this post was submitted on 10 Oct 2023
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Also coming here from all. I had no idea any of the things you said were features of flashlights. Maybe a useful question for me to ask could be: what got you into flashlights as a 'thing'? Also, do you feel you have a sense of what trades and hobbies mostly comprise this flashlight community?
Lastly, in your estimation is there a reason for an average flashlight user to make the jump from $10 flashlights that are bright enough for them to find their dog's poo in the dark, to a $50 flashlight like those in this post?
This is coming from a slightly incredulous place, but I'm also trying to mentally pivot from incredulity to curiosity. I hope my tone hasn't been abrasive.
I started from a need for a flashlight I could carry in my pocket that was more capable than the LED on a smartphone and did some research because I wanted a good one. I ended up wanting several good ones, and then contributing to discussions, and then writing reviews, and then writing the Android app a bunch of other reviewers use to make runtime graphs.
There's certainly overlap with people who use flashlights and headlamps for work and in their other hobbies, but there's also a community of people who make a hobby out of everyday carry gear itself. Flashlights, pocket knives, and pens are among the most popular items, and some are as decorative as they are functional.
For most people who aren't (yet) interested in flashlights as a hobby, what I'd actually suggest is a $30 flashlight: the Wurkkos FC11 (Nichia 519A version). This has:
Is that worth spending 3x as much? If you were using disposable batteries, almost certainly; it'll be cheaper in the long run. Beyond that, it depends on how much you use portable lighting, how much you care about the features above, and how much you'll miss the money.
Of course, it's all diminishing returns once you've gone from it's too dark to see to I have enough light to see.
This could be a slippery slope for me ... I don't even use a torch