Most suprising? Best and Worst?

Like I begin all of my posts, I'm new to teh flashlight world..so i don't have a worst yet... but my most surpsing purchase was a dorcy headlamp. Picked it up at lowes for 12.99. i love this thing, it converted me to led, perfect amount of light. http://www.brightguy.com/detail_int.php?Sku=DOR410100

so what light surpised you the most, best and worst?

I regret buying the Dorcy 1 watt 3aaa. The beam is ringy, the tint is yellowish and the strobe feature is annoying. And, all this for $25.00.

Yeah, the Dorcy 3xAAA ("super 1 watt") was both a good surprise (brightness) and a bad surprise (BATTERY HOG). With that light I discovered how much I HATE those 3xAAA battery carriers. You shouldn't need a key, coin, or screwdriver to get batteries out of a carrier!

River Rock 2xAA and 2xC - That "full moon" beam from the optic was sure a surprise! I haven't decided if it's a good one or a bad one yet.

River Rock 2xAAA (.5 watt light) - a most excellent little edc light for $9.

TIROS type optics - I was never especially fond of optics (preferred reflectors) until these came along.

Petzl TacTikka Plus - I loved this headlamp until I found out that they make the lights dimmer by "flickering" them rapidly. I noticed it when I tried to use this headlamp to read a book at night and had a headache within minutes! BLECH!

- RR 2AAA good surprise.

- Even after reading the review the serious power of the Brinkman Maxfire LX was a good surprise.

- Putting a 3AAA Sears 1 watt PR bulb in a 3D M@g was a good surprise (discussed in other threads). It's cheap, has good power and compares pretty closely with the Dorcy 3D 1 Watt.

Great surprise, the Hi-output Xnova 1AA/8LED from Lighthound.

I bought a Peak 1AA/7LED Hi-Power Snow. Both are equally bright, and equally white. Hmmm. One is $ 45, the other $6 something. I carry the Xnova.

I believe I've purchased 15 of the Xnovas, everyone keeps talking me out of them.

Another great surprise: I LOVE my Peak 1AAA/3LED Hi-Power Snow light. I NEVER thought I'd have such a bright, WHITE key chain light. This is a "real" flashlight, not just a key hole finder.

Bummer: River Rock 2AA with the "moon" beam. I really don't know what job it is supposed to do.

Best Surprise--Sam's Club Element. So white, so bright. Great throw. An R binned luxeon. And just $13 bucks! (you must buy in a pack of two, though.)

Under most surprising,
Fenix L1P ONE lowly 1.2V NiMH AA battery and that puppy has serious punch and almost three hours of runtime (2500mAH) Easy to make a two-stage mod for a twisty/clickie for hi/lo operation. I recommend them to my bicyclist buddies as a very small, very light and very bright light to be seen with. Has enough punch to see with to get you home in the dark.

Peak Matterhorn 3 Snow29 HO on lithium AAA batteries. Very bright, great color, removable tail lug and very small. Throw a NiMH AAA inside to dim it down a bit and it makes a great long running reading light.

Best: Another vote for the Sam's Club Element & the Fenix L1P

My first LED light.... dorcy 1AAA.... runs even on batteries nothing else works in and for 6 bucks.

Worst to best, bought a Surefire L4, just did not like, traded for Surefire A2(best) and just love it!!!!

Chuck

My best keeps changing....

Keychain/pocket lights:
Worst:
Solitaire. The Solitaire or it's battery was always dead when I really need light. Dim
Best:
Dorcy AAA. Twice the runtime and 3 times the light of the Solitaire. But the unnesserary wide bezel digging into my thigh was annoying. I finally replaced mine with....
UKE 2AAA eLED. Not as bright as the Dorcy but the flatpack design sits comfy in my pocket. Also the keyring lug is on the front of the light. The light shines on the keys instead of away from them into my eyes. Awsome runtime.

Utility lights
Worst:
I have a lot of lights in my unused lights box. None of them stands out as the absolute worst.
Best:
My 1st LED - LERcorp's Turtlelight. I got the Radio Shack Canada yellow barrel version. I was impressed when I got the 1st one 4 or 5 years ago. Even more impressed after I dropped in a Luxeon bulb a couple years back.

Headlamps:
Worst:
4AA headlamp. Too heavy.
Best:
Have 4 other headlamps but is still looking......

Replacement bulbs:
Worst:
3 LED PR bulbs from SuperbrightLEDs. Horrible 3 overlapping ring beam pattern.
Best:
Tectite PR base Luxeon bulbs. LPR-113 for 4 cell lights, LPR-2 for 2 cell lights. Side emitter. But this may change, hopefully soon....
I have been trying to get a Sears Craftsman 1 watt flashlight so I can steal the bulb. No luck so far.

Best (most surprising): Sam's Club Element, River Rock 2AAA, River Rock headlamp.



Worst (most disappointing): River Rock 2AA, Petzl Tikka XP headlamp.

I also own a Streamlight 4AA ProPoly Lux, and of course it's excellent, but I wasn't surprised since so many folks here highly recommended it.

interesting thread....

my biggest surprise was the Surefire E2L. I know it is rated at 30 lumens only but the concentration of the beam makes seem as powerful as a 6P. I have used it to stun many a co-worker on repeated occassions. I love the light.

a close second is the Gladius. wasn't a surprise cause there was a lot of hype before release but it did live up to the hype IMHO and is now my duty light. I use a Surefire M3 for straight horsepower when needed.

worst......mini-mag light....can't believe that it was our issued light for general patrol use for years.

Boltgun