Best Bang for the Buck?

[ReynolS]

Has anyone done any reviews on what the best bang for the buck LED flashlight would be? Mainly in an everyday, around the house, nightlight, read by, long runtime, single, "normal", LED flashlight. My kids seam to have inherited their dads facination for LED flashlights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif and keep taking his and playing with them, so when dad really wants one, there's none to be found /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif. I purchased a bunch of 4AA Dorcys TurtleLite I clones from Walmart for the kiddies, but in their hands, they go through batteries relatively quick (I think I purchased Walmarts stock of Dorcy 4 AA LED flashlights as I haven't seen any since!). And my wife likes to borrow whatever I have handy so she can read in the dark after everyone has gone to bed. Since I've lost the battle of telling everyone to , "Leave my flashlights alone /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif!", I'm hoping I can find something for everyone that will give them the most usable light per cost of batteries. I know that Lithiums will run longer, but are they cost effective compared to an equivalent set of Alkalines? What about 1 cell, 2 cell, 3 cell, 4 cell lights? Will the 4 cell light give me 4 times as much usable time than then 1 cell? Am I better off just making my own (which I have done on ocasion with parts from RadioShack)?

For maximum light output, I'll leave that to my SureFire L4 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif, but for everything else, I'm willing to experiment.

As a point of reference, I've got Epinions in my 2 Cell Maglights, a MagmaLED in my MiniMag, and these:


http://www.techass.com/el/elm3m/elm3m.php
http://www.techass.com/el/derngr/
http://www.ledcorp.com/aluminum.html
http://www.ledcorp.com/turtle.html
http://www.ledcorp.com/turtle2.html
http://www.theledlight.com/palights.html
http://www.theledlight.com/lightwave.html (The Lightwave 4000)
http://store.yahoo.com/flashlight/arcaaa.html
http://store.yahoo.com/flashlight/arpred.html
http://www.theledlight.com/infinity.html (One with a white LED and another with a green LED)
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/dcb.htm (4 of them, found at Walmart for $7 each!)
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ener2.htm (2 of them)
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/1071/sesent/00

Thanks!
Scott

 

[raggie33]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

id say dorcy aaa

 

[Aloft]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

ReynolS. . .

I've gotten quite a collection of lights since joining the CPF, and I always appreciate someone else's take on various lights for various tasks. I've also pretty much gotten rid of all my incandescents. . . I'm all LED now. Consider some of these. . .

Underwater Kinetics 2AAA Led. . . initially I was underwhelmed by the output of this light, but when I finally got to use it in real dark, I found it very adequate. It's built pretty tough, it's really small, got a clip for hats/helmets, keyring included. It's great for navigation in a really dark area, would probably be ok for some late night reading, and it's available right away, unlike some other high quality lights. The two things I like best. . . UK lights can be used with Lithium batteries (AAA's to be available later this year I think) which makes it "store and forget", and it's way cheap. . .about $12 at Brightguy I think.

Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLed. . . another light which didn't really seem that bright at first, but really "shone" in the dark. It uses a 1 watt LED, and has many of the advantages of it's little brother above, PLUS a clickie switch. Yep, it takes lithiums, and it's also pretty cheap. . .about $20 at Brightguy.

CMG Ultra. . . built super tough, small, and the CPF special at CountyComm.com lists them for only $15. . . they're practically indestructible! The battery rattles a bit, and they're no ARC AA, but there's also no wait, and they're cheaper. . . great for the kids.

Inova X1. . . the "love it or hate it" light, I'm one of its big fans. Built to take a beating, I actually gave one to my 4 year old nephew a couple months ago and it's not broken yet. Read the reviews about its unusual beam to make sure it does what you want. These have been on special for about $15, but usually sell for around $20. I use it at night when I'm heading to the bathroom. . . the tight beam is good for navigating more familiar areas, but doesn't "flood" the room with light and wake up my spouse.

I've got more pricey lights too, but that doesn't seem to be what you're looking for. If your lights get lots of use, then use alkalines, I think they are a better value. Also, Inova DOES NOT recommend lithiums, though at least one CPF member I spoke with has used them with no ill effects. I can't speak as to actual runtimes with alkalines or lithiums. . . I tend to use my lights sparingly out of habit, and I prefer the lithiums for seldom used lights like car glove boxes or earthquake kits because they are less prone to leak and ruin a light.

Good Luck. . .

