Many moons ago, there was always some spirited dialogue about LE's vs GLOW's. Many collectors looked at GLOW's as "giftware" of an endless supply. The GLOW supporters look at GLOW's as the only way they could get a version of a retired light because the real popular limited edition versions were cost prohibitive. In other words buying the GLOW for retail was a lot cheaper than buying a retired LE, if you could find it. Obviously, many of those retired LE's are now much more affordable, and in some cases cheaper than buying a GLOW at retail.

What does a new collector do? Hunt down an affordable LE or buy the GLOW? What it all boils down to is the fact that the casual shoppers far out number the true collectors. Probably for every limited edition collected by a serious collector, there are probably 25, 50, or may even 100 GLOW's sold of that same light. People want to buy a replica of something they've seen, and they can walk into area HL Dealers and find just that replica sitting on the shelf. They don't want to hunt down the cherished LE. They don't care. This is impulse buying. You have it on display, I want it now, so what do I owe you?

The truth of the matter is there just isn't enough serious collectors left. The new breed of collectors are more frugal and buy only a small portion of what is offered. Maybe they really are smarter than the passionate collectors of old. They certainly avoid a major expense plus the problems of storage and display.

If it feels good, do it! Buy your LE's. Buy your GLOW's. The actual difference is just all in the eyes of the beholder.

Bob