What is your FIRST FLASHLIGHT and at what age?

LED Flashlights – General Info
21

I can’t remember exactly what was the first one (flashlight i mean), but a lot of those flat boxy 4.5V light where around in the 70’s:

22

Mine too was a free Radio Shack 5 D flashlight. At the time I thought it was awesome and so bright compared to the others in the house, although it would go through the batteries like crazy. I still have it and it still works.

23

My first flashlight looked a bit like yours, but it had a metal switch like the one in post #6.
With a smal plastic button that allowed for momentary action. This was in the sixties.

Not the very best memories though, because the 2D batteries were always flat when you needed the light.
Many years later I found out what caused that: my father had a secret source for as-good-as-new batteries :person_facepalming:

24

We moved to the countryside when I was about 6 and had a couple of 2D Eveready ones with aluminium bodies, plastic slider switches and OP reflectors because of the frequent power outages, especially during the monsoon months. I soon wanted my own and got a really well made Chinese 2AA SS torch with a metal slider switch and a weird green diffuser made of soft translucent plastic. I have all of the torches except this first one and would love to find and procure one now.

This also triggered memories of heading to the roof on nights with no power to star/cloud gaze and also listen to MW/SW on the radio.

25

When I was about 5, we were visiting my grandparents on holiday. My sister and I were given little mule 1xAA incans made of green or red plastic with a clear dome for the bulb.

They didn’t last long, and a Maglite Solitaire would probably have beaten both of them put together, but we got a lot of fun out of them :slight_smile:

Hearing about Radio Shack free battery cards brings back memories, too - I had the Tandy version when I was a teenager. I was in there on the 1st of the month, every month, usually to get a 9V PP3 for some electronic project or other.

They had a component rack and little notebook style project guides, all priced to be affordable from my pocket money. Paradise! I’m sure they made more money from my purchases than they gave me in free batteries, so both sides got something out of it :slight_smile: