So we know the fav light's of 05', what were the pig's?

We all seem to have the winners picked out, HDS, fenix, river rock, SF U2, newest ARC AAA-P,(just judging by posts) but what's the peanut galleries opinion on light's that didn't meet the scrutiny of CPF'er's?
I sorta remember some high expectation's for the Pelican M1 (for example, not pickin on peli!!)
didn't seem to catch on fire, and a few love it/hate it models. what say you? VDG

". . .what were the pig's?" ?

These? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4605202.stm

Lets face it, we buy good stuff, Pelis, SLs, SFs, Nuwais, even Mags are good (with a little help), so it may be difficult to finger a specific product. A bit like a joke that I heard, "..even when sex is bad, it's still pretty good", so too, that even when a quality flashlight is bad, it's still pretty good. So, I think that the "pigs" are basically the cheap multiple LED and generic "3 watt" flashlights with the tantalizing price of around $0.99 (plus $12.99 shipping) that we, as flashaholics, find too tempting to pass up, once.

My poorly constructed $9, 9 LED flashlight has such a poor, worthless clickie that it renders the flashlight, that otherwise produces a somewhat decent light (and "Saturn" ring), useless. A waste of $9. That's not to say that there are no values and bargins to be had from inexpensive and even cheap flashlights, many of which are known to CPFers and deserve the good reputations that they've earned. Just stay away from the really no-name cheapie "pigs" and put those few dollars towards a quality flashlight that you won't regret buying.

73
dim

Anything way over priced for what it is. Most of the flashlights that fit into this catagory and can identified by having the word "tactical" somewhere in it's name or description.

I will admit that over 2005, there were probably 10 lights that bought and resold within a week to try something else including the 'good' Inova T3, Inova X0, Streamlight TL-2 LED 2nd Gen, a second Streamlight Strion, Fenix L2P... I also gave as gifts my Streamlight Propolymer 4AA and one of my Craftsman 3xAAA Luxeon lights. I even decided that the Mag85/Mag74 was more trouble that it was worth to me...

I was only truly disappointed on one light, the Harbor Freight fake Magcharger. Uber crappy beam and the cells leaked.

2004 was my year for crappy lights... In 2005, I mostly stuck with either lights that were of known good (or at least decent) quality unless it was something that cost under $10. I figure if something only costs $10 and works when you get it home, but later dies or becomes less valuable to you, then you still got what you paid for.

LowBat said:

Anything way over priced for what it is.

Click to expand...

then i nominate the Fenix line.

looks like i just made a few enemies...

I love my pelican M1. You just need a use for it.

My pig of the year is the River Rock AA.

As it was stated earlier, love it or hate it.

It seems like lumaray has gotten some criticism, though mostly by those who don't own one of their lights. Gladius disappointed some folks. The QIII has lost a lot of attention. The switch on the Fenix is volatile. The PT Apex case sometimes cracks. River rock and Arc AAA are too blue. The HDS body design isn't sexy enough. U2 and L2 have a doughnut beam more often than not. Lumileds changed the position of their die. SF KL1's beam is too square and no sidespill and the Z57 clickies are unreliable. Peak had problems with HA and customer service. And last but not least, in 2005 Maglite entered its 26th year of Innovation!

We don't call 'em pigs around here, but rather 'dogs'.

My vote for DOG OF THE YEAR 2005 is the Rock River 2C light.

Man, it looked very well made and I heard so many good things about the Rock River 2AAA light. So I bought it.

It doesn't seem terribly bright... and it reminds me a LOT of a theater spotlight... you know the kind with the well-defined beam that's perfectly smooth and uniform with no "spill over".

I considered it money wasted. I have a feeling I'm going to give it away to one of the girlfriend's nieces or nephews if they exhibit any flashaholism any time soon. Until then, it's taking up space in my spare nightstand.

So as not to complain without giving kudos... The Dorcy 1W LED light in the 3D package is awesome. It's the first LED light that shines like a conventional incadescent (including a spot!). Very comparable to a Mag3D but with a limited spot-to-flood adjustability. The HUGE plus is the very long run-time.

John

I will second the River Rock C and AA models, although i do enjoy their lantersn for camping in my trailer.



Ryan

The River Rock 2AA was my dog of the year purchase. What a worthless beam. Zero spill. Useless as a dog walking light as you have to swing the beam from side-to-side just to see where you are headed.

Well, I'll admit that the 2C River Rock was a disappointment. Not because of the beam shape... I quite like the Inova X1 with it's no spill, but the thing I don't get about the River Rock/Aurora lights is... the X1 is a 5mm LED driven at 20ma and lasts 5 hours on a dinky little AA alkaline cell. The 2C has a 1.5W Luxeon class LED that is only about 5 times as bright (though it doesn't seem much more usable) and on it's two relatively large C cells, only gets about 7 or 8 hours of runtime.

The machining on the River Rocks is very nice... beautiful finish... but having used both the 2C and the X1 trying to see how the 2C was better, it just pretty much failed. The only minor saving grace is that indoors around somewhat reflective walls, the 2C is bright enough to create a 'spillbeam' of sorts via its light reflecting off the walls.

I second or third the rock river 2 c. It seemed well made and felt nice in the hand but the beam was crappy. I tried to like it but I couldn't. It went back to Target. I like the RR lantern and the 1 AAA. The 2 AAA is ok but is no brighter than the 1AAA. I guess it will last longer. I'll keep it but its been replace in my pocket by the Innova Radiant 2 AAA from Target.

secamp32 said:

I second or third the rock river 2 c. It seemed well made and felt nice in the hand but the beam was crappy. I tried to like it but I couldn't. It went back to Target. I like the RR lantern and the 1 AAA. The 2 AAA is ok but is no brighter than the 1AAA. I guess it will last longer. I'll keep it but its been replace in my pocket by the Innova 2 AAA from Target.

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wow horsey back up!! so the 1+AAA is available now at target? if so is it still
the rebadged nuwai? price? VDG

Don't know the release dates but I got them last year, Gerber Hornet and Inferno. Nasty battery management, not terribly useful light output but they look great in pictures. :shrug:

-LT

voodoogreg said:

wow horsey back up!! so the 1+AAA is available now at target? if so is it still
the rebadged nuwai? price? VDG

Click to expand...

I was just at a super target last night and they didn't have any 1AAA lights.

voodoogreg said:

wow horsey back up!! so the 1+AAA is available now at target? if so is it still
the rebadged nuwai? price? VDG

Click to expand...

Sorry for the confusion. 1AAA is nuwai not RR.

My pig dog would probably be the Gerber Mantis. As Lunal Tic said about his Gerbers, the battery management stinks. I expected it to drain the batts all the way down. Instead it just quits after much less than advertised runtime. Maybe sometime I'll find a good use, as having its clamp-on and extending feature and red mode is unique, but so far it just sits on the shelf.

Geoff

River Rock 2C