Need a light

[dvalBang]

Hi, im looking for a flash that is hopefully no more than about £15-20.

Preferably single AA, or that size, and it must be availible in the UK.

I dont know much about flashlights, but i know that the more lumens, the brighter, and i like bright things, so prefferably, if there are any, one with a low lumen, high lumen, and strobe?

 

[ewok8]

If you want to try one direct from Hong Kong, then look at this one from DX. - UltraFire C3 Cree 1xAA 1x14500 Flashlight (with Holster)
It costs $10.93USD with free shipping. I have 2 and they are amazingly bright. Have not had them long enough (about 3 months) to tell if they will be reliable for a long period of time. I am running them on NIMH Eneloops and they work fine on those.

 

[Ecolang]

If you want to try one direct from Hong Kong, then look at this one from DX. - UltraFire C3 Cree 1xAA 1x14500 Flashlight (with Holster)
It costs $10.93USD with free shipping. I have 2 and they are amazingly bright. Have not had them long enough (about 3 months) to tell if they will be reliable for a long period of time. I am running them on NIMH Eneloops and they work fine on those.

The Ultrafire C3 is waaay bright, especially on 14500, but is not the most reliable light in the world. I own 5 of them. At any given time 3-4 of them will be working. Don't buy the multimode ones, stick to the single mode ones.

This is not a good time to order from China - as the whole country will essentially be shut for two weeks from Friday next and a bit disorganised for a couple of weeks after.

Besides DX/KD is hardly a UK supplier.

 

[Ecolang]

Hi, im looking for a flash that is hopefully no more than about £15-20.

Preferably single AA, or that size, and it must be availible in the UK.

I dont know much about flashlights, but i know that the more lumens, the brighter, and i like bright things, so prefferably, if there are any, one with a low lumen, high lumen, and strobe?

There are very few (if any) reasonably priced UK suppliers. Unless you need the light within a week or two, I'd look at the Chinese dealers. After all, what most of the UK sellers are selling was made in China and their usual markup is in the 300-500% bracket.

I kid you not. I've seen a "special offer" in a local shop that was more than 5x the price of the identical item including postage from Hong Kong.

On the whole, importing from the USA is expensive, getting stuff from Hong Kong/China is not.

If it must come from the UK, I'd read around a bit and check for lights with good reports here in CPF, then look for a UK supplier via Google.

The price differences may be frightening. If the total value - including postage is over £18, you will be liable for import duty and VAT + the Post Office Customs fee of £8. Fedex charge £25 for the same thing.

Most American imported stuff will cost you a lot in import duty and VAT, most Chinese stuff won't.

That said, I once spent US$700 on an item from the US - at the time the exchange rate was 1:1 (About '95) and it cost me nothing in import duty, VAT or anything else. It could have cost me about 35% of the total cost though. These days it almost certainly will.

I have never had to pay anything on stuff from China.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

 

[Blackbeard]

ultrafire c3 is bright on 14500, but many I've read about have flickering issue I experienced. has to be altered with some thin gauge wire between threads and drop in, or by adding solder.

 

[dvalBang]

Thanks for the replies. No real hurry for the light.

Does anybody know any UK suppliers, or anywhere that I could get a Maratac AA? I can only find the AAA ones in uk.

 

[old4570]

Do a search for ITP on Ebay ,
Only High Med and Lo ..

 

[astro4554]

There are very few (if any) reasonably priced UK suppliers. Unless you need the light within a week or two, I'd look at the Chinese dealers. After all, what most of the UK sellers are selling was made in China and their usual markup is in the 300-500% bracket.

I kid you not. I've seen a "special offer" in a local shop that was more than 5x the price of the identical item including postage from Hong Kong.

On the whole, importing from the USA is expensive, getting stuff from Hong Kong/China is not.

If it must come from the UK, I'd read around a bit and check for lights with good reports here in CPF, then look for a UK supplier via Google.

The price differences may be frightening. If the total value - including postage is over £18, you will be liable for import duty and VAT + the Post Office Customs fee of £8. Fedex charge £25 for the same thing.

Most American imported stuff will cost you a lot in import duty and VAT, most Chinese stuff won't.

That said, I once spent US$700 on an item from the US - at the time the exchange rate was 1:1 (About '95) and it cost me nothing in import duty, VAT or anything else. It could have cost me about 35% of the total cost though. These days it almost certainly will.

I have never had to pay anything on stuff from China.

You pays your money and takes your choice.

A solid observation of the situation, well explained, from the UK perspective.

I'd buy a Romisen RC- N3 from Bryan (shiningbeam), a competent 2AA unit at a price that won't attract any attention from UK customs services.

If that doesn't appeal, go for the P4 version offered by DX, et al.

Forget buying from the UK, you will pay an arm and a leg for a 2AA incan MagLite.

