Phone is okay if I just need to locate something I dropped under my desk, but tiny flashlights are pretty great these days for doing actual flashlight stuff. They’ve come a long way in just the past few years and keychain sized things can throw 300-1000 lumens now.
@werehatrack It’s the same thing; they all came from the same OEM. It’s the first super-cheap “Cree” LED flashlight model (the SK68) that became really popular around that time. Factory seconds and rejects from more expensive lights/LEDs.
@ShotgunX Ultrafire has been cited as a Chinese brand that was so widely bootlegged and counterfeited for both the domestic Chinese market and for export (and sometimes improved by the bootleggers) that the originator of the name is often listed among the copycats. Trustfire was an early attempt to create a new brand, and it got knockoffs immediately as well. At the peak of the [word]fire branding fiasco, I counted nine different ones just on the 'zon, and eBay was worse. I picked up samples of a bunch of these 14500 units and did some measuring and comparing. They were emphatically not all coming from the same source. That’s hardly surprising; Chinese industry was always gleefully eager to take an established product and copy it just faithfully enough that you needed to have the imitated unit in front of you to see where the variances were. It also means that superficially identical appearance is absolutely no warranty of identical product. Today’s Project Farm test of chainsaw sharpeners has an instance that’s typical. And loads of woodworking YouTubers have detailed the many fakes in tools for that niche. Torque Test Channel even used one as its April Fools gag.
@werehatrack I have a bunch of these flashlights from different brands (including a “genuine” Ultrafire) right here on my desk. I kind of view the lights and batteries as two separate products. In fact, I mostly use these with regular AA batteries, because I don’t want to put expensive 14500 cells into $3 lights (and all of the cheap knockoff cells I got as part of bundles have long expired). If I need a more expensive light, I go for one of my Olights. Olight is having an anniversary sale right now, by the way, including the usual “free” AAA light with $5 shipping. Walmart also has a few Ozark Trail bundles on clearance in the $3-$5 range.
@ShotgunX I will say one thing in favor of the faithfully-copied WF-502B design, and that’s the fact that some of the suppliers have made tailcaps available with a no-frills on/off mechanical switch. And lately I’ve been seeing more and more LED flashlights that treat a long-press as “Off and skip to max next time” or “Off and return to this level next time”. The long-press is still inferior to a simple on/off in my opinion, but it’s better than the maddening step-thru-four-more that some of the originals made you endure every effing time.
Switching gears, I greatly prefer the 14500 cells over alkalines for their lack of leakage issues. My favorites are from Nitecore. I’ve had Duracells leak before they went dead, and I’ve had Ray-o-vac alkalines go from functional on Friday to fully fused inside the tube on Tuesday. That brand caused me to figure out a way to excavate three very leaky D cells from the barrel of a special-edition Maglite several years ago. It’s not easy.
Have you ever noticed, when they are talking about someone on murder mystery shows, the person killed is often described as someone who “lights up the room.”
Never use your personality as a flashlight. It’s certain to get you killed.
Depends on what I’m illuminating with it and where I am. Phone if that’s what I have handy, but personal preference is a rechargeable LED tac light. They have gotten SO much better over the yrs. Also have several AAA powered lights, some of which have been converted to 18650s. There are also the lights they used to give away from Harbor Freight years ago that I accumulated and are stuck on the side of the freezer in the utility room. Then there’s the special duty lights like the UV lights or the red lamp… Did I mention I have a lot of flashlights?
@chienfou Yeah, for me it depends on what I’m doing - just dropped something or walking through the house late at night, I’ll use my phone. Taking out trash at night, a real flashlight that hangs by the door. Looking into cupboards - real flashlight. Etc.
When working a project that requires the flashlight to be turned off an on, cycling thru all the settings is an unnecessary nuisance. Whomever decided that flashlights need a strobe setting needs to be kicked in the crotch until vomiting from the pain.
@DrWorm I am deeply sorry you don’t like flashing lights on your flashlights. However, I feel like kicking someone “until vomiting” seems to be an overreaction. I wouldn’t say anything to you about this, except I know you can handle criticism.
A flashlight!
Or a bicycle light, or my phones camera flash.
Whatever available light-producing device I happen to have most conveniently at hand to illuminate the darkness.
Parliament-Funkadelic!
@Mehlachi
Riddick.
KuoH
Phone is okay if I just need to locate something I dropped under my desk, but tiny flashlights are pretty great these days for doing actual flashlight stuff. They’ve come a long way in just the past few years and keychain sized things can throw 300-1000 lumens now.
Keep a small tactical flashlight in my pocket at all times.
@lordbowen What if you don’t have your pants on?
@lordbowen @robson Doesn’t mean he can’t still have a flashlight in his pocket…
@lordbowen So you’re not just glad to see me?
One of my EDC flashlights.
@werehatrack $3 Ultrafire from Amazon from 8 years ago, I see you. You can’t trick me.
@werehatrack Looks kind of like a military-grade sex toy.
@ShotgunX Nope. Mikafen from Amazon about 2019. 14500, not 18650.
@werehatrack It’s the same thing; they all came from the same OEM. It’s the first super-cheap “Cree” LED flashlight model (the SK68) that became really popular around that time. Factory seconds and rejects from more expensive lights/LEDs.
@ShotgunX Ultrafire has been cited as a Chinese brand that was so widely bootlegged and counterfeited for both the domestic Chinese market and for export (and sometimes improved by the bootleggers) that the originator of the name is often listed among the copycats. Trustfire was an early attempt to create a new brand, and it got knockoffs immediately as well. At the peak of the [word]fire branding fiasco, I counted nine different ones just on the 'zon, and eBay was worse. I picked up samples of a bunch of these 14500 units and did some measuring and comparing. They were emphatically not all coming from the same source. That’s hardly surprising; Chinese industry was always gleefully eager to take an established product and copy it just faithfully enough that you needed to have the imitated unit in front of you to see where the variances were. It also means that superficially identical appearance is absolutely no warranty of identical product. Today’s Project Farm test of chainsaw sharpeners has an instance that’s typical. And loads of woodworking YouTubers have detailed the many fakes in tools for that niche. Torque Test Channel even used one as its April Fools gag.
@werehatrack I have a bunch of these flashlights from different brands (including a “genuine” Ultrafire) right here on my desk. I kind of view the lights and batteries as two separate products. In fact, I mostly use these with regular AA batteries, because I don’t want to put expensive 14500 cells into $3 lights (and all of the cheap knockoff cells I got as part of bundles have long expired). If I need a more expensive light, I go for one of my Olights. Olight is having an anniversary sale right now, by the way, including the usual “free” AAA light with $5 shipping. Walmart also has a few Ozark Trail bundles on clearance in the $3-$5 range.
@ShotgunX I will say one thing in favor of the faithfully-copied WF-502B design, and that’s the fact that some of the suppliers have made tailcaps available with a no-frills on/off mechanical switch. And lately I’ve been seeing more and more LED flashlights that treat a long-press as “Off and skip to max next time” or “Off and return to this level next time”. The long-press is still inferior to a simple on/off in my opinion, but it’s better than the maddening step-thru-four-more that some of the originals made you endure every effing time.
Switching gears, I greatly prefer the 14500 cells over alkalines for their lack of leakage issues. My favorites are from Nitecore. I’ve had Duracells leak before they went dead, and I’ve had Ray-o-vac alkalines go from functional on Friday to fully fused inside the tube on Tuesday. That brand caused me to figure out a way to excavate three very leaky D cells from the barrel of a special-edition Maglite several years ago. It’s not easy.
One of the hundreds of flashlights I bought from Meh.
Not a fan of people who use the flashlight instead of the phone screen to look at menus in restaurants.
@Salanth You use what works for you, and I’ll use what works for me.
Have you ever noticed, when they are talking about someone on murder mystery shows, the person killed is often described as someone who “lights up the room.”
Never use your personality as a flashlight. It’s certain to get you killed.
@TheCO2 yeah, also used in eulogies a lot.
Best to remain as dim as possible while still finding your way through life.
Edit: oh, never mind, you said flashlight.
My bad, this one’s on me.
One shaped like a FourLoko can: http://www.delish.com/just-for-fun/a28483299/four-loko-fleshlight/
Oh wait you said flAshlight… my bad.
@sicc574
I bet THAT was a seriously interesting marketing meeting!
@chienfou @sicc574 “Has the testing committee come back from its break yet?”
Depends on what I’m illuminating with it and where I am. Phone if that’s what I have handy, but personal preference is a rechargeable LED tac light. They have gotten SO much better over the yrs. Also have several AAA powered lights, some of which have been converted to 18650s. There are also the lights they used to give away from Harbor Freight years ago that I accumulated and are stuck on the side of the freezer in the utility room. Then there’s the special duty lights like the UV lights or the red lamp… Did I mention I have a lot of flashlights?
@chienfou Yeah, for me it depends on what I’m doing - just dropped something or walking through the house late at night, I’ll use my phone. Taking out trash at night, a real flashlight that hangs by the door. Looking into cupboards - real flashlight. Etc.
A flashlight with only an on/off setting.
When working a project that requires the flashlight to be turned off an on, cycling thru all the settings is an unnecessary nuisance. Whomever decided that flashlights need a strobe setting needs to be kicked in the crotch until vomiting from the pain.
@DrWorm I am deeply sorry you don’t like flashing lights on your flashlights. However, I feel like kicking someone “until vomiting” seems to be an overreaction. I wouldn’t say anything to you about this, except I know you can handle criticism.
O-Light T10 pocket EDC or a Streamlight ProTac 1AAA for more formal occasions. I don’t care for the flood light from the mobile phone.
All of the Above!!
An electric torch.
(pretend I said that yesterday, when this was still the topic of discussion)
I just glow with a brilliant radiance and illuminate my own way!