I went and bought also to see how it compared with the Lowes Task Force 3 Watt.
Below are the pics. The flashlight from a preformance stand point seems identical to the TF3W, the Beam is beautiful and bright and white. As you can see I took it apart and it appears identical to the Task Force 3 Watt with a few small differences, also for size comparisons I included my Inova X03.
1: The Body of the AAP3W(Advanced Auto Parts 3 Watt) is thinner than the TaskForce 3 Watt this to me is the single biggest difference. The Task Force is at least 2X as thick and Maybe 3X thicker if some one has a gram scale weiagh both flashlights with out batteries the difference can only be the alluminum thickness. I'm only talking about the body of the flashlight because the Quality of the head and tail cap seem the same and are thicker than the body/barrel of the AAP3W.
2.The TF3W was better greased and the AAP3W was dry except on one O'ring had a tad bit of grease. But this just may have been my light and is so easily fixed its a non issue.
3: There is a battery contact spring in the TaskForce at both the positive and negative end of the light(which is unusual), the AAP3W has a contact spring on the negative end like most lights do with a fixed contact on the positive end.
4:The Luxeon 3 Watt Star seems to be identically mounted in th AAP3W as in the TF3W and had the same removable chambers, I was able to verify that it had the same electronics that look identical to the TF3W so I'm 99.99% sure its regulated like the TF3W.
So in the end the only significant difference is the thickness the TaskForce has over the AAP3W but that may be off set to some by the fact that it is thinner kind of like a C cell Mag, I have a pouch that the TF3W was just super tight in but I could get it in, the AAP3W drops in just by its weight so it is thinner for sure.
At $19.98 this is the ultimate starter 3W Luxeon Flashlight, it comes with batteries and a nylon sheath which by the way was padded and nicer than the TaskForce Sheath. I love the TF3W but its $10 more(which is OK for me) but for a lot of people there is not enough extra to justify the $29.95 of the TF3W as the lights a 98% the very same light
The Click on the end of the AAP3W is a tad smaller than the TF3W and seems to be more fluid in its movement.
The other issue some may have with the AAP3W is that is anodized green and scratches will show up very easy, 3 years of toolbox abuse on the TF3W will be less noticeable than 3 years of toolbox abuse on the AAP3W.
I had said every one in my family will be getting a TF3W for Xmas now that will be this light as any first time Luxeon 3 Watt owner will be blown away by this light and Mom and Dad are not flashaholics so the $10 spent for a thicker barrel on the TF3W will go unutilized and isn't needed for their 2 times a year use, but they will be getting one killer beam from the Luxeon 3 Watt.
All in All its One Hell of a Flashlight for $19.88 the more I play with it the more I like it, It may/did seem to get hotter faster than my TaskForce 3 Watt but that may just be better heat transfer to the outside of the AAP3W is wasn't much hotter though and may just be my imagination.
For those that hate the anti-roll fins of the TF3W this doesn't have them, if the AAP3W had a tapered head like the TF3W it would have been perfect from a looks stand point I don't like the dimples but as I play with it more and more it grows on me, for $19.88+tax a regulated Luxeon 3 Watt C cell is a uber steal.
Makes me wonder what other variations of this light are out there usually when its like this and a manufacture is selling to various big companies with small changes then there can be as many as 4-5 styles of the same light with small changes. I had thought that Lowes had this specifically made for them when in in fact now I think it was sold to lowes by a rep of the manufacture which means there is probably more version around but finding them may be hard. I think I'll drop a note to Lowes that a 99.99% copy of their TF3W is being sold at AAP for $19.98 and that they need to macth it
. But more so now I wonder from a style standpoint if there is another version that I would like better than the TF3W or this one. For $19.88 with all the extras the AAP3W produces one hell of a beam, and can lay claim to Dollar for Dollar beam champion. I'm glad it was posted here and I'm glad I bought it even thought it virtually identical to my TF3W.
Both the TF3W and the AAP3W will make easy Cree XR-E mods with the very common lens size and star set up.
btw: for those that are finicky like me if you don't want your batteries to rattle when you shake your light you can put a 3 inch long stip of folded paper down in the barrel that will fill just enough space between the batteries and the barrel wall to make the light feel rock solid and you never hear or feel the batteries in the barrel, just makes it feel a little nicer.