my fingers as will metal

in the climate we have in this country in the winter. So in freezing weather I use it. Otherwise

my Solarforces, Ultrafires, Romisens etc are in use

Of cource the silly incan bulp is changed to a more relevant R2, and I use rechargeables in it.

Am very sorry that it cant take 18650´s.

On the other side i have heard of members boring out the tube to accomadate an 18650 cell.

I´ve seen that myself somewhere, but my SF´s tube is 17 mm and a 18650 is 18,2 mm.

I dont have the means to do the boring and besides the metal innertube is no more than

1 mm thick, so you have to be very pricise to do it without damaging the light.

Remenber it is a very expensive american quality light

Both quality and expensive are in the eye of the beholder to misquote Shakespeare. But I agree entirely. The answer to these problems is the 17670 cell - assuming he light will function with 4V instead of 6. Which means LEDs and not incandescent bulbs. Lots of P60s out there. AFAIK the G2 will use any of them.

As the USA nationalists refuse to accept that the rest of the planet actually exists, let alone might see things differently. This always happens and is a real bore. The vehemence of the arguments make me think that they are trying to convince themselves rather than anyone else.

I don't want a Surefire as for my purposes I can do way better for a fraction of the price. I own several USA made lights (i.e., Maglites and one custom which is now obsolete) and have no prejudice at all about where a light is made. Nobody I know of makes lights in Scotland, though there is always Lummi for the UK of which I am a citizen and I do own two of Rob's lights. It wasn't because Rob lives in the same nation as I do that made me buy his lights but they offered (to me) something that nothing else on the market did. They were not inexpensive but that isn't really the issue. As it happens, neither of my UK made lights get used much these days. Every light I actually use was made in China - some of them are better than others. At the moment, all of the lights i actually use are branded by Aurora except for the Tank007 TK703 which lives in one of my my pockets. It was however the most recent arrival apart from the two Powerlights which are being played with tested as I type.

Just like you Don the SF lights just didnt fit the bill......for me it seems that i have some other lights that will out do them any day. It may seem that im downing them when im not, when it comes to lights its more like- to each his own. For the price that my wife was going to pay i could have gotten two other lights that would have made me just as happy, or i could have gotten more lithiums and nimh packs.

I don't get Surefire either. Someone gave me a 6P as a gift. I keep it in a drawer by the bed but never use it. It's expensive for what it is. It's not bright by todays standards and I don't see what the fuss is all about...granted I don't have the other more expensive models.

I also chuckle when I read about your life depending on a light. I'm not a cop but I do scuba dive in very cold waters with limited visability where I use a light on every dive. I've heard divers referring to lights as "life support equipment". It's ridiculous. No one's life depends on a flashlight or you're leading your life wrong. :) I'd rather have two cheap poorly made lights than one good light (not that I try to have poorly made lights).

I get tired of hearing about "quality lights" on CPF as well. If a DX light needs a little work it's "I told you so" but if a Surefire light doesn't work we hear about how great their customer service is. If I owned a "quality" light I would assume that I would have no idea if that company had a great customer service as I should never come into contact with them!

Now that is a good point.....thats one thing you will never hear im afraid. Too me there just another light company, and you have some others that are on the cutting edge when it comes to lights.

To me the oddest thing about CPF is not the weird affection for Surefire it's the way the administors have rules, no one knows what they are, if you ask your question is deleted and your original post is either deleted or closed.

I know that when I first went there I through about leaving just because it seemed like such a creepy place...controlling moderators and most posters who seemed OK with that.

Now I just ignore it and since it's such a large forum you really can learn a lot and get opinions and feedback from a large number of people. I'm more interested in do it yourself issues rather than reviews of expensive lights or talk of the next greatest light that may be coming out sometime.

I'm also amazed at the few expensive custom drop-ins that everyone recommends as "the best". Most of the time they are not even available and the person making them has a long "waiting list" for the honor of paying $100 for a drop-in. :)

That's a great thing about this forum. If you want to ask people what they think of some light on DX, you can just ask and include a link. You don't get scolded for "advertising" even though you are just asking an honest question. And nobody will go on a rant about how awful budget lights are and that you should be breaking the bank on something a lot more expensive.

Especially when there are some great BL lights that are out there.

Sorry to get off-topic but perhaps I can ask the question here rather than stop a new thread...are there any divers on this board yet? Especially any who are interested in DIY type of projects. Certain questions can be asked of any do it yourself types and others probably should be asked only of those who dive.

Also, I'm curious as to the demographics of the members here. Are most people from the EU (I'm from the US by the way)?

Theres a couple of us from the US.....Ted and I are a couple........And Ted if your reading this i lost your number, call me if you can.