# LIGHTS OUT! The worst time for your light to go out?



## Arkayne (Apr 3, 2006)

I was riding through one of my favorite canyon runs at night and I bent my derailleur when it hit a huge rock. It was internally damaged and I couldn't shift anymore or pedal reliably. It was ok, I had my Light & Motion ARC HID light on me so the darkness wasn't a problem. I was about 4 miles away from home so I turned around and started to walk back..... until the light dimmed.

My light started bright white but it was slowly turning blue, which basically means for me to GET MY *** OUT OF THE CANYON BEFORE IT CUTS OUT. My walk turned into a run but the light didn't make it.

All of those stories of mountain lions attacking hikers and packs of coyotes attacking came rushing into my head. I was scared! There wasn't much I could do so I just held on to my canister of mace/pepper spray (I keep that strapped to my seatpost on solo runs) and marched on by starlight.

That was one of my scary stories in the dark. What about yours?


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## JackBlades (Apr 3, 2006)

Drunken gang members in the Cleveland National Forest. Never had any trouble with them, but then I've never been stalked by a cougar either.

It must have sucked trying to push a bike and watch your back as well! I have an old Klein pinnacle, and could probably hoist it over my shoulder for the hustle out of there. :huh:


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## FlashInThePan (Apr 3, 2006)

I see an ARC AAA or a CMG Infinity in your future.... =)

Definitely a scary experience, Arkayne! I haven't yet had a light fail on me in a critical situation...but that's probably only because I'm not adventurous enough to get into the cool situations to begin with! Anyway, I guess that's just another great reason to have your A2 with you at all times. Or barring that, an ARC AAA for basic backup. ;-)

Glad to hear you made it out okay! Was this Mission Trails?

- FITP


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## Arkayne (Apr 3, 2006)

FlashInThePan said:


> Glad to hear you made it out okay! Was this Mission Trails?



Heeeey San Diego brethren!

Yep, good call on Mission Trails! I parked my car (I called it home for this post) near the visitors center and was in between mountains nearest the 52. It sure got dark fast


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## jtice (Apr 3, 2006)

It hasnt happened yet,

but I do alot of caving,,, and you do NOT want a light going out on you there.
Thats why you always bring at least THREE lights with you.

I love this pic on surefires site....
http://www.surefire.com/surefire/content/banner_cave.jpg

~John


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## BigHonu (Apr 3, 2006)

jtice said:


> It hasnt happened yet,
> 
> but I do alot of caving,,, and you do NOT want a light going out on you there.
> Thats why you always bring at least THREE lights with you.
> ~John




Must agree wholeheartedly here! Two is one and one is none.


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## yellow (Apr 3, 2006)

inside caves (just beginners stage, no rapelling), I change batts. 
Or take another light
or change batts on the lights I lent around,
then, finally, there will be the lights my buddies brought with them 
(the ones that had not to be used because of my lights, they are still better than no light at all)


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## AlexGT (Apr 3, 2006)

I'm glad you came out OK, I always carry spare lights and batteries with me, and keep my lights at least 80% capacity (Li-ions) just make sure all your lights use the same type of battery so you can trade to a longer runtime light in case of emergency. I'd say strap some spare batteries to the botom of your seat, they don't weight much and could save your butt in the future.

AlexGT


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## hquan (Apr 4, 2006)

I once did an internship in a small town in Montana. There is no light pollution there and very few street lights. This all means that at night, you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face on a moonless night. I was riding home on a dirt bike and the light went out... which meant that I couldn't see the street or even be sure that I was riding in the right direction. Traffic was very light - which was bad because the light from the headlights would've been very useful. When a car did pass, I got my bearings and got an idea of where the road was by carefully watching the car's path. I made it home without a wreck - but swore that that would never happen to me again (and it hasn't!)


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## CLHC (Apr 4, 2006)

At least you're able to relate your experience here. And like what the others mentioned about back up lights. That Light & Motion is some bike light to be sure. Maybe the models with them HID+LEDs (NiteRider) would be in good order too. . .

Enjoy!


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## chuck4570 (Apr 4, 2006)

Good reason to always have a backup light. Even a small light is pretty bright in situations like that.

