Getting back into the hobby and dealing with the regret of lights you sold

DayofReckoning

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After years away from the flashlight hobby, I find myself slowly coming back. But right now I'm dealing with some serious regret for selling some of the lights that I once owned. After losing interest in the hobby, I started selling most of my lights to fund other interests, my M3, M4, M6, M6LT, Kroma, L2 Lumamax, LX2 Lumamax, Commander Rechargeables, Turboheads, the list goes on and on.

Now there is this sad feeling inside of me knowing I can never go back to what my collection once was, those lights are gone, and now I'm back starting at square one.

I'm so excited to be back into the hobby along side you guys, but at the same time this regret of selling my old lights is eating me up inside.
 

bykfixer

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Well......

Keep your eyes peeled in the wts section.

I used to scour eBay but found most were auctions and often times I'd be outbid at the last millisecond (by automated bidding software, or folks with faster software). Sometimes a buy it now would be a good price too.
Yet what I found is that patience paid off here at the site. Often times folks are thinning the herd or just cashing out lights that don't get used anymore. And even better, these members look out for us other members and offer great deals.

Check out pages 2,3,4 etc to see what sold recently. You'll see that there is hope for you to replenish that collection.
 
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emarkd

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Me personally? I just don't sell stuff :D

Some of that old stuff does pop up from time to time. And posting a WTB in the proper forum can often help shake something loose. It does take time and patience to find it sometimes, but if you put in the work it usually pays off.

Welcome back though, and you'll quickly come to enjoy the new stuff too. There's some awesome stuff that's happened in the past few years. Its a good time to be a flashaholic.
 

Modernflame

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I have an M6 Guardian and a C3 Centurion on my list. I've been a flashlight geek since childhood, but my addiction went through a decade of dormancy and, like you, I relinquished a few gems.

From time to time I still sell things, but only because I'm trying to fine tune my collection. From now on, I'm keeping my stuff.

#torchoholicforlife
 

archimedes

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In any hobby, I suppose one can always look backwards, or look forwards ....

What was it that you miss most about those particular items ?

If it was technological, that is easy to fix, since newer lights are now available that exceed most of those specs easily. Maybe check out some of @vinhnguyen54 current work.

If it was owning some of the history of handheld lighting, there may be even older items still around and worth collecting. I think @bykfixer might drop by with some words of wisdom for you in this soon, if this is your goal.

If it was simply having some of the most reliable gear ever made, well, Malkoff is still around and making torches.

If you are still an incandescent fan, there has since been an influx of new parts from players like Tads Customs and Lumens Factory. Head back over to that subforum for more details, in that case.

Whatever it may be, welcome back and good luck !

:rock: :party: :rock:
 

DayofReckoning

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Thanks for the words of encouragement guys! My old collection took years and years to build up, and unfortunately, I'm probably never going to be able to find some of the more uncommon stuff I had, particularly the various Surefire Turboheads I had. And when they do pop up, I'm likely not going to have the funds to secure them. Sadly, even after all the new advances in LED technology, I'm still and Incan guy at heart!
 

Modernflame

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Sadly, even after all the new advances in LED technology, I'm still and Incan guy at heart!

I regularly see incandescent A2 Aviators on the marketplace for very reasonable prices. Just so ya know, Illumination Supply has a stash of NIB Surefire 6P's, complete with the original P60 lamp assemblies!
 

DayofReckoning

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I regularly see incandescent A2 Aviators on the marketplace for very reasonable prices. Just so ya know, Illumination Supply has a stash of NIB Surefire 6P's, complete with the original P60 lamp assemblies!

Thanks! Fortunately, I still have my two A2 Aviators, as there is no force on earth that could make me part with them. I also still have my 6P and 9P too, as well as my E2E. So while most of my old incans are gone, at least I still have some good ones left!
 

archimedes

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Aw, c'mon. Post the turbo head pics, Arch. You know you want to. It's not showing off if another CPF'er puts you up to it!

