"Cree" flashlight....any good?

[bryan123]

Flashlight newbie here.

One of my favorite online vendors is American Science and Surplus. Great for stocking stuffers and useful gadgets/ bags/ tools for great prices.

The most recent catalog has several "Cree" flashlights.

I'm thinking about the penlight (# 95318 in the current catalog)with low/high/strobe rated at 300 lumens that runs on a pair of AAA batteries, seems too good to be true for $8.50.

Anyone have an opinion about this? If it's good quality it would be a great deal.

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[Chicken Drumstick]

Hi Bryan.

First up, for this kind of money you can buy and not worry if it's rubbish.


However if you have an interest in the subject you might want to read up a little about flashlights in general. It's a wide and varied topic, so can't be summed up in a couple of sentences.

As for the light in question. I don't know it personally, but I can tell you Cree do not make flashlights. They make LED's and sometimes cheap crappy lights are advertised very badly.

And there is no way it is making 300 lumens from 2xAAA's. I suspect more like 50-100 lumens max.

As for cheap lights, well there are loads and some really fantastic ones. But there are loads of rubbish ones too. So buyer beware really.

 

[bryan123]

Hi Bryan.

First up, for this kind of money you can buy and not worry if it's rubbish.


However if you have an interest in the subject you might want to read up a little about flashlights in general. It's a wide and varied topic, so can't be summed up in a couple of sentences.

As for the light in question. I don't know it personally, but I can tell you Cree do not make flashlights. They make LED's and sometimes cheap crappy lights are advertised very badly.

And there is no way it is making 300 lumens from 2xAAA's. I suspect more like 50-100 lumens max.

As for cheap lights, well there are loads and some really fantastic ones. But there are loads of rubbish ones too. So buyer beware really.

Was hoping for a bargain with a strobe in case ninjas attacked. Always wanted to strobe ninjas. lol

Thanks. I have a Fenix E05 with a P7 clip in my pocket and a Princeton Tec Pulsar 2 on my keyring and I guess I'm good with that, for now. What's the next step up from these?

 

[Poppy]

An upgrade for the keychain might be a little stainless cooyoo quantum. It has micro usb recharging built right in.

 

[knnthsmthii]

And there is no way it is making 300 lumens from 2xAAA's. I suspect more like 50-100 lumens max.

Hey Chicken Drumstick, thank you for the great info. Is there any rule of thumb on what one can expect for lumens/battery ratio? I'm thinking building a penlight. I have a couple of old shells that will hold AAA's and AA's.

 

[The Miller]

Well when you are not sure (and as a matter of fact, also when you are sure) if a LED is genine, make a macro picture with one of those clip on thingies, you can find them for around $3,50 on several China shops.
When it is not a real Cree led you are able to prove it is fake with the pics and get your money back. A little gizmo like this has gotten me refunds far exceeding the cost of it.