Chuck


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## Lee1959 (Apr 4, 2006)

I one time lost my only flashlight while out hunting. I did not notice it till I had started on my way back in and it was getting dark enough to use the flashlight. I went to the belt sheath and no minimag. Now here I was in the middle of a small swamp, meaning a few square miles, turning pitch black, in water up to my knees, I had lost my bearings when I could no longer see my compass and ended up in the water. Yes I could have set up a small emergency camp but that old thing pride stood in the way. I had never been lost, and I was not about to hear it from my dad and brother in law who were waiting on me, I was driving.

Luckily it was dark enough that I could often see one small light in the distance through the trees, red on a tower. I used that bearing point and came out after an hour or so of tripping over logs and spashing through water at times up to my chest. It was the time I learned the hard lesson of backup lights.

One of the things I know after 40 odd years in the woods, in the dark, animals are the least of your worry. Tripping over something, stepping into a hole, falling over an unseen edge, simply running into a tree and jabbing your eyes, incapacitating yourself in some manner is many times more likely. Once that happens, you are at the mercy of the elements, and mother nature does not suffer fools well.


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## Navck (Apr 4, 2006)

jtice said:


> It hasnt happened yet,
> 
> but I do alot of caving,,, and you do NOT want a light going out on you there.
> Thats why you always bring at least THREE lights with you.
> ...



http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2500/surefireadvertisement5fz.jpg
Popular science edition


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## 357 (Apr 4, 2006)

this is whys I always carries at least one backup to my primary light.


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## CARNAL1 (Apr 4, 2006)

What self respecting Flashaholic only carries one light? I carry a minimum of three lights with me when I take the garbage out to the curb.

1. ARC AAA-P rev 4
2. SF Z2 Combat light
3. ARC LSH-ST LuxIII modified by LitFuse

Something that We should all remember is that we are Flashaholics,
We own the Night.

Nuff Said,

Happy Dark Trails.


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## Ray_of_Light (Apr 4, 2006)

It happened more than thirty years ago, on the top of Mount Vesuvius, my backpack fell down the trail. It contained all the flashlights, batteries, emergency gear, and the like. 
There, at least, I had starlight. Few months later, inside an underground archeological site, the bulb of my main light failed... but I had a backup light there.
It isn't going to happen anymore. No more... Even before my CPF membership, I had three lights on me.

Anthony


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## leukos (Apr 4, 2006)

Not as exciting as some of your stories, but before my flashaholic days I was following a blood trail alone and after dark in a part of the woods I wasn't familiar with and my 3D Mag went out. Determined not to give up, I used my backup minimag with nearly dead batteries to try and follow the trail. It was starting to rain, and I knew if I left the trail there would be nothing left of it in the morning. So I followed it for another ten or fifteen minutes before it was just too dim to see anything. I was probably only a mile from the road, but the minimag was worthless. I decided just to turn it off since I figured I would see better with night-adapted eyes than with that sickly beam. I actually relied on my ears more to find my way back to the road as dark as it was, though the rain made it difficult. If I remember right, I did have a branch nearly gouge out one of my eyes, it scratched up my face pretty good. All in all, I made some pretty stupid decisions that evening.


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## nc987 (Apr 4, 2006)

How many lights i take with me totally depends on the situation. If im caving, then i have a minimum of 2 handheld lights and my headlamp with spare batteries for all. If im taking out the garbage one light is really all i need. 

I love that Surefire advertisement


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## Kryosphinx (Apr 4, 2006)

The worst time is when you're trying to show off your light to people, and it malfunctions. 
Then all you can do is mumble to yourself about what might be wrong.


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## Echo63 (Apr 5, 2006)

i have only once had a light die on me when i really needed it, i was chasing an offender using my stinger to light the area (middle of a school with no power) when the battery died, so i put the stinger back in its pouch with one hand and drew my 6p with the other, kept on chasing him.

my duty lights may have been upgraded and changed around over the past 5 years but i still carry that 6p


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## cubsfan555 (May 20, 2009)

Navck said:


> http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2500/surefireadvertisement5fz.jpg
> Popular science edition



The caption for that picture is kinda creepy. "Because this far underground, you can't move safely, you can't find your way out, and nobody will hear your screams."


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## jgraham15 (May 20, 2009)

cubsfan555 said:


> The caption for that picture is kinda creepy. "Because this far underground, you can't move safely, you can't find your way out, and nobody will hear your screams."


 
+1

That caption really makes you think!!! :candle:

I guess that's the point of the ad though.


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## Sgt. LED (May 20, 2009)

Long before I discovered CPF.........
I was out wandering in the woods and my only light went out. I just sat down and waited for morning. It sucked but nothing bad happened. No moon and too many leaves to go by the stars. It was a long boring night.

