Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Essentials
This is a 9 LED, 3 AAA flashlight, costing $3.99 at Harbor Freight Tools while the offer lasts.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93712
Construction
The light consists of a black anodized aluminium cylinder, knurled and ridged for a comfortable grip. The head and tailcap both unscrew revealing nicely machined threads and rubber o-rings for sealing. The 9 LEDs are arranged in a symmetric pattern on a reflective metallic backplate and are protected behind a plastic lens. On the tailcap sits a protruding rubber click switch. Attached to the tail by a split ring is a small lanyard that was too small to go over my wrist, so I had to wrap it round my fingers. The light takes 3 AAA cells which are held in a caddy.
Inside the head a metal retaining ring holds the LED module in place. This can be unscrewed allowing the flashlight to be completely disassembled.
Handling
Dimensions are 4 inches (102 mm) long by 1 3/16 inches (30 mm) diameter. The largish diameter allows it to sit comfortably in the hand, but it goes in a jeans pocket with no problem. When loaded with three rechargeable AAA cells the light weighs about 4 ounces (107 g). The tail click switch is quite stiff to operate, but that perhaps has the benefit of preventing accidental activation. Due to the protruding switch the flashlight will not stand on its tail for room lighting, which is a pity.
Operation
There are no modes, just on and off. The light is very bright and slightly bluish in tint. The beam is what might be called a directed flood; there is no spot as such, just a bright pool of light that fades to the edges. The beam pattern is smooth and circular with no artifacts. When filled with Rayovac Hybrids fresh out of the pack it was brighter than a River Rock 1W LED (Luxeon), which in turn is brighter than an Inova X1. Pointed at the ceiling of a large room it provides plenty of light to see by and just enough light to read by. Outside it floods a wide area in front and around making it easy to see where you are going.
I measured a current draw of 0.75 A, suggesting a run time of about 1 hour (though I have not done an actual run time test). The LEDs are directly driven with no regulation, so the brightness will doubtless fall off as the batteries drain. Rechargeable cells may give a more regulated output than alkalines therefore.
Conclusion
This is a very nice light that performs well above its $3.99 price.
This is a 9 LED, 3 AAA flashlight, costing $3.99 at Harbor Freight Tools while the offer lasts.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93712
Construction
The light consists of a black anodized aluminium cylinder, knurled and ridged for a comfortable grip. The head and tailcap both unscrew revealing nicely machined threads and rubber o-rings for sealing. The 9 LEDs are arranged in a symmetric pattern on a reflective metallic backplate and are protected behind a plastic lens. On the tailcap sits a protruding rubber click switch. Attached to the tail by a split ring is a small lanyard that was too small to go over my wrist, so I had to wrap it round my fingers. The light takes 3 AAA cells which are held in a caddy.
Inside the head a metal retaining ring holds the LED module in place. This can be unscrewed allowing the flashlight to be completely disassembled.
Handling
Dimensions are 4 inches (102 mm) long by 1 3/16 inches (30 mm) diameter. The largish diameter allows it to sit comfortably in the hand, but it goes in a jeans pocket with no problem. When loaded with three rechargeable AAA cells the light weighs about 4 ounces (107 g). The tail click switch is quite stiff to operate, but that perhaps has the benefit of preventing accidental activation. Due to the protruding switch the flashlight will not stand on its tail for room lighting, which is a pity.
Operation
There are no modes, just on and off. The light is very bright and slightly bluish in tint. The beam is what might be called a directed flood; there is no spot as such, just a bright pool of light that fades to the edges. The beam pattern is smooth and circular with no artifacts. When filled with Rayovac Hybrids fresh out of the pack it was brighter than a River Rock 1W LED (Luxeon), which in turn is brighter than an Inova X1. Pointed at the ceiling of a large room it provides plenty of light to see by and just enough light to read by. Outside it floods a wide area in front and around making it easy to see where you are going.
I measured a current draw of 0.75 A, suggesting a run time of about 1 hour (though I have not done an actual run time test). The LEDs are directly driven with no regulation, so the brightness will doubtless fall off as the batteries drain. Rechargeable cells may give a more regulated output than alkalines therefore.
Conclusion
This is a very nice light that performs well above its $3.99 price.
Last edited:
