Battery giant's attempt at LED's

Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

I have a Rayovac Sportsman single LED light. I think it's a good light but the beam has rings. Does anyone else own this light? I would like opinions.

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

If it's the rayovac sportsman "grip-clip" I have one. You can do a forum search but there isn't much talk about it.

As far as inexpensive brick and mortar bought flashlights go, this is probably my lowest quality light. A very slight impact broke the tailpiece, and although I fixed it with some quiksteel it wasn't very impressive.

I have some of the dorcy 1AAA's and they have better beams IMO. The beam on the rayovac is ringed and mine also has a two-color output very obvious in the hotspot. (brownish yellow on one hemisphere, blue in the other) I even prefer my cheap dorcy "turtlelight" over it.

I used to wonder why there wasn't much talk/info about it, but in retrospect I think it's because the light is a bit underwhelming.

IMO, the brinkman (rebels and long-life) and dorcy led's are better lights in the price range. That said, I still use the rayovac grip clip occasionally and hopefully they'll improve the led quality if it stays in production.

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

This is one of my 'have but never use' ... the beam from mine is perfectly smooth, no problem there. I dont use it because it's one of the largest single LED lights I have.

But like and dislike isn't always a rational thing... the Brinkman LongLife has a hideously ringed beam and is even larger than the Rayovac. But I use and like my LongLife a lot.

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

Thanks for the replies. Since it's only the second LED light I own (the other being the Inova microlight), I use it a lot. It runs on rechargeable alkalines. 2016's are rather expensive.

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

Luckily you thought this Rayovac was good, because that means you should be quite pleased when buy a better light, and a better one, and a better one...

Welcome to the money drain.

Erik.

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

I'm not labeled "flashaholic" as you can see. Not going to spend THAT much money on LED flashlights. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

It always starts with denial...

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

I have an Arc LSL, an ARC AAA, a Tigerlight, a PT Attitude, an Eternalight, and a Ray-O-Vac Sportsman.

I like my Sportsman a LOT. It is the one light that I use the most! It is my general "walk around the house at night" light.

ARC-LS - Too bright for dark-adapted eyes, and can wake up my wife
Arc-AAA - Is on my keychain and never at my bedside.
Tigerlight - This is for outdoor or emergency use.
PT Attitude - Dimmer than the Ray-O-Vac and does not throw as far
Eternalight - too many button presses to get a dimmer beam

Yes, it has some faint rings and color variations. But I USE this light. I don't point it at a wall and take pictures. The runtime is wonderful, and it is the first light that I reach for if I need to get up in the middle of the night. And it is under $10. It is not of exceptional quality, but I consider it to be a real value.

Everything in life has tradeoffs. The "rings" in the beam are because it uses a reflector. Yes, it adds rings, but it also significantly increases the throw. So if you want better throw for a standard 5mm LED, you get rings.

It is also not fair comparing a $10 product to a $30 (or more) product and complaining that it does not measure up. Try comparing a Chevy Cavalier to a BMW and see which one gets better reviews. Guess which one sells more?

I also have the Ray-O-Vac sportsman headlamp. This has one xenon bulb, two red LEDs, and one white LED. None of the beams are that great, and the red LEDs are too bright to preserve night vision in any event. But it does work, and at a pretty good price, so I am keeping it. Yes, I could get better quality, but at twice the price plus shipping and handling.

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

Thanks for the positive review, Harrkev. I like that light too!

Re: Battery giant\'s attempt at LED\'s

[ QUOTE ]
JJHitt said:
It always starts with denial...


[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly! I started out with the inexpensive lights and said I just couldn't see spending over 30$ for a flashlight. I then got an inova x-5, and later a surefire L1. (Well, the L1 was a gift from my wife that I picked out.) I EDC those at work, both have taken some drops with no effect.

I'm constantly tempted and looking to get more, and probably will get one of the higher wattage luxeons and a headlamp next.