 

[lightbox]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

I'd highly recommend rechargable AAA/AA NiMH batteries. Just keep boxes around (one charged, another uncharged) and task one of your kids with making sure the charged box doesn't get empty. http://www.batteryspace.com sometimes has some good deals.

The countycomm $1 lights are great for leaving around the house. just buy a couple dozen and leave them in a jar and you won't have to worry about being unable to find a flashlight. The batteries are lithium so they'll be good for about 10 years.
http://countycomm.com/light10.htm
http://www.countycomm.com/CPFMASTER.htm

I agree with the other recommendations above.

 

[IlluminatingBikr]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

I think it might be time for some rechargeables!

I would recommend the eLED. It is a 1-watter for $20, with solid 10 hour runtime. Hard to top that!

 

[4x4Dragon]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

i'd second the UK 4aa Eled! great light!

 

[pedalinbob]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

though the bats are expensive, i use my palight almost nightly.

you can really conserve the bats if you have the onestar model. i use it to read on the lowest setting, and i cant remember when i last changed the bat. you can easily navigate inside the house on the low setting.
for the kids, you can choose the workman model, which shuts itself off automatically.

hmmm. though a bit more expensive than the wonderful UK4AALED, the opalec is always a great choice.

sounds like rechargeables are a great idea. perhaps standardize on bats, and go for one of those rayovac 15 minute charger/bat deals (IC3?).

good luck!

Bob

 

[KevinL]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

I have to second the rechargeable batteries recommendations. Nothing feels better than getting guilt-free lumens out of a light that you can just leave on and not worry about it. Ironically, the Terralux in my MiniMag sees the most use because I can just run down a pair of NiMH cells in it.. now if only it wasn't so horribly green. The good point about the Terralux is something like 5.5 hours of runtime on 1900mAh NiMH. Keep spare cells on the charger so you always have batteries good to go. Tell the rest that if they want light, please do the same with their discharged cells /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

As a kid, I remember always running out of batteries and pestering my folks to buy more, to which, inevitably the answer was no /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif if I was in a similar situation, I'd simply invest in a one-time NiMH purchase and solve the problem once and for all. By the time they go through 500 cycles (2500 hours of light), ahh.. that'll be many years from now.

And by the way, congratulations on bringing up the next generation of flashaholics - the legacy continues!

 

[ReynolS]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

Well, I've raided the local Targets of all their Dorcy AAAs--Took tree stores to get 4 lights, all they had! Also got a bunch of AAA rechargables for them. Funny thing is I already have a bunch of AA rechargables I use for my digicam, just never thought about using them in any of my LED flashlights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif.

I'm now eyeballing those UK eLed lights for a future purchase to add to my "collection" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Anyone have any comments on what the longest runtime of a regulated LED flashight would be (Any brand, cost, light output, whatever)?

Scott

 

[BentHeadTX]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

Scott,
That all depends on the LED you are talking about (5mm LED or Luxeon LED?) If Luxeon is the game, the UKE4AA gives over 10 hours of perfect regulation constant burn. Intermitten use should boost the run time to 12+ hours easily.
The absolute longest runtime would be a 6D Mag with a Terralux 10mm LED "bulb" inside. Should run for months and months.
I have a 5D Mag with a 5 watt Cyan Luxeon, for entertainment... I ran the light for over a month. At the end of the month, it still had enough output to dimmly light up the locker room at work.
Long runtimes for "normal" sized lights for the kids to carry around? That is a hard one, how much light do you want and what batteries?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Just fixing the thread title...nothing to see here folks, just run along. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[BuddTX]

Re: Best Bank for the Buck?

[ QUOTE ]
Aloft said:
ReynolS. . .
Underwater Kinetics 4AA eLed. . . another light which didn't really seem that bright at first, but really "shone" in the dark. It uses a 1 watt LED, and has many of the advantages of it's little brother above, PLUS a clickie switch. Yep, it takes lithiums, and it's also pretty cheap. . .about $20 at Brightguy.

CMG Ultra. . . built super tough, small, and the CPF special at CountyComm.com lists them for only $15. . . they're practically indestructible! The battery rattles a bit, and they're no ARC AA, but there's also no wait, and they're cheaper. . . great for the kids.


[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
lightbox said:
I'd highly recommend rechargable AAA/AA NiMH batteries. Just keep boxes around (one charged, another uncharged) and task one of your kids with making sure the charged box doesn't get empty. http://www.batteryspace.com sometimes has some good deals.

