When will quality flashlights hit the mainstream public

[TORCH_BOY]

The quality is improving greatly over time

 

[M@elstrom]

^ good point on the schools...ive seen their "disaster" kits and they are utter pre packaged garbage (ESPECIALLY the flashlights) . The admins know that the chances of actually needing the kit are about .0000001%, so the bottom line is they spend as little as possible.

That's why dare I say... those static electricity or hand friction/wind up light come to the fore, I mean they're not searchlight bright, but they will simply WORK despite the length of time they've been stored (no leaking batteries) :thumbsup:

You people in the USA, count yourselves lucky.
To look down on a D-cell Maglite tells me you have the luxury and priviledge to encounter something better.
To Australian eyes, a Maglite is a ruinously expensive extravagance, and of jaw-dropping quality. I have never ever laid eyes on a MagLED, and the price of one of those here is too high even for a flashoholic.
Other brands further upmarket than Maglite are unknown outside very specialist circles.

I've seen 2D maglites (plus the AA mini-mag) pack retailing for around $50~60.00 AUD (K-mart Dept. Stores) mind you these are the Krypton variants... overpriced IMHO considering I imported a 3D & TerraLux TLE-6EXB module (from the USA) for about the same price all up with considerably better output (140 Lumen) :devil:

My next project is to create something reasonably powerful sourcing all components locally... should be a nice challenge:candle:

 

[ja10]

As far as being prepared, we have:

1) Health insurance
2) Life insurance
3) A little money saved up
4) A little money going into an IRA/401K
...
...
...
X) Flashlight with fresh batteries
X+1) Backup flashlight with fresh batteries

So many people aren't even 2 out of 4 on the top of the list, so it seems to reason that the bottom of the list would be neglected too. Flashlights won't become mainstream until "planning ahead" becomes the new black.

In other words, never.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I would submit that to a degree decent lights are available at your local brick and mortar store, IF you go to the correct one.

I find the Energizer 2AA 1W at Target (or at least WAS a few months ago) to be a pretty decent and usefull lighting tool for under 20 bucks.

The Rayovac 2AA 1W and 2AA 3W aren't bad at Walmart.

Now none of these cost 5 bucks. But neither are they online only hard to get stuff.

As to the sheeple... you can fix ignorance, but you can't fix stupid. Apathy is a whole 'nother problem!

 

[scottaw]

To the folks posting here in australia: Don't feel too bad if you can't find high end torches in brick and mortar stores, a lot of places in the usa don't have that luxury either. I buy almost ALL my lights from internet order, and i know fenix-store has free worldwide shipping. Forget going out to buy it, look for free shipping, and enjoy the lights we all enjoy.


To the corn-mazers: Please do NOT take anything over 20 lumens. Yes i know we all like to show of our lights, "look how bright i am" etc etc...but you'll have 10x more fun in a corn maze with something in the Arc aaa/infinity ultra brightness. But you can always throw a 200lumen or so light in your pocket in case something goes wrong...

 

[Pistolero]

I think the ideal price point has to be something under $20. The Mags squeak in under that and the cheapies abound in that area.

But here's the flipside that a few touched on. Nobody thinks about the batteries. "I had 10 flashlights and none of them worked." While I'm sure the quality of the flashlight *did* have something to do with it, I wonder how many were due to leaky/old/dead batteries.

I think every household would do fine with 2 cheap LEDs flashlights from walmart, either the rayovac or the garrity, that run about $5 for 90% of their general flashlight needs. That is, as long as they have a separate set of batteries kept securely near the flashlight and both are in an accessible and easy to find in the dark location. I'd say that having a Mag 2d with an extra set of d-cells would put you in the upper-echelons of preparedness.

Now, if you need to start doing some serious darkness-cutting for emergency outdoor or indoor low-light work, you'd need something a bit more specialized.

 

[2xTrinity]

I have heard of some cell-phone makers using LEDs for the flash. Something like that with a high-efficiency high quality emitter and the ability to go constant-on with more output than the phone's backlight at the push of the button is probably going to be the only way it will happen. The majority of the time I see people using a flashlight, it's a cell-phone backlight. Considering that even when the screen is all white it only transmits a small portion of the original light, a good external LED could produce more useful light with a lot less battery draw -- leading to good runtime if so needed.

 

[bestcounsel]

believe it or not, if i have someone who needs to buy a light and does not want to spend a lot of money or buy -look online, i suggest they buy good ole mag lights with extra batteries and bulbs.

