Dorcy Durability 1 AAA

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Gasguy

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Apr 14, 2004
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Seattle, WA
Has anyone had any quality problems with the 1 AAA lights ? I now have 6 and rotate them thru as EDC lights as well as have them stashed in handy spots. My friend canot believe that a flashlight with a circuit board can be reliable and durable. I counter that a bulb is not always durable. All these lights have never failed. The only problem I've had is needing to pull the spring on the circuit board out a little longer. I need ammo for discussion.
 
my favorite ammo with the other techs, when they point out that my dorcy AAA isnt as bright as their m@g 2xAA is...
1. you can hold the light by bitting the plastic in the tailcap.
2. (my favorite) I toss my dorcy about 10 feet in the air and let it smack on the concrete floor, pick it up, and shine it in their face, then try to get them to do it with their M@Gs.. none have met my challenge.
jeff
 
The most I can say for a durability test for the Dorcy was when one night my four year old son and I was getting out of the car and he hit his hand against car door. In that hand was the Dorcy 1AAA light. The light flew, bounced three times in the street and landed about 30 feet away from us. The light looked interesting as it twirled in the air while lit. The light was scuffed but still working. He still carries the light around 2 months later and it is still working.
 
[ QUOTE ]
WildRice said:
my favorite ammo with the other techs, when they point out that my dorcy AAA isnt as bright as their m@g 2xAA is...
1. you can hold the light by bitting the plastic in the tailcap.
2. (my favorite) I toss my dorcy about 10 feet in the air and let it smack on the concrete floor, pick it up, and shine it in their face, then try to get them to do it with their M@Gs.. none have met my challenge.
jeff

[/ QUOTE ]

That story sounds alot like an ARC4 story I heard somewhere, never met an ARC4 owner that is willing to toss it on the concrete. I still think there is a market for rubber baby bumpers to protect the ARC4 when dropped on concrete.

Even better is to have them turn on their incandescent/HID/Halogen, and do the same test.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Gasguy said:
My friend canot believe that a flashlight with a circuit board can be reliable and durable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Your friend is not thinking straight, or has zero experience with this light. I can assure anyone that this little light is plenty durable for it's intended purpose. I have not thrown any of mine (I have 10 or 11 now) on the concrete, but I have witnessed this light in the hands of my 5 year old boy. I gave him one to carry all the time. With the exception of this Dorcy AAA, I don't think that I have ever seen an item that I have given him, last more than a couple weeks. I once gave him an Inova Microlight. I think it lasted 3 weeks max. He had destroyed the switch somehow, it would not turn off. Anyway, if any of you have young boys, you know what kind of abuse they are able to inflict on merchandise. This is the ultimate testing ground. My boy has carried his Dorcy AAA for about 2 months now with zero problems, and he uses it a lot. I used to get mad at his unintensional destructive actions, now I take advantage of it, and use him for testing goods. If it survives my young boys, it is worthy. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Dorcy 1 AAA- Japanese Designed- Taiwan Manufactured. I resisted LED flashlight till March 2004. I've since sold off my Mini M@G 2,AA's and replaced them with 1W Luxeons and have emptied my Solitairesof thier AAA's and now use the Dorcy AAA as my ENC light at home. I'm still trying to run down the battery after 3 months- when will it die out ? Durability? Huh. I've blown a lot of $'s on M@G bulb replacements . Neva again. Dorcy AAA rocks. A sweet beam too !
 
At less than $6, the best thing to do would be to buy your friend one. After he's had some experienc with it, he too will be a believer.
 
[ QUOTE ]
WildRice said:
2. (my favorite) I toss my dorcy about 10 feet in the air and let it smack on the concrete floor, pick it up, and shine it in their face, then try to get them to do it with their M@Gs.. none have met my challenge.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's VERY impressive -
don't you get dins and chips on the body -
at least some scratches?

To be fair/balanced, people might also want to look at this thread -
Dropped my Dorcy AAA- Chipped Reflector

where the Dorcy 1AAA did not seem that durable.

Could this possibly be an isolated incident -
as you seem to do your trick regularly?
and probably the drop is from much higher too.

