Costco 1w LED: Why buy 2 to get 1 good?

[LightObsession]

I bought a two pack back in December and one appears about twice as bright and much whiter compared to the other which is very blue. (The whiter light died when dropped - see previous thread)

I really don't like the bluer, dimmer beamed light. I haven't given it away yet like most people seem to do, which brings me to the question in the title of this post: why buy two lights to get one to keep and one to give away. This made more sense to me around Christmas time when people were buying them to give away as gifts, but why now? Why not just buy a Streamlight Jr. LED and know that you're getting a good light?

I've read pretty much every thread written on these Costco 1w LED lights and it seems that the great attraction has been the price and occasionally someone gets one that is brighter than Streamlight Jrs. But is the price that great if you only get one keeper out of a two pack?

I prefer swithches with momentary on, but reverse clicky like these have is tolerable if the light has other redeeming values.

Please share your thoughts, now that the initial excitement surrounding their debut is over, on the strong points of these lights and why to buy them instead of other 1w 2AA options.

 

[Lebkuecher]

Do you have a link to the light?

 

[lamperich]

Dont forget You can chance the luxeon star ;-)

 

[nerdgineer]

1) You might get 2 good ones (yeah..or two bad ones)

2) You can buy 6 and return the 2 worst ones to Costco (or give them away, as I did)

3) They have real good run times (close to 4 hours on alkalines, 3.5 hrs to 50% on 2000 mah nihms. My Streamlight Jr. won't make 2 hrs.

4) They can easily and cheaply upgraded with reflectors and a particularly inexpensive mineral glass from the shoppe, giving them a nicer beam than streamlights at still lower cost than a streamlight Jr (maybe $23 per light including light, reflector, glass, and all shipping).

5) If you like your lights thick and strong, these are thick and strong.

6) Last time I looked, Streamlight Jr with shipping cost at least $32. Costco lights have no shipping. Two cost less than $30, including CA tax. Less than $22 for 2 if you can find one of the sets ones on sale at some Costco's.

7) I really didn't need either the Streamlight or the Costco's. This really is all for fun, and more kinds of lights is more fun.

 

[lightbox]

It's probably been posted already but some costcos are selling these for $15 to $20. I suspect costco may be phasing them out because of the high return rate. They're too big for my taste so I haven't bought any, but it's a good deal.

 

[LightObsession]

[ QUOTE ]
Lebkuecher said:
Do you have a link to the light?

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's a link to a review Costco 1w LED review
Searching this forum for Costco 1w should result in several threads discussing this light - especially if you go back 5 months.

I don't think it's on Costco's web site.

 

[LightObsession]

[ QUOTE ]
lamperich said:
Dont forget You can chance the luxeon star ;-)

[/ QUOTE ]
Doesn't that double the cost of the light?

 

[LightObsession]

Thanks for all your input nerdgineer. Anybody else?

 

[kitelights]

The Costco lights are not the answer to a flashaholics dream of the whitest light possible. They are possibly the best value on the market. I thought that they were at $14 a piece and now at $10 each, it's unmistakeable.

Unfortunately, it looks like they will cease to exist. I hope that it is not from high return rates because of CPFers returning them because they're not white enough.

If you compare the SL to the Costco light, you will get a whiter light more consistantly with the SL, but not always. I've seen plenty for sale and comments about disappointment in their color.

I've never seen a Costco light that wasn't significantly brighter than the SL. My lux readings have yielded at least twice the brightness of the SL.

While there are plenty of color variations in the tint of the Costco lights, I've never seen one that wasn't well worth the $14 for the light.

I just bought 5 packs and will probably get more as stock dwindles. My comments are not a slam to the SL. I love mine and recommend them, but I can buy 3 Costcos for the price of one SL. While the SL is smaller, I don't consider any 2AA light an EDC for me. I'll use the Costcos mainly as gifts, but I'll probably upgrade a couple for myself as recommended in these threads.

 

[lamperich]

Did i understand this correct.

You bought 2.
The good/better one died. Why don´t you try to change the luxeon Stars. Just try it before you throw it away.

i also have an Luxeon1 flashlight mine has a terrible green Sidespill. it´s terrible to see the one feet is normal Skin colored and the ohter one is green /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

but i won the auction @ 5 Euro.

if WE ALL want Premium Led´s we have to pay extra money. between 10-15 EUR +shipping I think that´s the reason why big manufactures still dont sell Luxeon Leds in high quantity.


There are 2 things worth to mention about the Stremlight jr.
1. it´s black. Home users don´t need camourflage paint.
2. It won´t turn on when a Voltages level is reached. Which level this is nobody measuers it till now.

