New guy here.... Question about the Romisen light or something as nice for the money.

Hi Everyone,

I have about 10 led flashlights. All of them are cheap and bought locally, but I like them. (I just went out to the garage and threw away 4 flashlights.)

My favorite is the 1 watt that runs on 3 aaa batterys that I bought from Sams club. It is made by Element. Wait, I take that back.... I like my Princton tec regulated led light the best. It is a headlight type.

My question is ....

Is the Romisen mxdl rc-g2 still the best little flashlight for $11.00?http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3607~r.29749062

Do you think it would be brighter than my Princeton (not that I think my princeton is the brightest, it's just what I have)

I want a bright little hand held light that runs on aa size batterys that is cheap. I would like to buy a bunch to have around the house, and to give as gifts.

It MUST have a click type switch. I hate twist ons.

THIS SITE IS SO COOL!!! Thanks in advance!


Stockstinks.

I don't have the Princeton Tec headlight so I can't answer the brightness part.

I have the Romisen and it is bright and relatively small (but the head is large). It's a good value. A little heavy for my tastes. The clicky doesn't lock out. It may accidentally turn on in a pocket.

Bessiebenny has a good review in the reviews section. He rates many of the cheaper DX lights. Good long thread to keep you occupied for awhile.

Romisen is your best choice for build quality in lights around $15. They have some competition for output, but I'd say stick to Romisen just for the astounding build quality, considering what you're paying. They also are rare in that many of their models have forward clickies (that's a good thing).

The RC-G2 has a sort of mini-turbo head, so it is the best-throwing Romisen AA. But the RC-A2 and RC-A3 are brighter, because of their spill.

You may want to go a bit more expensive - you'd be surprised at the difference. However, I don't know much about mid-range priced lights - I've heard Rexlight is good.

Just for kicks, and possibly to buy if it strikes your fancy enough, the best overall stock 1xAA is currently the Nitecore Defender Infinity. It will be FAR brighter than any Romisen 1xAA. But, it's around $80. And currently out of stock... but you could justify spending $80 by buying only one and telling yourself you'de have spent $80 total anyway

Welcome to CPF.

The Romisen RC G2 is fine for general use (kitchen, car, etc). But it is a bit big for pocket carry. For that I would recommend MTE 1xAA SSC P4 42180-U flashlight. Actually I find even the MTE is a bit too big but all the small ones are AAA twisties.

1xAA batteries at 1.2 to 1.5V cannot drive the new LEDs to their brightest. For that you need 2AA or preferably 3AAA. Take a look at Romisen RC-W4 Cree LED Flashlight (3xAAA).

Alkaline cells do not have the power to drive modern powerful flashlights properly. I suggest looking at NiMH Batteries with low self discharge "LSD" and a charger. Make sure the charger can charge 1 and 3 cells. A lot of them can only charge 2 or 4.

Also note these modern flashlights only give 60-90 minutes of runtime. So you need to have spare batteries for extended use.

As a fellow newbie to this place, I can vouch for the RC-G2. It was my first cree purchase and I am really happy with it, especially for the price. So here's my suggestion...just buy it! One of two things will happen:
1) You'll fall in love with how it feels in your hands and how great the forward clicky feels, not to mention that it'll light stuff up at pretty amazing distances for a 1xAA light. Or,
2) If you don't like it, you have an excellent gift on your hands. Simple on/off operation, common battery size, and all in an attractive and well-machined package.

That's my 2 cents.

I currently have 3 RC-G2 (i don't know why if I just use one at the time) two black (well, in fact I have just one, the other one is now owned by my wife) and one gray; this flashlight couldn't be the brightest but is beautiful. Buy it; I am sure you will like it and buy more.

I also have an RC-N3 (similar to Mag LED 2AA with 2xAA in brightness, brighter with CR123A) and waiting for RC-W4 3xAAA. I like these Romisen lights.

For the price, Romisen seems to have the best quality. The RC-G2 should be around the same throw as the Princeton. It might be a bit big for pocketing though. The MTE Seoul is also a decent light. It would be brighter overall then the RC-G2.

Just remember it takes 2 weeks to a month for DX to get stuff to you.

"Is the Romisen MXDL RC-G2 still the best little flashlight for $11.00?"

Probably ... but that's not a really great price point as there are few lights to compare it to. There are plenty of low-performance 'generic' LED lights at $10 or less ... and a lot of of really good lights just a few dollars more.

