time is an important one, or recognition that some things will have to wait till higher priorities are dealt with, I’m at this stage at the moment 
To quote the old blues song, “it’s cheaper to keep’ er.” Of course it’s even cheaper to not get locked into a long term contract. :bigsmile:
Those helping hands tools would seem to be quite helpful.
I like to think ahead and optimize for the most number of situations with the least number of items, for a light to heavy modder:
“Necessary”
Multimeter that can test up to 10 amps
Soldering iron (preferably not a crappy one)
Bag of misc parts (drivers, stars, leds), preferably in a sectioned container
Thread lube (good quality)
Good quality batteries of at least 2 different brands and under 3 years old
Charger that terminates at the same voltage (as tested with the multimeter)
Experience (several lights, soldering experience, reflow ability, enough electrical understanding, reading the forum to understand the technology if you don’t know it already)
Would be nice
Integrating sphere or lux meter
Hobby charger
Caliper
Digital camera (not a phone camera)
Third hand
Workspace
Sinkpad type stars
Oscilloscope
Money
The most essential tool I have is this forum.
for an user: other than battery, charger and a light, multimeter and grease is a necessity…
the rest is just nice to have for me 
as for a modder: anything mention above should be in their bag 
A hiding spot for your flashlights, from the wife. And then a shovel to dig your own grave. :D
Well, at least that lazy sheila gets paid well. 
Time…
+1 Honestly I won’t be able to go on with this hobby without the support and understanding of my better half. :bigsmile:
Lol. That’s a good one I was going to say something like that but somehow your down under accent fits much better here.
i think this question has infinite answers... some flashaholics want to mod their lights, some dont. and those who want to mod have different end goals.
so i would say the only definite answer would be a good reliable charger (or chargers), good reliable cells ,and a multimeter
I’m glad you appreciated the Australian lingo. :nerd_face: I’ve had pleasurable dealings with MRsDNF in the past, so I was pretty sure he’d take it as funny and not insulting. I’m very sure that any of our better halves are far better than any of us deserve. I for sure know mine is. Plus, I imagine Mrs. MRsDNF is especially lovely because that accent alone most add a lot to the total package.
Be careful with those. I woke up to find mine about to perform an unwanted haircut!
Strong fine pointed tweezers.
Circlip pliers
Very fine pointed pliers.
Wire cutters that don't snap when force is applied.
Wire stripping tool - teeth are the usual field expedient for this.
I find haemostats incredibly useful. May be called locking tweezers. No point in buying expensive surgical grade ones though.
A small vice - or in the US vise.
Cleared space to work. I work on top of a large sheet of paper (A3/11x17") which makes it much harder to lose small parts. I still manage anyway.
An old ceramic tile for soldering on.
Desoldering braid. Cheap and handy for lowering resistance.
A few feet of solid core Cat3/4/5/6 (It doesn't have to be fancy, and Cat3 has less twist so is easier to part out) ethernet cable. If you have the Ultrafire C3 habit I have, a strand of copper from this stuff is invaluable for forcing the parts to make electrical contact with each other. I think I own about 400m of the stuff left over from network wiring jobs.
In extreme cases a metre long Stilson wrench can come in handy.
I put small parts and screws in a jar or if there are many an ice cube tray can be used to keep things organised.
for modders, the only real essential tool is the desire to succeed, ouchyfoot, I’m clean staring right at you buddy, since you spring to my mind as embodying this, a good conversation and you were off, all else will come in time, but that initial desire and drive to actually do it is the only essential item.
I agree, gords! I have tools etc. but I gave up on a mod recently because I simply lost the drive to do it. :~
LOL. You gotta love em. Trust me when I say she gives as good as she gets. :heart_eyes:
If she didn't she wouldn't be a proper Aussie!