Canadian retail stores-lots of new lights!

I like to browse the local stores for new lights almost daily.. I missed a week or two due to a very busy wave at work..
I went to Canadian tire and found the Thor on sale for 1/2 price, $44. The dorcy line has changed names to "Noma" same lights, same price, same package. They have also introduced a bunch of new ones as well, nothing mind bending but there are a few new headlamps, lanterns and a few flashlights, definatly worth a look.
Also, Canadian Tire has a couple new ones from "Stanley tools" One is about a 7 LED flashlight with a pivoting head, what makes it cool is the the modern looking handle pulls apart into a tripod! There is a single led keychain version as well. $34 for the big one (takes 2, 4 or 6 AAA), $10 for the small one.
Home Hardware is stocking Luxeons!! There is a 3D mag looking thing that appears to have a 3watt star, it is one tough looking light, tonns of modding potential. It resembles a 3Dmag with a far better grip as well as a hexogon rim around the bezel, very cool looking light. $29.
There is also a 123A 1 watt light there to, looks sorta like a chrome QIII, $27.
And.. a 1watt that looks like the 2 cell version of the QIII, also chrome, but it takes 3 AAA!
There are a bunch more in there from this company "Reactor" but I didn't look too closely.
What are you waiting for, go get some!

:thanks: for the tip. I'll drop into Home Hardware on the weekend to check out the inventory.

Hey thanks for the update!

With Christmas coming I will start looking for some new lights for their stockings.

Now, only if my favourite SF dealers in Canada would have a "sale"...

I just remembered.. The 1 Watt 3 AAA Luxeon also had a "strobe" mode..

The 3AAA 1 watt light is 2 level. The back of the package says 100 and 200 hours.
Har! It also say Luxeon so it's not a clone lux light.

My Canadian tire store had this light in silver and black (one of each).

They also had a single AAA light that is a bit bigger than the Dorcy one. Instead of
a reflector it has a lens. I can't recall the price. $15 maybe.

Greg

EVERY trip to Zellers, Canadian Tire, Radio Sh-- no that's not it... City for Cir...no I mean Circuitous Source... Whatever the hell it is now, et al. involves a trip to the flashlight aisle.

Still so very lame compared to what's probably avai. in the States at your local Costco or Wal-Mart (does Cdn WM even have a SINGLE light that takes 123 batts?!).

The only decent lights I've seen are CC The Source Of Former Shack Sh1T's QIII clone at $60(!!!), and...um... I guess that's it. I've never seen a single Streamlight, Surefire, or Inova ANYWHERE.

I'm sure they're avai. in any major city's local Cop Shop, but I won't ever buy there (sorry), just because I refuse to pay the 'specialty store' premium of 50-80%.

But I AM convinced that w/in 2 yrs, Cdn Tire will have tons of great lights at decent prices. For now, however, I'll be ordering my Strion from the USA.

I just came back from Home Hardware where I did a quick survey.

The most surprising light I saw was a 'Reactor' 3 Watt lantern-type with a big reflector that runs on 4 D cells; it's quite large and heavy. I think it said 100 or 300 hours of runtime. I'm guessing it's not regulated and will taper off quite a bit toward the end of the life of its cells. C$28. I looked in the reflector and saw a poorly formed image of the yellowish LED and wasn't impressed. I guess I'm spoiled by my Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA Luxeon 1 Watt that throws like heck and has a beautiful image of the LED when you look into the reflector. I'll wait until someone buys one and gives a quick review. I'm trying to avoid buyer's remorse. I can't wait for somebody's description of its beam -- guessing, it'll have lots of throw and spill, but will be somewhat ugly or splotchy.

It appears to me that the LED line of the Dorcy lights has been renamed Reactor. I guess this will help people differentiate between the Dorcy incans and the Reactor LEDs.

There's a small Reactor 1AAA 1LED with a slightly different shape on the bezel that appears to replace the old Dorcy. Also, if memory serves, there was a 2AA 1LED Reactor. No sign of 3LED Reactors or Dorcys.

I saw the C$28 Reactor 1 Watt 1 CR123A light and wasn't impressed by its overall size nor the relection of the LED; I'm guessing it's 'floody' with some artifacts in the beam. I'll wait for a [strike]victim[/strike] reviewer for a report. Even if it gets a good review, I'll not likely buy it due to the cost of 123 cells in Canada. I don't know how the switch operates or feels. There was no pocket clip or pouch with it.

Also saw the 3AAA 1 Watt light but it's quite big and I hate buying AAA cells at twice the cost and half the size of AA cells.

I also saw a clunky 1 LED 2AA light in a large oval-shaped plastic housing. I was [strike]disgusted[/strike] unimpressed.

Also saw the Reactor 3D 1 Watt Luxeon in the mag-style, black anodized aluminum, but I'll keep my regulated, lighter, smaller, likely brighter Streamlight ProPoly 4AA Luxeon, thank you very much.

The most pleasing thing I saw was a display of packs of 50 Dorcy AA cells for C$12.99. That's 26 cents per cell -- not bad. I already have lots, so I filed that away for future reference.

My advice? Buy some Reactor 1AAA 1LED lights at C$7 or so for Christmas stocking stuffers.

PhotonBoy said:

I saw the C$28 Reactor 1 Watt 1 CR123A light and wasn't impressed by its overall size nor the relection of the LED; I'm guessing it's 'floody' with some artifacts in the beam. I'll wait for a [strike]victim[/strike] reviewer for a report. Even if it gets a good review, I'll not likely buy it due to the cost of 123 cells in Canada. I don't know how the switch operates or feels. There was no pocket clip or pouch with it.

