Dorcy Coolblue vs Turtlelite I ?

Hi! I just saw the Dorcy Coolblue at Wal-Mart and the price is incredible at under $8. I know the Dorcy appears to be very similar to the Turtlelite I, but I was wondering if there was any significant difference quality-wise. Is the higher price of the Turtlelite justified in any way?

Dan

That's interesting.
My "Dorcy Cool Blue" is a metal affair, similar in design to the LEDCorp "Our Best Aluminum Flashlight", and has no resemblence to the Turtlelite 1 except for the type of bulb.

I've seen both types here in Michigan in different stores. I don't think I've ever seen the aluminum version under $15. I have two of the under $8 Wall Mart lights and have been very happy with them. I even bought one and removed the lamp and batteries put them into a 4 AA "Coleman" latern. The Coleman gives me enough light to get dressed in the morning without bothering my wife (who gets to sleep in later) with bright lights.

I've got the Dorcy Cool Blue and a Turtlelite II. The T1 and T2 share the same body but use different reflectors, smooth vs. faceted. The Dorcy is pretty much identical to the Turtlelite I. Personally, I find the beam to be way too narrow. So I took out the LED bulb and put it in a tap light which my daughter has by her bed. All in all, the quality of the Cool Blue seems good, just don't like that narrow beam.

I bought both Dorcy cool blue's. One is the alumimium in a normal(?)config and the other was a stubby yellow affair with a black rubber cushion around the head of the torch. IMHO, both are crappy. How's that for a quick review? O.K. the reason is they are way big for the output of light that one gets.
To sum up, there are two Dorcy cool blue's in identical packages, that are compleatly different from each other.

And here they are!



Hmmmmm... The aluminum version is focusable?

Stingmon? How about sticking the bulb from your ArcWhite into the Aluminum Coolblue and giving us some beam shots? Since it runs on 6V, It might be a good, durable, but smaller version of a "4-D Mag" type light, putting out the same amount of light as the 4-D, just running on 4-AAs instead. - Just a thought!

See this thread dorsy

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Quickbeam:
And here they are!

Hmmmmm... The aluminum version is focusable?

Stingmon? How about sticking the bulb from your ArcWhite into the Aluminum Coolblue and giving us some beam shots<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

My Arc White was a loaner and I no longer have it. All of the "loaners" and "no longer haves" are marked on my 'zone index page as such.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>My Arc White was a loaner and I no longer have it. All of the "loaners" and "no longer haves" are marked on my 'zone index page as such.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just a thought. No biggie.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Silviron:
Wow- I've never seen the metal one-
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The metal one is identical to LEDCorp's "Our Best Aluminum Flashlight" (creative name ) and its beam is adjustable. Focuses to a tight spot if the lamp is properly aligned, widens to a ringy, medium flood beam typical of smooth reflectored lights.

I would prefer the light to have a longer threaded length; as the head disengages from the O-ring and spins freely well before widest focus is reached.

I bought a Dorcy Cool Blue. But not happy with it at all.....that narrow pencil beam was weird and useless.

However, upon switching to a faceted reflector from another Dorcy, the Cool Blue beam expanded into a perfect size. This light with faceted relfector is great. I can't figure out why Dorcy is packing a smooth reflector with this light..dumb.

I also got that Cool Blue light and have put the "bulb" into it's new home, (alternate use) the Ev. Arcwhite. That beam is extremely tight, though..
And there's not a bluish tint either, like was said above...

Wow- I've never seen the metal one-

I did do a mini-review on the plastic ones when they first came out- There are a couple of beam shots in the review.

http://az123.com/LED/dorcolblu/

hmmmmm......I think I will buy a dorcy cool blue aluminum and put the LC pro-series3 bulb in it. quite obviously, my 4-D mag is too damn big to put in my jacket pocket. The walmart here only seems to have the plastic version for now, damnit!

Bought Two Dorcy CB's (Turtle I's) & converted them both to LED using Luxeon Star's obtained from the ARC site. One white, one amber. 5 ohm R inline for the white, 10 ohm inline for the amber. Use your enginuity to carve out the reflector, then mount the Stars on the lamp module. (Rquires some cutting of both the lamp support and the Star circuit board, and solder connections.)CAREFUL of the polarity. BRIGHT.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Al:
Bought Two Dorcy CB's (Turtle I's) & converted them both to LED using Luxeon Star's obtained from the ARC site. One white, one amber. 5 ohm R inline for the white, 10 ohm inline for the amber. Use your enginuity to carve out the reflector, then mount the Stars on the lamp module. (Rquires some cutting of both the lamp support and the Star circuit board, and solder connections.)CAREFUL of the polarity. BRIGHT.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Do you have any pictures of this mod?

Sorry, I'm not adept at furnishing photos, but the mod is pretty straight forward. I used a Dremel for the cutting.

Hey Al, how's the heat buildup on your mods?

Not a problem because although I try to get as much as possible form the Luxeon's w/o damage, I only use these lights intermittantly. So far, I've been avoiding "cooking" class.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by StuU:
I bought a Dorcy Cool Blue. But not happy with it at all.....that narrow pencil beam was weird and useless.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wonder what would happen if you turned the dome top led into a flat top led?