Suggestion: A Forum for more expensive lights?

BLF Site-related Issues
1

With the increased membership growth here, I'm thinking that at some point it might be a good idea to have information available about more expensive flashlights. For those folks who like the atmosphere at BLF more than 'that other place', and who want to make a decision about some nicer stuff, why make them leave?

Maybe we should have a forum called 'Non-Budget Lights' or something similar, give people room to go high-end right here if they desire. Nice group here, I bet there are a lot of "closet owners of expensive lights" right here in our midst.

Opinions?

2

Totally agree.

I'm sure most of us have, or would want a few not so budget-lights, and would like to ask for opinions and reviews in a friendly atmosphere.

3

Perhaps something like "Bigger Budget Lights" or similar. "Everyone's on a budget - some are larger than others," and so forth.

I wouldn't want to stray too far from the 'budget' theme for branding sake.

4

Interesting thought but I dont think thats necessary here. IMO, its more important to maintain the class by battery type, as is done now, rather than add to the complexity of searches in trying to finding what youre looking for.

5

I tend to agree because budget means different things to different people and the market is always changing. Two years or so ago I bought my most expensive light that I own, it was about $70 and is about 600-700 lumens. At the time that was a "budget" price for that many lumens. Now of course you can buy that many lumens for $19.

Now as for lights that are hundreds of dollars or even thousands, I can't afford that but I still like reading about them and seeing beamshots.

The one thing that concerns me, even though I'm new here, is the potential for arguments. I've been a moderator on a large forum before and it can be a challenge keeping things civil. So far on BLF I have not noticed any problems and the mods and admin are probably happy with the way things are going around here.

But what happens when a guy like me has too many beers and posts in the non-budget forum that his $52 Multi-XM-L is better than a $2000 HID someone posted about? That's the beginning of an argument. I'm not saying it "will" happen, just something to consider.

6

works fine. An 'exclusive' forum could create unnecessary friction with "It is/isn't a non budget light" type arguments. The board title itself should put off the $40,000 worth of Surefires types.

7

Interesting suggestion. Thanks to everyone for bringing up the topic. We do have a few reviews of more expensive name brands here, and I personally always find them interesting, especially to compare to the budget lights I own. We definitely don't discourage reviews and discussions of the expensive brands, since what people do with their money is their business.

8

I think things are just fine - Folks are free to talk about or review what ever flashlight they want ..

What it comes down too , is folks here are not buying or talking so much about the more expensive lights - or posting reviews on them .

That comes down to personal choice ... and does anyone want segregation ? If they do , CPF caters to that ATM

9

I agree with the thought but kind of like it the way it is. By that however I mean that no one is going to stop you from posting about a more expensive light. I've done it. You may not get as many responses (or you may) but that's the beauty of this place...post what you want to post.

I still like the name (Budget Light Forum) as it let's one know the "vibe" of the place. Most people here probably have a few lights that are more expensive than most that are talked about there. Most are probably interested in reading about a few more expensive light as well (as was mentioned in a post above).

The theme that ties BLF together I think is just that in general the lower priced items are more fun and are just as good in most cases and are easier to mod as well :)

I haven't gone out of my way to post detailed reviews of some lights but I have mentioned a few. The worst thing that will happen is that no one will read or comment on an expensive light if no one is interested :)

10

Well stated Tas. The last thing we need to become is another dictatorial Nazi illumination forum full of zealots that are more interested in how much they can spend rather than what light does the best job for the money. The wars we see at the other place are far more infantile than any other online hobby discussion group I have seen ANYWHERE. No one here will put up with that type of stupidity, especially Mr. admin.

Trooplewis, we arent trying to bash your idea at all so please dont take it that way. Its just that we've witnessed masses of disillusioned newbs drop the hobby before they ever buy their first $30 light, thanks to people that hammer them relentlessly for not wanting to spend ridiculous amounts of money for something with a name brand.

11

Or how little they can spend on the most light. ;-)

12

I think the users here can differentiate nicely with the different sub-forums. Eg, the DRY triple XM-L, perhaps it is not suitable for some...but it still drew interest here. The NW/WW costs about $100 shipped, that's more expensive than some Olight/Surefires, but users can see the potential of that light. Or host + parts for $150 shipped gets you 1.6 million CP 9000 lumens and is still quite portable as a 6" light. Not budget, but not too shabby. The thing is, one may say that paying 150 bucks for a piece of plastic s*** is crazy, I'd say paying $500 for a Titanium shelf queen of considerable size is even more wierd. (and usually they get more than 1 piece so they probably paid 10-20X more)

13

Reason I brought it up is that I recalled getting some flak when I posted my first impressions of the Tk41 that I bought. And I have not seen anything similar since then, so I thought perhaps folks did not want to enter reviews or comments about lights that some might feel are inappropriate here at BLF.