The countycomm $1 lights are great for leaving around the house. just buy a couple dozen and leave them in a jar and you won't have to worry about being unable to find a flashlight. The batteries are lithium so they'll be good for about 10 years.
http://countycomm.com/light10.htm
http://www.countycomm.com/CPFMASTER.htm


[/ QUOTE ]

I have to second these suggestions! The UK eLED 4AA is a great light, as is the CMG Ultra, althought for the price, I like the Dorcy AAA, 1 LED better at 5.98.

Batteries - Ray-O-Vac are, in my opinion, the best batteries out there, and they are cheap too!

I would seriously suggest rechargables, and a "slow" charger, that way you can keep the batteries in the charger, and they will always be full.

I like Batterystation too for Rechargable batteries, and he has special deals for CPF members.

With small children, sometimes brighter is not better, as they will tend to shine the light into eyes (their own, others, parents!)

 

[Stanley]

I'd agree with most suggestions above on the UKEs as well as the Dorcys. The Ultra G or Gerber (CMG) Infinity Ultra is pretty good as well, I put in used AAs from my Discman, and they run for easily another 3 nights (6 hours each night continuously) before the output becomes too dim for anything. Use a rechargable on one of these and you're set for ages!

 

[raggie33]

[ QUOTE ]
Stanley said:
I'd agree with most suggestions above on the UKEs as well as the Dorcys. The Ultra G or Gerber (CMG) Infinity Ultra is pretty good as well, I put in used AAs from my Discman, and they run for easily another 3 nights (6 hours each night continuously) before the output becomes too dim for anything. Use a rechargable on one of these and you're set for ages!

[/ QUOTE ]man batts outa my sony diskman/mp3 player wont run nothing it runs like 70 hours on set.it drinks em very good

 

[cy]

infinity ultra are $18 now, which is still a total bargain.

My vote for "most bang for the buck" still belongs to king of the backup lights... Arc AAA. The first aaa led and still the best.

It's a safe bet, no matter what primary light you EDC. Arc AAA is high on the list for your backup.

 

[Aloft]

I just got my shipment of ARCs. For your own personal use, EDC, or keychain, the ARCs are top notch, but too expensive to give away to people who don't appreciate the value. I have to agree with cy, though. . . I am VERY impressed by the ARCs, and I got both the AAA Premium, and the AA.

Get a bunch of the other lights. . . give 'em away to your kids. . . then HOARDE all the ARCs for yourself!

 

[chmsam]

I've somehow managed to keep both my flashlight and knife collecting well and truly into the dorky end of things so far as my wife and stepson are concerned -- and I still don't know how I've been able to do it. Didn't work with my tools, CD's, video/DVD's, or anything else. Especially the good beer.

If they ever catch on, though, I'm gonna get a gross of Dorcy AAA's. They're cheap, don't weigh anything, and have a cute factor that would keep the wife happy, while being solidly in the "I don't have to think about it and hurt my head" category that adolescents still prefer after all theses years. Any other lights might cost me money and/or might require thinking or maintenance that they wouldn't wanna do.

But that might just be a reflection of the philosophy of kids/wives/family that I should have followed -- don't buy; just rent. That way, if they're defective, ya can just send 'em back.

- (a different) Craig

 

[DaveT]

Echoing earlier statements - my first choice would probably be the Infinity Ultra, in whatever version. $15 (or so) for a nearly indestructible light that uses a single AA battery of any flavor with very respectable battery life...you really can't go wrong with that, especially since it will use up batteries that are "dead" as far as other appliances are concerned.
The Uke 4AA e-LED struck me as very underwhelming when I first got my hands on it, but I think it's definitely a stealth winner. Great for non-flashaholics...I gave a sampling of lights, including these, an Opalec Newbeam dropped into an old Minimag, and a Streamlight Propolymer 7 LED, to my parents. My only concern with any of these choices is that my folks seldom have more than a couple new AA batteries on hand at a time...feeding a couple 4AA lights reliably is not something they're likely to pay much attention to...that's another reason why I'm a big fan of the Newbeam and the Infinity Ultras.

 

[Lurker]

Definitely keep enough of the inexpensive Dorcy AAA's around so the family members can always find one. That will keep them very happy and away from your more expensive lights. Since they are only burning one battery at a time, it will not cost too much to keep them fed. Ni-MH would make it even cheaper.

Another inexpensive light with a lot of bang for the buck is the PT Blast. It also runs well on AAA alkalines or Ni-MH.

 

[dda]

Dorcy 1aaa light is less than $6 at Walmart and supplies enough light to read by for several hours on 1 aaa battery.