# cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your light



## KIT19RTX (Oct 28, 2010)

*cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your light*

Any interesting stories of coworkers and other acquaintances, *who* get bothered even hot when you don't grant them permission to borrow your flashlights?

Anyone *who* insistently asks me what the silver clip on my pants is will receive a round around so long they would think they've been drugged and brainwashed by the time I'm done deviating there attention off of what is clipped to my pants LoL 


I've used this technique several times in different matters. From pokey little children to adult men and woman *who* want to act like pokey little children. 

Need some pointers? I think I picked up on this technique watching The Bill Cosby Show. Some people just have a hard time saying no ,at least with the run around you can try and tire and dissuade their attention or just wait till you are tired of giving the run around and unleash the smack down on those pesky may-i -can-i-whynot body's.


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## carrot (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*

Ask if you can borrow their girlfriend, fiancée or wife.

If they say no, then you say no. 

If they say yes, well...


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## jellydonut (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*

Boss wanted to borrow my light. I was hesitant - with a grin he said 'expensive batteries, huh?'

It's not that CR123s are that expensive, it's that I didn't have spares, in the middle of nowhere. :sigh::mecry:


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## BREAM (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



carrot said:


> Ask if you can borrow their girlfriend, fiancée or wife.
> 
> If they say no, then you say no.
> 
> If they say yes, well...



I've used that one myself. lol


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## GeetarHero (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*

That's why I carry two lights! (Not counting the E-O1 on my keychain) If they ask I just loan them my beater light!


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## kaichu dento (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



carrot said:


> Ask if you can borrow their girlfriend, fiancée or wife.
> 
> If they say no, then you say no.
> 
> If they say yes, well...


How's that working out for you so far?


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## HarryN (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



carrot said:


> Ask if you can borrow their girlfriend, fiancée or wife.
> 
> If they say no, then you say no.
> 
> If they say yes, well...



That is so funny. My wife would kill me if I said it, but it is still a great comeback. I usually loan out something under $ 10, or more often a trinket light I received for free.


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## carrot (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



kaichu dento said:


> How's that working out for you so far?


I don't know, nobody has asked me to lend a light.


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## Lynx_Arc (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*

I have loaned things reluctantly at times. I tell them what they will have to pay me if anything happens to it beforehand. If it is a $20 item I tell them it will cost $30 to replace and so on. If they realize how expensive something is and it will come out of their pocket if not returned they get very careful and sometimes don't want to borrow it again. It is nice to have a witness that you loaned it out also, one that is not going to disappear when it does.


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## Eslocklier (Oct 28, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I just executed my first and last loan. My buddy has had my Z2 over a week now.


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## ackbar (Oct 29, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



Lynx_Arc said:


> I have loaned things reluctantly at times. I tell them what they will have to pay me if anything happens to it beforehand. If it is a $20 item I tell them it will cost $30 to replace and so on. If they realize how expensive something is and it will come out of their pocket if not returned they get very careful and sometimes don't want to borrow it again. It is nice to have a witness that you loaned it out also, one that is not going to disappear when it does.



+1

It drives me nuts when people start grabbing stuff out of my PANTS pockets without asking me. It has happened to me 4x in the last 2 years. Gotta start putting my game face back on.


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## MXDan (Oct 29, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

My worst experience with this:

I had an employee come into my office and ask to borrow my flashlight. I handed it to her thinking it was for her. 

20 minutes later I go upstairs to find her and she tells me someone walked in from outside and asked to borrow a light because they locked their keys in their car.

I immediately go outside to find the car in question pulling out onto the street, with my light, never to be seen again.

Here's the ridiculous part:
It was a vitalgear 2 cell body with an e2c adapter and a p90 bulb running on 2 unprotected rc123 cells. That light was worthless to the *******s that stole it. Runtime was limited as is, and I'm sure they'd have no idea how to recharge it. Even if they bought 123s for it, it wouldn't work right!


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## wyager (Oct 30, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Family members will often "borrow" lights without asking, I discourage this because I have lost multiple lights to irresponsible "borrowing". The rusty inova and the direct drive 5mm in the closet are supposed to be "their" lights... I'll buy them some lights from DX for christmas I guess.


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## ackbar (Oct 30, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



wyager said:


> Family members will often "borrow" lights without asking, I discourage this because I have lost multiple lights to irresponsible "borrowing". The rusty inova and the direct drive 5mm in the closet are supposed to be "their" lights... I'll buy them some lights from DX for christmas I guess.



I guess you will need to return the favor by "borrowing" something of theirs that they worked hard for and then treating said item the same way they did. I swear, some people have no respect for other people's property.


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## Lynx_Arc (Oct 30, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Just keep cheap junky lights around where people reside that must "borrow" things and loan then the $5 lights and refuse to let go of the nicer ones.


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## sabre7 (Oct 30, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. Items I never allow to be used out of my sight under ANY circumstances are: flashlights, tools, lawnmowers, cars, bikes, knives, musical equipment, and photography equipment. For some reason, some borrowers feel free to abuse, misuse, break, keep, or re-lend those items. A firm NO! meaning the discussion is over works every time.


