Dorcy Metal Gear Luxeon

asdalton

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 12, 2002
Messages
1,722
Location
Northeast Oklahoma
I got one of these at Wal-Mart today. I'm pleasantly surprised. I don't know how consistent the LED tints will be, but I think that mine is W0 or something close to it. The throw is quite good and matches the KL1 running on one cell. The beam is not perfectly centered and has a few artifacts (concentric rings in the sidespill), but otherwise it's very useable. The center hotspot is both tight and smooth. Attention flashlight manufacturers* everywhere: smooth reflectors are the way to go with Luxeons!

The switch has a small negative--it's clicky only with no momentary mode. But otherwise it feels solid.

I can see a resistor inside the head behind the LED. I loaded the battery carrier up with three Energizer lithium L92 cells and tested it out. The beam gets brighter, but not super bright. The resistor is doing its job. This is a safer arrangement than true direct drive (no added resistor). Lithiums appear to be a safe option if you want brighter output and a flatter discharge.

Overall, this seems to be a practical flashlight and a great deal for what you get. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

* especially if your name begins with "S" and ends in "urefire". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 

ernsanada

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 29, 2004
Messages
2,962
You can't beat the price, $20.38, tax included.

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Beamshot at 7.5"

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Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting
 

LowWorm

Enlightened
Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
428
Location
Salt Lake City
I don't suppose anyone who has this nice looking light also has some nice looking runtime info for it...? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif
 

PlayboyJoeShmoe

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Sep 4, 2002
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11,041
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Shepherd, TX (where dat?)
I have a thread in LED about it but my eyes see a roughly 2hr to 50% on once fast charged 850mAh Energizers.

I'm charging them a bit slower on a C Crane QC at this point.

It still had decent light at 3hr.
 

sonofjesse

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Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
154
Location
Earth
I don't have run times. I just saw this at walmart, and got it. It was my first experience with L.E.D. Now i'm a flashacholic. I have this one and the other ones in my sig. And want to get more lol. But I like this light its small, black, with clip and good to carry and good light.
 

DarkLight

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Jan 13, 2005
Messages
538
Location
Elkhart,IN
I picked one up at walmart this week also on a lark..

I looked at several and picked the one where the led looked the most centered, several were off quite a bit so inspect the light before you buy it...overall not a bad little light..
 

Flying Turtle

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Jan 28, 2003
Messages
6,509
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Apex, NC
After rereading these posts this morning the bug bit and I dashed out to Wal-Mart. Luckily, one of the two they had seemed to have a well centered LED. So far, in a small darkened room, the tint looks great and the sidespill rings don't appear too bothersome. The light seems nicely built, if a bit larger than it could have been. The clip is a nice touch. I don't like 3 cell lights generally, but that hasn't stopped me before. Guess it's time to buy some NiMH AAA's. I look forward to the night and comparing this to my only other Luxeons, an Arc LSL and a UKeLED.

Geoff
 

solarwinds

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
17
Location
New York City
Sorry for the newbie question, but why does it matter if the LED is centered or not? Does it really make a difference?

So far, I haven't heard of anyone criticizing the Dorcy Metal Gear as yet. It seems like a coincidence if we all had centered LEDs, so we had nothing bad to say about this flashlight.
 

Flying Turtle

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Jan 28, 2003
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Apex, NC
Probably the only time centering really makes a difference is when you're shining the light on a wall. I haven't encountered the problem yet, but I suppose the hot spot may look off target and maybe a bit elongated. Mainly, it just makes me feel better to be able to eyeball the LEDs for centering before I buy it. In a light like this the depth of the LED relative to the reflector is just as important, but probably impossible to guage by eye.

Geoff
 

greenLED

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Mar 26, 2004
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13,263
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La Tiquicia
We tend to overreact about "less than perfect beams" (ringy, off-center, etc.), but in real life (uses other than shining on a white wall), it really doesn't matter.
 
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Flying Turtle

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Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
6,509
Location
Apex, NC
Well, it's night, and I've been lighting up the trees. I must say the new Dorcy is pretty impressive. It definitely beats the Arc LSL and the UK eLED. I understand it's like comparing apples to oranges to pears, but for the record the Dorcy appears about twice as bright, at least with new batteries. An hour down the road the other lights might win with their regulation. For the money, though, this seems a good deal. When they're less than $20 I can justify the purchase a little easier. Besides, it's been at least a month since my last light purchase. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

Geoff
 

chevrofreak

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Joined
May 10, 2004
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Billings, Montana, USA
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