# I need manly help sourcing some items **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 19, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663 "2013-10-19T17:30:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/21 "2013-10-20T13:33:45Z")
If your husband got an unexpected day off of work, how would he spend it? Please be as specific as possible: if he’d watch TV, what shows; if he’d work on the house, what types of projects, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/22 "2013-10-20T14:04:05Z")
It was mentioned upthread, but I’ll second LED Lensers. I don’t have experience with other LED flashlights but I really like these. The two that I have, the T7 and the P7 are bright enough that the reflection on something white (like a piece of paper) is enough to hurt your eyes. They have some issues I don’t care for like the placement of the power button (on the bottom) and two modes (regular and dim) which means sometimes I put it away on dim since I think I turned it off, but overall I liked the first one enough to buy a second one. Technically the list price is something sill like $70, but I picked up both of mine on Woot for $15.00 (plus $5.00 for shipping). I think they can be had on Amazon for about the same price. I did some quick checking on flashlight message boards and it seems these are good flashlights for $20.00. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/23 "2013-10-20T15:04:11Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > If your husband got an unexpected day off of work, how would he spend it? > Please be as specific as possible: if he’d watch TV, what shows; if he’d work on the house, what types of projects, etc. He works for himself, so he does some amount of work practically every day. Back when he had a regular day job though, a day off looked like this: He’d get up early, any time between 3:00 and 5:00, and spend the morning drinking lattes from our super-automatic and reading news websites, the Cleveland Browns forums, and vacuum tube amplifier forums. Around 10:00 he’d fix himself a bowl of ramen noodles with egg and green onions mixed in, shave and shower, then go to his tube shop and spend a few hours listening to records (lots of classic rock and new age) and sweeping tubes/rearranging his setup/grading records etc. Around 1:00 or 2:00 he’d decide that he really ought to mow the lawn/clean the gutters/trim a tree/weed and water the garden/rearrange the garage and attic. He’d invite our toddler out with him if it was something she could “help” with. When that was done, he’d come inside, turn on football, and have a drink–beer, wine, gin and tonic, whatever we’ve got stocked. If the game is a Browns game, he needs to be alone. If it isn’t football season, he goes to his buddy’s tube shop for a couple of hours. Around 5:00 he starts asking what’s for dinner; when dinner is ready, he eats then cleans up the kitchen. Now it’s family time, and he helps our toddler play games on his Nexus 7 or puts on the Muppet Show. At bedtime he gets her in her jammies and kisses her goodnight, then pours himself some Scotch if he’s feeling good about the world. Then we watch TV–American Pickers, Antiques Roadshow, Fast & Loud, or Pawn Stars if we feel like a TV and surfing night, or Netflix shows like Breaking Bad and Portlandia if we feel like concentrating on TV. At 9:00 he’s done for the day and goes to bed. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/24 "2013-10-20T15:23:35Z")
Oh, and to tie in the “likes to cook” part: in the rare event that there’s no football AND his buddy is out of town, he’ll watch travel and cooking shows on public access channels and get excited about what he’s watching. Yesterday afternoon (Saturday, no NFL) he found an episode of America’s Test Kitchen about making fresh pasta with AP flour. Then he made fresh pasta for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/25 "2013-10-20T15:34:12Z")
Three good flashlight brands are Nightcore, Phoenix, and 4Sevens. Lensers, also sold as Coast, are unregulated and are not highly recommended by “flashaholics”. Stay away from any that use AAA cells unless size is the main consideration. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/26 "2013-10-20T16:22:27Z")
wow. I got tired just reading what he does on a “day off”. Based on what you said though, I really think something cooking specific would be perfect for him. Let him get his own flashlights. I think that maybe the dishes you were looking for, a Nepalese cookbook, and some typical Nepalese ingredients would make an awesome gift. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/27 "2013-10-20T17:28:34Z")
Ditto what Jake said. My fenix blows any maglight I ever had out of the water, even the 6 d cell model and it runs on regular AAs. The batteries last longer too. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/28 "2013-10-20T18:07:35Z")
I got the fenix tk41 FYI. Any guy would love it. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/29 "2013-10-20T18:35:41Z")
I’m a bit of a flashlight freak. I highly recommend these two flashlights. [This](http://www.ebay.com/itm/500-Lumens-CREE-R2-LED-Stainless-Steel-Flashlight-Lamp-2X18650-Charger-/350705182190?pt=US_Flashlights&hash=item51a7a865ee) one for a very portable, pocketable, bright light. And [this]([http://www.ebay.com/itm/SKY-RAY-KING-5000LM-3-mode-3X-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Charger-4x18650-/330846060164](http://www.ebay.com/itm/SKY-RAY-KING-5000LM-3-mode-3X-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Charger-4x18650-/330846060164)? pt=US\_Flashlights&hash=item4d07f63e84) one, as a super-bright (as bright as a car headlight) he-man flashlight. The Sky-ray is amazing, but more flashlight than most people need. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/30 "2013-10-20T18:36:15Z")
This guy here is what most pro auto mechanics have on their box at work. Streamlight 75832 Stinger DS LED Flashlight with AC/DC PiggyBack [http://amzn.com/B00110ERES](http://amzn.com/B00110ERES) Rechargeable, comes with two batteries, and a piggyback wall charger that charges both the light and spare battery at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/31 "2013-10-20T19:04:09Z")
I would hesitate recommending a light using 18650 Li cells to a casual user. If the cells aren’t quality protected units there are some possible hazards. Rather go with 123A cells or NmHi rechargables. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/32 "2013-10-20T19:13:49Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > This guy here is what most pro auto mechanics have on their box at work. Streamlight 75832 Stinger DS LED Flashlight with AC/DC PiggyBack > [http://amzn.com/B00110ERES](http://amzn.com/B00110ERES) > Rechargeable, comes with two batteries, and a piggyback wall charger that charges both the light and spare battery at the same time. Streamlight flash lights are the way to go. They are expensive but worth it. I have a 4 inch one that uses 1 AAA battery that is very bright and lasts a long time on that one little battery. You can carry one without even knowing that you have it in your pocket. I use one at work and carry it in the little watch pocket in my jeans. > **[Amazon.com: Streamlight: Tools & Home Improvement](https://www.amazon.com/Streamlight-Tools-Hardware/b?ie=UTF8&node=12911591)** > > Online shopping for Streamlight from a great selection at Tools & Home Improvement Store. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663/33 "2013-10-20T20:35:51Z")
Hydroponic growing kit (grow fresh herbs, lettuce, etc. inside all winter long) Football tickets Pasta maker Really nice cookware or knives Handmade pottery ramen bowls… you could take the kid to one of those places where you paint the already-made items with glaze and they fire it for you. Even scribbling turns out pretty nicely. Put the date on it and you will have a nice keepsake that can be used, not just sit around collecting dust. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-manly-help-sourcing-some-items/671663.md?page=1)