I also was at a campsite once and my light died. I was in an outhouse at the time. That wasn't much fun either.


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## tebore (May 20, 2009)

Holy Thread revival

It's a good example for why you should always have 2 or more of something when you know you're going to be counting on it. Could be a knife, light or rope you'll kick yourself when you didn't bring enough.


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## piojo (May 21, 2009)

cubsfan555 said:


> The caption for that picture is kinda creepy. "Because this far underground, you can't move safely, you can't find your way out, and nobody will hear your screams."


I think since it was an ad in Popular Science, it was probably intended to be homage to "In space, no one can hear you scream," from Alien.


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## Chrontius (May 21, 2009)

I thought it was "In space, everyone can hear you scream."

No, wait, that was The Wrath of Kahn.


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## callmaster (May 21, 2009)

I always have 3 lights on me that I have holstered to my belt and almost always something more powerful in my hands. 

If I'm in the forest/jungles,etc I'll probably have 2-3 (battery) back ups for each light so I'm never really in trouble.

If I'm carrying a back pack, I'll probably have another light in there just in case.

I've never let myself get stuck in a situation where I'm totally without a working light. We've been stuck in the jungle for days at a time waiting for transport out and we're always ready for it.

I'm a little afraid of what might go bump in the night. Hence all those lights and batteries. In addition to that, I always have a few firesteel as backup just in case we lose our lighters, other assorted fire making items.

I'm interested in caving now. Another dangerous hobby!


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## Zeruel (May 21, 2009)

If it's for situations I can _think of_ (probably unlikely), it'll be:

- When you proudly give a light to someone and boast about its capability, when he/she switches it on, it just goes 

- When SWAT or SRT is about to charge into a dark room, rifle mount goes  upon entry.

- An alien stalking you in a dark maze, you know it's lurking somewhere, you hear a scrapping sound behind you, you turn around! And your light goes 

- You're stranded on an island for 2 years, a ship passes by and you signaled a morse code of S...O..... Ship rolls off in anger thinking you've just called them an a**h****.

- You thought lights can be used as a blinding tool against perpetrators and switches it on to have it  There goes the real lesson learnt lights cannot be used as a self defense tool.

- A bombing run like used in Dambuster... "hold it steady...steady... beamshots are merging......steady" 

- You found the bomb, holding the light in your mouth, you're wondering which wire to cut, red, blue, green, white, yellow, pink.....


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## zs&tas (May 22, 2009)

hid bike lights are damn good but i would consider a decent led backup bike light, lots of companys make them now, and they easily fit in your camelback - which you should have full of tube, basic tools etc.
Respect Klein. R.I.P.


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## Kestrel (May 22, 2009)

Zeruel said:


> If it's for situations I can _think of_ (probably unlikely), it'll be ...


:twothumbs
Ya gotta hate those bombs that have 6+ wires...


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## callmaster (May 22, 2009)

Didn't know they used pink wires


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## Sub_Umbra (May 22, 2009)

A dark night in the land of the Midnight Sun...

This is from one of my old posts:



> ...In the early 70s I was on a small tug with a tow crossing the Gulf of Alaska when we lost our generator (lights, radio) and our main engines just as the barge we were towing began to sink into the 35F water. Amazingly, the only light that could be made to work that night was a dopey disposable incan, wrapped up in a baggie in my kit, that I had carried around for years. I gave it to the engineer and he used it to finally get a gas powered pump running and it saved the day....


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## John_Galt (May 25, 2009)

I can imagine when caving, and whoever you're with has turned their light off to change batteries. 

Or when you're trying to impress your friends (who think you're a weirdo) with this new, ultrabright $100 + flashlight, and it goes poof!


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## ruriimasu (May 25, 2009)

John_Galt said:


> I can imagine when caving, and whoever you're with has turned their light off to change batteries.
> 
> Or when you're trying to impress your friends (who think you're a weirdo) with this new, ultrabright $100 + flashlight, and it goes poof!



when i go caving, i bring along those dynamo squeeze/shake lights as the "last resort" lights. they may sound and seem silly. but if all batteries are used up, these lights really prove their $3 worths!


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## Guy's Dropper (May 25, 2009)

ruriimasu said:


> when i go caving, i bring along those dynamo squeeze/shake lights as the "last resort" lights. they may sound and seem silly. but if all batteries are used up, these lights really prove their $3 worths!


