U
user1016
Guest
Hi all =)
I thought I'd do a quick sort of review of the X-Time Tomcat 1 Watt LED flashlight.
For those who haven't seen it yet, it's a 3 x D cell LED flashlight available for $20 at K-Mart (In Australia. I don't know about America or anywhere else).
I saw these and somehow, they just captured my eye. A $20 D cell LED? This looks interesting, so what do I get for $20?
I have been a fan of Mag-Lites for a while but I thought this might be a typical Asian knockoff of a Mag-lite. I was sort of wrong.
I'm not sure about the origins of its' creation, but the X-Time Tomcat seems to be quite a good torch. I'm nowhere near a flashaholic or expert on flashlights, having only played with a few Maglite LEDS (Seoul P7 and the usual store ones), but it comes across as a neat torch, and good for the price.
It has a checkered grip that, unlike Mag-Lites, runs up and down 80% of the body of the torch. It also comes apart similar to a Maglite, as the nose-cap(?) unscrews as well as the head, and the base of the flashlight. It takes 3 X D cells and seems to put out the same amount of light a Mag-Lite does (It appears to have a focused dot that is more spread out than a Mag-Lite when focused).
Apologies for the horribly blurry shot but it gives an idea of how it appears.
On the left we have the Xtime Tomcat 3D, and on the right, a Maglite 4D with a stock Maglite LED in it (3 watts).
The Tomcat has a slightly more acute "cone" of light compared to the Mag-Lite and actually comes off as a brighter whiter light. Even the focused dot in the middle comes off as brighter. I thought it's pretty amazing for an LED with -2 Watts than the Maglite has, although the only disadvantage about the Tomcat is that it is not focusable, although it does a great job.
The Mag-Lite on the other hand has a more obtusely projected angle of light, and has the advantage of being able to focus (which although isn't great, is good for tunnelling or finding something on the ground I guess?).
The only problem I'm finding with the Tomcat is the switch. When fully depressed, you can hear the click, but the light will only engage as soon as your thumb/finger is fully disengaged from the button. The slightest pressure on the button will simply re-darken the area you're in again =( It's sort of the opposite of a Mag switch.
The only other problems I've noticed with Tomcats:
* The batteries make a rattle when shaken
* I've given them out to my friends, one is experiencing a slight flickering with his when it's moved around however this may be due to low batteries/damaged connection? I will have to investigate it.
* My older brother also had a Tomcat in his car for emergencies. He also had the smaller triple-AAA style Tomcats available for $5 at K-Mart.
Both failed =(
The smaller one seems to turn on then off extremely fast. You will let the button click back into place after engaging it and the light will flicker on then off straight away and will flicker on sometimes when banged around (bad connection? Tried new batteries).
As for his 3 D Cell one, it just would not turn on, so I replaced batteries, no change. I took it apart and found the spring in front of the switch that connects to the base of the LED holder (Not sure of the proper term ^^; bear with me), had somehow been pushed into the plastic casing it was sitting in, so I simply touched it and it snapped back into the default position, now it works fine.
So anyway I thought I'd share this interesting light with you guys. I've NEVER had any problems with mine, maybe my idiot mates have just been banging them around on walls and stuff thinking they're more heavy duty like Mag-Lites. Mine has done a fantastic job and has led me through many successful nights of work at the National park in the night/dark.
They also have a shortened version of these, a triple A model (not the small small multi-coloured ones either). I'm eager to try them out and post results too.
If you want any other pictures of it (showing it dis-assembled or whatever interests you etc, please let me know).
I thought I'd do a quick sort of review of the X-Time Tomcat 1 Watt LED flashlight.
For those who haven't seen it yet, it's a 3 x D cell LED flashlight available for $20 at K-Mart (In Australia. I don't know about America or anywhere else).
I saw these and somehow, they just captured my eye. A $20 D cell LED? This looks interesting, so what do I get for $20?
I have been a fan of Mag-Lites for a while but I thought this might be a typical Asian knockoff of a Mag-lite. I was sort of wrong.
I'm not sure about the origins of its' creation, but the X-Time Tomcat seems to be quite a good torch. I'm nowhere near a flashaholic or expert on flashlights, having only played with a few Maglite LEDS (Seoul P7 and the usual store ones), but it comes across as a neat torch, and good for the price.
It has a checkered grip that, unlike Mag-Lites, runs up and down 80% of the body of the torch. It also comes apart similar to a Maglite, as the nose-cap(?) unscrews as well as the head, and the base of the flashlight. It takes 3 X D cells and seems to put out the same amount of light a Mag-Lite does (It appears to have a focused dot that is more spread out than a Mag-Lite when focused).
Apologies for the horribly blurry shot but it gives an idea of how it appears.
On the left we have the Xtime Tomcat 3D, and on the right, a Maglite 4D with a stock Maglite LED in it (3 watts).
The Tomcat has a slightly more acute "cone" of light compared to the Mag-Lite and actually comes off as a brighter whiter light. Even the focused dot in the middle comes off as brighter. I thought it's pretty amazing for an LED with -2 Watts than the Maglite has, although the only disadvantage about the Tomcat is that it is not focusable, although it does a great job.
The Mag-Lite on the other hand has a more obtusely projected angle of light, and has the advantage of being able to focus (which although isn't great, is good for tunnelling or finding something on the ground I guess?).
The only problem I'm finding with the Tomcat is the switch. When fully depressed, you can hear the click, but the light will only engage as soon as your thumb/finger is fully disengaged from the button. The slightest pressure on the button will simply re-darken the area you're in again =( It's sort of the opposite of a Mag switch.
The only other problems I've noticed with Tomcats:
* The batteries make a rattle when shaken
* I've given them out to my friends, one is experiencing a slight flickering with his when it's moved around however this may be due to low batteries/damaged connection? I will have to investigate it.
* My older brother also had a Tomcat in his car for emergencies. He also had the smaller triple-AAA style Tomcats available for $5 at K-Mart.
Both failed =(
The smaller one seems to turn on then off extremely fast. You will let the button click back into place after engaging it and the light will flicker on then off straight away and will flicker on sometimes when banged around (bad connection? Tried new batteries).
As for his 3 D Cell one, it just would not turn on, so I replaced batteries, no change. I took it apart and found the spring in front of the switch that connects to the base of the LED holder (Not sure of the proper term ^^; bear with me), had somehow been pushed into the plastic casing it was sitting in, so I simply touched it and it snapped back into the default position, now it works fine.
So anyway I thought I'd share this interesting light with you guys. I've NEVER had any problems with mine, maybe my idiot mates have just been banging them around on walls and stuff thinking they're more heavy duty like Mag-Lites. Mine has done a fantastic job and has led me through many successful nights of work at the National park in the night/dark.
They also have a shortened version of these, a triple A model (not the small small multi-coloured ones either). I'm eager to try them out and post results too.
If you want any other pictures of it (showing it dis-assembled or whatever interests you etc, please let me know).