The RC-G2 uses an older P2 emitter which is a tad less bright than P4 or Q bin emitters ... and that large head gives more throw at the expense of very useful spill.

Build quality for most Romisen lights (including this one) is excellent .. almost unbelievable for the price.

But if you increase your price point just a bit to 'less than $18" you have a dozen or more lights to choose from. I like the aforementioned Seoul P4 SSC light (SKU 1995) by MTE as well as the Romisen-made SAIK RC-A3 ... both about $15.

Just keep in mind that time from order to your door is about 6+ weeks for some of these better lights from Dealextreme.

I really need to make a choice!!

With all the reviews I have read, and with the above help, I have narrowed it down to 6 throwers.

I want to choose 3 of the 6.

Here are my choices.....
http://http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/r.9999~sku.3607

http://http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9070

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6162

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4882

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1995

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5338

I hope you all will click on the above models and help me pick 2 or 3 of them.

I am hoping that I can be enlightened by your expertise.

Thank you all!

If you can handle $4 more and a little bit more size, the RC-F4 is a great buy at $14.10. It's very lightweight and it's super bright, with good build quality to boot. Only con is those darn reverse clickies :thumbsdow

Thanks, but it must run on a AA size battery

Romisen RC-N3 if you can swing RCR123 rechargeables... and the upside is you can use it with 2xNiMH AAs too (2 bodies included).

Ultrafire C3 1-mode - bright enough, decent no-nonsense build quality.

Depends what batteries you're running, really. The RC-G2 is a must, and for a smaller light, considering the MTE C2 is sold out with no ETA, that leaves the other 3. Do you want single or multimode? The MTE with 3700 flux will be all throw and no spill, so that's something to consider. If you're looking to run it on alkalines, you'd need the 2xAA version.

I dunno if you're partial to the golden version, but the grey version of the SAIK RC-A3 is a buck cheaper.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5346

I just recently bought this light and am very impressed with the quality. I have other lights that are multi-mode, but sometimes its nice to have a simple one mode light that is unassuming.

Unless you are looking for a light that is more throwy, I think the RC-A3 is the best choice out of those. Plus it'll fit in your pocket better.

Or you could buy both the RC-A3 and the RC-G2 and give one away as a gift. I'm sure you'll end up keeping both.

BTW, DX delivery will take a while once you order, so its best to not hold your breath and wait at the mailbox.

I am going to go buy the batterys for the flashlights that I am still trying to decide on. Walmart has the SANYO ENELOOP AA 2000 MAH 4 BATTERY AND CHARGER for $19.87

I am still trying to choose the best 3 flashlights for the above mentioned batterys.

I am enjoying all the wonderful response I have received so far.

Please chime in if you would like. I am going to make a decision soon.

Todd.

I'd go for the RC-N3 and the UJC B-6/MTE Seoul.

The RC-N3 would be more of the medium range light and the MTE Seoul/UJC B-6 would be the closer range light. The UJC might require a bit of tweaking. The RC-A3 would also work.

thank you all for helping me decide on the flashlights!!

Well, I spent the last 3 days reviewing the reviews. Enough to make me go batty! Good thing my wife left me, she would have thought I am nuts. Actually, I think I am kinda nuts!

I ordered 3 flashlights.

first pick was the Saik rc-a3 http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5338

Second pick was the c-02 Cree p4http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5949

My third and last pick (lol) is the MTE 5-mode 100 Lumens Rebelhttp://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6162

I am stoked about the flashlights that I ordered, now I will have to just wait for the slow mailman.

Oh, by the way. I ordered them all separately. That way I might not have to wait as long to see one in the mail.

Thanks again, and I will pop in often to check on you all!

Todd.

stockstinks you have a http:// too many in your 1st 2 links in post #9.

The only light I have is sku1995 MTE single stage. I bought 4 in 2 separate orders. All 4 have QC stickers and all 4 work on arrival.

bessiebenny's reviews:
Budget Rebel/Cree/Seoul EDC-Sized DX/KD flashlights roundup - Romisen RC-G4 added!
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/176577
Budget Rebel/Cree/Seoul/LED EDC-Sized DX/KD Flashlights Review (Part II)
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/188590

selfbuilt's reviews:
DX/KAI Single-Stage 1AA Cree/SSC shootout: BEAMSHOTS + RUNTIME
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/171621
Multi-stage 1AA Review - Part III: Runtimes, beamshots & more!
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/186665