Not sure how to take the above quote. Does that mean that if a person owns or expresses an interest in purchasing a higher-dollar light, he must be one of those Nazis, or just that he must go to the Nazi forum to seek information about said light and take his chances there?

There are folks here who have inquired about "serious" EDC's, as in LEO's and firefighters, etc. Where should they go for information?

I don't envision the hard-core CPF-er's migrating here and causing issues. They like the world they are in. What I think would happen is that we would get the 'lurkers' who just do not want to be involved in the antagonistic dialog there to actually be part of a kinder and gentler forum.

And it ain't my money, but if I spent the effort to keep up a popular place like this, I'd want the high-dollar advertising support as well. Just my thoughts, I'll drop the subject.

14

If you post a review I'll read it :)

This just isn't as large a board yet as CPF so sometimes it's possible to review something that either no one cares around or maybe they just have no comments.

As the board grows there will be more varying interests so I think you should review any lights you have or discuss any your are interested in.

I posted a review on a BD Storm headlamp and as I recall there were no comments. It didn't bother me since no one suggested that I shouldn't review that headlamp. Some day someone could join and read that review who is interested.

15

...More light........less heat.

16

Troop, there's a lot of opinion and conjecture in this thread, but no one here will be banned or edited for voicing their opinions or posting product links. I value your opinions just as much as any of the others and I also enjoy the reading. What I have witnessed at cpf with daily regularity is those that spew the false pretense that "my flashlight is better than your's because it costs 10x as much". Anyone making even the slightest inference towards budget lights are often edited, banned or ostracized. Obviously this is a heated subject, with many members here that found a new home at BLF because they were booted from cpf. Interestingly, many of those here are now humble authoritarians on the subject that provide leadership in purchasing and writing excellent passionate qualified reviews for all to enjoy. The newb is never made to feel like a jackass here for asking pre purchase questions about a $5 flashlight. Its refreshing that google now finds BLF to a much higher degree than CPF during my searches for LED related information.

The day that the management of this forum begins editing or controlling the flashlight oriented opinions of its users in the interests of maximizing sales dollars for vendor relations is the day I begin searching for another flashlight forum.

Yes, I have seen the occasional leo, combat troop or firefighter inquiring about lights online. That number is so small in the total population that it is infinitesimal in comparison to those still stubbornly hanging onto their cheap incans (usually mags).

As an aside, Im a personal friend of a rather large outdoor equipment provider. He advertises on CPF and also has one of the larger online presence for LED flashlight sales. We share the interests of another hobby in common and talk often. One of the industries dirty secrets is in the very high failure rates of many many expensive LED flashlights. Sure, they get replaced if under warranty (usually at some cost to the user), but no one seems to focus on that. Of the 50 or so +$100 lights I have or have owned, at least half of them have failed prematurley, been extremely difficult to repair or adjust. My friend tells me I am NOT atypical in that regard! Today, I dont buy budget lights because they are inexpensive. I buy them because they work and have been thoroughly reviewed by many satisfied customers. Just my thought...

17

I do own a number of higher value torches, but I'm still happy to be a member of BLF and have a chat about torch lights, theory, diy tips, and just stuff in general.

I think its comes down to the type of people that are in the forums. Many here are far more open minded to the concept of various budgets, and its this that makes this forum more forgiving for the newcomer. The question is how open-minded we are to the definition of budget. There are many members at BLF that have come from another place.

As has been said by others as well, budget lights are made to a price, and sometimes cannot offer the features such as a UI that doesn't rely on the tail cap power switch alone. This is not pointing the finger at budget lights, but its something we must understand is just the nature of the business. With this in mind, higher budget lights have the resources to offer additional features beyond just producing light, and discussions about these aspects would allow a better appreciation of torches in general from an engineering and design point of view.

A not quite do budget light section may allow more open discussion of other lights, which would allow others to read about what features are available, and possibly bring fourth ideas which can be considered and maybe even incorporated into the budget lights (light the magnetic ring control system)

At the same time, I am not too keen on forcing a separation of budget and non-budget lights, we have to start considering things like; what defines the threshold, what happens if a light is considered to be in the wrong section...

At the end of the day, the question is, how do people feel about the discussion of a $50, $100, $150, $200 18650 XP-G torch, which is likely going to be outshined by a $20 Fandyfire. If the forum can accept that these torches be discussed in the same forum, without bringing on a rant about "how/why would anyone spend that kind of money", then maybe a separate sub forum isn't required, however a separate sub-forum would more openly permit these discussions while keeping the forum neatly defined.

I do enjoy talking about more expensive lights as thats where I tend to focus my resources, but I started with the budget lights, and maybe its cultural, but finding a good bargain always seems to satisfy the inner soul (of illumination) I would like to know what others feel about this?

18

I wouldn´t mind having that kind of section in here. :)

19

Hehe sounds awesome :slight_smile: like you say, keep the budget theme

20

+1