Newbie: Beyond the Spyder

I bought the two-pack of Dorcy Spyders at Costco a couple of weeks ago and found your site while trying to find out more about this flashlight. I just bought another pack as a gift for a friend.

Now I've been bitten by the bug and am wondering whether the Pelican M6 or one of the SureFires will be my next purchase. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I still have questions about the spyder. It seems to be more for show than for go. For instance I found no place on the packaging or the website that indicated that it is even weatherproof, much less waterproof. But it looks like it could be...it even has o-ring seals. Anyone have any info on this? I'd hate to find out the hard way if I fell out of a row boat.

Next question: I'm leaning toward the Pelican and SureFires based on reading a lot of the posts here. Are there any rechargables even close to the same league? I seem to have only read about larger, heavier rechargables.

Thanks and sorry for probably duplicating posts out there already, I've looked at quite a few but not found this info.

By the way, there are still 120 two-packs of Spyders in stock at the Everett (north of Seattle) Costco at $26.99 + tax. It seems that all of the other Seattle area Costco's have sold out.

Welcome Drizzle,

You may want to check out Pila batteries for rechargeable drop in replacements. I think Surefire also sells rechargeable conversion kits for many of their lights. Neither option is cheap, but depending how much you use your lights they might be worth the investment.

Or you even have a look at Pila lamps /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks for the info. I haven't seen Pila lamps discussed here before. Now I have one more to consider!

Based on what I saw at your link I think I'll stick with the higher voltage of the lithiums; especially when you can get them so cheap at batterystation.com.

Welcome to CPF! The Surefire 6R is a nice little(er) rechargeable light. One thing to note is that it isn't waterproof because it is vented. I also like the Streamlight Stinger. Rechargeables really come in handy when you use the light a lot, but with the price for lithiums being low you can't go wrong. You might want to think about how much you are going to use the light if you are considering a rechargeable. Personally I prefer a SL (Streamlight) Scorpion to the Surefire 6P. You might also want to check out some of the SL's that have both LED's and incandescent.

-Mike

Deja vu!

I was you last month, I bought the Dorcy's at Costco and was hooked by their brightness, but I knew there had to be more. The Spyder is pretty bright, with decent throw, however the beam quality is poor in comparison to other lights (which of course cost more) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

So, I ended up with (so far) a Surefire L4 (love this light), carried EDC in an On/Scene Tactical Kydex sheath horizontally on my belt. Also picked up a Surefire G2 and a Pelican M6. Those are both great too, however I'm still hooked on the L4 for the incredibly beautiful beam shape (it's as close to perfect as I could imagine), the amount of light it puts out, the durability of the LED over a standard bulb, and the regulated battery usage. It's also cool looking /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The Pelican has a good beam which is tighter than the L4 or G2 and is focusable (as is the Spyder), however it doesn't have the artifacts that the Spyder has.

I looked closely at the Pilas too, but I ended up with the standard Cr123 solution because it's easy, not terribly expensive, and I just bought a bunch of batteries to go with the lights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif By the time I use up all the batteries I bought, I'm sure that there will be other lights I want.

My next light will probably be a Streamlight UltraStinger and maybe an Arc AAA or AA.

Welcome to the addiction. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

EDIT: I should add that in terms of raw brightness, the Spyders are roughly about the same brightness as the G2 and PM6, however the beam quality is no where near as good, it's downright krap, but hey, for $13.50, it's still a deal. The G2 and PM6 beam is way, way better for a little more $$. The PM6 can be had for $30 from batterystation.com's CPF deal, as can the $1 CR123's.

Thanks for the heads up on the dwindling supply, drizzle! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif The Shoreline Costco was definitely out of the Spyders so I went to the Everett store to snag a couple more packages. They had about 1/2 a palette left and the clerk said that they were really popular. Maybe I should have grabbed a couple more. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

Dan