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## Diesel_Bomber (Oct 30, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

The older I get, the less patience I have with people. Most of the time people who are upset from asking me to borrow something are upset because I told them the truth about how the need for such an item was very obvious and should have been foreseen, or how they didn't take care of their own equipment and sure as hell weren't going to borrow and destroy mine.

I have zero trouble telling someone no.


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## Billy Ram (Oct 30, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I keep a m*g85 and a m*g09 at work that get used by quite a few folks. I see a new scratch or ding once in a while but haven't given it any thought. once in a while I end up helping someone build one after using one of mine.
Billy


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## TRITON (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Nothing gets on my goat more than someone who just expects you to automaticaly hand over some piece of equipment that they want to borrow.:scowl:.

Even some people who pay you out or get nasty with you because you won't let them use something ( ah whats the matter, scared I might put a scratch on your torch,knife multitoolwhat ever).

If some [email protected]#ker doesnt think it nessecery to carry a few easy to E.D.C tools or a torch on them its not my [email protected]#en problem. PERIOD!.

I learnt a long time ago to be incogneeto so to speak, also found other people dont seem to respect your stuff especially when the havent payed a healthy price for it ($200 plus AEON ).To them its just a torch or whatever.

If I know well and trust someone that I believe is like me and will respect the said item to be borrowed I will probably lend it to them, but even then I have that uneasy feeling until I get it back.

The way I think is if I can go a little bit out of my way ( ok sometimes a lot out of my way) to buy and carry some small handy sometimes life enhansing tools or gadjet or a torch (because 50% of your life is spent in the dark) then why cant everybody do the same.

Accidents do happen,I have lent people I trusted things in the past only to discover they have cut themselves or dropped the torch or broken the tip of the screwdriver or something (never underestimate the level of human stupidity) and then sometimes not even bothered to say sorry or anything about it. I HATE THAT!.

Sorry I'm having a bit of a dummy spit but REALLY ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY!. ( give us your torch, NO but i'll shine it on what you want to see) If they complain about that I get my hackles up. NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DEMAND MY STUFF!!.

Ok now i've finnished I think, like someone else said, can I borrow your torch ? NO .. can I borrow your wife ?. NO.. Peoples stuff is personal so respect there yes or no, there maybe a good reason why they dont want to lend something out to you !. I like my stuff the way I like my stuff and I didnt hunt all over the world (almost) to go have to put up with halfwits or even fulwits for that matter to winge at me when I dont let them use one of my precious. Life or death situation I would not hesitate to help someone out but the ****head radar is always ON. :thumbsup:


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## ejot (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



ackbar said:


> +1
> 
> It drives me nuts when people start grabbing stuff out of my PANTS pockets without asking me.


That could be acceptable, depending of course on who was doing the grabbing. :naughty::laughing:


I love lending out lights. Sharing the thrill and helping out others less prepared are big parts of the hobby for me. Everyone I work or live with do act as if they have the right to borrow my lights, because they do. Free reign on whatever is sitting out at any time. It's a small enough group of people with enough respect for property that I haven't had a single issue. I've lost lights on my own but never due to lending.

Think of the disappointment, if my roommates were no longer allowed to have DEFT vs. DEFT light sword fights in the backyard.


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## Billy Ram (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I had a guy needing some light the other day so I handed him my 2-D m*g09. He got a surprize!!:wow:
Billy


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## flatline (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I keep a ITP A3 on my keychain just in case someone asks to borrow a flashlight. There are only a few people that I'd willingly lend my H501w or Ra Clicky to and they mostly carry their own lights anyways.

At home, I keep some super cheap 2D flashlights (the kind you actually need to bang on something sometimes to get them to fire up) as loaners/give-aways if a neighbor needs a light.

--flatline


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## Launch Mini (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I was working under a coworkers desk working on some cabling and had my Tri V. Another fellow picked it up and was about to play with it. I physically had ti remove it from his hand as he didnt want to hand it back. 

I said "that isn't a cheap light " and he said "like a hundred?". 
Yeah something like that and took it out if hands.


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## Larbo (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances whom act as if they have a right to borrow your*



carrot said:


> I don't know, nobody has asked me to lend a light.



Same here, at work they know better.


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## ejot (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



Launch Mini said:


> I was working under a coworkers desk working on some cabling and had my Tri V. Another fellow picked it up and was about to play with it. I physically had ti remove it from his hand as he didnt want to hand it back.
> 
> I said "that isn't a cheap light " and he said "like a hundred?".
> Yeah something like that and took it out if hands.



Guess I'd give poor curatorship of a Tri-V ..........I'd explain the guy the different beams and let him take it for a spin. 
My LS20 gets passed around the few people I work with all the time. No one has any idea what it costs, so it's nice to see them enjoy it for its value as a tool without any fear of the pricetag.


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## Launch Mini (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



ejot said:


> Guess I'd give poor curatorship of a Tri-V ..........I'd explain the guy the different beams and let him take it for a spin.
> My LS20 gets passed around the few people I work with all the time. No one has any idea what it costs, so it's nice to see them enjoy it for its value as a tool without any fear of the pricetag.



