All of mine are like me lol Well used and beat up as appropriate for whatever I have been involved doing. But I have also broken my power wheelchair in 2 pieces. Didn’t drop my light! Good pocket clip. Only thing non user I have is a Gerber Paul Series 2 pocket knife Nifty little knife and locking mechanism utterly useless. Pocket lint stops up lock. Wanted a first series but too much at the time. Love this question Can’t wait to hear responses David

For the first month, mint condition, any damage is upsetting. Six months, a few scratches and dings are ok. One year, throw it in the back of the truck or let the kids play with it. 2 years, who knows, it fell out of the back of the truck on the highway and I dont even care.

Pip. The flashlights or the kids?

I want all of them looking like this:

I have my flashlights and then we have family flashlights. My flashlights I’m very careful with. A lot of them are modified flashlights that I’ve spent many many hours on. Over the years my kids have asked to use them, so I made sure there were other flashlights they could use instead – like some Sunwayman 4AA flashlights which were some of my first good flashlights.

I gave my wife my ZebraLight SC62w since she likes a side switch and I’m not concerned about her using it since it has temperature regulation and LVP. And my daughter and I built an S2+ for her (Father Daughter Flashlight) that has a protected 18650. She loves it and I don’t have to worry about it being dropped.

BurningPlayd0h wrote:

I want all of them looking like this:

That’s what my Inland lights looked like after the “ano” (more like paint) wore off, and I still call ‘em by bobofett lights.

The first scratch or dent hurts the most, but after that they just become tools instead of jewelry. I sanded down the edges of my D4v2’s tailcap to make it feel smooth again after all the drops. I’m a clumsy person and all my lights get used a fair bit and usually parts are replaceable if they get badly damaged. I bought a new D18 bezel after I dented it by dropping it.

I am ok with normal wear and tear from normal use. My S2 Baton, MM15, TK75, TN36UT, X45, M43, X65s', D4V2, FW4a, FW3a, MMU-X3, NSX53, FW21Pro, EC03, D18, MS03, MK34, K70, EC50 all show normal wear and tear from anywhere from a few months to a few years of use. I have other lights that I got recently, so too soon to show wear and tear. I like variety,  so I rotate daily use small, medium and large lights.

I have three lights that I am keeping stored in mint condition: MM15MBvn, TM06 50.2 vn, and MMU-X3 50.2 vn, as well as new multiple instances of EC03, MS03 and NSX53 that I have not given as gifts, yet.

My lights: http://budgetlightforum.com/comment/1636006#comment-1636006

Wear and tear don’t bother me really. I don’t keep show lights. When the kids take lights outside I just tell them they can lose the light just bring back the cell.

I hate pristine carry equipment, its telling, like a Judogi without sweat and blood stains.

I was a little bummed when my SC31 Pro went flying through the air and took a header on the concrete. Was mostly pristine up to that point and I didn’t like seeing the gouges on the head. All I really care about is that they can take abuse and continue to function. I guess that is one nice thing about the silver Convoy C8. It looks pretty much the same beat up or not;-)

At the end of the day they are tools for me and therefore are expected to look like tools that are used. I think the TI3 is a thing of beauty. After 6 months in my pocket the wear takes a bit away from the beauty. However, my prior one, after 4 years in the pocket, developed a new sense of beauty! There really is something beautiful about something that continues to work flawlessly as sharp edges become round… The new one is in a bit of an esthetic dip at the moment but will only get more beautiful as time goes on.

All my lights are in pristine condition since they are kinda a gimmick/not practical with the 20sec turbo spicy mode.

Only my FW3A, Sofirn SP31 and my Convoy S2+ blue with XP-L Hi Triple gets beaten up like mad from my everyday use.
I’m still surprised how pristine looking my FW3A looked though considering how I lay it on floor working with cars all the time

I only have a couple lights that I want to keep mint, but those don’t get carried. Otherwise, my most babied lights are my throwers – but that’s just because I don’t want to ruin optics.

I like mine to look pristine but HA3 anodising helps a lot with that. My two Zebralight H60s still are in good condition despite having over a decade of near daily use.
Even cloth can rub off soft anodising.

I’m more of a budget buyer but that said, I would like my new blue FT03 to stay pristine for as long as possible. I have a Sand Emisar D4v2 on the way which I hope I can keep looking like new, but due to the colour I won’t be surprised if the anodising is a bit soft.

To conclude I’m in the “wear and tear is fine” camp and I think the more used a torch is, the better a purchase it was. I view them as tools rather than art.

I try and keep mine in as new condition as possible. I have a few that are used heavily and roughed up but mostly I prefer that the flashlights are in almost perfect condition. I use a Astrolux S1/BLF A6 every day and it’s in good condition. Only one chip

Light is a tool for me, not bling to be babied.  A used tool will show honest wear.

