This sounds shockingly similar to BuddTX's post in the thread of why people hate M@g, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it. It may also be inferred as a narrative answer to the question asking "Why do you feel that M@g has let you down?"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Well, I always wanted lights like in the movies, but I thought that was just special effects.
I had always thought my M@g light was bright. Y'know, for a real-life flashlight.
Then I bought a set of NiteRider halogens for my bike. (The 12V and then the 6V too) Wow. If only something that bright was in a flashlight. I'd use those around the house. Although it was inconvenient to hold the battery pack and light module, it was just so wonderfully bright.
I used to think my 2D M@g was about as bright as flashlights got.
Then I got pulled over by a cop who had a light that just made the whole inside of my car sparkle with brightness. (He didn't write me up.)
That did it for me. That proved there ARE bright flashlights in real life.
When I got home I surfed the web. There had to be something brighter than that big M@g I had. Maybe the charger version was really that bright, but there were these other companies Surefire and Streamlight that really seemed to be going at it and with apparently far more innovation than Mag and seemed to cater to customers who cared about the amount of light coming out the end.
I learned the difference between Lumens and Candlepower. Surefire listed Lumens. Streamlight listed Candlepower. I always go with companies that seem to be more straightforward, so I bought a Surefire, after a great deal of angst due to the price and no comparison between Lumens and anything I had seen already.
When the 8nx came in the mail I tore it open and stuck in the battery. That 1/2 second of brightness was all it took. "Holy cr@p! I can't believe I thought all this time that the M@g was the best I could get! And this thing is so much smaller! And just plain better in every way! This is
soooooo worth the price!"
Shortly thereafter I bought an 8nx for my dad too, whose house is filled with those godawful dim "safety" flashlights with a built-in plug to sit in the wall socket. He loves it.
Now I've got a Tigerlight too and my wife is asking "What is it with the flashlights??? I'm getting a little worried about you. I think you're getting some kind of wierd addiction..."
"And what's with that calendar?"
I'm visiting my parents. My dad wants the Tigerlight I brought with me.
It just kinda spreads happy surprises, doesn't it?