I showed him the beams quickly, but this guy breaks everything he touches. Seriously. I am perpetually fixing his computer. I no idea WTF he does, but anything electrical is toast once he uses it.


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## smokinbasser (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I keep cheap lights and pocketknives around just for "borrowers" If they need to borrow that means they don't have the wherewithall to buy gear of their own and they are not getting my good stuff on a bet.


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## ejot (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



Launch Mini said:


> I showed him the beams quickly, but this guy breaks everything he touches. Seriously. I am perpetually fixing his computer. I no idea WTF he does, but anything electrical is toast once he uses it.



LOL - fair enough. I do know a couple people like that.


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## choppers (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I carry two lights....Macs SST-50 and a cheap light I bought of DX

I loan out the DX light...would never loan out the SST-50!!

I have had people see my use Macs light and then ask to borrow it....

I just say no way....I dont give a ___ if they get upset.....not as upset I would get if they dropped it or something...


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## choppers (Oct 31, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I do the same thing...well stated


smokinbasser said:


> I keep cheap lights and pocketknives around just for "borrowers" If they need to borrow that means they don't have the wherewithall to buy gear of their own and they are not getting my good stuff on a bet.


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## ackbar (Nov 1, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



ejot said:


> That could be acceptable, depending of course on who was doing the grabbing. :naughty::laughing:



I'm not daft, if it was a smoking hot female I wouldn't have said a word 



smokinbasser said:


> I keep cheap lights and pocketknives around just for "borrowers" If they need to borrow that means they don't have the wherewithall to buy gear of their own and they are not getting my good stuff on a bet.



Why should you burden yourself by spending your time and energy preparing for someone else's shortcomings.

Failure to prepare on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.


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## Burgess (Nov 1, 2010)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



Diesel_Bomber said:


> I have zero trouble telling someone no.


 

+1


At my age (57 years old), i no longer give a sh1t WHAT people think of me.



_


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## HotWire (May 10, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I always wanted to start a thread like this. People will borrow a flashlight and then return it with dead batteries or a burned out bulb! Then, instead of thanking me, they tell me it was "no good." So... at work I keep my lights to myself and keep 2 cheap D cell lights with 1/2 dead batteries. Those are the only lights my coworkers see! Friends are a different matter. :devil:


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## Expired (May 13, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



sabre7 said:


> Learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. Items I never allow to be used out of my sight under ANY circumstances are: flashlights, tools, lawnmowers, cars, bikes, knives, musical equipment, and photography equipment. For some reason, some borrowers feel free to abuse, misuse, break, keep, or re-lend those items. A firm NO! meaning the discussion is over works every time.


Most borrowers**
It seems like everything I lend out somehow gets messed up.. People don't have ANY respect for other peoples property now a'days.

Someone asks to borrow a dvd series, then ends up loaning it to someone else and they kick it around and scratch it up.
Other people ask to borrow a dvd and then fail to return it.. It's gotten to the point where I have to keep records like a library.
People ask to borrow money and promise to pay you back ASAP. 10 times you see that same person, and they don't mention paying you back once. You have to bring it up to them, because you loaning them money was meaningless.

I play Disc Golf and got my friends into it by letting them borrow my discs. Then I offer to take them out and show them which disc/discs to buy, but they don't want to spend the money. It's $10! Then they call me up wanting to play, and expect me to let them borrow my discs again.. After I let them throw them into tree trunks, concrete, almost lose them in water, etc.

I play Tennis with several friends, and every time they get annoyed, they throw their racket(walmart ones) or hit it on the ground.. Then they ask to try my $200 one out to see how it feels. Sometimes this is immediately after slamming theirs on the ground, to which I reply, "Nope. Look at how you treat your own racket. Why would I let you use mine?". A lot of the time they don't even get it, it just doesn't click. Finally one friend bought his own racket and now he's terrified to even get it close to the court surface, but with mine he didn't care.

If I let someone borrow something now I usually explain to them the cost, the consequences if they mess it up, how long they can borrow it for, when I expect it back, not to lend it out to other people like it's their own, how to properly use it(and even then they usually don't listen), etc. If I trust the person and don't think they are an idiot, I'll just hand it to them. That's hardly anyone except my brother though. People lack common sense and respect..

Oh, another time recently.. I was playing basketball at the local court and the people I was playing with wanted to use my ball. After we beat the other team, some ******* booted my ball over the fence and into the parking lot.

I can't think of anything else right now.


Launch Mini said:


> I was working under a coworkers desk working on some cabling and had my Tri V. Another fellow picked it up and was about to play with it. I physically had ti remove it from his hand as he didnt want to hand it back.
> 
> I said "that isn't a cheap light " and he said "like a hundred?".
> Yeah something like that and took it out if hands.


O__O


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## subwoofer (May 13, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Well it goes to show Lord Polonius was right when he said: 

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be_"_

I am very reluctant to lend anything as it always ends up damaged or excessively 'used' so ---- them who are so unprepared and don't respect other people's property.

I would only ever ask to borrow something in an emergency and then I would only borrow it if I could afford to replace it or if there were consumables, to replace them.

If it is an emergency for the person asking to borrow something, I will help them by using it myself, but not just hand it over.


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## Burgess (May 13, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Kinda' ironic, really . . . .


The only person i would lend my flashlight to, would be a "true flashaholic".


- however -


a true flashaholic wouldn't NEED to borrow my flashlight, cuz' he'd have his OWN.



_


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## Biker Bear (May 14, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



ackbar said:


> I'm not daft, if it was a smoking hot female I wouldn't have said a word


In that case, you might be wise to smile pleasantly and say "Just be sure to put it back when you're done." *grin*



> Why should you burden yourself by spending your time and energy preparing for someone else's shortcomings.
> 
> Failure to prepare on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.


Social lubricant, really; and how much trouble is it for me to have a spare fauxton type light on my keyring to lend out? Granted, other gear is a different issue and if they try to demand "the good light" - my personal response would be "that doesn't get lent out." 

Especially in the case of someone who'd ridiculed me for carrying (fill in the blank for the piece of EDC gear they now want to borrow), I'd ask them why they'd want to borrow an item that's so... (fill in however they insulted the idea of carrying that bit of gear). If that doesn't give them the idea, then a simple, direct "no" would follow.


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## PhotonWrangler (May 14, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I've only loaned my decent lights to co-workers when we're working together on a job site and the light always remains nearby while they're using it. Even then I've occasionally watched a co-worker slip it into his pocket when he's finished with it. I'll usually give them a few minutes to see if they "remember" to give it back, and ultimately I'll have to say "um, I need that back." Fortunately this has been the exception rather than the rule, but primarily because it never leaves my sight in the first place.


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## Ian2381 (May 29, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

A lot of people nowadays just don't respect others valuables, especially when they don't know how expensive your light is. my friends who usually borrows my lights know that my lights are expensive and have taken good care of them.


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## Ian2381 (May 29, 2011)

*Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

I thought that I was prepared for the worst when lending Lights to friends/collegues as I just can't say no when someone ask to borrow my light.

I usually carry a less than $20 dollar light with me (with enough output-100lumens) for lending to friends so that I don't have to let them use my EDC light. Also have several spare fauxtons in my bag just in case someone might need a light(might not be able to return it).

I got the surprise of my flashaholic life when on a Mt Hiking trip I was left with no light at all for a few grueling minutes as my last light was borrowed by a friend of mine.

This happened when I brought 5 Lights with Me. One lantern for the camp, 2 supposed to be for lending to friends, a Light for throw and a headlamp. As I predicted the two for lending lights was out of my possession once it gets dark and after a while my Thrower light got borrowed by another friend, at this point I was a bit frustrated and things got worst when one of my closest friend ask me if she could use my headlamp for a few minutes.


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## carrot (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

On my last hiking trip I brought a headlamp for myself plus three extra. Each of my friends used the other headlamps and I still had 3 CR123-powered flashlights left over that we did not need to use. Seeing each of my headlamps in action helped me to better compare them and I was surprised with the results I found. I will note that unless they are experienced hikers, friends who go with you will very often forget or omit a light source.


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## bodhran (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

The only person I trust with my lights is my granddaughter at 2 1/2 years. Not only does she appreciate a quality light, but she takes better care of them than many adults I know..*s*


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## Kingfisher (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Hope you get your stuff back in the same condition it was lent out.....


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## Stress_Test (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Man, tell those guys that unless they bring lights on the next trip, you're going to make them use THIS instead...


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## radioactive_man (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

This is the reason I just ordered a bucketful of fauxtons.


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## Lynx_Arc (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Just learn to tell folks that certain lights you don't loan out


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## leeholaaho (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

ROFLMAO to the flame on a stick


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## Monocrom (May 29, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I carry a cheap, 1/2watt, 2AA, Cabela's LED light in my BOB. In an emergecy, I can loan that light out to a friend who's with me. For others, there's the "give them a cheap coin-cell LED the first time they ask" approach. They get to keep it, with the understanding that since they now have their own light, there's never going to be a reason to ask to borrow your's.

Another tactic is to let them know you collect flashlights, and the one you're carring is worth X-amount of dollars. They can borrow it. But if it gets damaged or scratched, they're going to have to compensate you for it. That'll generally turn off enough folks that they won't ever ask again.


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## DM51 (May 29, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Merging 2 similar threads...


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## Chongker (May 29, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

While I do agree that I would never just lend out my lights to an acquaintance I don't know well (too much risk), I'd also argue that lending your lights to friends you trust can be great fun. Recently had a midnight climb up Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh with my girlfriend and a couple of other friends, and of course I had to be the one to provide lighting for the night 

The gf had already seen quite a bit and things were getting old for her, but it was a good laugh seeing my other 2 friends marvel at how bright the lights they got were! (they didn't even get any of my big guns ). It was nice seeing them used and put me back into perspective on things, that my lights really are quite amazing tools (saw past their shortcomings which I was too quick to focus on before). Everything came back safely and all I had to do was charge up the spent batteries by the end of the night.

