Compared: Costco 2AA LED, Streamlight TT 3C, etc..

sniper

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Jan 7, 2005
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I bought two of the Costco 2AA LED flashlights today, and I am impressed! It is about 25% larger that my Mini Mag. Appearance and build quality appear good, the tailcap clickie switches work positively, and they are BRIGHT! The beam pattern shows a large central spot, and a concentric ring around that-it looks like the ring around the moon just before it rains or snows. Not disturbing to me, but I am used to Mag Light beam quality.
Of course, my comparison is nowhere near the exhaustive testing done by others on the forum and elsewhere--just my first impressions, so take it for what it is worth.
One of my lights appears slightly brighter than the other , but not by any great amount. The color is the same. The light is bluish, but no more than the other led lights I have.

I checked for "more yellow" in the reflector as mentioned in one post, and purchased the ones that appeared to show the most color. We got some really funny loooks from other shoppers, but my wife is a good sport that way.

Compared to the QVC 4AA "Mystery Light" my wife got me for Christmas, the Costcos are both brighter than the low (3 led) or high (6 led)setttings, but couldn't overpower the incandescent bulb. It was even brighter than my Streamlight Twin Task 3C on the low and high settings, by a visible amount. They lit up my back fence--about 35 yards away-- very well.
My Mini Mag--no contest. I might as well not have tried. I could see I had a fence there, somewhere. MUCH brighter. I can hardly wait to get the MJLED from Lambda and see how much it will improve the Mini mag's performance, if any.

In my limited experience, not making any conclusion regarding reliability or durability,which will come with nore use, I think the lights are well worth the money, and should provide reasonable service.

I hope this has been helpful to someone. Sometimes it gets confusing in the flashlight jungle./ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif
 

RonM

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Yeah. These Costco's are a good deal. I give them away as gifts and everyones is always pleased. For most people it becomes the best light they have!
 

nerdgineer

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If you add the 27 mm reflector and 29mm mineral glass as suggested in another Costco 2AA thread, the light gains more and smoother spill, and a hotter hotspot (went from about 500 cd to over 700, near as I can measure). Also looks better.

Size of the hotspot shrinks, though, but you can adjust the bezel to defocus it for close range. A distinct improvement for only another $8 or so per light.
 

RonM

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Nerdgineer - where did you order the reflector and glass?
 

nerdgineer

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dat2zip posted about these first. The reflector is here. The mineral glass lens is here.

I got 2 of each for 2 lights, and shipping wasn't bad, as I recall. It is easy to install: clip off the legs of the reflector (I used nail clippers); unscrew the plastic retaining ring in the head (I used a pair of little scissors with sharp tips); and drop in the new glass and reflector.

The whole thread is here.
 

sniper

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Nerd: I had been looking for that thread without any success. Thanks. I may try the reflector and glass just to see what happens.
 
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