Without going into unnecessary details, the smartest thing I have done as a borderline Flashaholic, was when a reputable company whose lights I like introduced a new light that I thought was, well… perfect, was to buy three of them.
Here’s why this was so smart, because now when I see all the admitted cool lights that come out (and there are plenty) I pull open my drawer and see I have two brand new lights loaded with cool cells that I have not used yet. Let alone used up.
And this helps me feel better when I dont buy the newest cool light that admittedly does have more then a bit of an attraction from me initially.
In short order I find the desire fades and I am once again very happy to have two of my still favorite lights still brand new and just sitting in inventory waiting for me to use when needed. (still using #1 light every day)
This is just a short story to hopefully help thoes who want to find more peace and less desire (read stress) this holiday season.
This is a good way to go about keeping future purchases in check.
The BLF A6 has roughly 1200 OTF lumen. In order for this light to look twice as bright, it would need roughly 3600 lumen. In five years or so, this may be possible in this form factor. In the mean time, three BLF A6’s with batteries and chargers will come in under $100 without much shopping around…
Three BLF A6’s should get you five years of decent use (repairs, new batteries, etc… not without ANY issues mind you) with minimal fluff, then the 3600 lumen BLF A12 (or A6+, or whatever…) will be ready!
I agree with this theory, I like budget lights, but a few of one good model is what I normally use…
Well that’s not a very good advertisement for the A6!
If I went through 3 of one particular light in 5 years, I would have learnt by the second.
I have 4 year old lights still looking and performing like new. Not dust-collectors either.
I’ve got enough C8 hosts to form my own C8 army. Ditto some ’501s, lots of ’502s, a bunch of S2+es and an S5.
I usually get pissed off by something in off-the-rack lights, that I strip down and rebuild my own, or build ’em up from empty hosts. Usually it’s to get rid of something crappy in the UI.
Got one (only!) prebuilt S2+, and the blink-on-low still manages to piss me off. L2? Tap too fast selecting modes and it reads it as a double-tap to go to strobe. Again, pissed off. Only relatively rarely is it to get rid of a CW Angry Blue emitter for something NW-ish.
Rarely, I’ll find something like a Jet-1 that I like, straight out of the box. ’Though, yeah, I’d like something in a 4300K-4500K, or maybe a 219. But not bad enough to strip it down and redo it. In fact, I got a 2nd Jet-1, just as a spare.
And so, most of what I have, I buy as hosts, and make ’em to order. My EDC is still a ’502 NW XP-L 1-mode, but I’ll keep said S2+ in my bag if I want l/m/h for anything. I try different lights, but keep coming back to the ’502. In most cases, it does exactly what I need. Other lights are just special-purpose lights (flood, throw, moonlight, etc.).
Regardless of how many lights we accumulate, it is still an affordable hobby compared to other things in life! Some people collect cars, homes or even more expensive things.
I will never forget how I tanked >25K into alloy wheels, coilovers, and performance parts with a part-time job when I was younger and sold the car for a 65% loss a few years later.
Glad I am hooked on lights now since they cost a lot less than car parts.
I have several dozen stock lights, accumulated over 10 years or so, which must represent well over a thousand dollars in total. The thing is, we had a lot of advances from about 2010 to about 2015, and now things have gone noticeably quieter.
I’ve spent a lot less on stock lights over the last year to 18 months, because I’m just not seeing anything new that represents a useful upgrade in my day to day use.
That doesn’t mean there are no more improvements I’d like to see, it just means that the manufacturers aren’t implementing the things I want.
My solution has been to spend two or three hundred dollars on hosts and parts - discovering Convoy was a revelation - and now I can pootle about to my heart’s content as I work towards my ideal EDCs. Current plan is an S2+ body with a 5000K 90+ CRI Nichia 219B, a 5° TIR optic and some variation of Convoy driver.
The nice thing about this is that I get a lot more enjoyment per unit cash while I’m building and experimenting, and then I should have a useful light at the end. I don’t feel the urge to spend anything like as much money when I already have spare parts and a queue of projects waiting to use them
I’m already constrained by the time I have available to do these things, and knowing that helps me to remember that there’s simply no point buying more than the occasional component right now (as needed to complete a given project’s part list).
Yeah, I know people who endlessly put in everything from hi-po mechanicals to overdone audio and you-name-it, only to sell it (or get in a wreck), and pretty much lose everything they put into it.
No one’s gonna pay 20kbux or more on a car whose book value is less than half that.
Flashlights are cheaper, and you can still sell them to someone who appreciates them.
Already tried the OP’s method but worked only for a short while
If I like a certain model, i normally get at least 2 pcs for my own use, more if I REALLY like it (I.e. 10x A01 and 4X Tool AAA). Maybe it’s because I only buy “relatively” affordable lights.
Well, my original BLF A6 has been banging around my tool pouch for a year, dropped and jostled plenty with no issues… I was just hedging expectations with my statement on three of them lasting five years. For the price, mine have been unbeatable…
A little off topic, but since it has been brought up, I’ll just say that I’m almost at a year and a half of true EDC with the A6 There has never been a day when it wasn’t pocket carried and it get s used a lot. Never an issue.
That said, I do have two more in storage.
As for the hobby, few things can be enjoyed so cheaply. At $5 week, you’d have a really cool collection in only a few years. I’m somewhere near 120 lights myself, and the buying has slowed down somewhat, but I did just buy three Olight headlamps, so…
Anyway, there is an interesting concept, and also a book, called The Paradox of Choice that goes deeper into what Ronin touches upon in the OP. An interesting read if you are so inclined.
Flashlights are much easier on the pocket.