Technically this post is more of an "interesting" deal than an outright "good" deal (at least for USA residents): you'll understand why in a moment.
In Walmart today (Columbus, Ohio) I saw multiple boxes of their Ozark Trail-brand flashlight, model OT-50L, priced at $1.00 each (that's not a typo, the light literally is priced at one dollar). It's a typical cylinder light, 4-inches long by 1-inch in diameter, powered by a 3xAAA battery carrier. The light is made of a well-made plastic, similar in feel to Nitrolon. It has a clear plastic lens, a smooth reflector, and a simple rubber-booted tailcap. This is a single-mode light. The emitter appears to be an XPE: color temperature is 6500K-7000K, producing about 100 lumens, focused into an eight-inch diameter hotspot of about 2200 lux at one meter. The light with three AAA cells installed weighs 2.2 ounces (60 grams). The light body comes in a choice of five colors: a true Army olive green; a deep marine blue; a light grey; a very mustard yellow; and red/orange. The plastic colors are uniform and solid, without any blemishes or discolorations. There were some minor differences among the lights with regard to the shape of the hotspot, with some lights being more tightly focused than others, but all would be equally usable in the real world. It appears to be surprisingly well-made for such a low cost item.
The light may be of interest to anyone looking to equip a group with a bare-bones pocket light, at relatively low cost: examples might be cub scout troops; church groups; homeless shelters; disaster relief operations; whatever. It would be an excellent "Good Samaritan" giveaway light, with no expectation of its return, to someone obviously in need of some portable illumination. (I've given several inexpensive "donation" lights to motorists struggling to change a tire using their cell phone's "flashlight" feature in years past. This light would be an excellent choice for that purpose.)
Finally, an 18500 cell works well as a replacement for the 3xAAA battery carrier, but that's probably not the best choice of power for such a low-cost light.
Food for thought...
In Walmart today (Columbus, Ohio) I saw multiple boxes of their Ozark Trail-brand flashlight, model OT-50L, priced at $1.00 each (that's not a typo, the light literally is priced at one dollar). It's a typical cylinder light, 4-inches long by 1-inch in diameter, powered by a 3xAAA battery carrier. The light is made of a well-made plastic, similar in feel to Nitrolon. It has a clear plastic lens, a smooth reflector, and a simple rubber-booted tailcap. This is a single-mode light. The emitter appears to be an XPE: color temperature is 6500K-7000K, producing about 100 lumens, focused into an eight-inch diameter hotspot of about 2200 lux at one meter. The light with three AAA cells installed weighs 2.2 ounces (60 grams). The light body comes in a choice of five colors: a true Army olive green; a deep marine blue; a light grey; a very mustard yellow; and red/orange. The plastic colors are uniform and solid, without any blemishes or discolorations. There were some minor differences among the lights with regard to the shape of the hotspot, with some lights being more tightly focused than others, but all would be equally usable in the real world. It appears to be surprisingly well-made for such a low cost item.
The light may be of interest to anyone looking to equip a group with a bare-bones pocket light, at relatively low cost: examples might be cub scout troops; church groups; homeless shelters; disaster relief operations; whatever. It would be an excellent "Good Samaritan" giveaway light, with no expectation of its return, to someone obviously in need of some portable illumination. (I've given several inexpensive "donation" lights to motorists struggling to change a tire using their cell phone's "flashlight" feature in years past. This light would be an excellent choice for that purpose.)
Finally, an 18500 cell works well as a replacement for the 3xAAA battery carrier, but that's probably not the best choice of power for such a low-cost light.
Food for thought...