Thanks,
 
Yep, I was getting ready to chime in on this thread. I dropped my Dorcy AAA (accidentally even!) on the concrete floor at work and when I picked it back up there was a chip cracked out of the reflector. When reading this thread, the first thing I thought was "no way!". I can't see the Dorcy lights standing up to being dropped (thrown) so many times with no damage, after what happened to my own.

JK
 
my AAA is on my keyring, dropping that all the time. still going (although my wife did manage to pull one off a friends keyring loseing the little triangular ring)
 
Okay good idea on giving him one. I gave him my coveted blue one to try out for 2-3 weeks. By the looks of him fiddlin' around with it, I think we may have another LED convert. Why are flashlights addictive ? On one of the lights I put some Heavy Duty shrink sleeve material on it with the exception of the tail cap. It's almost like rubber armour. It was a gold one...... ugly color for a light.
 
Unknown, oh yeah, it shows wear. ie dings,scratches and such. But it still lights up. I dont remember how many mini m@g bulbs I have blown by dropping them. I work on industrial cutting tools, and there was nothing like working inside/underneith one of these things, dropping my light and having it go out. THEN after finally finding it, realizing that I had already used the spare bulb.

LED's rule!!!

Jeff
 
Humn... I wonder if Imago Metrics should add a Standardized Flashlight Torture Metric to our suite of evaluation methods ? Drop torture, Motor Oil torture,Accidental Step torture, fire torture, water torture, chemical torture, pornographic torture (will they still work after illuminating photographs of torture..I couldn't resist...) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoker5.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banned2.gif
 
I was thinking about this for some reason last night, and came up with the idea of some sort of shock isolation almost for the bezel (specifically reflector). Being that the reflector seems to be the weak point, a simple fix might greatly improve the durability. Are there any picture of where specifically the reflector cracks or chips? Thanks

-Mike
 
[ QUOTE ]
Aten_Imago said:
Humn... I wonder if Imago Metrics should add a Standardized Flashlight Torture Metric to our suite of evaluation methods ? Drop torture, Motor Oil torture,Accidental Step torture, fire torture, water torture, chemical torture, pornographic torture (will they still work after illuminating photographs of torture..I couldn't resist...) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smoker5.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/whoopin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dedhorse.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banned2.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
I do drop tests, throw tests, smack tests, step-on tests, run over tests, and water tests here. I don't do motor oil tests, fire tests, chemical tests, or porno tests here. Those tests I leave in your capable hands. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
The_LED_Museum said:
I do drop tests, throw tests, smack tests, step-on tests, run over tests, and water tests here.

[/ QUOTE ]

So... the demonstrator - submerged the light in water and turned it on and said: "waterproof" -
took a huge magnet to the light - and turned it on and said: "anti-magnetic"
turned back to the light and suddenly shouted " BOO!" - turned the light on, and said:
"shock-proof".
 
OK, back on a more serious note.....

I have no reason to doubt
either:
[ QUOTE ]
WildRice said:
2. (my favorite) I toss my dorcy about 10 feet in the air and let it smack on the concrete floor, pick it up, and shine it in their face

[/ QUOTE ]
or
[ QUOTE ]
JediKnife said:
I dropped my Dorcy AAA (accidentally even!) on the concrete floor at work and when I picked it back up there was a chip cracked out of the reflector.

[/ QUOTE ]

From these possibly conflicting testimonials - I drew my own conclusion - that the Dorcy 1AAA will probably survive being tossed 10ft in the air and dropping on to concrete.

BUT also it is not impossible for it hit at a bad angle from a noticably lower height and suffer damage to plastic parts.
 
I love the Dorcy 1 AAA, and find it a great light to "introduce" non-flashaholics to LED's.......Gave one to my Dad and he loves it.....I also have found the AAA a great light for checking on the kids without waking them up...I'll never forget one time, as I went to bed after my wife one night.....I walked in the room with my TL-2 LED on, and well, she wasn't too happy about the "bright light being shined right in my face!" I tried explaining that it wasn't even pointed in her direction....but I guess when you're sleeping, a Luxeon is going to seem bright -- since I've gone with the AAA.....no complaints.....
 
Don't forget the lifetime warranty. While it excludes the "bulb" they do state 100,000 hours (on time) which, I would think, is an implied warranty! (I'm not a lawyer.)
I've carried one in my pocket with keys and change going on the fourth month now with no problems. And given a bunch to friends and family and have not heard of any problems.
 
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