What did you use your flashlight for today?

[OEOE]

Went to pick up one of the company's planes from the paint shop and I had to fly it back to our main maintenance base at a nearby airport. This requires a very thorough preflight inspection and even though it's broad daylight and the plane is in a well lit hangar, I pulled out my edc of the day, an emisar D4vn and my copilot, a fairly new guy, asks what do I need that for? I just told him, watch and learn. The flashlight made it easier to find several minor details and a couple of not so minor ones. I then explained to him how a good flashlight can be a real help checking things out and even more so out in the open where your eyes are adapted to the bright light and that makes it harder to see anything that's in shadow. I think a new flashaholic has just been born as he immediately said that he wants to replace his cheap plastic light with something better. After a brief consultation we ended up ordering a fenix with a protected 18650 lithium cell and built in usb charger as a good starter light for him.

 

[ven]

Good stuff OEOE, i have often said i use a light more in the day than at night(certainly in the week anyway, weekend is other way round and night time use only). Artificial light needs to be overpowered, shadows need to be blasted away! Right colour temp is very important for me here, as too warm or too cold does not fall easy on the eye.

Last night i used the sc62d to get around the house, set up the heater for the garage to warm Madisons Rabbits and guinea pigs. The 145lm H2 of 5000k luxeon T did the job just fine

 

[MarkusFlash]

I had to do some plumbing, kitchen sink. No room to move, no decent light. My Skilhunt H03 headlamp saved the day. Not only does it make a lot of light but it generates a beautiful, natural field of light rendering colors well while not adding any bulk to my head. In fact I pretty much forgot the light on my head and had it on several hours while doing repair work around the house. I wish I had such a light when I was in the plumbing business many years ago. But back then the LED technology was not there. BTW here is a review of my beloved Skilhunt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSMNPq5c6-s&t=239s

 

[TurkishCoffee]

I went to do some touchup painting on my [1978] car. Now, unfortunately I park in an underground garage at an apartment complex with practically no lighting. It's almost completely dark in there aside from some dim fluorescent lights in the center of the garage. Since I was doing touchup paint work I needed to see the color of the areas I was painting well, and hold a brush, so I went with my vintage incan Justrite model 1904 head lamp. Upgraded to a new halogen bulb, with 4+ hours of runtime on NiMH batteries, it's perfect for that kind of thing. Working on the car in total darkness always provides a good excuse to break out the lighting.

 

[Phlogiston]

I was installing a new refrigerator for a pensioner I know, where I had to remove the plug, run the cable through a hole too small for said plug, then put the plug back on. My Nitecore MT06MD (a 2×AAA penlight) came in very handy for making sure the cable wasn't being trapped as I slid the fridge into its space under the counter.

The MT06MD was narrow enough to fit in the small gap at the side of the fridge, between it and the cupboard unit, so I wasn't being dazzled by reflections off the front of the fridge the way I would have been if I'd been trying to shine the beam from a wider light down there.

I got sour Haribo sweets as a thank you for that one - she knows I like those, whether I'm over 40 or not!

 

[JohnnyBravo]

Even though I was just sitting under a ceiling fan/light combo w/ 2 x 1640 lumens CFLs, I didn't have enough light to reinstall a screw into my eye glasses. I used my P1R Peacekeeper to help me set and tighten the screw. Boring, I know... (49 yr old eyes)

 

[bykfixer]

Not boring at all when that little screw falls to the floor because your 49 year old eyes didn't see it properly... until you whipped out a flashlight that is...

 

[CREElumens]

Even though I was just sitting under a ceiling fan/light combo w/ 2 x 1640 lumens CFLs, I didn't have enough light to reinstall a screw into my eye glasses. I used my P1R Peacekeeper to help me set and tighten the screw. Boring, I know... (49 yr old eyes)

Haha. I constantly use my flashlights on my home which I need often to see. The energy saving bulbs in my house are terrible. I find it more enjoyable to carry my edc flashlight around.

 

[Phlogiston]

Yep. I routinely use an Astrolux S41S in 10-lumen mode to read the tiny markings on surface-mount electronic parts. Better CRI, with varying angle and brightness as I move the light around until the marking becomes clear. Extra lumens at hand if I drop a part and can't see where it went...

 

[ven]

Today for a change i had an AA day(well 14500 to be exact)..............So thrunite T10s 219c 4000k and lumapower AA again 219c. Inspections in the roof void mainly, not sure either would replace my 16650 fed lights any time soon for full time duty. Just not enough in the tank when using around 200lm outputs. Still it is all fun, variety keeps things fresh.

