Costco 2AA Luxeon review - FLR.com
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chevrofreak
Flashlight Enthusiast
So much for the runtime they claim!
I think the price tag on the rack said something like 110 minutes.
I think the price tag on the rack said something like 110 minutes.
LightObsession
Flashlight Enthusiast
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These lights may not be as tough as they look. My white output light dropped 2ft from the leg pocket in my painter pants and landed bezel down on concrete and was and still is dead. Two feet isn't much of a drop. I have been swithching to LED lights because they're supposed to be more durable than hot wires, but this doesn't impress me. The LED itself may be more durable than the hot wire bulb, but that doesn't mean that the entire light is dependable. Something came loose or broke inside the elctronics module because the LED still works when the battery power is applied directly to it and the module doesn't work in the other light body. I wouldn't depend on these for rough use.
It's good to see your output measurements of these lights. Your output measurments show that the total ouput of these lights is less than the Streamlight Jr. Lux. Others have been claiming that the output was greater than the Jr. Lux, but I think they were judging by the spot and not total light. I was puzzled as to how the Costco could put out more light than the Jr. Lux and do so for twice as long. Now I see that the Costco run time is longer, but total output is less than the Jr. Lux.
I was impressed with the output of the whitish ouput Costco until it died. I'm not that fond of the bluish output Costco which I percieved to be much dimmer than the whitish output sample.
Did you measure the output of both lamps and average them, or measure just the whitish output light?
Thanks for all your good work.
It's good to see your output measurements of these lights. Your output measurments show that the total ouput of these lights is less than the Streamlight Jr. Lux. Others have been claiming that the output was greater than the Jr. Lux, but I think they were judging by the spot and not total light. I was puzzled as to how the Costco could put out more light than the Jr. Lux and do so for twice as long. Now I see that the Costco run time is longer, but total output is less than the Jr. Lux.
I was impressed with the output of the whitish ouput Costco until it died. I'm not that fond of the bluish output Costco which I percieved to be much dimmer than the whitish output sample.
Did you measure the output of both lamps and average them, or measure just the whitish output light?
Thanks for all your good work.
NewBie
*Retired*
Nice, 4 stars.
Its hard to beat for the price.
The luxeon lottery is quite evident in this flashlight, like others.
Makes a great low cost gift!
Its hard to beat for the price.
The luxeon lottery is quite evident in this flashlight, like others.
Makes a great low cost gift!
I did buy the previous version with 3 AAA. One was white . The other was unaceptable bluish. I planned to keep them during that time. I changed my mind after it dropped on the carpet from the table which is about 2 feet high during the night. It was dead when I tried to turn it on in the morning. I think it turned it on itself when it dropped.
scudinc
Enlightened
Mine have taken much, much worse than that without failure.
cratz2
Flashlight Enthusiast
They are also available on eBay starting at 2 for $9.97 but it is a true auction. They seem to be ending at about $14 to $15 for a pair plus $7 for shipping.
Quickbeam
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sorry to hear about the bad luck with the dropped unit. Mine were subjected to worse - flipped spinning through the air at about 5' and smack on the floor - no problems. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I would suggest bringing it back with your receipt and see if they'll exchange it.
The two I had were 1 very white and 1 slightly bluish. The slightly bluish one was slightly brighter, so I took the readings from the whiter one for publishing in order to be conservative in my numbers.
110 minutes? HA! More like 290 minutes!
I, too, was puzzled by folks saying that it was as bright as the Streamlight Jr Luxeon but had longer runtime. The only way it could do that would be to have a more efficient circuit or Harry Potter style magic... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Sure enough the readings did show what I expected: longer runtime, less output.
The two I had were 1 very white and 1 slightly bluish. The slightly bluish one was slightly brighter, so I took the readings from the whiter one for publishing in order to be conservative in my numbers.
110 minutes? HA! More like 290 minutes!
I, too, was puzzled by folks saying that it was as bright as the Streamlight Jr Luxeon but had longer runtime. The only way it could do that would be to have a more efficient circuit or Harry Potter style magic... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif Sure enough the readings did show what I expected: longer runtime, less output.
LightObsession
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Thanks for the added information. My bluish beam seemed much dimmer than my whithish beam - at least 30% and very blue/purple. I think mine died as a result of a bad solder connection of a wire or lead coming in from the back side of the PCB because there is an open hole on the PCB of the dead light that is filled on the surviving light's PCB. I haven't figured out yet how to get the PCB out without damaging something. I'll get to it someday. Right now I'm satisfied carrying my new Brinkman Maxfire rechargeable. I really like it's output and switch, but it is about 3/4" longer than the Costco.
