ot: new for me gearhead category - EDC (every day carry) flashlights

[eddief]

I was cycling with a buddy and he told me a story about his son's gift wish list for his birthday. He said his son wanted a custom flashlight - WTH? I just use the 3=pack of Duracell lights from Costco but I guess there's a whole world out there for "flashlights!" Gun on the left, flashlight on the right?

Googling would suggest lots of folks knew about this before I did. And the jargon is beyond me. This is the one his son wanted:

https://intl-outdoor.com/tint-rampin...switching.html

[Likes2ridefar]

I saw the light I use on a Netflix show a few years ago and thought, gee, that sure looks handy attached by a clip to the bill of a cap. I got one shortly after with the clip plus it has a strong magnet in one end for sticking to things, storage and charging. It’s bright enough to replace a headlamp for hiking or around the camp and is excellent for home and work…it’s tiny. A perfect edc.

[hokoman]

Everyone has their thing.. I used to do a ton of backpacking and after an encounter with what I think was a pack of raccoons that wouldnt leave us alone - my flashlight did not have a lot of throw and i could just see glowing eyes looking at us, I turned to the internet and joined candleholderforums.. this was about 20 years ago. I purchased a couple surefire flashlights and sent them to be 'modded'... I spent about $500 on the nicest one.

Here is a link to an $8,000 flashlight.
https://www.coolfall.com/ptriv.html

[Louis]

Originally Posted by hokoman

Here is a link to an $8,000 flashlight.
https://www.coolfall.com/ptriv.html

I hear some people will pay that much and more for a bicycle! Can you believe it?

[rice rocket]

The D4V2 is well respected.

The LED flashlight world advances at a pretty rapid pace, driven entirely off of innovation from direct to consumer brands out of China. The legacy flashlight brands really are left in the dust on all aspects.

[Peter P.]

Please; if you're going to go gaga over flashlights, then begin using the proper term.

Aerospace darkness penetrator.

[mdeth1313]

Originally Posted by Peter P.

Aerospace darkness penetrator.

Trademark that and sell it to the porn industry!!!

[C40_guy]

Firmware updates for a flashlight?

What's next, electric shifting for bicycles?

...or maybe those shiny brakes like those on motorcycles?

[Bob Ross]

I only recently learned that "tactical flashlights" are an actual thing.

Da fuq?!?!

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

I only recently learned that "tactical flashlights" are an actual thing.

Da fuq?!?!

I think "tactical" became big at the same time preppers started advertising their end of the world wares on television.

[benb]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

I think "tactical" became big at the same time preppers started advertising their end of the world wares on television.

Yes I came back to say this. They are marketing "tactical" to these guys like crazy and there's a whole cottage industry of random prepper tactical products.

Manufacturers are making thinly reskinned versions of all kinds of things and marketing them as "Tactical" with a price upcharge.

Garmin has done this with a bunch of their watches.

We also now use our relatively ancient Niterider lights as flashlights. Mostly just for stuff like Haloween. They do still get used for bike rides as well though.

"Overlanding" seems to also be in the Venn diagram of this stuff. $200k worth of random highly specialized stuff to do a glorified car camping trip. We watched the first episode of some Overlanding documentary on Amazon video and it was pretty hilarious. More stuff than an RVer takes on a trip but tons of talk of roughing it and good old American ingenuity and so on and so forth. Guy hears something and has to go tearing through the woods with guns to protect his camp group. Meanwhile they make slower progress than a bikepacking group.

For a while I was getting served lots of ads to buy MREs for when the world ends.

[bob_in_pa]

Marketing of "tactical" aside. There is a big difference when you compare the quality of flashlights.

My part-time job requires me to have a flashlight and after some trial and error I carry 3 while working. One is 1500 lumens with a wide beam that lives on my belt and is used for looking for stuff, one is a single AAA light, carried in a shirt pocket and used for reading stuff, the 3rd - let's just say it's ill-suited for general use.

The first and last are high quality, have a history of reliability and were, in my opinion, crazy expensive. They get tested before every shift, the batteries are charged or replaced before they're dead and they almost never get used. The little pen light, which is the one I use the most by far, is a cheapy.
I guess my point is, like most things, there's a wide range of quality and features and it might actually matter.

Oh, and for EDC (I hate that term) I choose to get by with the light on my phone and Garmin watch.

-Bob

[sg8357]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

I only recently learned that "tactical flashlights" are an actual thing.

Da fuq?!?!

Strategic Flashlight....

[reuben]

Originally Posted by hokoman

Here is a link to an $8,000 flashlight.
https://www.coolfall.com/ptriv.html

It comes with a mount for my aerobars, right? And works with Garmin so I can see how many watt hours are left?

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by hokoman

Everyone has their thing..]

Truth. You can really go down the whole "EDC" rabbit hole pretty far. Flashlights, pocket knives, multi tools, keychain gizmos: And yes, you can buy stuff from very basic and inexpensive to $$$bespoke stuff.