Until it stops working 3 seconds later, because it was built so poorly.


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## ruriimasu (May 25, 2009)

Guy's Dropper said:


> Until it stops working 3 seconds later, because it was built so poorly.



of course i have some other reliable lights. they are only for the "last resort".


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## Patriot (May 26, 2009)

About 12-13 years ago while archery hunting elk. I was "still" hunting on the ground until dark but had a 2C mag, Tekna 4xAA and an Energizer headlamp for when it came time to head back to the truck. 

A good sized black bear about 300 lbs came into the area so I stood up and waved my bow in the air. It looked at me but didn't seem to concerned. I yelled at it and it stopped and stood on two legs at 40 yards looking at me. Now the adrenalin was flowing pretty freely since it still didn't leave. I knocked an arrow as the bear went back on all fours again and meandered at around 40 yards until it came further toward me. I drew the bow and placed the 30 yard pin on the center of its chest while continuing to say "Get OUTTA HERE! Finally it started to move off to the left so I let down my draw and banged an arrow against the riser of the bow while stomping my foot. By that time it was so dark that I couldn't see the red fiber optic pins on my bow sight but only my green ones faintly glowing. I reached into my pack and started digging around for my lights......no lights! My friend and I had identical Eureka back packs at the time and in our hurry to get into the field that afternoon we ended up with each others packs somehow. I realized this the moment I opened up his backpack and started feeling around.

The truck was about 1 mile away which seemed like the next county at that point. Worse yet, the bear had wandered in the general direction that I had to walk. I yelled and shouted all the way out while looking into the illuminated LCD of my first Garmin GPS 38. The unit was slow and had trouble receiving under certain parts of the forest where the pines obscured the sky but after doing some zig-zags I made it to the truck after about 30 minutes.

I had my GPS in my BDU pocket along with a large folding knife and some snacks. I also had a lighter and matches but I wasn't going to fiddle around out there after the close encounter. I've been stupid and have forgotten lights at other times but that one bugged me the most due a bear which apparently didn't have much fear of me. I had that 5" folder in my right hand during the entire walk out. I hung the bow on my pack and had two broadhead tipped arrows in my left hand with the GPS. I knew they'd penetrate easily with a quick thrust if it actually came down to that. 

It was a stupid mistake to rush out of camp like that but we had taken a nap that afternoon and slept in longer than we wanted. I cursed my buddy out for not having a light in his pack but he pointed out that was because he was carrying it on his belt. Lesson learned...After that I started carrying a Glock with night sights while in the field. Now I carry a 10mm with M6X. Archers aren't technically allowed by law to carry a firearm while hunting but hey, I have a feeling that many do.


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## Glock27 (May 26, 2009)

Worst light failure happened to my dive buddy, but it effected me too. We were diving in a cave.
We had made it back into the "Big Room". A ~12 foot diameter conduit or tunnel starts at the entrance room and goes ~100 yards back. Floor of this conduit starts at about 30' below the surface and is ~50' when it dumps into the Big Room. We should have clipped onto the fixed line but didn’t.
We were dropping through 100' when my buddy’s primary light blinked off. He quickly turned on a spare light. I immediately noticed his eyes filled his mask! I thought, “If this cave diver is scared, perhaps I should be concerned too!” He flashed me the crossed finger sign. Where’s the line? The few seconds it took for me to swim to where I “thought” the line laid was the longest seconds of my life. The line was there...but the terrain sure looked different going out than it did going in.


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## Burgess (May 26, 2009)

Yikes !


These last 2 stories really drive the point home.







Even *worse* than being on the toilet in a public restroom,

when some JackA$$ shuts the Lights Off !


:hairpull::tsk:

_


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## NightTime (May 26, 2009)

Burgess said:


> Even *worse* than being on the toilet in a public restroom,
> 
> when some JackA$$ shuts the Lights Off ! _


 
It actually happened to me while I was having a shower in a youth hostel.:candle: Hopefully I had my Fenix L1D with me so I ended up doing a ceiling bounce with it.
:nana:

Yes, I was allready a flashaholic at that time...


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## SupremeEye (May 26, 2009)

I always carry my LD20, TK11 R2, and a E01 on my keychain.

F*ck any light going out on me.

LOL


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## Burgess (May 26, 2009)

SupremeEye said:


> I always carry my LD20, TK11 R2, and a E01 on my keychain.