That said, I recently got back my warm white Preon II (one of my favourite edc's) from being on loan for a week with a good friend. She'd used cheap alkaline's in them and they leaked, so it's out of commission for now :sigh:.

I guess I'll only loan out things if I can keep an eye on them, or if the receiving party has the knowledge and respect necessary to take care of other people's possessions. Not gonna end up a complete grinch just yet! :nana:


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## Chris_Himself (May 29, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

All the people I know, know that I collect really expensive (to them at least) knives and tools, and while I don't care if the stuff gets dinged up due to all it it being for hard-use anyway, they still respect that I had to work hard to have those things.

I don't loan stuff out to acquaintances PERIOD. I mean on a loan basis, not a "dude lemme check under my desk" type deal.


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## Monocrom (May 29, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



Chongker said:


> . . . I recently got back my warm white Preon II (one of my favourite edc's) from being on loan for a week with a good friend. She'd used cheap alkaline's in them and they leaked, so it's out of commission for now :sigh:.
> 
> I guess I'll only loan out things if I can keep an eye on them, or if the receiving party has the knowledge and respect necessary to take care of other people's possessions. Not gonna end up a complete grinch just yet! :nana:


 
Did she at least offer to replace it? Or, even scrap it out to try and salvage it? Try to make it up to you in some way at least? Perfect example of what I'm talking about. 

The Cabela's light I mentioned above is decent, but cheap; and I don't care about it at all. Bought it back when I didn't know any better. Someone borrows that and breaks it, I'm not gonna care. Carrying around a cheap coin-cell light not only gives you an extra light you can use in an emergency, but gives you the perfect thing to lend to someone else who will either damage it or "forget" to return it.


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## Chongker (May 29, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



Monocrom said:


> Did she at least offer to replace it? Or, even scrap it out to try and salvage it? Try to make it up to you in some way at least? Perfect example of what I'm talking about.
> 
> The Cabela's light I mentioned above is decent, but cheap; and I don't care about it at all. Bought it back when I didn't know any better. Someone borrows that and breaks it, I'm not gonna care. Carrying around a cheap coin-cell light not only gives you an extra light you can use in an emergency, but gives you the perfect thing to lend to someone else who will either damage it or "forget" to return it.




Quite the contrary actually, she bought me a really nice dinner and got me a Leatherman multitool too (her bf had a Skeletool and she knew I wanted one as well). Ended up gifting her my old Fenix E20, some Eneloops and a cheap USB charger for them to use. Still doesn't fix my light, but it wasn't in the hands of someone random and it's something forgivable (and hopefully fixable, gonna get on that soon). But I do think I really need to start edcing a beater to loan out. Even the A3 on my keychain is probably too much to loan out. The free coin cell light from lighthound should do nicely =)


As for my main EDC (surefire LX2 at the moment), you can rip that out of my cold dead hands


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## Monocrom (May 29, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Always good to hear true tales of folks doing the right thing after making a mistake. 

(Yeah, I wouldn't loan out my iTP A3 EOS either. One of my too-many-to-count Lighthound coin-cell lights, that's a different story.)


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## Burgess (May 29, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



carrot said:


> I will note that unless they are experienced hikers,
> friends who go with you will very often forget or omit a light source.


 

This is SO true, in so many situations !


People actually say:


" Gee . . . . i never THOUGHT about what would happen once it got DARK ! "


DUH ! ! !




_


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## enomosiki (May 30, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

"You were ridiculing me before for spending so much money for good flashlights, yet you come crying to me when you need one the most. Get the hell out of my face."


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## dudemar (May 30, 2011)

*Re: coworkers and other aquaintances WHO act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

In my case it's not so much when people want to borrow something, but I'm expected to hand over whatever I have in my possession NQA. It seems "Please" and "can/may I see..." is missing from the English lexicon, and has been replaced by "Aw cool!" or "lemme see that" followed by an open hand. Sometimes it's just a look, grunt then open hand. Sometimes it's just an open hand, or straight away grab whatever I'm holding.

Most people don't have any sense, period. I had a friend that epitomized this, and you can tell why we aren't friends anymore.

Under very limited circumstances I'll loan a light under three conditions. All three have to be met:

1. You're a girl
2. You're really cute
3. You have common sense to return the light in the condition it was received

Even when the first two conditions are met, it's usually the latter that falls short. :fail:


...on the other hand, I guess this is why crappy DX lights exist! What's worth $10 now probably couldn't be given away in a year. You lose it, so what.


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## Ian2381 (May 31, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

The most frustrating part of lending flashlights is when the person you lent your light lend it to others. This leads you to a hunt, tracing where your light is.

You guys are right, the best way to make sure your light will be returned is to tell the how much it cost. This sometimes leads to them asking for a cheaper light to borrow.


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## Monocrom (May 31, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

I've never understood the mentality behind lending out something that was borrowed from someone else.

My take on it is, this is someone else's property. I'm responsible for it, for returning it in the same condition it was in when I borrowed it. Obviously I'm not going to lend it out to anyone.

Unfortunately, there are folks out there who don't have any respect for the property of others. (Not even bothering to get the item back for the owner, but having him hunt down the last person who had it; that's the cherry on top.)