 

[terjee]

Tidying up some in the basement storage with a H600Fc Mk III. I'm still both amazed and amused by how much the lights I do buy actually gets used, and how much of a difference they make, regardless of if it's up a mountain or down in a basement.

 

[bykfixer]

It's a treat to hear the stories. Freshen up Ven.

Me? I just randomly turned on my E2D with a singLED set at 25-ish lumens just to see it light. Oh, and I used the tailcap of my PR-1 to rip open a package.

Where's my E2?... wanna see it light again... brb... found it in my wife's posession... no, no, no, give it back...

 

[Darkbain]

I used my ol' PD35 to work on a residential heating unit located in a dark attic to test and swap out sequencers. Then to look down into a sewer clean out to see if there was water flow in a rental.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I used my PD35 to find my way around in a steam tunnel.

 

[U2v5]

Checking the water level in the Christmas tree [emoji319] stand and topping it off. [emoji318]

 

[bykfixer]

Today I get a call from Mrs. Fixer saying the dogs are swimming in the kitchen... uh, this can't be good. Well it turns out the water heater failure at Christmas tradition has happened again. With 9 days left of a 5 year warranty this one failed. Eh, it's just a thing for a flashaholic to have an excuse to use the ever faithful head lamp. Uh oh. It's in my truck that's in the shop.

Tooth-hold it is.... a Streamlight Scorpion gets the nod. Mine starts on low (20 or so lumens) and the rubber cover is easy on these old teeth.

 

[Ishango]

Keep writing these stories, guys. Fun to read, so many great uses. Ah, the (not so) good old water heater broke down at Christmas story.

I myself used my PD32 two days ago. My girlfriend had a minor parking incident with my car (she won't hear the end of that one anytime soon) She came back late in the afternoon when it was already too dark to see any scratches and dents (my car is dark blue). So I used my PD32 on full power to try and inspect the damage. My girlfriend took over the light one second to see for herself. When one of our girls asked something about why were not going inside just yet, she flashed the flashlight in their direction by accident for just a second or so. Now our two girls saw stars :sigh: and my girlfriend said that she wasn't aware it was this bright.

Yesterday my girlfriend wanted to pick me up while walking from work back home. Again beginning of the evening and it was dark out. She first went to a location with the car that was pretty much at the same distance as my original location (more of a horizontal move from my original destination than coming halfway my route). When finally driving towards me (I had walked 3/4 the distance to home by now, it would have taken me mere 7 minutes from there) she couldn't see me walking beside the road. So I did what every flashaholic would do, I grabbed my TK09 and flashed it a few times pointed towards the ground. Those 900 lumens sure drew her attention.

 

[bykfixer]

Often times when driving home from work after dark I see people along the side of the road walking in dark clothing. With a hood on and facing away from traffic.
Warm clothes tend to be dark colored, I get that. I also get that a hood keeps you warmer while muffling your hearing somewhat.

Laws in my state dictate pedestrians walk facing traffic, but no cop is going to write a ticket for them walking with traffic... no sane cop anyway.

When I walk at night I keep in mind that it's dark, I'm wearing dark clothes and my hearing is subdued by ear warming something or other. So I carry a plastic flashlight aiming it at the ground. The plastic type often glow at the tip where light passes through the outside tip. When carrying the light aiming down, arms swinging creates a motion of the light for a more liklihood of catching the attention of a motorist.

Last night I did just that. I used my 2x AA Icon Modus for that and a Maglite ML50 to peer forward into the distance.

 

[peter yetman]

I live and work in what you would call The Sticks.
Very rural and no lighting on roads no wider than a tractor.
So often at night when I'm driving, I come across people unlit, walking along our lanes in the pitch dark.
I often stop and offer them the loan of a light and they look at me like I'm some sort of Mad Axeman.
Townies, they have no idea that country roads are actually more dangerous than a motorway.
P

 

[bykfixer]

The other day I spoke of giving a PK Knight to a coworker who later said "what's in your right jacket pocket" etc...

Today we were peering into a 25 foot deep (8m) manhole to inspect a repair. Between his PK Knight on high and my PK PR-1 on high both aiming into the manhole in broad daylight the about 900 combined lumens made the bottom light up some.

I reached in my left jacket pocket and pulled out a SureFire EB1c and said "here's why I carry this one" and used the pencil beam to illuminate the inside of the manhole very well, top to bottom. After we had inspected (and approved) the repair he smiled and asked "how many lumens is that one pray-tell?" I responded "only 200 but this is what is called a pencil beam". Tomorrow I'll present him with a gen 1 Pelican 2350 since it's 100 lumen pencil beam lights up inside of manholes fairly well too.