 


Wow, that stuff makes for *one heavy keychain* !





( j/k )

_


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## Illum (May 26, 2009)

Burgess said:


> Even *worse* than being on the toilet in a public restroom,
> when some JackA$$ shuts the Lights Off !



:lolsign: that used to be high school pranks...then some silly dual enrolled high school freshman started to do it on college campus.:shakehead

Whenever I was the victim though, the restroom would become brighter than the time when lights _were _on :twothumbs:


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## heckboy (May 27, 2009)

I was bombing down a big downhill (by "bombing" I mean going 45MPH) on my commuter bicycle on the way home from work and much to my surprise my lights went out. I run dynamo lights on my commuter bike. I pulled everything down nice and easy. I couldn't see any features on the road and knew that there were some wet patches coming where sprinklers hit manhole covers and paint stripes but I didn't know the road well enough to know I'd miss them.

To get the rest of the way home, I rigged up a "glove light" using an old P1 that lives in my jersey pocket when I'm commuting. It worked really well.

Since then I've added an E20 with a mount that lives inside my pannier as a backup. I still keep the P1 in my jersey anytime night riding might be needed.

Later,
HB


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## Cataract (May 27, 2009)

Yea... that happens... you're sitting directly on the floor because you've been bent over in two fixing the same machine for over 5 hours and it still doesn't work. You look at the time and understand why your stomach is louder than the grinder 20 feet away: not only did you miss lunch, but you're missing dinner also. You know it's only a matter of finding the stupidest little thing and you're about to get it and then you can go home, knowing you made another customer happy. 

Hurry up, get those two connections together, holding one in between two straight fingers (not enough room for your thumb to come in an lend a hand) and the other one with the tip of your finger, lighting the way with the now literally hot EDC sidekick of yours, when the batteries finally give their last breath. The one good thing about shops where you have to wear ear plugs is that other people around can't hear you curse.


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## ypsifly (May 29, 2009)

Went fishing last night and while retying a lure my ROV 1xAA headlamp faded out over the course of three seconds.

Used the Microstream that was clipped to my shirt pocket to find and change the battery and everything was fine. This incident makes me want a Zebralight even more as I understand they don't drop out like that.


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## Patriot (May 29, 2009)

*Glock27,* that's a pretty hairy situation and takes the trophy imo. 











There's no in between in that scenario....only dead or alive. I'm glad you and your buddy were ok. Just think how differently you'll handle that next time and all the dive friends that you'll share your story with.


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## MichaelW (May 30, 2009)

heckboy said:


> I was bombing down a big downhill (by "bombing" I mean going 45MPH) on my commuter bicycle on the way home from work and much to my surprise my lights went out.



Your situation almost sounds like that VW commercial where the guys light goes out, and the VW Passat with the steerable headlights follows behind lighting up the rider's way.


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## Crenshaw (May 31, 2009)

Kestrel said:


> :twothumbs
> Ya gotta hate those bombs that have 6+ wires...


 gotta hate bombs in general really...

Crenshaw


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## dcycleman (May 31, 2009)

I went on a night dive last night in new england = cold and dark. I was thinking that that would probably be one of the worst situations to have a light malfunction, then I was like caving would be pretty bad too, then I read glock 27s post and cave diving definitly takes the cake.


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## Igor Porto (May 31, 2009)

Zeruel said:


> If it's for situations I can _think of_ (probably unlikely), it'll be:
> 
> - When you proudly give a light to someone and boast about its capability, when he/she switches it on, it just goes
> 
> ...




Zeruel, you're the funniest guy on CPF. I crack up every time!    :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:


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## midnite (Jun 4, 2009)

every so often my fenix lod will twist on in my pants pocket unaware of what's going on. It uses up all my battery, then when I pull it out ready to use it then it's dead. What can i say


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## Boy SureFire (Jul 24, 2009)

I always keep a SF E1e/E1l on my belt W/my Benchmade Vex/Leatherman tool at all times  my BM tac pen also keeps me feeling warm:devil:


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## Turbo DV8 (Jul 25, 2009)

NightTime said:


> It actually happened to me while I was having a shower in a youth hostel.:candle:


 
This dredged up a memory. It's a time that my brother really could have used a flashlight when the lights went out...