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## kaichu dento (Jun 1, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Hey, one of the new guys in maintenance pulled out a flashlight today and said everyone he showed it to told him to talk to me about flashlights. Just as it came out of his pocket, I said "Hey, is the a 6P"? It's funny that I recognized it from all the pics here, since I've never seen one before in person! He really likes it and was pretty proud that it's one that his friend had carried during his service with a police force down south.

Maybe I'll ask if I can borrow it sometime!


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## thattomguy (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I have light that I bought on eBay that works fine if you push the little button. If you try to use the slide switch it will give you a shock. I keep it in my desk at work after loaning it out people don't ask to borrow stuff any more.


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## Bullzeyebill (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: co-workers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Hello Chris_Himself, to correct your thread title click on Edit Post, then Go Advanced, and you can make necessary edit to thread title. 

Bill


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## Monocrom (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



thattomguy said:


> I have light that I bought on eBay that works fine if you push the little button. If you try to use the slide switch it will give you a shock. I keep it in my desk at work after loaning it out people don't ask to borrow stuff any more.


 
I've encountered a similar type of flashlight. Perhaps even the same model. Mild shock if you push on the side-switch.

An interesting novelty item.


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## leon2245 (Jun 2, 2011)

*flashlight commandeered*

I was with my immediate supervisor, her boss from corporate, & a group of maintenance guys. The power was out, & one of the maintenance guys asked the corporate guy if they can take "that" flashlight (pointing at mine) down to a control room. The corporate guy said "yes of course" on my behalf & looked at me expectantly. Then they all stonefaced me in disbelief when I said "no, sorry, but this one's not even mine to loan out" & offered to get them one of our plastic 2D drugstore incans instead. They took it, but I'm pretty sure my immediate supervisor was pretty horrified & embarrassed of my manners!


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## Monocrom (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: flashlight commandeered*



leon2245 said:


> I was with my immediate supervisor, her boss from corporate, & a group of maintenance guys. The power was out, & one of the maintenance guys asked the corporate guy if they can take "that" flashlight (pointing at mine) down to a control room. The corporate guy said "yes of course" on my behalf & looked at me expectantly. Then they all stonefaced me in disbelief when I said "no, sorry, but this one's not even mine to loan out" & offered to get them one of our plastic 2D drugstore incans instead. They took it, but I'm pretty sure my immediate supervisor was pretty horrified & embarrassed of my manners!


1 - Maintenance guy was rude as Hell not to ask you directly to borrow the light.

2 - Corporate guy was rude as Hell to say yes. (But let's be honest, the guys at corporate have a certain mentality. Won't get into it. Suffice it to say that his response was typical of what's consistant behavior from the breed.)

3 - You did the right thing since you were taking care of someone else's light.

*Edit:*

So apparently none of the maintenance guys had a flashlight? Not one light between them??

You know what . . . Even if it was your light, not worth loaning it out to such a group of incompetent individuals who show up to their job without a vital piece of work-related equipment. That's like me standing at the corner, waiting for the bus, and some dude in an MTA uniform runs up and shouts for me to jump on his back. Oh look, it's the bus-driver. He showed up to work without a certain piece of "equipment." :ironic:


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## leon2245 (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: flashlight commandeered*

LOL thanks Monocrom you pretty much expressed every other thought I had but just omitted. They came in a truck I assumed was full of tools, so either they didn't want to go back out there since mine was handy, or that guy just wanted to use what was obviously the brightest light among us. But yeah the general attitude that my personal property is at their disposal because i'm their inferior was annoying.


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## subwoofer (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: flashlight commandeered*

Some people don't seem to really understand the concept of property and it is so frustrating when they then get annoyed that you are not happy to just give them you things.

Recently at work I had to buy a special chair because I have a bad back (and work would not pay) so I am now the only person in the office who has had to pay £400 for their own chair. Many people (including my boss who knows how I feel) still don't understand this and use it when I am out of the office, despite me putting a sign on it. I don't want someone fiddling with my chair, farting into it and dropping food on it. Pay for your own!

I have to say, that I would not take any of my expensive lights into work where someone might have a reason to borrow it. There are loads of good and very cheap lights (I have a Q5 zoom torch which cost $7 delivered and performs brilliantly and looks quite expensive) which I wouldn't mind lending but would make it clear it has to come straight back and in the condition I lent it.

This thread continues to make my blood boil when I hear people's experiences.


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## subwoofer (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: flashlight commandeered*



leon2245 said:


> I was with my immediate supervisor, her boss from corporate, & a group of maintenance guys. The power was out, & one of the maintenance guys asked the corporate guy if they can take "that" flashlight (pointing at mine) down to a control room. The corporate guy said "yes of course" on my behalf & looked at me expectantly. Then they all stonefaced me in disbelief when I said "no, sorry, but this one's not even mine to loan out" & offered to get them one of our plastic 2D drugstore incans instead. They took it, but I'm pretty sure my immediate supervisor was pretty horrified & embarrassed of my manners!



What was the light they wanted to borrow?