The only lights I want to keep pristine are the ones I didn't like for whatever reason and decided to sell.

slmjim

My lights are JUST like my guns: ALL are clean, accurate and always ready for use despite the “condition” they are in. Some in the safe rarely see light, a few are around for varmint use, and some are standby’s for REALLY bad, wet, cold hunts. AND… I ALWAYS modify them.

I’m not a gunsmith, but I build quasi-custom rifles (flip barrels, tweak triggers, reload for accuracy, etc.). That said, a $600 rifle in the hands of a “shooter” WILL outperform a $10,000 rifle in the hands of (most) “collectors”. And so I AM a fan of the good $600 rifle (and hint… BLF member)

With my guns, I have a few “safe queens” which only go out on “blind” hunts (or the occasion range day out at the ranch to check the “zero”). They may be 45 years old (like my Browning 2000 20g), but near mint because I do my level best to keep them clean— BUT when I USE a gun, it’s going to get dinged eventually.

Then I have a few guns that have been thrown across the ditch, hit the ground falling down the side of shale rock mountains on elk hunts, dropped in the lake goose/duck hunting, and generally they are WELL used. But, I will (every year) always CHECK them out completely, oil them up, re-blue (and sometimes refinish) them and keep them in good repair.

My lights are the same. There are a few “shelf queens” for sure, but they are thinned occasionally when a good gift is needed (usually to another hunter). Then there are the ones that live MORE inside the house in about every room (* and my wife expects them always working as she LOVES them and gets pissed when they aren’t “where they’re supposed to be!”) There are a few cheap ones when it comes to lights though (usually old first “deals” bought years back with laptop pulls in them) that I typically keep in the garage, barns, and cars for back-ups. And finally there are the true “workhorse” lights I use for hunting, fishing, and general outdoor use.

So condition is something I try to keep up, but a GOOD old light is worth 20 new ones that stop working the first time they are dropped; and it’s not about cost as much as it is about accuracy and reliability. That said you don’t need to spend a lot to get this, just enough to know what you have (for whatever the use my be) can be counted on and is always READY for use.

So it’s NICE to know the JUNK from the GOOD stuff BEFORE buying it. With lights… that’s why I like you guys here at BLF… because Amazon reviews can’t do it like BLF can when it comes to calling it ALL out on any particular model.

Well it definitely upsets me when they come pre marked…Mateminco.

I like and attempt to keep them looking mint.
With varying degrees of success.

When I get a new light, it take it apart (as far as I can) for a full inspection.
Looking for loose bits and pieces, filing a bit, sanding a bit, cleaning a bit everything.
Put new new grease on the threads. Checking for loose rings, wires, et cetera.
Then I put it back together, give it a fresh battery and put it in a holster (or back in the box).
You might say, I like to keep my lights a immaculate as can. But that goes for all my tools.

I have some EDC lights, but I also have an “EDC pocket” in every coat.
Which means that dirty doggy toys go into other pockets, not in that one.
After use, I clean my lights before putting them back into where they came from.
Shit happens, and lights do fall (once in a while) but I try to avoid that as much as I can.
Same goes for all my other (power)tools, I clean them up before I put them back in the (tool)box.
Same goes for the interior of my car. Sometimes I eat in my car, or the dogs, or my wife
But I clean up the next day. The carpet has scuff marks, where my wife sits, but that’s about all.

Being a toolfreak, when I see something I want, I’ll try to take it from you or give something in return.
And I know I have a better chance (if I want to swap something) if my offer looks as good as new.
Also it has happened that I gave a light to someone who desperately needed a light, then and there.
I want them to realise they got a gift, not just being lucky because it was on its way to the dustbin.

I have three or so lights that I use daily. The rest are in boxes or are used for demonstration purposes only (like the MF04S.)

When my daily use lights become faulty, I replace them.

Lets face it, this is a hobby, no one really needs an MF04S or an MF05. The world managed just fine without them.

BurningPlayd0h wrote:

I want all of them looking like this:

I believe it only looks like that cause it isn’t real beskar !

Souichirou wrote:

BurningPlayd0h wrote:

I want all of them looking like this:

I believe it only looks like that cause it isn’t real beskar !

djmcconn wrote:

Pip. The flashlights or the kids?

Yes.

I buy my lights to use. I don’t go about beating them up or faking wear on purpose but what happens naturally happens.

I never worry about cosmetic appearances on flashlights, guns, or even my cars. What I do care about is that they work as well as they should. It’s not as if the things I have are collectibles.

When I get a new light I tend to treat it with silk gloves until the first real bang. That’s the only one that really hurts. After it’s not factory new anymore, it joins the ranks of the regular collection. By this point, I pick based on beam pattern and tint, not host condition – minimal wear or battle scarred, it’s all the same for me.

Souichirou wrote:

I believe it only looks like that cause it isn’t real beskar !

A couple scratches in ano are fine but “patina” on shiny rose gold looking copper is disgusting. If i wanted smelly green shit on my hand id stick it in the lizzard toilet.