We were 12 & 14 years old. He was taking a shower at night. Being the mischievous youngster in the pair, I turned out the lights in the bathroom, then left and closed the door. A few moments later, I heard the loud crash of shattering glass. I and my parents rush in to a dark bathroom, they turn the light on, and see the shower door shattered to pieces on the floor, and my brother standing there with blood everywhere. Dad asks what happened, and he says, "Ron turned the light out, and _whenever_ he does that, (nice _touch_, bro!... ed.) I sit down on the floor, and as I was was sitting down I slipped and my foot hit the glass." As his story unfolded, a growing sense of impending doom fell upon me... and I was _right_, by golly. After the beating, I had to clean everything up, and I had to pay for the glass replacement out of my paper route money for, like, the next 17 years. My brother, on the other hand, got the royal, pampered "good son" treatment for, seemingly, half an eternity.

Fast forward maybe twenty years, and the episode came up in casual reminiscence, and my brother tells me, "I didn't slip and fall. I was so pissed you turned the light out, that I kicked the glass door in anger, but there was no chance in _hell_ I was gonna tell mom and dad that!" I should have beat him with a 5 D-cell flashlight right then and there!


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## Boy SureFire (Jul 26, 2009)

Turbo DV8 said:


> I should have beat him with a 5 D-cell flashlight!


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## Caesis (Jul 26, 2009)

Navck said:


> http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2500/surefireadvertisement5fz.jpg
> Popular science edition


That's a bit scary.
"Get a surefire, or you might surely and slowly die in a cave" :twothumbs


Anyways, I'm one of the younger guys here, so my worst time was when the power went out at 1:00. It flicked on super bright, then  ... dead. Not only was there total darkness. I was blinded for a few moments -.-'


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## Owen (Jul 28, 2009)

Many moons ago, I lost my only light when I fell in a sinkhole full of swamp slime doing nighttime land nav. After all the screaming, cursing, hopping, and moss-slinging(I was convinced the moss was water moccasins all over me) subsided, I realized the light was no longer clipped to my LBE, and probably still in the hole. With no way to read my map, I shot an azimuth toward where I knew a road was, and made my way back to our staging area. 
Even though we weren't allowed to use a light to navigate by(only with a red filter to look at our map), I didn't realize the sense of comfort derived from just having it...until it was gone. 
There's more to that story, and it's probably one of the reasons I'm such a flashlight nut. We didn't have cool lights 18 years ago like we have now. A flashlight was an afterthought, not an important piece of gear. We did all our jumping at night, and I don't recall ever using my flashlight, or even if I carried it.
While I don't applaud the gear vs. competency ratio I see today, a simple Photon II back then would have salvaged that land nav exercise for me. 
I'm just glad nobody saw me when I came out of that hole


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## Boy SureFire (Aug 6, 2009)

Owen said:


> I fell in a sinkhole full of swamp slime...


:eeew:


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## Cataract (Aug 6, 2009)

It doesn't happen anymore... some funny guy turned off the light in the bathroom at work while I was on a #2 duty, but I had my maglite solitaire with me... kinda gives a new meaning to the name, doesn't it?


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## TwitchALot (Aug 8, 2009)

jtice said:


> It hasnt happened yet,
> 
> but I do alot of caving,,, and you do NOT want a light going out on you there.
> Thats why you always bring at least THREE lights with you.
> ...



That's amazing. I definitely agree with the philosophy, "two is one, one is none." When it comes to critical gear, you'd better have a backup plan.


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## socom1970 (Aug 9, 2009)

About 20 years ago, I was out for a ride with my cousin in his pickup truck on a series of dirt roads in the backwoods of Tennessee. We were having a great time driving around on roads that were so old and grown-up with weeds and foliage that they were barely visible. 

I had brought along my Mag-charger (really bright and tough, right?) for the ride. As it became increasingly dark, (and Tennessee backwoods get REALLY DARK at night!) we figured we should start back for home. Well, as he was driving through some pretty bad terrain, we heard the sound of doom. A flat tire! So we get out to fix it. I've got my Mag-charger, so I'm thinking we have plenty of light, right? 

Well, about 4 minutes into the project, my Mag-charger dies. So, I'm trying to milk the last little bits of light from it while my cousin is moving as fast as he can while he can still see a little bit. That only lasted for about another couple of minutes. And where we were, it really was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face that night. I had no backup, and he had no lights at all. 

We ended up using his BIC lighter to see with while completing the tire-change. That was really scary, because not only could we not see anything, but Tennessee has all kinds of dangerous wildlife just hoping for an easy meal. Fortunately, we didn't hear or encounter anything bad that night. 