Returning the Costco would be awkward because we don't have a membership and my wife imposed on one of her coworkers to pick up the lights for me. The nearest Costco is 2hrs away (yes, my wife commutes 4hrs a day). I've heard that Costco has excellent customer service and return policy, but access is challenging for me.
Returning the Costco would be awkward because we don't have a membership and my wife imposed on one of her coworkers to pick up the lights for me. The nearest Costco is 2hrs away (yes, my wife commutes 4hrs a day). I've heard that Costco has excellent customer service and return policy, but access is challenging for me.
Kryosphinx
Enlightened
Is it possible to replace the driver and the LED on these?
Quickbeam
Flashlight Enthusiast
It all comes out of the head in one unit in an aluminum capsule.
Kryosphinx
Enlightened
So is that a yes?
chevrofreak
Flashlight Enthusiast
It would be a yes if you could either take it apart to replace the circuit without destroying the housing, or were able to make a whole new unit that would drop in to replace the original.
It all depends on your abilities.
It all depends on your abilities.
Yukon_Jack
Enlightened
I have 4 of the Costco lights and 2 SL Jrs. I can guarantee you that all four of the Costco lights put out a lot more light than either of the SL Jrs. I just tested them all again and the Costco light has a brigher hot spot and much more spill. The costco light also throws farther. No way can I explain the brightness/runtime issue - but "everyone" who has seen these lights observes that the costco lights are considerably brighter.
LightObsession
Flashlight Enthusiast
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Yukon Jack, what is the run time for your particular Costco's? Is it over 3hrs pretty steady, or less than two very bright. Yours may be brighter to start with, but stay at their brightest for less time. There's obviously very wide variations in brightness of the Costco's and it only makes sense that the brighter lights have shorter run times than the dimmer lights, unless some of the Costco's have some super efficient LED's.
Quickbeam
Flashlight Enthusiast
All I can go by are my meter readings, and the Costco lights I purchased don't quite put out as much light as the SL JR. Lux.
I expect the luxeon lottery is the culprit here. Lower Vf luxeons in some of the lights, higher Vf in others...
I expect the luxeon lottery is the culprit here. Lower Vf luxeons in some of the lights, higher Vf in others...
LightObsession
Flashlight Enthusiast
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IIRC, Yukon Jack bought about 20 Costco 2AA, tested them all and gave away all but the 4 best, which he kept for himself, so the Luxeon lottery is certainly at play here. That's only a 20% yeild of good lights. What a crap shoot. I didn't realize that Vf could allow a light to run both longer and brighter on the same batteries with the only thing different being the LED. There is a thread in the LED forum suggesting a similar phenomenon with Nuwai Q3 where lights with lower Vf LEDs are both brighter and run longer.
Looks like I've learned a little something here - if your light runs dimmer or has shorter run time than others experience, try replacing the Luxeon with a lower Vf LED. Seems like alot of effort to get a good light.
Looks like I've learned a little something here - if your light runs dimmer or has shorter run time than others experience, try replacing the Luxeon with a lower Vf LED. Seems like alot of effort to get a good light.
LightObsession
Flashlight Enthusiast
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[ QUOTE ]
Yukon_Jack said:
I have 4 of the Costco lights and 2 SL Jrs. I can guarantee you that all four of the Costco lights put out a lot more light than either of the SL Jrs. I just tested them all again and the Costco light has a brigher hot spot and much more spill. The costco light also throws farther. No way can I explain the brightness/runtime issue - but "everyone" who has seen these lights observes that the costco lights are considerably brighter.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yukon Jack, have you checked the run time of your brightest of the bright Costcos? It would be interesting to see if the really bright ones run as long as the less bright ones on the same kind of batteries.
Yukon_Jack said:
I have 4 of the Costco lights and 2 SL Jrs. I can guarantee you that all four of the Costco lights put out a lot more light than either of the SL Jrs. I just tested them all again and the Costco light has a brigher hot spot and much more spill. The costco light also throws farther. No way can I explain the brightness/runtime issue - but "everyone" who has seen these lights observes that the costco lights are considerably brighter.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yukon Jack, have you checked the run time of your brightest of the bright Costcos? It would be interesting to see if the really bright ones run as long as the less bright ones on the same kind of batteries.
