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$55 too much for a flashlight

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I LOVE my Fenix L2P.

There are a lot of flashlight nerds here and so they'll always tell you it's worth it.

But don't think you're in the minority when you hear everyone talking about it. It's just like how people here will laugh at you if you don't believe in carrying guns on you, I laugh when everyone here discusses how they like the iphone and razr when those are just crap phones.

Anyways, the flashlights do matter, but seriously do they matter that much? I brought my Fenix out when we went camping. I was the one who could shine the light the furthest and provide the most illumination on our trails that went off to nowhere. When people were scared I just flipped my light on to show that the trail was straight ahead. Yeah, it's a great light, but so what? It's not like you can't survive with your Maglite 2AA...
 
the kewl thing is that the 1watt luxeons are slipping into the mainstream now. nicer metal bodied lights with tactical switches are pretty common at frys, and the river rock 1aa 1watt is sold there as well. no cree yet or whatever, but its all trickling down🙂 much better than the previous situation where the best they could sell was a maglite with the rest being cheap 2cent plastic bodied junk😛 all the 1 watters were 20-25 bucks.
 
Originally posted by: wetcat007
No, also make sure to get $55 gold plated USB cables to, they really do work better!
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Comparing overpriced USB cables to standard ones is not the same as comparing a maglight to a surefire. They are not even in the same league.

A $150 surefire light is worth absolutely every single penny paid for it.
 
I think most people haven't really seen a good bright flashlight before or are just never in a situation where they would value it.
 
yea flashlightreviews.com was a good site, i think he's stopped updating it but there are still a ton of good reviews in there.
 
Originally posted by: adairusmc

A $150 surefire light is worth absolutely every single penny paid for it.
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But it's a surfire way to make one feel sick when they drop it in the ocean. :Q

Sorry, could not resist the pun. 😉

Originally posted by: aceO07
I think most people haven't really seen a good bright flashlight before or are just never in a situation where they would value it.
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Surely - I have a Fenix P1. We call it the Fenix Penis. (original model P3N15) :Q
 
Originally posted by: sao123
$55 for a flashlight is only worth it if you're buying the 4D battery Mag light with LED bulb...
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Blasphemy!

Those (mag lites) are quite the junk in comparison for the $$$. The regulation is substandard on their LED modules and many develop a flicker. Unacceptable!

It's also believed that the LED module (drop in replacement) for the mags have thermal issues which explain the sudden drop off in output just a few minutes after power up.

But then again it is a mag lite - the Bose of flashlights. :laugh:
 
Originally posted by: OS

i bought a innova flashlight today from target, the cashier was like, why is that flashlight so much, it better be made out of gold.

she did have a point, but i got it anyways. I'm probably sort of crazy, i spent $150 on a pocket knife a couple weeks ago.
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i bought a 4D maglite for 24 bucks. it will shine about 4 blocks. i carry a switchblade knife i got at a gun show for 18 bucks (talked him down from 25) that i use to cut/ trip wires and such.

that said, i have a few knives that cost 250+ new and are worth more now than when bought. what you pay for and why are the key. my work knives will never cost me more than 20 bucks. theres too much chance ill lose, break or destroy it. flashlights are flashlights... and mag is among the upper echelon in my opinion.
 
Originally posted by: hanoverphist
Originally posted by: OS

i bought a innova flashlight today from target, the cashier was like, why is that flashlight so much, it better be made out of gold.

she did have a point, but i got it anyways. I'm probably sort of crazy, i spent $150 on a pocket knife a couple weeks ago.
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and mag is among the upper echelon in my opinion.
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You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but it is still hilarious. :laugh:

 
You get what you pay for. A $10 flashlight is nice on the wallet, but I sure as hell wouldn't rely on it for camping... an emergency kit, or anything where having a flashlight is crucial. $10 flashlights tend to be dull, eat big, bulky batteries like a 10 year old eats candy and the metal internals tend to corrode under normal usage situations. A $30 flashlight will clearly show a greater performance over the $10, but at the same time still probably relies on a crappy old bulb to do the job. Think of it this way.... I'd rather get a flashlight that is energy efficient and uses a better technique than a filament bulb because the expense of replacing batteries and bulb will quickly make up the difference between a mediocre flashlight and a quality flashlight.

Stupid cashier isn't doing much to help sales, huh?
 
Originally posted by: DrPizza
I still don't quite understand why you'd pay so much for a flashlight... i.e. I don't know where such a high value comes from (other than the name.)

How do these compare to a 1 or 2 million candlepower cordless rechargeable spotlight that can be purchased for about the same price or less? Last week while I was out on the lake, my relatives decided to play with me from shore about 1/4 mile away; the light was blinding at that distance. It was a cheap rechargeable spotlight.
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i have one of those too! 7.88 at a new hardware store before i went camping... came with a wall plug and a car adapter to charge it. lasts about 30 min per charge, not a bad deal for under 8 bucks. still around a year later too
 
Originally posted by: antillean
Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
I spent $172 on a Surefire L2, and it was worth every penny. A good flashlight is hard to put a limiting value on.
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How much do you use it??
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i carry a minimag type (with a krypton bulb, fairly bright and can focus for a good range) on my belt with my knife and a pen everywhere i go. people always make fun of me, but those times when people drop or lose stuff in the dark and cant find it is when i get them back. always funny. i got used to carrying a flashlight when i worked stage for concerts. its always dark backstage, and if you dont have a light youre pretty much bumping into everything.
 
Originally posted by: adairusmc
Originally posted by: hanoverphist
Originally posted by: OS

i bought a innova flashlight today from target, the cashier was like, why is that flashlight so much, it better be made out of gold.

she did have a point, but i got it anyways. I'm probably sort of crazy, i spent $150 on a pocket knife a couple weeks ago.
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and mag is among the upper echelon in my opinion.
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You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but it is still hilarious. :laugh:
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i like my maglite, it reaches to the tower to get spot ops attention, i can see in pitch dark for far enough where i cant see detail in daylight and it was dirt cheap. ive seen the surefire ones, plenty of stage crew bought them and said the same thing you say. mine was the same brightness (well, may have been due to me actually maintaining mine) as theirs, reached the same distances as theirs and was a way better hammer than theirs. nothing like being able to set a truss pin with your flashlight. and if you lose, break or destroy it, buy another for 20-24 bucks. i cant see why my opinion would be hilarious, maybe im missing the elitism of your brand wars.
 
Originally posted by: Rubycon
$1 per lumen!

All 1000 of them! :Q
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I think the target audience of that light is people who won't ever use it. Flashlight collectors. Unless for some reason you need your light to be really small and lightweight, you could get a $25 spotlight that is brighter than that.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: Rubycon
$1 per lumen!

All 1000 of them! :Q
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I think the target audience of that light is people who won't ever use it. Flashlight collectors. Unless for some reason you need your light to be really small and lightweight, you could get a $25 spotlight that is brighter than that.
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It's a professional product designed for the firefighting market. These folks trust their lives into their gear every day. For that purpose price is of secondary concern.

The manufacturer has made remarks in this thread regarding its features and intended market. It's got flashaholics interested as well over at CPF.

 
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