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## leon2245 (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: flashlight commandeered*

It was my brother's. A spot type light, but i'd have to ask him about the brand/model. It was so bright that it would have been blindingly inappropriate for that room. To the point that they were probably better off with the cheap 2D plastic light I ultimately gave them.


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## leon2245 (Jun 2, 2011)

> Recently at work I had to buy a special chair because I have a bad back (and work would not pay) so I am now the only person in the office who has had to pay £400 for their own chair. Many people (including my boss who knows how I feel) still *don't understand this and use it when I am out of the office, *despite me putting a sign on it. I don't want someone fiddling with my chair, farting into it and dropping food on it. Pay for your own!


 
This is exactly what has kept me from investing in a nice chair at work.

As someone kind of into furniture/mattress foams i consider your chair to be consumable in a sense. Even the best foams stay resilient for only a limited time, after which the therapeutic value is lost. So even if they are not abusing it & eating on it, extra people just sitting on it when you're not around, it's going to wear out that much faster. 

Maybe swap your sign out for one of those steering wheel bar locks across the armrests. But then they'd probably do something to it out of spite.


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## angelofwar (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

The dumb ones are afraid to borrow my lights cause they all know how much they cost...if they ask, I give them a beater mini-mag. The "intelligent" ones will ask when needed, but they respect them, knowing how much they cost, and promptly return them when done..they're "trusted". The rest know my other hobbies, and are afraid to mess with ANY of my stuff.


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## RBR (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

.....


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## shao.fu.tzer (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

Whenever someone wants to borrow my light and I don't want them to I, use the old "This light is a work in progress and is still in the prototype phase - the last one I made exploded and took a chunk of my hand out, so be very careful, if you hear any hissing or feel any warmth whatsoever, turn it off, drop it in the waste bin, and run!" - That ALWAYS works...


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## PhotonWrangler (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



Burgess said:


> This is SO true, in so many situations !
> 
> 
> People actually say:
> ...



That reminds me of Al Sleet, the Hippy Dippy Weatherman. "Tonight's forecast... dark! Continued dark through the night, changing to widely scattered light in the morning."

/old George Carlin skit


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## paddling_man (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

I work with other engineers who routinely carry around handheld pieces of test equipment that may be $40,000-50,000 dollars. While I own several "good" ($50-$100,) I don't own any torches costing much over that. If I've got it in my pocket, it is a "user" on which I expect to see some wear and/or dings. In my business, nearly everything is relatively expensive so folks treat things with respect and I get more joy out of "bringing someone into the light" than my concern over a new ding. They generally aren't asking to do anything too bizarre with a flashlight... not like using it to hammer or anything.

The exception? If someone asks to borrow one of my knives, I ask what they are planning to cut. If the bozo is preparing to pry wood staples or use my Sebenza as a screwdriver, then I put the ixnay on it.

If it is a "user," and they are using it as the tool is intended, I'm generally okay with it.


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## Stress_Test (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



shao.fu.tzer said:


> Whenever someone wants to borrow my light and I don't want them to I, use the old "This light is a work in progress and is still in the prototype phase - the last one I made exploded and took a chunk of my hand out, so be very careful, if you hear any hissing or feel any warmth whatsoever, turn it off, drop it in the waste bin, and run!" - That ALWAYS works...


 
Hah! I've wanted to try that just to see what the reaction would be! I'd mention the exploding laptop problem from a while back and say "remember those? Well this light uses the same type of batteries, so watch out!!" :devil:


Anyway, all this just emphasizes that the "concealed carry" concept is a good policy for lights too. If they can't see it and don't know you have it, then they won't be asking to borrow it.... 

Leave a beater light at your desk (or whatever) and if anybody does ask you can just say "go get the one out of my desk drawer"


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## mvyrmnd (Jun 2, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



shao.fu.tzer said:


> Whenever someone wants to borrow my light and I don't want them to I, use the old "This light is a work in progress and is still in the prototype phase - the last one I made exploded and took a chunk of my hand out, so be very careful, if you hear any hissing or feel any warmth whatsoever, turn it off, drop it in the waste bin, and run!" - That ALWAYS works...



That's a nice, hardcore, version of my normal excuse of "oh, the battery's flat, sorry"

The guys I work with are pretty good, and have stopped borrowing my EDC since I supplied them all with Solarforce L2r's. Now there's no excuse for needing to borrow mine!


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## Ian2381 (Jun 6, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Remembering comments here on CPF on how durable the FenixE01, I decided to buy another one and include it in my keychain and will serve as my lending light, for the price and reliability I know what ever he/she will do to it, it will survive, I'll just have to make sure to remind them to return it.


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## SgtCuts (Jun 6, 2011)

Ian2381 said:


> Remembering comments here on CPF on how durable the FenixE01, I decided to buy another one and include it in my keychain and will serve as my lending light, for the price and reliability I know what ever he/she will do to it, it will survive, I'll just have to make sure to remind them to return it.


