so why flashlights? why do you like them?

[raggie33]

for me there comfort. the abilty to change the dark into light. they bring me joy and comfort. so what about you?

 

[raggie33]

ps feel free to delete this post if im being a jerk again i just thought it would be a fun post.

 

[hamhanded]

If only I knew. If I got to pick and choose which hobbies I liked, I'd probably choose stuff with a bit more mass appeal.

Every metro area has access to a golf course but nobody has heard of an illumitorium.

And… as much as I like them, there's not much difference between flashlight enthusiasts and screwdriver enthusiasts. We're all kind of obsessing over what most people see as a basic tool.

That's life, though!

 

[WarriorOfLight]

It is easy: I fear the darkness. Therefore flashlights!

 

[Lights and Guns]

Honestly, for me it comes down to the utility of the light.

I am not one of those people who buy designer clothes or a rolex watch or anything else like that.

Those items are about status ... showing off to the world how much money you want them to think you have. I see this as a waste of money and could care less if others perceive me to had money or not.

A Rolex doesn't even keep time as well as something as simple as a $350 apple watch. Meanwhile people are spending 10k+ on them.

It doesn't make sense to me.

I think at the end of the day, it comes down to light being one of the most important things for human beings in todays world. I learned how true that is years ago when my area was hit by a huge blackout, something that the area hadn't seen for nearly 30 years prior.

There was chaos ... streets were gridlocked, stores were being looted ... the whole nine.
When nighttime came, everything was pitch black, places that ordinarily are well lit... I couldn't see my hand if I held it up in front of my face. It was an eye opener for sure.

I think a light serves a vital function, and if anybody gets caught in a blackout .. hopefully they have a solid reliable lights within arms reach! ... This is why for me, I like flashlights...

 

[gurdygurds]

Flashlights serve an important function and they're fun! What kid doesn't love using a flashlight when camping or at home inside a blanket fort?! We're just older kids anyway. I use flashlights nightly around the house just cause I think it's fun. Flashlight showers, flashlight when going to the garage, flashlight for light on the nightstand, flashlight while walking the dog, etc. Hooray for flashlights!

 

[Jean-Luc Descarte]

for me there comfort. the abilty to change the dark into light. they bring me joy and comfort. so what about you?

This describes my draw to torches. Having the power to bring visibility into the murk is a wonderful thing, very empowering and full of purpose. Portable lighting has always been fun for me, but before the accessibility and affordability of baseline LED lights, we mostly used kerosene lanterns, and much more often candles. But thanks to my mother's house catching fire because of an untended candle way before I was born, I couldn't and didn't even want to consider them more than an emergency resource. Flashlights, though, are far safer and more versatile, and have good range.

Until the mid-2000s, thanks to higher costs for both torches and batteries than for most of the world, they were a pretty rare sight - heck, M@g-lite was seen as a luxury item only for well-paid policemen, dedicated SAR workers and bougie mechanics. After the mid-2000s when rechargeable LED lights with integrated outlet plugs became common, it abated but they still aren't common. (Yes, I'm going somewhere with this.) In 2009, I got caught by a huge blackout in a rainy night, and of the place I was in, I was basically the one and only one light source on two feet, the rest was ALL car headlights. Precisely because I was insistent on pocketing a smaller version of said rechargeable LED lights. That night was an anagnorisis, a wake-up call of how that small electric wand I was carrying out of pure habit, put me way above the environmental conditions and the conditions of those around me.

Since I got my work life underway and had free cash to spend, it was a slippery slope of getting newer and more powerful and better lights with better and fatter and more compact batteries. Until now, at least, the point at which I'm "flashlit out", with more lights than I can use at once and that cover almost the entire spectrum of beam patterns and emitter colors and qualities.

 

[bigburly912]

I hunt and fish and hike. Sometimes camp out in the open with very minimal gear. My activities and work go hand in hand with needing a light source.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I couldn't see my hand if I held it up in front of my face. It was an eye opener for sure.

 

[raggie33]

good answers everyone

 

[xxo]

Staying up late to play flashlight tag in the summer and later camp outs with the scouts started my interest in flashlights, but it wasn't until I got my first Maglite that I was blown away by the build quality and reliability of a flashlight.

 

[raggie33]

me to i saved up for a maglight aa light i was so amazed it had a extra bulb in tail cap .

 

[bykfixer]

so what about you?

Because the voices tell me to.

 

[raggie33]

listen to ga voices my freind unless they tell you to try to ride a alagator.dont ask me how i know this

 

[bykfixer]

Naw man my alligator ridin' days are behind me. There for a time my asperations far exceeded my wisdom. The voices taught me tis better to live to see another day......

And they also told me I need a red microstream.

 

[cyberhobo]

Firstly, flashlights are useful tools and it's an exciting time for the ever-evolving flashlight since the implementation of LEDs and availability of dense power sources (lithium-ion). So much happening so quickly.

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

Because I can't see in the dark.

 

[raggie33]

Because I can't see in the dark.

for real thats it? i guess my passion goes deeper but i have isues lol

 

[IMA SOL MAN]

for real thats it? i guess my passion goes deeper but i have isues lol

Well, there is more to it than that, but I can't see in the dark, and that's a fact, Jack. If I could afford night vision devices, I'd have bought some by now.
Let's just say I have been "under lumened" in the past when it mattered. I vowed not to allow that to happen again.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I never thought it would happen to me. I mean, who goes out and plans on becoming a flashaholic?!​

It just happened ...... I was blinded by the Light.​