Share stories of giving your flashlights away

Off-topic Chatter
1

Share stories of giving your flashlights away.

Here is mine:

“Gave away most of my lights and it was Fun”

I was very lucky these past few weeks. I landed a volunteer position as a food and supplies delivery person. Some nice folks got food they could use , I got to feel useful, drive to some interesting places and use my flashlight a lot. :slight_smile:

One thing I noticed was how almost none of the families I met had a flashlight handy.

Fueled by the spirit of generosity I have encountered at BLF, I decided to give away most of my flashlights. These were older lights I had purchased over the years. All easy to use and buy batteries for. Armed with some cleaning supplies, batteries and extra bulbs I spent a few nights after work cleaning up my lights.

Old EDC minimags, a 4D and 3D Maglite, a number of plastic 2D lights and a bunch of inexpensive (read, cheap) 9LED 3AA lights. I was able to clean up and get them all to work.

For the next week. I gifted flashlights and extra batteies to folks I met while I was making deliveries. It was so much fun sharing my lights. I am hoping they get to use their lights.

2

I have given away a couple SK68s. The recipients were so blown away that my phone rang after they had opportunity to play with the light for a bit. These are folks not given to enthusiasm, but this lit their fire. Wow, etc. They were accustomed to incans. Kind of took me back to my amazement at the 9LED lights.

3

I’ve given away a couple AA lights, when i see how badly people are doing with their incans with mostly dead batteries that cost an arm and a leg to use frequently i feel the need to guide them to the light

4

Like a crack dealer ....Get em hooked and then show them the fenix tk75

5

I gave away my TK75.

It was a great light, but a tad bit excessive for city use… and too big to carry except on rare occasions. I gave it to my dad, who lives on a ranch and actually has legit reasons to see far at night.

I gave away a bunch of other lights too… SK-68s for about a dozen people, some Olight i3 extras from a super-cheap sale, a JETBeam RRT01 (to a local LED enthusiast), a XinTD C8 V3 (for a guy who bikes everywhere), and a few others. Everyone has been really happy with them, and says they get a lot of use out of them. I don’t have any awesome stories about someone using one of my gift lights to defuse a bomb though, or rescue a lost puppy, or even change a tire.

6

About a month ago I was driving to Portland and one of my truck’s wheels almost came off, which would’ve put me in the Columbia river. I barely made it to my sister’s house, and when I got there she called a mechanic friend who drove an hour on a Saturday night to spend 5 hours fixing my truck. My sister gave him a wad of cash and wouldn’t take any money from me. When I asked if there was anything I could possibly do for her, she pointed at my EagleTac D25A Mini and said “I’ll take that, and I won’t feel bad because I know how many flashlights you have.” I gave her a Schrade Tactical pen, too :slight_smile:

7

Most of the torches I gave away were bought with the intention to actually give them away.

- several Sipik SK68’s for three friends, a lady coworker and two night watchmen at work

- SolarForce L2P/ L2T head/ S10 switch and XM-L dropin together with a proper WPII charger for another watchman at work, really great guy whom I teached well about the possible dangers of Li-Ion cells

- SolarForce L2r (the discontinued model) with a set of eneloops and a generic XP-G dropin for a chap at work

- Solarforce L2r (see above) for my parents

- M@glite 3C, fitted with one of the (now discontinued) LED-“bulbs” for my parents

- pink Xtar WK50 for a lady coworker.

- black Mini-M@glite for yet another lady coworker, fitted with an LED upgrade module (not niteize, not terralux… forgot the brand, it was American, for all I remember)

- black Mini-M@glite for my brother, same module as above

- dark grey Mini-M@glite fitted with a much more expensive Terralux TLE-5EX module for my ex-fiancée (when she wasn’t an ex-fiancée, yet)

- SkyRay King for my best friend - earlier model sporting three thyristors

- Convoy S2 for my best friend

- Tank007 e09 for my best friend

- DQG AAA for my best friend

- Tank007 e06, for my best and most reliable coworker

- DQG AA for my best and most reliable coworker, to replace the e06 he lost in a drain pipe

  • yet another Tank007 e09 for the same bloke. Some people just deserve to be treated with lights!

The only light I gave away spontaneously was a custom run from my best friend’s engineering class in uni; basically a showerhead fitted with nine generic “super-bright” 5mm LEDs. Gave it to an American backpacker who was really lost; granted her she could stay for the night with her tent on the company car park. Next day would have been a sunday, anyway; nobody would have even known. I informed the night watchman we had a “guest” staying over night on the premises, and gave her my torch, as she didn’t even have one of herself despite her plans to venture deeper into the woods, the next day. Backpackers! Oh my, some of them are really unconcerned; now, aren’t they…!

8

I've given away - or killed - every zoomie I've ever had. Likewise every Romisen G2. I want to like them but I just don't.

Other than that, every giveaway light has been an AA light of some sort. Mostly dollar cheapies, but also some much better ones.

I can only remember giving away one 18650 light but that was because I hated it.

9

I gave my dad a Jetbeam BA10 and months later saw he had it in a box, so I asked for it back, and I still have it. He just loves that Ultrafire K10 I gave him, and he doesn’t even really want to see another flashlight as long as he has that one. After a couple of years in his pocket, he’s worn the anodizing almost completely off.

10

My first givaway ( for 1000 posts) is approaching, and i will likely give away a custom modded light of some sort. :slight_smile:

11

I recently gave my Dad a X7 superthrower the one with the huge head, XP-G2 400kcd. He lives on a lake and can use it to see what kind of critters are coming down for a drink on the other side of the lake. He loves it and so does my Mom. He is getting older and doesn’t sleep well. So instead of puttering around the house with nothing to do at night or blaring the TV he gets out and gets some exercise. I loaded him up with four good batteries and a good charger so he is set up. Also of course I explained all the safety issues with lion cells. That was just the last light I gave away. I have gifted about a dozen or so since I started modding them but that was the most expensive light and the one that was most enjoyed.

12

That’s a good idea! I hope he appreciates that.

I have not yet given any away, but I hope to give away some lights I build if I get good at modding.

13

I’ve given the lights in my avatar. One was to the bloke who gave me his auto paint (and a run down on how to use it) so I could paint the ones in my avatar.

Also given to a workmate a 3D sst-90 aspheric, well kind of, he payed for it by doing a quick weld job on my garage. Gave a 7 xml with kaidomain driver to his son.

Given 1-2 other smaller things away and I have 1-2 now that I will palm off when the time is right.

14

i gave a friend who works on cars a c8 modded with a 3amp driver and 80cri xml with a battery/charger - she loves it, uses it everyday and also regularly upstages and out guns all the other guys lights :slight_smile:

i gave my other friend a custom jayrob xml mag with 2x 33650s - he also loves it - the old school mag is his kind of thing and he doesnt mind the added xml brightness :slight_smile:

i like giving away lights every now and then, especially nice ones that i do not seem to use… if a friend can get more enjoyment than i do out of something i think its good to give it to them