Require: 1 flashlight for home/emergency, and 1 for pocket/briefcase

Costco is selling the following two flashlights for $129.99. I am a newcomer here. Is this a good value?


I need a flashlight at home in case of emergency and one for my pocket for briefcase.





The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military & Police) Series - 2 Flashlight Combo highlights the pinnacle of years of development to produce the toughest and latest technology flashlights in Smith & Wesson's history. These lights show what is possible when quality and performance are put in the forefront during design and testing. Both lights feature high end CREE LED bulbs and anodized aluminum casings along with superior brightness and run times. Made for the harshest environments, both lights also use Lithium 123 batteries (included) known to withstand sub-zero to triple digit temperatures as well as up to a 10 year shelf life.

Smith & Wesson M&P .85" Barrel Tactical Flashlight
3 watt Q3 CREE LED illuminates objects easily over 50 feet away and is guaranteed to never break or burn out
Reflector consists of an all new "orange peel" design creating a near flawless white long range beam of light
Run time of up to 10 hours continuous (3 hours extreme brightness, then up to 7 hours of usable light)
Up to 160 lumens of brightness
Type II anodized aluminum construction
All new tail cap features both a momentary function and click on/off in one simple forward motion
Uses 2 CR123 Lithium batteries (included)
Deluxe nylon holster with spare battery compartment (included)
Pocket clip (included) attaches to pants pockets, belts, coats and bulletproof vests
5" long and .85" barrel diameter means easier gripping and compact size
Scalloped front bezel increases self defense and striking uses
Smith & Wesson M&P Personal Flashlight
3 watt P4 CREE LED illuminates objects up to 50 feet away and is guaranteed to never break or burn out
Reflector consists of an all new "orange peel" design creating a near flawless white long range beam of light
Run time of up to 4 hours (1 hour extreme brightness, then up to 3 hours of usable light)
Up to 85 lumens of brightness (brighter than most 5D cell battery flashlights)
Entire light is less than 4" long and less than .80" in diameter (fits perfectly in suit pants front pocket or jacket inner pocket)
Removable pocket clip (included)allows attachment to almost any article of clothing including shirts, pants, vests, jackets
Detachable Neck lanyard (included) is excellent when quick back up is necessary
Tail cap is a simple click on/off design
Type II anodized aluminum construction
Uses 1 CR123 lithium battery (included)

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Wow. IMHO thats a LOT of money for an off brand light. Smith and Wesson is a gun manufacturer but I had no clue they had lights. Id go with a tried and true brand which many around here would gladly give you advice on but to answer your question ive never handled one but that seems like a LOT of money for those two lights.

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Thank you. I would greatly welcome suggestions. I would like at least one flashlight for home use that can run a long time in case of an emergency (power failure etc.)

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

I personally bought one of these about 2 months ago and carry it every day Three brightness levels and strobe:7lm(150hrs)-90 lm ( 12hrs)-250 lm ( 4hrs), strobe. And let me look around for a minute to see if I can find you a good pocket/breifcase light that would make for an equal price the the S&W you were looking at
http://cgi.ebay.com/Olight-M20-Warrior-Premium-R2-Cree-LED-Flashlight-Torch_W0QQitemZ110336273560QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item110336273560&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Thank you for that helpful response. I am not limiting myself by the Costco price. I'd like to get good quality at a fair price that will last. I see folks here speak of Surefire. In your opinion are they worth the money?

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

And judging by your user name im guessing your gonna want something compact that you can comfortably carry but wont be seen so id say a Fenix LOD Q4 (I dont own any Fenix lights but alot of people around here swear by them) looks like a decent choice and you can get both for about the same price as the S&W lights if you shop Ebay or look around.
https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=191
Good luck and if you just look around the forums theres all kinds of awesome lights and reviews!

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Thanks. I will scout around here and pass on the Costco flashlights. The M20 looks like a great value.

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Haha well in that case Deff go for a Surefire! you wont be disappointed! As far as a pocket light you might want to check out the Surefire E1B or an E1L (both have a pocket clip and high and low levels so you can have a really bright beam or something more conservative that will extend battery life).
And for a home/emergency light... I like my 6PL. Max lumens is right at 80 but produces 11 hours of "useful" light (Surefire defines that as 1 lumen) But puts out at full capacity for like 3 hours I think? Or just look at the E series lights but stick with an LED if you want any kind of good emergency light and I would suggest buying a box of SF batteries since they have a 10 year shelf life and that great for the whole emergency preparedness aspect.
Heres a link for an awesome price for the E1B with free shipping and use code 198444 for another 10% off
http://www.mypolicestore.com/store/product/16701/E1B-BK-WH,-Backup/

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Don't buy those lights, your paying for the Smith and Wesson name...
I would say get a PD20 (small EDC, 1*CR123) or the PD30 (bigger EDC, 2*CR123) But any of the Fenix lights would be good. Way cheaper so you can buy a few and very good. Surefires are also very good but pretty expensife, for home use and no hard abuse go for Fenix is my opinion. Can also buy from here: www.thephotonshop.co.uk (free shipping with this site)

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Thank you for the helpful replies. I've been reading prior posts. I read a lot of good things about Fenix. Some people seem to swear by Surefire. Others feel that Surefire is too expensive and does not use the latest and greatest LEDs (Cree).

So I wonder just how good Surefire is.