Growing up, i had many mag lights and they and still serve us well. My surefires and other lights have taken over, but our mags are still well and kicking...

 

[Pistolero]

A coworker has the Motorola Q and has the ability to leave the "flash" on. It's a decent brightness LED and is good enough to light a small room or closet.

Cell phone backlights are useful tho. In theaters, we use them to signal our friends that arrive late. I doubt whipping out anything with more power than a nichia LED would be appreciated by the night-adjusted eyes of the fellow movie-goers.

I have heard of some cell-phone makers using LEDs for the flash. Something like that with a high-efficiency high quality emitter and the ability to go constant-on with more output than the phone's backlight at the push of the button is probably going to be the only way it will happen.

 

[spoonrobot]

Cell phone backlights are useful tho. In theaters, we use them to signal our friends that arrive late. I doubt whipping out anything with more power than a nichia LED would be appreciated by the night-adjusted eyes of the fellow movie-goers.

I use my Streamlight Sidewinder set to Low-Red-Strobe. It works wonderfully since it's bright enough to see from the other end but so dim it won't throw more than 10-12" in a completely dark room.

I'm suprised more Cell Phones don't have the integral LED light. I had a co-worker with a very bright 5mm LED on the outside of his phone that had it's own button maybe 3 years ago but haven't seen anything like it since.

 

[souptree]

The point that seems underrepresented in this thread IMO is the rapid evolution of LED technology. In 10 years, 5 year old tech will start showing up in $20 flashlights in WalMart. I bet cutting edge tech will be pretty good in 5 years!

 

[Daekar]

The point that seems underrepresented in this thread IMO is the rapid evolution of LED technology. In 10 years, 5 year old tech will start showing up in $20 flashlights in WalMart. I bet cutting edge tech will be pretty good in 5 years!

This is an excellent point and one that is indeed neglected. I can go to at least... oh... 4 different stores (Lowe's, Sears, ****'s Sporting Goods, Walmart) at least in the next town over from me and find Luxeon I and III lights on the shelves. Walmart even consistently carries CR123a incan lights, something I never expected to see. I think in a few years, as Souptree pointed out, we may see Luxeon Vs, Rebels, Crees, Seouls, or whatever else fills the middle of the power-LED market. Of course, they'll be crappy bins brightness and colorwise, so people will still think LEDs are all blue, but they'll be better I think. The thing is, is Joe Public going to buy a nice flashlight that costs $20 when they can buy one two shelves over that takes bigger batteries and costs $2? I mean sure, the LED light says something about "60 lumens" but what in the heck does that mean? Those LED lights all suck anyway, the one on my buddy's keychain is this nasty blue color and isn't very bright... It's sad, really.

Another problem already mentioned is batteries - people don't care about batteries - they think they can just leave alkies in a device and come back 2 years later and have full charge with no leaks. Often it happens, but especially in vehicles it often doesn't.

 

[Buckeye]

Last year I went to a corn maze. Most people did not have lights. Just over half the people who had lights were using cheap incandescant lights. The others were using their cell phones. Once I came upon three people who had their cell phones held up to a sign trying to read the clue for the maze. They were having trouble even with three cell phones. I turned up my CPF VB-16, not even to high, from 15 feet behind them. They were surprised at first and then thankful.

Most of the general public muddle through the occasional blackouts with candles:candle:, because the flashlight batteries are dead. :shakehead Until that SHITF moment, they don't see the need for a good flashlight. A high quality flashlight is only what the police need, in their mind, IMO.

 

[Retinator]

Hmm quality........ Any elder here (hehe) can tell you the good ol days where everything used to last a lifetime.

Appliances lasted 20+ yrs easy. I think the trend is obsolesence in all things unfortunately. Make a quick buck and move on.

The things is, most ppl won't pay for the quality they would often like to have. And the mfg'ers (not motherfuggers lol) like to keep costs down and hype up.

As for flashlights, these are items that general ppl rarely 'need'. Not to mention that the basic concept in a flashlight is very simple. So ppl will not be able to relate a high cost for something so simple (in concept). All these things do it light stuff up. Look at the cost of lightbulbs, even the CCF's have come down in price, and therefore have spread in homes.

Also ppl are very short sighted, mostly I think because we fear the uncertainty in the future.

A last thing in my mind.... Most of our time awake is 'Daytime', nighttime is for sleeping. So there might be a biological rhythm affecting ppl's behavior as well.