Click to expand...

I guess I'll be one of those 'victims' - I picked up the 1xCR123A Dorcy today. I was actually quite surprised with the beam; at least in the one I got, it is very smooth and has few imperfections. I would say it's about as bright as the Fenix L1P, but the hotspot is wider, and thus doesn't throw quite as far. For around-the-house tasks, I'd say this light is more appropriate than the Fenix, but for outdoors, that little bit more throw of the Fenix would be an asset.

The switch is surprisingly light to push, in fact I'd probably rather it be a bit stiffer. I don't think accidental activation should be a major concern though, because the switch is fairly shrouded.

On the plus side, it is very easy to open - definate mod potential.

Here is a picture, for those who haven't seen it:

PhotonBoy said:

My advice? Buy some Reactor 1AAA 1LED lights at C$7 or so for Christmas stocking stuffers.

Click to expand...

I gave a few of those away as well this past month. I like the new smooth grip a lot better than the old "checkered" pattern the Dorcy AAA's had.

Canadian Tire has a sale on many of their newest lights:

http://tinyurl.com/p57hk

I just picked up a Noma High Pressure Xenon Flashlight (I believe it's a rebranded Brinkmann Maxfire. They look the same save for the name on the grip).

I was wondering about that.. I was thinking about picking one up but I noticed my local Canadian Tire store doesn't sell replacement bulbs. Does anyone know of a source for the bulbs?

Maximum_DL said:

Canadian Tire has a sale on many of their newest lights:

http://tinyurl.com/p57hk

I just picked up a Noma High Pressure Xenon Flashlight (I believe it's a rebranded Brinkmann Maxfire. They look the same save for the name on the grip).

Click to expand...

Pydpiper said:

I like to browse the local stores for new lights almost daily.. I missed a week or two due to a very busy wave at work..
I went to Canadian tire and found the Thor on sale for 1/2 price, $44. The dorcy line has changed names to "Noma" same lights, same price, same package. They have also introduced a bunch of new ones as well, nothing mind bending but there are a few new headlamps, lanterns and a few flashlights, definatly worth a look.
Also, Canadian Tire has a couple new ones from "Stanley tools" One is about a 7 LED flashlight with a pivoting head, what makes it cool is the the modern looking handle pulls apart into a tripod! There is a single led keychain version as well. $34 for the big one (takes 2, 4 or 6 AAA), $10 for the small one.
Home Hardware is stocking Luxeons!! There is a 3D mag looking thing that appears to have a 3watt star, it is one tough looking light, tonns of modding potential. It resembles a 3Dmag with a far better grip as well as a hexogon rim around the bezel, very cool looking light. $29.
There is also a 123A 1 watt light there to, looks sorta like a chrome QIII, $27.
And.. a 1watt that looks like the 2 cell version of the QIII, also chrome, but it takes 3 AAA!
There are a bunch more in there from this company "Reactor" but I didn't look too closely.
What are you waiting for, go get some!

Click to expand...

I didn't know canadian tire sell Thor. I am shocked.

picard said:

I didn't know canadian tire sell Thor. I am shocked.

Click to expand...

I've seen the name SunForce at the Tire. The 3AAA Noma...I bought it last year and refunded it almost immidiately. It says "brilliant white light" and it was very, very blue. I was not impressed.

PhotonAddict said:

I was wondering about that.. I was thinking about picking one up but I noticed my local Canadian Tire store doesn't sell replacement bulbs. Does anyone know of a source for the bulbs?

Click to expand...

Hmm... you can order bulbs directly from Brinkmann. I have no idea if there's any retail store that stocks them. Alternatively, you could try using Surefire lamps for the G2 or 3rd party LED upgrades for the G2.

Any Canadians reading this thread may be happy to know they can get a CR123 Dorcy Super 1 Watt for $19.99cdn at FutureShop/BestBuy stores or online again.

Canadian Tire has Noma flashlights on sale. The Noma branded Brinkmann Maxfire is Reg.$24.99 Sale $21.24

I saw THOR in Costco here in BC. I was very exited until I tried lifting it up.

My goodness, I was surprised by its size and weight just like everybody was talking about. You really need a truck to get this thing where you want it be.

But, the price was good. Someone don't mind the weight I am sure for that kind of price.

Henry

I see all these Canadians posting I thought I should say a few words also.

I always pass by the flashlight section at Canadian Tire. I bought the SunForce 1M candlepower light there. Don't have much use/need for it but I bought it just because.

I also browse at Mountain Equipment Co-op, Europe Bound, Tetragon Distributors in Mississauga (www.tetragon.ca) and at the new Bass Pro shop north on highway 427 in Toronto. They have Surefire, streamlight and others.

Max Brightness said:

I see all these Canadians posting I thought I should say a few words also.

I always pass by the flashlight section at Canadian Tire. I bought the SunForce 1M candlepower light there. Don't have much use/need for it but I bought it just because.

I also browse at Mountain Equipment Co-op, Europe Bound, Tetragon Distributors in Mississauga (www.tetragon.ca) and at the new Bass Pro shop north on highway 427 in Toronto. They have Surefire, streamlight and others.

Click to expand...

You mean hwy 400 at Rutherford ? Or is there a second store now ?

pathalogical said:

You mean hwy 400 at Rutherford ? Or is there a second store now ?

Click to expand...

Yes 400. Thanks.