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Well to answer your question correctly Surefire DOESNT use the latest and greatest LED's in their production lights because they are more worried about reliability and if ya go through youll read where all these "other" brand lights have problems and break and stuff and Surefire is all about dependability they arent worried about squeezing an extra 20 lumens out of a light because none of these other manufacturers are competition. They dont aim at the general market they aim for the military market and the military doesnt want to be buying a thousand lights for our soldiers and when they get there half a world away have 90 that dont work or have defects and have to be shipped BACK. So thats why we have to pay a premium for Surefire's but to alot of people (like myself) for the reliability and bulletproof warranty just incase something DOES go wrong its worth the extra bit of money.
BUT if Surefire comes through this year and delivers what they showed off at SHOT they will have some really new technology and looks like their main focus from now on is going to be LED's instead of incan's so I only expect to see more and more technology going into their lights.

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

If I was just having a light at home for an emergency then a single led Streamlight using 4 AA batteries has relatively good throw, and is built well for around $25. You stated you wanted something with long runtime. In that case, I would think a lantern would be ideal. The Rayovac Sportsman Extreme with 300 lumen will fit the bill nicely for $30 from Lowes. As far as something that I am going to carry everyday I want it to be the most compact and best built that I can reasonably afford.

Do you want something that has multiple light settings? How often do you plan on using it? Do you need a lot of throw, something really bright?

For me, Surefire and Fenix lights are the top two and they are apples and oranges to each other. I think the design and construction of the SF lights will beat out the Fenix lights easily, over a period of time, as far as longevity. They SF lights are simply more rugged but this may not matter since many people might upgrade the lights to a brighter one before either of them break or they lose them.

The SF lights generally have one or two modes for their less expensive models. They will have a low for extended battery life and full on. I like this setup. The Fenix lights have multiple modes, generally: strobe, 4 light levels.

My edc is a Surefire L1. I also have the SF E1B which is really nice and the E2dl light which really throws. All of these lights have dual mode and can be purchased for $115-$122 each new, shipped to CONUS

I carried an older SF L1 daily for three years in a manfucturing plant. I beat the hell out of that thing and it still works great. The upgraded version has much better light output so I bought it and the old one will go in the drawer. As far as I know, SF is using Cree led's in their lights and they are much brighter than the ones of a few years ago. In my opinion SF are worth the money if you know where to shop.

If I was just carrying something in a briefcase I would probably go with a Fenix light that has multiple modes to conserve battery life. I like the hokey strobe feature that many of their lights have also. If you want to stay away from cr123 batteries then get the L2d premium Q5 180 lumens from 4sevens.com. It takes AA's, multiple modes.

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

For a small emergency light around the house, I prefer one that uses 2 AA. You probably don't have CR123A batteries now and finding spares in an emergency will be a problem. You don't really need a C or D flashlight any more because batteries and lights are so much better. So I have a number of 3W 2-AA around the house that were around $20 from stores like Target and WalMart.
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/169466

I use a 1 AA light in my briefcase similar to a Fenix LD10. Variable brightness, strobe and candle mode are all useful features. I keep it on the nightstand when I am staying in a hotel on business and might need to find my way down the hall in the dark. I also keep 2 spare batteries in my briefcase.
http://www.fenixlight.ca/fenix-ld10.html

Rick.
PS There are lots of comprehensive reviews on CPF like this roundup of 2AA lights.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=214890

Re: Costco Smith & Wesson a Good Value?

Welcome to CPF, dclawyer.

I've edited your thread title in a way which I hope clarifies your requirement so respondents can help you. You can change it yourself if you wish by editing post #1 in advanced mode.

Thank you DM51. That's helpful. I appreciate all the helpful responses. I will buy a lantern for home use in an emergency. I recently purchased a Fenix L2D and the amount of light it generates boggles my mind. I didn't know it was possible. I would like something smaller for my pocket or briefcase and a flashlight with a long life for the house (in addition to the lantern). Maybe the Rayovac Sportsman is all I need.

I certainly welcome other suggestions. This is a new world for me.

Thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome and for the expert assistance.

No, the Costco S&W lights are not a good value for that price. While the S&W lights are decent they do seem to cut some corners in their manufacturing out there in China. S&W lights in general are overpriced and rely upon the well known S&W name to sell. I wish it weren't that way, but that's how it seems to be imho.

There are 25 diferent suggestions that I could give you for better lights for that price from a multitude of manufacturers; so have many others who hang out here.
What kind of battery are you looking to use? How big for the pocket light?

:welcome:

PhantomPhoton said:

What kind of battery are you looking to use? How big for the posket light?

:welcome:

Click to expand...

Thanks PhantomPhoton!

For the pocket light, a max 4 inches. I am ok with either AA batteries or CR123. My hobby is photography and I've been using CR123s on and off for years.

The lantern is a good idea. Im actually in the market for one too so be sure to let us know how it performs if ya get it! And I think youd be better off with a CR123 light for home emergency use as they usually put out more power and have that awesome shelflife. No matter what you get make sure you have plenty of extra batteries(thats part of the reason I stick to one type of battery so I dont have to keep a ton of AA, AAA, D, C, and CR123, etc.)!
Another suggestion for emergencies with an EXTREMELY long runtime and you almost literally cant break it... http://www.glo-toob.com/main.html Not insanely bright but deff. a good emergency light

For pocket carry, I would suggest that you check out Muyshondt's Aeon. If you want to stick with a CR123 battery, look at the Nautilus. But this abuse test is what sold me to the Aeon.

For "home" light, I still keep my SF L2 by the nightstand. It's certainly not the brightest and latest LED light I have. I just got attached to it for some reason. It's a wall of light that makes it a really good room sweeper, and the way the switch works is just perfect. I can't remember how many times I almost sold it, but had to withdraw in the 11th hour.