From that night, I have NEVER been without at least two lights. I usually have three or four on my person. I even clip one to my swimming trunks when I go in our YMCA pool. (No windows in the big room, you just never know...)


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## John_Galt (Aug 9, 2009)

When the (fresh!?!) Energizer alkaline batt's in my LD20 suddenly lose power on high mode, after ~30 minutes of use, while trying to find my way down 10 miles of muddy, tree covered trails, at 10:00 on a friday evening, and the light is duct taped to my helmet. :green:

Happened to me about a week ago. A buddy and I decided to go quad riding after I got off work. So, after about 3 hours of riding, (~9:00 pm), it suddenly gets dark enough to worry me about how to get out of the woods. So, we turned around. Around here, it starts to get dark about 9, and there is about 1/2 an hour of twilight after that. But not in the woods. There, it just gets DARK... 
So at about 9:10, I stopped, and took my LD20 out of my pocket, and used some ducttape to secure it to the side of my helmet. This was actually working out pretty good, so I turned the light to "high" mode, and left it there. After about half an hour, tho, the lights steps down a mode. And we still had about 7-8 miles to go. Now, my friends quad is a Yamaha Grizzly 125, and has headlights, so up till this point, I had been in front, because his quad sits higher than mine, and his brake/running light is just high enough to mess with my night vision, blind me, but not illuminate the ground behind him. By the time we made it out of the woods, it was pitch black, and my LD20 had stepped down to low mode. Just enough light to idle along in first gear by. So now, I'm definitely looking into some brighter, longer lasting lights.

Definitley, though, I'm Murphy's favored son.. Hahaha...


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## Mr. kydex (Aug 9, 2009)

John_Galt,

You probably already know this, but, the LD20 is a good light. You ought to try some Rechargable batteries (like Eneloop) or Lithiums. Then you would probably never have that happen again.


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## John_Galt (Aug 10, 2009)

Mr. kydex said:


> John_Galt,
> 
> You probably already know this, but, the LD20 is a good light. You ought to try some Rechargable batteries (like Eneloop) or Lithiums. Then you would probably never have that happen again.



I actually just got some for my birthday!:twothumbs They were at my local Rite-Aid, rebadged as precharged Duracell rechargeable batt's, with a 15 minute charger included. I made sure they were the rebadged Eneloops, not Duracell's own batt's, for quality...


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## musket3 (Apr 29, 2010)

I worked for a electric utility company in NJ for almost 40 years, long before LED lights were ever dreamed of. I worked as an electric meter installer in Hudson County, Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, etc. If you would like to try out your latest super LED light, you can find some really nasty, dark basements there. I retired in 2006, started in 1967, and had a company issued Bright Star 2 D cell flashlight with a lower than standard output PR-6 incandescent bulb instead of the standard PR-2 bulb. The PR-6 used less current than the PR-2, for longer battery life. The batteries were the old carbon zinc type, not alkaline cells. Even then I tried upgrading my light. When Krypton bulbs came out, I bought them as well as a 5 D cell light from Radio Shack for $0.99. They were a good upgrade for the time. Well, one day I was removing meters from a vacant building in Jersey City and I had shut the main disconnect switch off to kill the power to the building, and the bulb on my light burned out. At least I had a spare. A spare bulb in the tail cap of the light, not a spare light. That was quite a thrill changing the bulb in total darkness. I can imagine how much better that job would be with the SureFire lights that I have now with my Malkoff M-60. I just bought a Pelican 7060 and love it. In my opinion the output is a lot more than 130 lumens.


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## Mr Bigglow (Apr 30, 2010)

I've had some near misses with batteries, these are not those: 

#1: In the basement of an abandoned inner city house ( a crackhouse in fact), windows painted out, and which had been subdivided into a crazy maze of rooms (think Buffalo Bill's place in Silence of the Lambs). Dropped my incan Scorpion and _zap_: I had to yell for help, fortunately I could. That's when I learned to carry a plainclothes duty backup.

#2: In the deep country home of some friends I had just started house sitting for. Old fashioned wiring, everything on one circuit, and you had to add up the amps before turning anything on- I unthinkingly hit the clothes dryer button on my first night and _zap_: literally *PITCH* dark and my flash was in my car, parked about 50 metres outside in the basically unfamiliar farm yard. Took me an _embarassingly_ long time to grope my way to it, totally blind, but at least by some sort of miracle I either hadn't locked it or had the keys. Also fortunately, there were no witnesses but their two dogs, who in fact clearly caught the humour of the situation (I swear the critters were laughing at me afterwards). That's when I started to use an EDC 24/7/366. 