 

[Quickbeam]

If you only want one, do what I did and sell the one you don't want (for 1/2 the cost of the full package) to someone. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The one I sold was very good, but not quite the color temperature I wanted. The new recipient was very happy with it regardless.

 

[The_virus]

I haven't even gone to Costco yet, but I can tell you why I want these lights...

I'm in Canada, so I'm going to pay slightly "more" (not really, it's just the exchange rate). Even at the original $25 I'll pay about $30 CDN, but that's for two! Even if the tint isn't perfect, you could easily spend more than that for one flashlight...and have it not even use a Luxeon. I just think these lights are a good value, and with all the praise about runtime and such I figure it's worth it for one, let alone two. If the price has dropped from the original, it's even better obviously. Hopefully by the time I make it to Costco (I need to piggyback on a friends membership) they haven't sold out, assuming these are even sold in Canada...

 

[LightObsession]

[ QUOTE ]
lamperich said:
Did i understand this correct.

You bought 2.
The good/better one died. Why don´t you try to change the luxeon Stars. Just try it before you throw it away.


[/ QUOTE ]

See this link Costco 2AA 1w Dropped & Dead for more details on the failure. Changing the star won't revive the dead light. I won't throw the dead one away because I might need it for spare parts and I might get it to work. I've never done any mods or repaired any flashlights. I buy them expecting them to work and be reasonably durable.

 

[LightObsession]

[ QUOTE ]
nerdgineer said:
3) They have real good run times (close to 4 hours on alkalines, 3.5 hrs to 50% on 2000 mah nihms. My Streamlight Jr. won't make 2 hrs.

[/ QUOTE ]

I though the SL Jrs were brighter on 2500mah NiMh and got about 3hrs run time? I would be using rechargeables if I got one.

Also, my Costco with the dim bluish beam appears half the brightness of the whiter one and the color of 5mm LEDs, so I'd be surprised if someone would want to buy it for $15 unless they just want the body to mod it. My wife imposed on one of her office mates to buy these since we don't have a membership. I was really wanting a Streamlight Jr. Lux, but these looked like a way to get two Jr. quality lights for less than the price of one. I hope I was wrong about these being Jr. quality lights - I'd hate to think that the Jrs. are this undependable and this dim and blue. I'd be glad to trade someone my dim blue Costco for a Streamlight Jr..

From my perspective, the dim blue output Costco still has a use as a shed light or car light with lithiums installed because I'll have minimal investment if someone steals it. I just wouldn't edc it. I'd be ticked if someone stole my $30 higher quality light.

Please keep your experiences and opinions coming.

 

[Mags]

Why not? Why not buy some more lights? Why not have more fun?

 

[MGLloyd]

In terms of Costco not stocking the light in the future, I have a good friend who is a buyer for Costco at their Issaquah headquarters. Costco buys many products as a one-time deal because they got a particularly good price. If the item is a strong seller across the chain or they get an ongoing very good deal, they make an effort to restock it. There are many manufacturers who give Costco a very good price so that Costco continues to stock their products. A good example of this is HP computers and printers. HP wants to have their product in Costco warehouses, so they have signed a longer-term deal giving Costco a very good price. The moral of the story is if you see something you like at Costco, buy two, since there are no guarantees that it will be available in the future.

PS: Although it varies a little by product line, Costco prices their products at only a 14% markup over their cost.

 

[LightObsession]

[ QUOTE ]
Mags said:
Why not? Why not buy some more lights? Why not have more fun?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd love to buy all the lights that interest me, but I don't have the funds that some do.

On another note, it wouldn't surprise me if a retailer decided not to stock items that have a high return rate, especially if their price mark up is only 14%. Do you think that MJLEDs and Q3s would be as cheap and available as they are if people bought multiples like they do the Costcos and returned the ones with tints (or other output characteristics) that they didn't like? Probably not. Most people don't return the dissapointing MJLEDs and Q3s. They either sell them, give them away or mod them. The convenience to those that live close to Costcos (and are members) to keep returning lights until they get ouputs they like is just too tempting. Most people can't buy Q3s and MJLEDs locally.

Keep the input coming.

 

[lamperich]

@ David
What bins does the two Lumileds have exactly?

sec. try 3 Alkaline Battery (not fresh please) directly @ the led which wont burn last time BUT this time
without the electronic board!

LED´s even Lumileds Luxeon serie arent like hot wires. unfortunatly every led is unique /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


i agree with Mags.
just have a little bit fun.

if you know what "-" and "+" is. It´s quit funny if you are able to enjoy it.

otherwise buy a Premium LED light HDS lambda etc, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif