Are there any fans of cheap lights on here?

[kavvika]

I don't think I've ever been happy with any sub-$10 light I've owned. The closest I've come is the Princeton Tec Blast. Neat little plastic light, worked fairly well on 2x AAA NiMh's but I never carried it as a Arc AAA did everything the Blast did and in a smaller package. Kinda like a mini nitrolon E1e in a way (which I'd LOVE to see Surefire make). I just sold that light for $6 back in October, didn't use it enough to justify keeping it. I mean, not even a 2C or 2D Mag can be bought for under $13. I think the only Mag available under $10 is the Solitaire. If the OP can up the price cap by a buck thirty, the RC-G2 is a solid choice, but needs to be modded to be competitive with todays lights.

 

[zx7dave]

I'm guilty of spending time on the dealextreme website...and have several WF500,1000 series and other generic Cree's...not bad lights for the cost..but don't trust them enough to take them out of the house without a Surefire backup...

 

[american lockpicker]

i don't always buy cheap lights because their cheap, i buy lights i want, and if they happen to be cheap then i buy them, price is a secondary factor. from what i can think of, my cheapest is a Dorcy 9 LED for... 3.99 at CVS. i prefer to stay away from like Eveready because i hate how cheap (lol) plastic flashlights feel in the hand.

I know what you mean I have a few of them. The only thing other than the feel I don't like about them is replacement bulbs and batteries cost more than the light itself...

 

[nikon]

I know what you mean I have a few of them. The only thing other than the feel I don't like about them is replacement bulbs and batteries cost more than the light itself...

I love cheap lights and I get more excited about them than I do about the expensive ones. I usually wind up modding them so that they become really useful. For instance, I have a number of Garrity LifeLites and their Dorcy counterparts in which I've replaced the original incan bulbs with Luxeons. I have an Eveready 2AA yellow industrial light (four bucks) fitted with a Wolf-Eyes LED assembly. I have a large number of plastic lanterns of the Eveready Dolphin type using regulated Seoul SSC's. And the list goes on.

 

[broadgage]

Cheap lights certainly have there uses, though of course you generally get what you pay for.
If your life may depend on a light, then its clearly prudent to get a good ones, especialy if its liable to get rough useage that might damage a cheap one.

However for everyday household use or workplace use I favour cheap 2D rubber flashlights that cost about £3.
The loss, breakage or theft of something so cheap is of little concern.

Remember also that in case of an emergency one may wish to lend or give lights to neighbours, co-workers or even to strangers.
I would be reluctant to risk a Maglight, let alone a Surefire under such circumstances, but a £3 flashlight, no problem.

Most non flashaholics have no idea just how expensive good flashlights can be, think of the embaresment of lending an expensive Surefire light to someone who losses it, and then finds that it costs a weeks wages to replace.

Also in a powercut, friends, neighbours and co-workers may ask to purchase a flashlight, a request for £20 for a Maglight would be regarded as profitering, though in fact in the UK it is a fair price.
£5 for cheap 2D light, including batteries would be considered reasonable.

And even for your own use, in a prolonged blackout, is a single Surefire with one spare bulb, and one set of spare batteries actually more use than a half dozen cheap lights and a box of D cells?

 

[TORCH_BOY]

I have given up on buying cheapies, to much trouble with them

 

[Liberty1992]

I have given up on buying cheapies, to much trouble with them

well whats considered cheap to you? i mean i have a .5 watt River Rock that goes with me everywhere and it only cost me 8.99. for less than $10 i got a relatively nice flashlight. it even does better than some of my other flashlights that cost 2x maybe 3x more

 

[thunderlight]

I use cheap incandescents all of the time around the house. I use them with Mag Krypton or Xenon bulbs and eneloops or similar rechargeables. Also, I am using a pair of Nicad Ds in an Eveready Industrial. They're cheap, they work, bulbs are easily accessible, etc., and most of them are reasonably durable if they are not abused. Also in the house, recharging is feasible and I can get a fresh Mag bulb out of a drawer.

I also use more expensive better quality lights. Frequently, I use PT-40s and a Sports Flare/PT-20 at a slightly higher price point than the true cheapies.

 

[M@elstrom]

When I meant cheap I meant under $10 lights of lower quality.

Nah... I avoid such junk as that'd be a waste of 10 bucks!



I did buy one of those multi LED lights once, but I was after it's LEDs for parts :sick2:

 

[ZMZ67]

I don't have much interest in LED lights under $10 the quality is usually poor.The conventional incans in the same price range do interest me.There are actually some halfway decent lights like the 2AA Everedy that Nikon mentioned.With a PR base LED replacement or just overdriving a bulb these lights can still be very usefull and it's no big deal if they are lost or ruined by leaking alkalines.

 

[zx7dave]

Just got 4 more SuperFire C1's from Deal Extreme today..all work well..and have nice R2 LED's in them...cost $17 ea...less than a single stage R2 drop-in at lighthound....hmmm
The quality is actually not bad. Would actually consider giving these as gifts...but only to people I don't like.
Will they ever be a primary source of light for me..no, but for $17 they are a hell of a deal. Would estimate the output with a 18650 at 130 to 150 Lumens...tint is on the cool side.

 

[parnass]

I have a curiosity about, but not a desire to purchase most $10 flashlights. Exceptions have been made for clearance priced, higher quality flashlights, like an $8 Inova XO2 or X5.

 

[kramer5150]

certainly... Gerber Tempo remains one of my faves.

 

[Black Rose]

The only <$10 lights I have are a Mag solitaire and my fleet of Dorcy 3xAAA 9-LED lights acquired on sale.

The Mag is rather useless for anything but checking the colour bands on resistors.
A lot of folks on here look down on them, but the Dorcy lights do their job nicely as far as I'm concerned.

I am a fan of low cost lights....I have a nice collection of minimags, Rayovac Sportsman Xtreme, Romisen, and Gerber lights.
With the exception of one of the Romisens, all were obtained for less than $20.
I label myself a frugal flashaholic

 

[georget98]

A few years ago I got a couple Ocean State Job Lot 2XAA for 40 cents (.49 - 20%). I reamed one out and put in 3 X 123 with a bulb that I can't remember what it was, other than bright. It was really impressive until I actually had to use it for a couple minutes and it melted.

 

[Juggernaut]

Well technically you could buy both a AAA or AA Minimag and really they might not be the brightest:shakehead but they are dead reliable and if I didn't own a surefire "which I don't" then I wouldn't think twice about trusting them with my life.

And of course on more then one occasion I've spent around $10 for Bigbeams on Ebay, though in my opinion that doesn't really count since some of those lights new go for $50 dollars:thumbsup:. Including one I got for a steal of $9.99 "not including shipping" that normally goes for $119!

 

[Liberty1992]

Well technically you could buy both a AAA or AA Minimag and really they might not be the brightest:shakehead but they are dead reliable and if I didn't own a surefire "which I don't" then I wouldn't think twice about trusting them with my life.

And of course on more then one occasion I've spent around $10 for Bigbeams on Ebay, though in my opinion that doesn't really count since some of those lights new go for $50 dollars:thumbsup:. Including one I got for a steal of $9.99 "not including shipping" that normally goes for $119!

yea technically the halogen MiniMags and MagLite Solitaires are cheap since their under $10 and you can upgrade them to 3 LEDs and 1 watt. i love MagLites for their upgrade ability and color versatility. and as for those steals on expensive lights, i have one thing to say. holy crap those are good deals your got, your really lucky.

 

[ToeMoss]

No. I swore off cheap lights a few years ago.
I got tired of not having a working flashlight when I needed one.

 

[Chrontius]

Are there any fans of cheap lights on here? I like guns and recently I've started liking SNSes so I got to wondering if any one on here likes cheap lights. For example the 2D Eveready its cheap(costs between $0.99 and $1.79 in my area) and the batteries usually cost more than the light does.

I have one of those. It's a ROP-low with $3 worth of Kai adaptors ... and $12 worth of bulbs and $15 worth of Eneloops (purchased for $4 on clearance).
It's really quite entertaining to think about how much it actually cost to make a $0.99 light worth using, but I have a soft spot for my ghettoblaster.

I've also got a Dolphin upgraded into a true throwmaster - 120 perfectly-collimated lumens, but I swear it'll get brighter when I put together a 7.2v lantern battery. (Don't ask me lux - I wish I knew!)

 

[GarageBoy]

I bought a $3 Energizer 2AA side by side light as a host for an SMJLED, but that was because it makes a nice tight beam in a small package