Dorcy "Cool Blue" 4 AA

[Alphawolf]

Has anyone reviewed this light or own one? We are carrying them at the store where I work now, and I was curious. It looks like simply a PR retrofit, but I don't know what type of LED they are using. A strong bluish tint to the beam, with a very tight spot. Not too bright though.

 

[davo123]

I particularly like the Dorcy CoolBlue 4AA. But selling them can be a problem because there is no "wow" factor in the LED bulb strenght. Plus, it's hard to convince people that the battereis will last 200 hours like the package says. Realistically, 80 hours of play brings the bulb low enough to want to change the batteries. But, if you want to read more, the CoolBlue as the same specifications (Bulb) as the flashlight made by LED corp. More information is availabe at http://www.dansdata.com/ledlights.htm You can also go to the LED crop website. Good Luck!

 

[The_LED_Museum]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alphawolf:
Has anyone reviewed this light or own one? We are carrying them at the store where I work now, and I was curious. It looks like simply a PR retrofit, but I don't know what type of LED they are using. A strong bluish tint to the beam, with a very tight spot. Not too bright though.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are at least two different variations of the "Cool Blue".
The one you're describing sounds like the Turtlelite 1. When this light first came out, it really was the pick of the litter, but now there are many other lights that are better.
Though if you can buy the Cool Blue for ten bucks or less, it isn't really a bad light.

This is a nightmare for somebody like me who rates them over a period of years

but it's great for those who buy lots of lights.

 

[Gandalf]

It represents a good buy for the money, IMHO. I was at Wallymart today, and they had them for a little under $8. This includes a set of off brand alkaline batteries, too. That's worth about $1.50 to $2.00.

No it's not high tech, nor is it very bright, and the beam needs to be spread out a bit, but for $8, you do get a very solidly built, 1 LED light, that is very tough; the rubberized ends on the light make it very shock resistant; much more so, I think, than LEDCorp's 'best all aluminum flashlight', which delivers the same amount of light at many times the price.

As mentioned earlier, this light makes a good toy for children, as it's not bright enough to hurt their eyes, and it's tough enough to stand up to abuse. And if they leave it on all night, it will still be running in the morning.

This light is almost as cheap as some 4AA off brand incandescent lights I've seen, usually around $5 to $6. But the Cool Blue will outlast many of them; despite it's low cost, it's really quite well made. It's not as bright as the Brinkmann Long Life, but it's much tougher.

If you want a brighter light, then the Brinkmann Long Life, at around $11 to $12, delivers a much better beam. But the housing is thin, cheap plastic, and not likely to stand up to being dropped, etc. much. And I hate to think of what would happen to the houding in cold weather!

For me, it's more of a novelty,n since I own a number of LED lights now, but if it's one of your first LED flashlights, it's a very decent one.

 

[Sean]

I actually really like the Dorcy cool blue (yellow plastic version). It's usefulness is limited by it's small main beam but it's one of the least bluish LED's I have seen and the main beam is very bright. It can easily be seen inside the beam of my Inova X5! But its secondary beam is very dim. It makes a great general emergency light or children's flashlight due to is long bettery life.


I've got some beam pics of the Dorcy light on my web site: http://www.geocities.com/da_shwartz/flashlight.html

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I own the aluminum 4AA version. I bought it specifically for my 5 year old daughter to use if AC power is out. It's output is not too great (comparatively). This is exactly why I bought it. Children have a desire to shine the light at their face while it is activated - not a healthy practice. Imagine a child getting a "faceful" of the output of say a Surefire M2 with 120 lumens. The Dorcy unit is bright blue - easier to locate in a room full of toys. It is also large and aluminum; a package that spells durable. Imagine looking for a black Mag AA in dark room - almost impossible. It also has an ON/OFF switch for simple operation; nothing too complex for a child. I'm very happy with this light as it fits the specific need quite accurately.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I have the yellow plastic version of the Cool Blue, but I don't use it much because the beam is very narrow.

In another thread, led-lurker mentioned that you could replace the reflector with another Dorcy facetted reflector and improve the beam. I went to Dollar General and found a Dorcy Super Tough Boss rubber 4AA flashlight that is very similar to the Cool Blue, but has a nice facetted reflector. It was only $3, with heavy duty batteries.

It was easy to strip the rubber off the reflectors and make the switch. Now with the facetted reflector the Cool Blue throws a beam roughly twice the size as before, and its very smooth. I think the light is much more useful after this $3 upgrade.