cheap impressive headlamp deal!!! $7.48

[leps23]

Hey Guys,


Just thought I would throw out this very cheap and very bright lamp from Target....
I was looking around for a few things at Target yesterday and ran across this killer head lamp deal from River Rock. THey had a few of these on clearance for $7.48, I thought how good could an 8 dollar lamp really be but I was proved wrong as soon as the night set in.
Below are some specs.

6V (uses 2 of those small camera batterys) Head Lamp from River Rock.
puts out 136 lumens
compact and lightweight.
runs 6 hours on a set of batterys, you can always re-wire it to hold AA's or a small 6 volt pack for longer run times

I tested it last night along side my princeton tec apex pro; which I like very much! The target lamp out shined the PT APEX ($70 headlamp)
with a slightly brighter, whiter, and wider clear white beam. I was a bit skeptical about the 136 lumen claim but the bulb used is one of those creeXR-E white LED's. A 10 minute walk to a pond and around the backyard set all the skepticism aside!

ok...here is what it may not do...
probably can't drop it in a lake, if you step on it it may fall apart, only one setting off and on, and it will not last 2-3 night hikes on a single set or batterys

BUT HELL IT"S less than $8.00 so check you local Target store to see if they have any on their flashlight clearance isle.


r.edwards

 

[fishx65]

It is very bright, compact and one of the best throwing headlamps I've ever seen. Your right, no attempt at water proofing at all and very cheap feeling plastic construction. Probably not bad for those that have and like to use 123 rechargeables. It could get expensive on primarys! I just tested this one against the new Dorcy 145 Lumen and I think it's a little brighter but it's hard to tell because of the warm tint of the Rebel Dorcy. I wouldn't want to be caught in a rainstorm with it but a great deal for 8 bucks!!!! Comes with 2 Duracell 123's and a nice Cree emitter so you pretty much get the headlamp for free!!

 

[fishx65]

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=198589&highlight=River+Rock+cree

 

[KingGlamis]

Wow it went from $25 to $7.50? And it comes with two cells? Heck, I'd buy just about anything that comes with a CREE and two batteries for that cheap.

 

[rmteo]

King, I saw those at my local Target for $7.48 as well. The thing I noticed is that the emitters were not well centered - there appeared to wide variation in the centering of the several lights on the shelf.

BTW, the Brinkmann 3W 2D Cree Digital Dimming light is on clearance for $7.98 - also down from $25. Bright, good beam and great all around light, loaner, etc. Review here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=193331

 

[jabe1]

the bezel comes right off with a 1/4 turn, and you can move the reflector to center it! Just wish it was waterproof.

 

[leps23]

thanks for the extended info. and the link to the older post! I new this wasn't ground breaking information for everyone here, I just duplicated my post from a field herping forum that I spend a lot of time on.
My main goal of the post was to let some people here know that they were on clearance right now for less than 8 dollars.
I bought four of them for a couple of different reasons.

wire one with a AA battery pack and wire another with a small 6 volt pack.
Looks like the link a couple of replys up will show me how to do this.
thanks for the old link post!

r.edwards

 

[fishx65]

Jabe is right on the money. Don't worry about the off center emitter when you purchase these. These will pretty much stomp most other headlamps in the brightness department!

 

[pipsqueakspace]

Every time someone posts that Target has something on clearance, I always end up driving there only to find that there is absolutely nothing on clearance in the flashlight isle. Maybe a pack of 12 AA batteries is marked down one dollar but thats it.

Is there anyway to check if a certain Target has these on clearance first? Calling i guess? And do other people get the same problem finding these deals at their local Targets?

I'm starting to think that my local Target is just too cheap to put anything on clearance....

 

[rmteo]

Right now, my local Targets (there are 6 within a 20 mile radius) have quite a few LED flashlights on clearance, more than usual - Eveready 1W, 3W, several Brinkmanns, Dorcys, River Rock, etc. You can call to find out if they are on clearance but you need to know the sku. They will not hold clearance items for you though. YMMV.

The only one I bought is the Brinkmann 3W 2D Digital Dimming for $7.98 - let me know is you need the sku.

 

[s.c.]

Every time someone posts that Target has something on clearance, I always end up driving there only to find that there is absolutely nothing on clearance in the flashlight isle. Maybe a pack of 12 AA batteries is marked down one dollar but thats it.

Is there anyway to check if a certain Target has these on clearance first? Calling i guess? And do other people get the same problem finding these deals at their local Targets?

I'm starting to think that my local Target is just too cheap to put anything on clearance....

Just in case...Target usually has two aisles of flashlights, a smaller one next to the multi-tools and camping stuff, and the main one near the automotive stuff.

I just picked up one of these headlamps, but I don't like the idea of such a cheap product with two cr123s stuck to my head. Mine might be going back.

 

[Norm]

Probably should have been posted here Good Deals
Norm

 

[leps23]

wiring problems.....

I wired a battery pack from radio shack (4AA) and spliced them into two dummy batterys cut from wooden rods using copper wire and connectors....

works great but if I turn the light off and leave the batterys in they run down and get hot.
AM I missing some tip with the wiring process?



r.edwards

 

[JohnR66]

I just found them (not having seen this thread yet) and bought a couple.
Very nice beam and brightness. The two I bought has a 4 bond wire XR-E. 550ma drawn on the batteries.

These are great to hack for the Cree, regulator board and lithium batteries. As stated, quarter turn to remove head, tap on surface to drop out reflector, remove battery cover and batteries. pull up on the center piece between where the batteries fit. The LED and circuit board pull out as a unit. Like I said VERY easy to hack!

Here is the good stuff:

 

[kevinm]

works great but if I turn the light off and leave the batterys in they run down and get hot.
AM I missing some tip with the wiring process?
r.edwards

Yeah, that's a problem. You have a short somewhere in there. The batteries should not be getting hot unless they are being shorted or piles of current is being drawn from them. How'd you wire them?

Kevin

 

[leps23]

Kevin,

I wired one red wire to the top of one dummy battery and one black wire to the top of the other dummy battery. The two ends of the dummy batteys connect to each other with copper wires. This lets the top and lower contact points hit allowing the on and off swith to work.
I do not know much about wiring and obviously goofed it up somehow.

If I wire the dummy batterys to the lower points where the chip board and buld is located then the light is always on. Would I be able to find a battery pack at Fry's with an on and off switch?

r.edwards

 

[Hondo]

If you are using "dummy" batteries that are conductive from one end to the other (normal state for comercial "dummies"), I don't even know how that would work, it is a short when the switch is in the "on" position. If your "dummies" don't have a conductive path, then it should work when on. The problem is, you still have a "+" and "-" on each side of the circuit even when the switch is off, the switch does not completely open the voltage path. The way I am going to do this is without dummies. Just run a wire in one battery bay between the "+" and "-" battery contacts (I assume here you have soldering capabilities, otherwise this is a problem), with enough extra length to let you work with the top off. Then connect your "+" and "-" ends from the pack to the respective contacts in the opposite battery bay, again with enough wire to let you get the top on and off. This will let the stock switch work, and completely open the circuit when it is off. In short, get both battery pack wires on ONE SIDE of the switch. An "open circuit" dummy could allow this on the power side, and then use a normal conducting dummy on the opposite side. Be aware, though, that wood dowels contain moisture and have a trace bit of conductivity as a result, so you may be building in a current leak on the power side with those.

 

[DM51]

As Norm says, this should have been posted in the Good Deals section in the MP. Please take it there. I'm closing it here.