As a flashlight collector I'm always looking for unique ideas to add to the collection. At the begininng it was bright, bright, bright with zoomies, then tailored nice beams varying between pencil to flooder. Then an obsession with all things old took place for a while.
But throughout the process I've continued to be intrigued by the budget light world of flashlights. I suppose it's a carry over from those 1¢ bubble gum days where a flashlight was like a piece of candy... fun for a little while but soon after was used up. Back then flashlights weren't very good. At least the kind I received as Christmas presents and such.
Well tonight the missus and I decided to do our evening stroll in a WalMart that may be so big it has a different zip code at each end. For various reasons I had run out of all my triple A stockpile except some Radio Shack cells that leak when stored in some lights. I still have a 96 pack of those...
Ok so while strolling through the mall sized store I stumbled upon automotive flashlights and grabbed a telescoper with the magnet at the light end. 5 lumens for $5. We continued past a vast array of gizmos and gadgets , past fishing poles and car tires until the actual flashlight wall was reached. According to my meter we had walked 2.3 miles from the car, strolling down various rows and reaching the far end of the store.
Not impressed with a million promises of the latest greatest output a "crayon" light caught my eye. I have lipstick lights, tom thumb, and penlights, but this was the first one I'd ever seen called a crayon light. 3 lumens for $3.
A few dozen triple A cells were acquired, a few $5 movies and 8 lumens for $8 later and it was time to checkout. We ended up walking 5+ miles by the time we got back to the car.
Thing is these little numbers are much better than the junk I had as a kid. Thanks to LED technology and cnc machinery these little dudes aint so bad.
So in 2017 what do you get for $3 in a anondized alluminum 1 triple A flashlight with a magnifier lens? Or in a $5 telescoper penlight?
The Rayovac comes with a carbon zinc cell and the hypertough has 4 button cells.
The hypertough is a floody little deal that'll be great for finding and retrieving that dropped screw. The sides are non conductive to ensure the magnet goes where you want it to go. It's strong enough to pull a dropped 10mm box/open end, but won't retrieve your 3/8 drive ratchet. And the 5 floody lumens is perfect for lighting deep dark crevices without it bouncing off nearby shiney objects.
The Rayovac has an amazing beam for being 3 lumens. It feels just like holding a crayon... with a pocket clip. I say amazing in that compared to the 1 cell light of my youth this thing is crazy bright. It's the magnifier lens. And Rayovac has cleaned up some of the blue corona experienced by most of these style beams.
Both are reverse clicky with ability to signal once turned on. Both would ride nicely in a shirt pocket with the Rayovac having an inkpen style clip while the hypertough has a typical flashlight type clip.
The hypertough closed up.
A 6 volt cop light used for reference compared to the hypertough fully extended and the rayovac.
8 lumens for $8 later I have another pair of flashlights that still cause me to believe 'even bad flashlights aint bad these days'.
Thanks for reading this.
But throughout the process I've continued to be intrigued by the budget light world of flashlights. I suppose it's a carry over from those 1¢ bubble gum days where a flashlight was like a piece of candy... fun for a little while but soon after was used up. Back then flashlights weren't very good. At least the kind I received as Christmas presents and such.
Well tonight the missus and I decided to do our evening stroll in a WalMart that may be so big it has a different zip code at each end. For various reasons I had run out of all my triple A stockpile except some Radio Shack cells that leak when stored in some lights. I still have a 96 pack of those...
Ok so while strolling through the mall sized store I stumbled upon automotive flashlights and grabbed a telescoper with the magnet at the light end. 5 lumens for $5. We continued past a vast array of gizmos and gadgets , past fishing poles and car tires until the actual flashlight wall was reached. According to my meter we had walked 2.3 miles from the car, strolling down various rows and reaching the far end of the store.
Not impressed with a million promises of the latest greatest output a "crayon" light caught my eye. I have lipstick lights, tom thumb, and penlights, but this was the first one I'd ever seen called a crayon light. 3 lumens for $3.
A few dozen triple A cells were acquired, a few $5 movies and 8 lumens for $8 later and it was time to checkout. We ended up walking 5+ miles by the time we got back to the car.
Thing is these little numbers are much better than the junk I had as a kid. Thanks to LED technology and cnc machinery these little dudes aint so bad.
So in 2017 what do you get for $3 in a anondized alluminum 1 triple A flashlight with a magnifier lens? Or in a $5 telescoper penlight?
The Rayovac comes with a carbon zinc cell and the hypertough has 4 button cells.
The hypertough is a floody little deal that'll be great for finding and retrieving that dropped screw. The sides are non conductive to ensure the magnet goes where you want it to go. It's strong enough to pull a dropped 10mm box/open end, but won't retrieve your 3/8 drive ratchet. And the 5 floody lumens is perfect for lighting deep dark crevices without it bouncing off nearby shiney objects.
The Rayovac has an amazing beam for being 3 lumens. It feels just like holding a crayon... with a pocket clip. I say amazing in that compared to the 1 cell light of my youth this thing is crazy bright. It's the magnifier lens. And Rayovac has cleaned up some of the blue corona experienced by most of these style beams.
Both are reverse clicky with ability to signal once turned on. Both would ride nicely in a shirt pocket with the Rayovac having an inkpen style clip while the hypertough has a typical flashlight type clip.
The hypertough closed up.
A 6 volt cop light used for reference compared to the hypertough fully extended and the rayovac.
8 lumens for $8 later I have another pair of flashlights that still cause me to believe 'even bad flashlights aint bad these days'.
Thanks for reading this.
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I would still be in there now looking at the gadgets. Cool write up and pics, thanks for sharing
