Need some cheap lights for work...please help.

[Super Dave]

Hi,

Are there any AA $10 lights that perform somewhere in the range of the original Fenix L1P? I don't care if it's 1 or 2 AA. I just need decent output and a white tint. It will be used by the housekeeping staff for carpet spot removal at night. Something cheap is good since I think they will get lost or....

I often point spots to the staff with my super bad Draco...and they now have asked for one...but I don't think so.

The other option would be a Streamlight 3 C Propoly light. It's bigger, probably wouldn't walk out the door as easily and would be a good light to have on hand.

Thanks for your input.
Dave

 

[mighty82]

What battery type would you prefer? If you are going to feed them alkalines they will have to be pretty dim if you want a runtime of more than a few minutes.

 

[IcantC]

Best thread for you with prices and beamshots.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/188590

 

[Alero]

Romisen MXDL RC-G2 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3609

It's just hard to beat that one even at triple the price.

 

[Super Dave]

Thank you very much for the ideas. I will be using alkaline...

 

[GPB]

EVERYTHING in housekeeping will walk away. Your best bet would be to get some sort of corded spotlight that was wired to some big heavy car battery that was on t heir housekeeping cart. Give it a 5 foot stretchy cord and plug one battery into a charger each night. You might want to tell them that the batteries are installed in such a way that if they are removed, they will leak acid all over them.

 

[Burgess]

:lolsign:
_

 

[Crenshaw]

Romisen MXDL RC-G2 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3609
It's just hard to beat that one even at triple the price.

+10

Crenshaw

 

[Yucca Patrol]

The easiest way to make sure that the lights are not stolen is to give each person $10 and have them buy their own light at wal-mart. Even if you gave them the $20 or so it takes to buy the 2AA LED mini maglite, you'll save money over buying nice lights that will walk away.

If they own their light, they cannot steal it and they will be much less likely to steal one from a co-worker than from their employer.

You can provide batteries from a big bulk box in your office.

No matter what you decide to get for them, give them ownership and you'll save money not having to buy more lights.

 

[Ryanrpm]

+10

Crenshaw

How does this Romisen compare to the River Rock 1AA?

And what are the lumens of the Romisen light?

 

[GPB]

You could also use the same sign out process that you use with the master keys. At the beginning of their shift, they get their keys and flashlight, and the end they turn them in. Since you already have a control process in place it might be easier to do it that way. If your keys have a ring on them you could just attach it to that.

 

[DrunkenDonut]

The easiest way to make sure that the lights are not stolen is to give each person $10 and have them buy their own light at wal-mart. Even if you gave them the $20 or so it takes to buy the 2AA LED mini maglite, you'll save money over buying nice lights that will walk away.
n your office.

Or a variation - buy the first light so you have control over what they get (setting the standard), and then transfer ownership - make them responsible for it and any replacement that may be needed.

No matter what you decide to get for them, give them ownership and you'll save money not having to buy more lights.

Very true. A little pride of ownership helps a lot.

This reminds me of a study on fleet batteries. The people that simply used fleet rotation batteries didn't take care of them becuase they could just ask for another if a particular batt isn't working well.

The people that were responsible for their assigned batteries (or their own batteries) took care of them because they relied on it, and couldn't simply take another one.

 

[Jarl]

The easiest way to make sure that the lights are not stolen is to give each person $10 and have them buy their own light at wal-mart. Even if you gave them the $20 or so it takes to buy the 2AA LED mini maglite, you'll save money over buying nice lights that will walk away.

+10.

It's what the romans did- their soldiers took much better care of their "own" weapons than they did if they were issued them.

 

[greenlight]

Hey, boss, how about another 20$ for another flashlight. I lost mine.

 

[Alero]

The River Rock 1xAA costs twice as much! It has longer run time and will shut off totally when the battery is low which is good if you use rechargeables.
The beam more blue while the Romisen is on the greenish side. I prefer green to blue any day. The only advantage I've ever found to a more blue beam is that you can se spider webs very easily with them. I was amazed when i got my first really bright LED at how many spider webs were on our ceiling that we'd never seen!

The RR is quite a bit smaller and has a clip so you can put it on your cap. It's also a reverse clicky while the Romisen is a forward clicky.

They are both great and I'd rank them about equal except for the price.

Oh, and the Romisen has 4 big flat sides where you could engrave your company name so people would know who the light was stolen from.

 

[Crenshaw]

agree with the ownership thing. one thing about the Rominson though, it isnt overly bright. Its okay, not not overly. It does have very goodd build quality and a foward clicky, and is relatively easy to upgrade.

Crenshaw

 

[LED-holic]

Hey, boss, how about another 20$ for another flashlight. I lost mine.

Sorry Jose, it's going to come out of your paycheck.

 

[Nils]

I'd say go for the Tank 701 from Dealextreme. At 8.80 it's hard to beat from a price/performance point of view.
Clicky is also a plus as it seems to be easier with NON-Flashaholics.

Funnily the second set of 701's that I ordered came with a 702 body inkluding the printing but with the Seoul LED. There isn't that much difference between the two bodies anyway. The 702 has a o-ring in front of the lense but the switches aren't waterproof anyway. Also the switch of the 702 protudes (still can tailstand). I prefer the original 701 body but the difference isn't that big.


Output is the same as with the KD v3 lights and the Seoul Beam is quite nice and smooth.

My main concern would be the switch failing, but I think it will last long enough.


I've given 702's to both my sisters and they liked them quite a lot (had to get rid of the Cree P3's) so the form-factor is easy enough to use.

As for the KD v5 I think it's a nicer light in itself but more complicated to use, more expensive, the heavy duty build will not be used and if they haven't atted insulators to the led the chance of failing electronics after some drops is rather high.

Really, go for the Tank-701, even if it comes with the "wrong" body. Price/performance is hard to beat, it's small and uses common batteries. It's a light people will actually carry with them and use. Enough advertising

 

[Zatoichi]

Another recommendation for the Romisen RC-G2. $11.30 each with shipping, very nice looking lights, decent quality with good brightness for a single AA.

 

[sol-leks]

I have these 1xAA lights I got from goldengadgets for 4 bucks a pop that are actually quite decent, but the tint is unfortunately a gamble. The first one I got had a great tint, the second was average, the third was quite blue. I still think they are a pretty good bargain. If you are interested look for the CJ 1-watt