:poke:

Well, I don't have the LF Turbo Head, and it wouldn't seem right to post up the SureFires here ....

I did send OP a PM though :)

Lemme see if I can get a photo up of something by SolarForce instead, ok ? :cool:
 

archimedes

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Not sure if this MPP-1 is still available or not, but Solarforce do still make some P/C/G-series compatible turboheads ....

xlFNMSo.jpg


Aviator included, for scale :D
 

bykfixer

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Sadly, even after all the new advances in LED technology, I'm still and Incan guy at heart!

You, my friend are not alone. But these days there is more reward in achieving the incan goals as they become more and more a thing of the past.

The days of those old super-bright bulbs have past, but... the 'club' of purists are a tight knit group who look out for each other.

Like I said before, be patient and things will work out.
At one point I set my sights on a 2c Kel-Lite. At the time the bay was littered with junk that was way over priced. I kinda forgot about the quest, then one day it began raining nice, cheap Kel-Lites. It took about 2 years of searching, then all at once I was able to find all kinds of them.... to the point I screamed out "no more!" It was the same with Pentagon Lights and at some point SureFire.

After 3 years I finally found a classic Microstream by Streamlight... not one but two.

So replacing some of your favorites won't necessarily be easy, or quick. Yet when persistance pays off all the sweeter the reward(s).
 

Modernflame

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Aviator included, for scale :D

:clap::clap:

The days of those old super-bright bulbs have past, but... the 'club' of purists are a tight knit group who look out for each other.

Can't say that I'm an incan purist when it comes to flashlights, but I refuse to install LED lighting fixtures in my home. Hot wires only! No LED's will be tolerated. Those curly fluorescent thingys will be shot on sight.
 

DayofReckoning

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Great discussion here. And that Turbohead looks pretty sweet. I sure wish someone made a big 3 inch Turbohead
 

Crazyeddiethefirst

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DayofReckoning,
Take a look at username "Ven", I think you may see some Turbo heads you like. I have a collection of almost 400 lights, and yet I do regret selling and trading away some precious lights when I was a novice. The most painful transaction was the sale of 6 Surefire's that the USPS lost, but that's another story. My only suggestion is that you look at everything available today, do a mental comparison to those lights that you favored the most and ask yourself what best suits your needs. It took me around 30-40 lights capable of over 1,000 Lumens before I realized that due to health reasons the real world "need" I had for high Lumens (Search and Rescue, camping, hiking, amateur climbing) are no longer feasible for me. I still have a strong love of the E2E, and since my very first "good" Flashlight was an E2E in stainless, I have a few of them...some incandescent (the tip above about T Customs is great-I have a few brass drop ins and multiple bulbs I can change based on need), as well as LED drop ins from Steve Ku, Lumens Factory and custom builds.The main point I was trying to communicate before I got lost in run on sentences is that many of the lights from a few years ago, meet my needs easily and other than a few select Surefire's can be acquired at a very reasonable price with a modest amount of patience. Don't underestimate the WTB, WTT, WTS sections of CPF(want to BUY, TRADE, SELL). Take a look at the Paul Kim threads too-the "Main Man" from Surefire has some excellent offerings that merge old world style with new world technology and the results are amazing! There are also some Paul Kim-Four Seven's collaborations that are still around(Four Sevens was recently sold to Jason at DarkSucks/Prometheus Lights, another great company to check out). When you know what you want, let the CPF Community know and I believe you will be impressed by the response. I would also reccomend getting a Surefire 6P(around $50 new) or one that is bored out for 18650 size cells and try out a few of the new LEDS-drop ins are usually less expensive than complete lights, see what you like, sell the ones you don't and now you have a good idea of what is available and what you like for far less than a dozen new lights. Not to mention the 6P's have a slighter better survival ability than even cockroaches after a nuclear war.... Good Luck, have fun and enjoy...
 
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