On Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:54:30 -0600, zxcvbob wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote:
I just bought this 6 pack of Husky LED flashlights at HD. There's 6
LED's per flashlight, and each one uses 3 AAA batteries, which were
included. 6 flashlights and 18 batteries for $9.97. How could I pass
it up?
I've never used an LED flashlight before and I am amazed at how bright
these things are.
My question: Am I going to remain happy or is there something I don't
know - something like I'm going to get about 10 minutes of battery
life so I'm gonna need to carry all 6 flashlights with me.
Are these things any good?
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...ctId=100652625
I *much* prefer the high-output LED flashlights. It's a lot easier to
design a decent reflector for a single small light source. I had a 3-AA
Maglite with a "3W" LED (there's no way it was 3 watts, but it might
have been 1 watt) that I bought on sale a year ago -- one of the best
flashlights I ever had. Alas, I left it in a hotel room a few months
ago, and when I called about it they said they hadn't seen it. It was
still going strong on the original set of alkaline batteries.
I don't understand why so many flashlights use AAA batteries. You give
up too much capacity going from AA to AAA. (maybe they are really in
the battery business)
Just today I bought an Energizer industrial flashlight (model MS2DLED)
that has a single 1W LED, about a 2 inch reflector, and uses 2 D cells.
It has o-rings in all the right places. It should run about forever
on 2 heavy-duty carbon zinc batteries, and they are a lot lighter than
alkalines. I bought it to keep in my truck.
Two or three C cells is the perfect size for a flashlight. It's just
large enough that you won't lose it, and when there's a hurricane or a
blizzard, C-cells are the last size they run out of at the stores.
I just purchased a current technology bike light and it is amazing how much
light a single LED can generate. I scoffed at the idea of using an LED as a
light source back in 2003, but they've come a long way. The thing running off
its lithium ion battery pack puts out almost as much useful light as when I
used to use a 50W halogen floodlight powered by a 12V gel cell lead-acid
battery. Sure is easier dealing with a battery that weighs about as much as 3 AA
batteries versus the old 10lb gel cell. Pop it off, bring just the battery
inside and charge it off USB.