#3: In the country again, sudden power blackout everywhere nearby, pitch dark again, had to find my way about 100 metres to my car so I could turn on my headlights and allow a group of people at the same meeting to find theirs, negotiating a parking lot with my new EDC. That's when I learned that, even with the (sort of) glory of being the only person with a flashlight in that situation, a Mag Solitaire is not an adequate EDC for the out-of-doors: I might as well have had a book of matches- in fact they might have worked better. 

In other threads I have praised LEDs as a godsend in my life, the above are the specifics about why I feel that way.


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## andyw513 (May 1, 2010)

For me:

1. When trying to set up a tent after dark right before rain.

2. When you go out to your car at night and hear something in the woods.

3. A knock on your front door during a power outage.

4. Two miles deep inside a coal mine, while surveying distance in the return (like 

being blindfolded in a rocky maze).

5. You're working on a water leak with a group of people, and your L2 with an SST-90 

suddenly dies, while the guy with the $2 Rayovac brags on how bright his light is.


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## Dreamer (May 3, 2010)

I still remember this clearly, I was with my ex-gf in a local museum and as soon as we're in the coffins from around the world exhibition area,  the lights went off! It was pitch black and it was a weekday and there is not much visitors around. Imagine our fear....
I had no lights with me at that time and my ex was almost crying cause she was so scared. Luckily the security guards came and escort us out of the place. Now, I hv at least 2lights with me at all times.


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## deKatt (May 3, 2010)

In my experience, right after the local tv weather report shows a line of severe thunderstorms heading for your house, and reports of a tornado on the ground. Luckily I had plenty of charged AA nimhs for the flashlights, and 2 UPS to power a radio.


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## skyva (May 3, 2010)

It was 11pm on a warm night and I was getting ready for bed, so just wearing a dressing gown and no shoes. I am on 5 acres and the german shepherd has the run of the property at night. I hear her bark furiously at the front of the house, which is unusual. I wander out the front and about 10 feet from the porch and about 3 feet from the dog is a 3 foot long stripey snake. In my area that means tiger snake, so pretty deadly. I grab the dog and push her inside, hoping she wasn't bitten. The snake takes the opportunity and heads off. I start following it, bare feet, with my trusty tiablo A9 led torch, luckily in my pocket of the gown. I had been told by the snake catcher that he won't come unless you know where the snake is, and as I wasn't keen on having it live under a log/mower etc in my garden waiting to bite me, I set off in pursuit. I only had the torch, which is a thrower, to see by. This means I can keep my distance, but can't see what I am walking on (like another snake). My wife is ringing the catcher and wrangling the excited shepherd while holding our 3 month old baby. I am outside yelling for boots and another torch, as all I could think of was that I hadn't charged this one for a while, and with the rcr 123's with low voltage protection, they don't fade out, they go  without warning, leaving me shoe-less in the dark with the snake. 
We were lucky that the torch didn't let me down, the snake stayed holed up and the catcher was there in 10 minutes.
Pretty little fellow when someone else has him.
http://ocau.com/pix/hrce3
(thats not me)


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## Burgess (May 3, 2010)

to Dreamer and Skyva --


Interesting stories ! 


Thank you for sharing them with us. 


:twothumbs
_


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## Zeruel (May 3, 2010)

skyva said:


> .... My wife is ringing the catcher and wrangling the excited shepherd while holding our 3 month old baby.



I think she's in a more dangerous position than you.


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## tolkaze (May 4, 2010)

Worst time? Underground coal mine, 20 something c/t's from the next nearest miner, cap lamp goes out and i can't remember which way i'm facing or where the transport was parked up. Luckily someone was traveling past and I managed to flag them down about 10 minutes later. Oh well


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## andyw513 (May 5, 2010)

tolkaze said:


> Worst time? Underground coal mine, 20 something c/t's from the next nearest miner, cap lamp goes out and i can't remember which way i'm facing or where the transport was parked up. Luckily someone was traveling past and I managed to flag them down about 10 minutes later. Oh well


 

Coal mines are amazing works of art, and they're also amazing when explroing the intricate details that went into their contruction...until you're in the dark inside of one!


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