 

[dvalBang]

Think i might go with the Romisen Cree RC-N3 3-Mode LED Flashlight. Couple of questions to the owners, how many lumens is it? (Cant find info dx sku.9070) and is it still really bright in cr-123a mode?)

 

[dvalBang]

Does anybody know if there is a pressure switch availible for the Romison RC-N3?

Or at least, what thread size is it?

 

[astro4554]

Think i might go with the Romisen Cree RC-N3 3-Mode LED Flashlight. Couple of questions to the owners, how many lumens is it? (Cant find info dx sku.9070) and is it still really bright in cr-123a mode?)

I don't tend to bother with the term Lumens really, Lumens seem to vary a lot depending on who measures them and where, when etc. Unlike inches, which remain constant, to my embarrassment.

The RC- N3 is far brighter than a Maglite 2AA incandescent light; it seems well made and runs (in my tests) for a little over 4 hours on two freshly charged Eneloops. I haven't tested the light on low mode after high mode goes into "on- off mode" though.

The output on a CR123A is the same as it is on 2AA cells, although the run time is a lot less. Using an RCR123, the light output appears to double. The mass of the head of the N3 conducts the additional heat generated very well; the light becomes no more than warm in this configuration, unlike many Chinese lights running 3.7v Lith- Ion cells.

In RCR123 configuration the low mode is lost, you are left with High- High- Strobe rather than High- Medium- Strobe in 2AA and CR123A configuration.

The RC- N3 is a plain looking torch, no obvious frills with this one. It does provide a useable amount of light for a goodly amount of time on 2AA cells of any type though. That is a serious plus point for many people.

All switches are vulnerable to failure; many Chinese lights don't have a supply of switches available if you need a replacement. The RC- N3 does, courtesy of ShinningBeam.

The DX (et al) version of the N3 is a good light; the versions that Bryan sells are even better, if you can stretch your budget a little more.

 

[dvalBang]

I am assuming that you mean the ones from Bryan are better, cos they are brighter? (The customised ones). Think i'll prolly go with the 2 mode customised Q5 one

Why is it that they say the manufacturer does not recommend that you use RCR123A?

 

[Nautic]

I am assuming that you mean the ones from Bryan are better, cos they are brighter? (The customised ones). Think i'll prolly go with the 2 mode customised Q5 one

Why is it that they say the manufacturer does not recommend that you use RCR123A?

Mine works all right with RCR123A´s.

 

[astro4554]

The lights that Bryan sells have later emitters and (I suspect) more efficient drivers, the quality control at Shiningbeam is a lot better than we'd normally expect from other suppliers of Romisen lights too, that means the likelihood of receiving a faulty product is far less.

The maximum recommended voltage of the RC- N3 is 4 volts but I've had no issues with using an RCR123A charged to its maximum safe voltage of 4.2 volts.

If you're worried about the voltage then pull the cells from the charger at 4 volts, the cells may last a little longer at that charge level, lifespan wise.

The RC- N3 may not have any "posing" value, but it's a solid, workmanlike torch that is better than any that 99% of the people I know use.:mecry:

 

[mcnair55]

Hi, im looking for a flash that is hopefully no more than about £15-20.

Preferably single AA, or that size, and it must be availible in the UK.

I dont know much about flashlights, but i know that the more lumens, the brighter, and i like bright things, so prefferably, if there are any, one with a low lumen, high lumen, and strobe?

Have a good luck at the UK range of Cyba Lites by Ring Automotive,have bought a couple and they are of good quality and must admit liking them a lot these days.Surf hard for the bargains on these as the price varies and look to sources you normally would not think of.CPC do a cracking 100 lumens single AA cell for £12 with the VAT and delivery time is more or less next day or collect from the trade counter if you live close enough.

Arco-Screwfix-Machine Mart are all worth a look.I got a good deal from the Arco trade show on an end of line light.

Also do not be scared of using the US vendors on here.Shiningbeam delivered my ITP A1 to me in less than 3 working days to the UK and will be using them again.

 

[dvalBang]

Thanks, i think i will order a RC-N3 later

What are the best brand of RCR123's to get? With a charger

Preferably not too expensive tho (This is a budget forum )

 

[alfreddajero]

The RC-N3 is a wonderful light to own....i have had and used the Q5 version for a couple of years now that i got from Bryan over at Shiningbeam. Its my duty light for outdoors, and kept right next to the door. Small compact when used in the 16340 configuration and if i want more runtime then AA's will do. I guess he has that up there just for a precautionary measure. Another well made light would also be the ITP series of lights, they tend to be my most favorite brand because of quality and price.

 

[dvalBang]

Yeah, its the Q5 2-mode one imma get. Just need to know what sorta batteries i should get? Energizer? etc :L im a noob...

Want rechargeable, cos they are cheaper in the long run, and i will probably need two or three of them, or perhaps i will get a couple cheaper not rechargeable ones when i go to morocco... (Need a light for that, but i want a decent one for other times too)... Dont wanna lose any good batteries or anything