Wow, why in the world do you carry a flashlight with you?

[lightcycle1]

Its amazing how many times Ive used a flashlight even during the daytime hours indoors. If somebodys with me and a light is needed, I get respect for having it on me instead of ridicule.

Honestly I dont care what anybody thinks of my EDC habits anyway. Makes my life easier when I need to see in poorly lit areas/darkness, cut something, or tell the time.

Im also a watchlightknifemultitool guy. Never leave home without them. And my Ray-Bans.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[N8N]

For me, it just didn't feel right if I left the house without at least 600 total lumens on my person...with the new ea4 strapped to my belt and the tk41 in my coat pocket, it doesn't feel right to venture out with less than 1500 lumens anymore..

TK41 in a coat pocket...?

I mean, it's an awesome light, but it's like 2-D Mag size... great for work in dark rooms/corners but I wouldn't carry it unless I knew I was going to need it. But maybe that's just me *shrug*

I started EDCing a Fenix E11 though and I have used the snot out of the little thing.

 

[aginthelaw]

i had the occasion of transporting a client to a dr's office in a high rise. though it was 3:30 in the afternoon, we were in an interior suite, away from windows. as luck would have it, the power grid in the area was not very stable (hurricane sandy has passed just 5 days before), and of course, the power went out. There were emergency lights in the hallways, there were emergency lights on the stairs. there were no emergency lights in the bathroom where she had just shut the outer door. i ran to the door with my 6p in hand as she let out a slight peep being caught by the darkness. i just had a 3 mode drop in installed, which i forgot about, and it came on with a 500 lumen room filling brightness. she invited me into the bathroom with her which i declined, setting the light on the small wastebasket on the floor, and stepped into the dr's office with the rexlight 2.0 as my back up.

i checked on the rest of the staff who set about pulling out their plastic eveready halogen lights. my client stepped out of the bathroom handing me her specimen, which i also declined. she set about turning the tailcap of the surefire sending it thru all the modes, before i had to snatch it from her (the strobe was sending the staff into seizures). i went to my car while she completed her appt. found a mag-lite 2-d upgrade bulb and a halogen scorpion. i upgraded the bulb in one of the energizer $1.99 specials, and it was as if they saw the sun for the first time. my client pulled out an olight t25 which she claimed didn't work. she never knew you were supposed to turn the head to go thru the modes. she traded it for my scorpion because it was so much easier to use. the staff treated us to a banquet like you wouldn't believe, because the restaurant on the first floor wanted to get rid of their food since they were a sushi restaurant. the sushi bar owners were Korean, my client is Korean, and the dr's & staff are Korean, so we all sat at the same table and got stuffed on sushi that cost no more than you would usually leave for a tip. couldn't get them to sign up for candlepowerforums though.

as a parting thought, it doesn't pay to over-indulge in anything. i had heartburn for 3 days from the kimshee, and i totally forgot how to work my own flashlight. i rotate flashlights once a week, and buying dozens of the latest greatest flashlights doesn't make you a flashaholic if you don't remember how to use them.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

For me, it just didn't feel right if I left the house without at least 600 total lumens on my person...with the new ea4 strapped to my belt and the tk41 in my coat pocket, it doesn't feel right to venture out with less than 1500 lumens anymore..

Yeah seriously, as others have said, a TK-41 in the pocket? You really *really* need that much throw?

 

[JohnSmith]

i had the occasion of transporting a client to a dr's office in a high rise...

Great story!

 

[blah9]

I've been stuck once or twice inside a large warehouse-type store when the lights went out, and it has been very handy to have a light with me. That was before my CPF days though, and I'm sure it would be more fun now! Lights always seem to come in handy for one thing or another, but those occasions were probably when I was the most glad to have a light.

 

[KiwiMark]

In the news last night there was a story about some areas of our capital city with street lights not working - there has been power outages due to a recent storm and the power company has been (rightly) prioritising restoring power to households. Someone interviewed was talking about having to negotiate some stairs normally lit by street lights but now in complete darkness - probably the sort of person that would ask a sensible and sane person "Why in the world do you carry a flashlight with you?".

I feel like saying to the non-flashlight carrying people - "Seriously guys, don't you realise that poop happens?"
Even around home during the day I've gone into the basement garage to sort through some stuff stored in there and it is as dark as anything - I have the handy option of being able to reach into my pocket and pull out a flashlight so that I can see the stuff I want to look through.

 

[Xacto]

And in most cases a feeble Fenix E01 would be enough.


Cheers
Thorsten

 

[Devildude]

Yeah seriously, as others have said, a TK-41 in the pocket? You really *really* need that much throw?

Well to be completely honest not only do I carry my TK41in my lunch bucket I also carry an EA4, EA8 and a TN31mb. We had a power outage at the factory I work at and it was nice being one of the few people that was prepared for the situation. Saw a lot of cellphones being used as flashlights though.

 

[M@elstrom]

And in most cases a feeble Fenix E01 would be enough.

Yes true but the extra spill is more than useful... I EDC an A2L :thumbsup:

 

[alaskabushman]

Living in Alaska as I do, carrying a light makes a lot of sense in the winter. Even in southeastern Alaska we only have about 6-7 hours of daylight in the winter months. Not the solid 24 hour darkness like farther up north but still. Getting firewood, thawing frozen pipes, putting on tire chains or shoveling snow are all things that are hard to do in the dark. In the summer I still carry my light however, since it seems like I always have to find something in a dark closet, look for something I dropped under my truck seat, look into some dark corner of an engine...bottom line, my light gets used almost as much as my Leatherman, so I feel naked without it!

 

[Richub]

Lately a new colleague started a discussion about 'doing the most useless thing ever' like carrying a flashlight in summertime with 17+ hours of daylight. She didn't know I'm a flashaholic, and as a response to that remark I lit her up with my trusty TK15. She honestly thought I'd gone mad on the spot.

A few hours later the maintenance guy told us there would be no lights in the bathrooms for the next few hours as he would be replacing some bad power cables there. That colleague cried out "But I have to go right now! Please turn the light back on a few minutes... I have to go really bad!" Maintenance guy: "Sorry, you'll have to wait now."

She almost panicked until I gave her my E05, and she darted off to the bathroom.
When she came back and handed me my E05 with a grateful smile I asked her: "Well, what did you say about the most useless thing ever?" She blushed and apologized.

 

[KiwiMark]

Lately a new colleague started a discussion about 'doing the most useless thing ever' like carrying a flashlight in summertime with 17+ hours of daylight.

Ever try to check something on a computer under a desk? The fact that it is daylight just makes in darker in comparison under there.
I don't get why people think that being daylight makes a flashlight pointless - there are dark corners all over the place.

 

[Richub]

If I could get 50 cents for every man/woman that thinks flashlights are useless in daylight, I'd be a millionaire.

 

[Shagrath]

I've had more use out of my edc light in the day time than at night. I'm always working on computers. Then there's times when you drop that little screw or nut and it bounces under a desk. Good luck finding that without a light...

 

[paddyred]

Its sad to see people with the opinion "Why do you need that!?" Well guess what, a few of my friends where taking the mick out of me for carrying a Juice s2 and a Preon 2 (And many other things) on me and guess who came to the rescue! We all finished at work and decided to all go for lunch, well half way there one of my freinds cars broke down at the side of the road. I opened the bonnet and inspected the engine (Using the medium mode on the preon 2) to find the HP boost pipe had popped off. I took out my S2 and loosened the clip, re-attached the pipe and tightened it back up. Well they won't be having a laugh at my expense again!

 

[KiltedMP]

Having enlisted in the Army in '83 and trained to be a Military Policeman, I found the flashlight to come in handy more often than not. Then, it was the maglight as the duty light. Thankfully they have evolved over the years to a more handy format. The first duty station was a correction facility where prisoners would escape at least once a month and we'd have to search at any given time in all of the nooks and crannies of the area. As time went on, the smaller, more powerful lights became easier to carry and I ended up spending a lot of time carrying either a Surefire 6P or G2, then on to the Blackhawk Gladius with it's awesome strobe for many, many years. On to the Fenix TK15 recently and then the Klarus XT-11. Currently, the Nitecore SRT7 is serving as my carry light, even though I've retired from the Army after 28 years of service. Having a light on me at all times, has become second nature. I certainly try not to leave home without one. Of course, there are all of the old ones about: in the house and the car, so I am not far from at least three other lights.

 

[JohnSmith]

I'm here on business in southeastern Puerto Rico, where we just happen to have a tropical storm bearing down on us. I have three lights with me, because I'm a flashaholic. HDS 200 clicky, Surefire E1B and a Nitecore SRT6. Our colleagues here warned us of power outages, flooding, etc, and sent us back to our residence with a strange flashlight they had on hand. I whipped out my 3 lights to demonstrate my general preparedness, and my fellow travelers asked, "why do you have 3 flashlights?" I thought the situation justified it all, but I explained that I just like flashlights.

 

[niter1dah]

We have really short days in Seattle, WA during the winter. Nothing more frustrating trying to find something in the dark before or after work. I always have a couple in my car. I think I have enough combined lumens to use them as headlights in a pinch. :devil:

 

[JohnSmith]

I'm here on business in southeastern Puerto Rico...

Just following up on my post above... We did in fact lose power overnight due to the tropical storm. I don't feel the least bit bad about packing 3 flashlights on this trip!