 
Yea along with your keys lol


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## Ian2381 (Jun 7, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



SgtCuts said:


> Yea along with your keys lol


 
I'll make sure to lend only the light without keys. Or maybe I also should have a duplicate keychain. lol


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## Biker Bear (Jun 7, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



Ian2381 said:


> Remembering comments here on CPF on how durable the FenixE01, I decided to buy another one and include it in my keychain and will serve as my lending light, for the price and reliability I know what ever he/she will do to it, it will survive, I'll just have to make sure to remind them to return it.


How about this - put it on a split-ring with a durable tag that says something like "If found, please return to [your name &c.]". That way, there's no excuse about forgetting who it belongs to or anything like that - and if someone takes that tag OFF - they're clearly a thief.


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## PhotonWrangler (Jun 7, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

If I had a really expensive light I would get it laser engraved with the phrase "Stolen from (name)" before I would loan it to anybody.


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## Ian2381 (Jun 8, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Hmmm. Nice idea, I just might have my EDC lights laser engraved.


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## Monocrom (Jun 8, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



PhotonWrangler said:


> If I had a really expensive light I would get it laser engraved with the phrase "Stolen from (name)" before I would loan it to anybody.


 
Reminds me of a certain railroad company from the bygone days that engraved the same thing on all of their kerosene lanterns. :thumbsup:


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## StefanFS (Jun 9, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Not a single co-worker or aquaintance has ever asked to loan any of my lights or Victorinox/Leatherman tool etc. Only family or close friends loan my stuff. 
About the light I get ridiculed and about pocket knives and tools I get challenged that it's illegal (it isn't). Recently I used a Leatherman to open the door to a elevator shaft in a blackout, in order to let people out. Even the ones I got out of the stalled elevator commented on what a bizarre person I must be who carry not only a light but a tool...... And hey, isn't that illegal?

So I'd actually be delighted if someone asked to borrow my light. I'd rather lose a light than be ridiculed for having it.


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## carrot (Jun 9, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



StefanFS said:


> Recently I used a Leatherman to open the door to a elevator shaft in a blackout, in order to let people out. Even the ones I got out of the stalled elevator commented on what a bizarre person I must be who carry not only a light but a tool...... And hey, isn't that illegal?


 
I would have just closed the elevator again and walked away. Or if I were inside, I would have closed it and said, "here, you deal with it."


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## PhotonWrangler (Jun 9, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



carrot said:


> I would have just closed the elevator again and walked away. Or if I were inside, I would have closed it and said, "here, you deal with it."



They were whining about being rescued?  I'm with Carrot on this one.


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## kaichu dento (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



StefanFS said:


> Recently I used a Leatherman to open the door to a elevator shaft in a blackout, in order to let people out. Even the ones I got out of the stalled elevator commented on what a bizarre person I must be who carry not only a light but a tool......


When I met my girlfriend she started laughing when I pulled out my Leatherman and started using it; same response when the trail on the river was blocked by a fallen tree and I grabbed my Cold Steel LTC to cut it out of the way of the snowmachine.
Why? Because she said any friends she had in Japan who had things like that only used them to put on shelves and look at, and she couldn't believe that people actually used them!


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## Monocrom (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

I have a bit of a hard time believing that folks put multi-tools on shelves, just to look at them. That's just really odd.


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## kaichu dento (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

There's a lot of that type of collecting that goes on in Japan, kind of a way of imagining a different life than the one actually being led for some I suppose. Hard for you and me to imagine, but heck, look at your sig line.


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## Monocrom (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



kaichu dento said:


> . . . but heck, look at your sig line.


 
Must admit, that's an excellent point you have there.


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## RBR (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*

.....


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## carrot (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: cow orkers & other acquaintances who act as if they have a right to borrow your l*



kaichu dento said:


> There's a lot of that type of collecting that goes on in Japan, kind of a way of imagining a different life than the one actually being led for some I suppose. Hard for you and me to imagine, but heck, look at your sig line.


 
There's a lot of that type of collecting here too :ironic:


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## Stress_Test (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



StefanFS said:


> Recently I used a Leatherman to open the door to a elevator shaft in a blackout, in order to let people out. Even the ones I got out of the stalled elevator commented on what a bizarre person I must be who carry not only a light but a tool...... And hey, isn't that illegal?





Those people in the elevator sounded like they score very high on the *D*arwin *I*m*P*robability of *S*urviving *H*arsh *I*ncidents *T*est


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## StefanFS (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*



PhotonWrangler said:


> They were whining about being rescued?  I'm with Carrot on this one.



No, they were grateful for the help as they had been trapped for a long time. It's just that they could not process the fact that anyone could get the strange notion to carry a flashlight and a multitool on their person. A lot of people I meet only carry a smartphone, a thin case with drivers license and bank card etc, and possibly their keys. Zero awareness and preparation. Then it's an anomaly when someone actually have a flashlight or some other equipment when something happens. I'm always harassing relatives and friends about tools, flashlights, first aid kits, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers etc. for their houses and cars. Most see the point. First aid training is also good to get a muscle memory, it's very difficult to resuscitate a person without training. A lot of people and children die because people don't know what to do. A bit OT....


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## Monocrom (Jun 10, 2011)

*Re: Flashlight lending catastrophy...*

Sounds as though they were all part of corporate workforce. In which case, their raging ignorance makes sense.


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