New Rayovac LED Lantern Type Flashlight

Like most of you I'm sure, whenever I go shopping with the wife, I wander off to the flashlight section just to see what new lights the average shopper has available to them. I've never done a review or anything on here, and I won't claim this to be one really, as I don't have the knowledge or equipment to test like some of the great ones on here, but I thought I'd at least share a little. I apologize if this light has been covered here, as I couldn't find any mention of it.

While wandering around Sports Authority the other day, I came across the new Rayovac Virtually Indestructible 4C Beam Lantern. I'm always looking for something a little different in the low budget lights to try and this one grabbed my attention. I noticed that it comes with batteries included, and I could tell by the weight that they were installed from the factory, but the light wouldn't turn on. I didn't want to get it home and be disappointed with the output, so I pulled it out of the package just enough to unscrew the head, and sure enough, a small circular piece of paper was inserted to keep the batteries from making contact. I took it out and replaced the head. My first impression was really good as it had a pretty good beam across a store that was well lit. I decided not to buy it, as I didn't need any more lights, (Like that matters. Lol!) so I put it back on the shelf. A couple hours later, I realized I had been thinking about the light ever since I left the store, so I went back and got it. It was $29.99, and I later found that it's only $24.99 on the Rayovac website. Figures. I was more interested in the light for it's form factor than the advertised specs, but I really love this little guy. Rayovac claims 150 Lumens on high with a runtime of 20 hours and 50 Lumens on energy saver mode with a runtime of 78 hours. I honesty feel like the energy saver mode is closer to 65-70% of high, but that may be just my eyes, as I don't have the equimpent to measure. The 150 Lumen claim does seem close. The reflector is about 2 3/8" across the front and about 2" deep. It appears to have a light orange peel on the bottom 3rd and smooth the rest of the way up. It has a pretty tightly focused beam with a lot of spill and very nicely rounded hotspot with no dark spots. The way the led is installed makes it nicely centered, at least on the one I have. I really don't have any idea what led it has or what kind of circuitry is used, as I couldn't seem to get it apart without damaging the components. I do know that the 4 c cells are in series. The switch is on the handle and is a reverse clicky with the first press being high, the second, is energy saver, and the third is off. It is nicely positioned for thumb use in the normal carrying position. The head on it is rubber coated and the body is plastic. It has a very nice balance to it, and in my opinion looks a lot better than the traditional lantern style lights with it's open front handle design. Rayovac claims it's drop tested to 15ft, and ipx4 water resistant. It has one o-ring where the head attaches to the body, and the reflector appears to be sealed. Not sure if this is the case or not. Comes with a lifetime guarantee. For $25, this is a really nice light. It's going to be forced into camping duty, and if the runtimes are anywhere close to advertised, it'll be awesome. Not to mention, that if it gets lost, I'm not out much. Anyways. Just wanted to share.





The above picture is with a half liter Coke bottle for size reference.

Thanks for the info. This light caught my attention also as an inexpensive box store light. It must have an impressive beam and throw with the large reflector. It felt really solid too - but I thought the body was metal? Anyways, it looks to be a bargain and I like the format as well. I may have to pick one up.

Looks to be a good candidate for 4 NiMh C cells.

I bought one a couple months ago when I was wandering around the local farm store (for $21.99!). I bought it mainly because of the long runtime since I like to be prepared. We don't lose power often out here, but when we do it can be for a while. Also, the price was right. It is totally awesome. In comparing it with my Seraph 6 three-mode LED I would say the 150 lumen high is pretty accurate. The beam is something else. My copy at least has NO ARTIFACTS at all. It has a nice large flood and a really small very bright hot spot. In outdoors tests it completely out-throws the Seraph, which I believe is due to the very deep reflector. It also does a great job of lighting up the room on ceiling bounce, even on the low setting. All in all, a great light for the money, especially for outdoors.

Well, it finally happened. I had to replace my first set of batteries in my Rayovac. I have been using it about five to ten minutes almost every day since I got it. I was starting to look just a little dimmer than it used to so I dug out my ZTS and tested the batteries. All for tested at under 20%, but the light was only a little bit dimmer than before. Then last night it looked a lot dimmer than before. When I retested the batteries three of them were under 20%, but one was totally dead. I believe that answers the question I had as to whether or not this was a regulated light. I put in some fresh?) cells and all is back to normal. I put in the question mark because the C cells I put in were a house brand that had an expiration date of 2011. But the ZTS said they were all at 100%, so we'll see how long these last.

This one is a winner, I had it last summer until I'd given it to my friends mom. I've got to get another one for the tornado season.