 

[TxShooter]

lctorana and M@elstrom, things in Brisbane aren't much better. Lightemup and I visited a couple of surplus and gunshops last week. SF G2Ls were in the $130 range; slightly less for a G2 incan. An older SF blue tip-off filter was $70. One of the surplus places had a couple of Streamlight SL-20XP LEDs on the shelf. Both were early versions with the discontinued grey charger sleeves, and will still probably be gathering dust at $249 a few years from now.

The local K-Mart has the Mag 2D/2AA combos for $99 AUD. Anaconda was charging $68 for the Mag LED dropin the last time I checked. Gunstores seem to be the primary source for SureFires and some of the lower priced Streamlights, but you're usually limited to the 6V and 9V "Classic" or "Combat" models.

I'm glad that I brought my Streamlights and SureFires back from Texas, otherwise I'd probably be using a 3D Mag...the SF and SL markup isn't worth it. Customer support isn't the best either. My broken SL Stinger is in a box waiting for my next visit home. I'd rather wait a few months and take it to a stateside warranty station than pay Streamlight Australia $60 just to take a look at it.

 

[M@elstrom]

I'm suprised more Cell Phones don't have the integral LED light. I had a co-worker with a very bright 5mm LED on the outside of his phone that had it's own button maybe 3 years ago but haven't seen anything like it since.

The K700i from Sony Ericsson has a powerful integrated LED flash/torch feature :thumbsup:


TxShooter - I have to agree, the markup on such speciality lights/torches in Oz is beyond ridiculous, occasionally bargains can be found on any of the major auction sites, but generally importing is the way to go IMHO! :thumbsup:

$99.00 for the Maglite 2D/AA combo is highway robbery, I wouldn't even consider it at our local (regional) prices $50~60.00, however Jaycar sells a really nice 5w Luxeon torch with NiMH sub-C's & charger (plus nylon pouch) for around $150.00, they also stock a HID beast for those of you Aussies with more than $400.00 to burn :devil:

If anyone has access to wholesale collective purchasing (through your workplace) I've seen 3D MagLED's for around $54.00 and drop in modules for $25~$30.00, mind you these are the Maglite Instruments 3W offering not the more powerful TerraLux 5W (which I imported from Florida for less) :twothumbs

 

[Burgess]

I agree with what most of you have written.


But allow me to add one more point . . . .



When i've asked people (at the flashlight displays)

"Why don't you buy THIS one, insteada' THAT one ? It's a lot better !"


Their common reply is:

"Won't bother getting a really nice one. I'll only lose it, anyway."

:shakehead

(sigh)




BTW, it was one year ago, when Lowe's home improvement stores in the U.S.
were selling their own brand "Task Force 1-watt Luxeon, 3AA cell plastic flashlight",
with Duracell Alkaline batteries for $2.49 ! (Sale Price)


This was/is a fantastic price for this very bright and useful flashlight.


We were all (on CPF) talking about how the mass-market/general public
is finally getting some "modern LED/Luxeon flashlights"
at a price that everyone is gonna' snatch 'em up like hotcakes.


(many of us CPF'ers bought loads of them, and passed 'em out as gifts)



But, alas, this sale ended after Halloween, and the price went back to its normal, which i seem to recall as $9.95.



WE thought that flashlight was the opening of the Floodgates,
but, sadly, it never happened.

:sigh:

_

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

That's like asking: "When Ferraris will hit the average vehicle buyer market".

 

[Burgess]

People won't buy too many cars which cost
a quarter-million dollars.


But i kinda' thought they'd buy a Mini-Mag LED 2AA (for $23.74)
rather than the lesser-performing Mini-Mag 2AA "classic" (for $8.78)


I was wrong.


_

 

[Stromberg]

With the number of daylight hours during winter at those latitudes I would have thought that having a good torch would be mainstream.

In Finland, big part of winter it's dark when you go to work and dark when you come home. One would think that carrying decent torch would be as automatic as using warm clothes, but nooo! In my previous work, there was maybe two out of twenty (including me..) who had decent EDC. Now that I'm a student the ratio is not much better. In fact, it's worse. Few carry those crappy "3 led button cell disposables" and not one besides me have good EDC. But there may be light at the end of tunnel: I've managed to get few of my friends interested in quality lighting.

Positive thing is that in most places we have very good street lighting and electrical blackouts are very rare in where I live(although sometimes I almost wish that there would be more..)