THIS.
Plus I would have focused more on EDC lights that can actually be carried, as opposed to huge monsters that weigh a ton when you’re hiking
I have never bought a flashlight on eBay, and although tempting to get 1000lm for $7, when you’re broke and want a light, I know it’s bogus, inflated marketing. I discovered Convoy, Sofirn and never looked back ince I realized you can get an affordable, high quality light for $20 in a C8 that has higher output than a $150 Streamlight or $200 Surefire. Plus, you can mod it. My Quicko soldering iron power unit was up there with the best $25 I’ve spent!
Maglites were the light to get for quite a while if you couldn’t afford a Surefire or Streamlight. I thought the AA MiniMag and AAA Solitaire were quality, not gimmicky lights. My first flashlight was a 2 AA MiniMag and I did a led conversion on it in I think 2000?. It got lost somewhere though. My Dad carried the Magcharger as a Sheriff in the 90’s and it was awesome. I loved playing with it when I could. Nothing could beat it for throw, output, or as a club (besides a 5D Maglite in the last one).
Sometime in the 1990s is when I started. I disagree with the above comments about Maglites — they were never good. They just sucked less than what else was readily available. While I did have some of their AA lights, you always had to carry two of them due to how unreliable the bulbs were. A sparky friend of mine discovered this the hard way, in the middle of a dark attic, in the middle of summer.
My first ‘real’ specialist light was a PALight. The rubber 9 volt light which had a 24/7 continuous glow. I still have all of these and they all still work and are still used. I wish they still made them actually. Great light to give to non-flashlight people as gifts.
I think my biggest regret has been buying anything from major stores and mass-market brands. Invariably, there aren’t any of those which I use today.
I also find that I use my lanterns most often, flashlights less so. A fringe benefit of lanterns is that they don’t advance anywhere near as quickly as flashlights.
[quote=Sirstinky]
[quote=CNCman]
1000 lumen for $7 is easy but the UI, switch, build quality, thermal properties will be atrocious
most likely if you try 1000 lumens for an hour, the LED will be fried due to no heatsinking and no thermal limiting
but it is easy to get that
not saying all claims of 1000 lumens are honest either, in fact most of them are probably lies
but it is not hard to get to that one point
wle
Skip the eBay junk? yes.
Get a better charger from the get go? yes.
Spend more money on a soldering iron? no.
Let your other half manage your money? no.
Don’t become friend with the mail delivery guy? no.
Get a larger cupboard? no.
Build a secret hiding place before you told your family about your new addition? no.
Get a Zebralight and be done with it? no.
i would develop a plan what light I would need for what use case. currently I own random lights I liked because of how they look. not enough.
For someone just starting out: Repeat the short phrase”DC-FIX” outloud at least 100 times. Then search for DC-Fix here on the forum …the Balm of Gilead for woeful tints and crappy beam patterns.
I would hold out for what I want and not purchase flashlights for other than main EDC and work use. But then again, I would somewhat loose the ability to more freely share the hobby.