Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

"DemoDisk" wrote in message
news:z4ydnbNpxscVIQvWnZ2dnUVZ_sqdnZ2d@yournetplus. com...

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.



The freebies at HF work for me. I have them stashed everywhere. I have about
12 of them now. Every time I go buy something I get one. If you're gonna let
it sit for awhile, I'd swap out the cheap batteries for something a little
better but I haven't had any issues with them yet. Here's a coupon to get
you started http://tinypic.com/r/almg5w/5

HTH

Matt

On Tue, 9 Mar 2010 15:26:08 -0600, DemoDisk wrote:

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Tue, 9 Mar 2010 15:26:08 -0600, DemoDisk wrote:

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.



Well, lessee, last time I counted, I had 9 of those little LED
flashlights from Harbor Freight, free with a coupon. Not great, but at
the price.... (Not real bright to work by, but plenty bright to
navigate with in the dark, inside the house. I'm gonna keep collecting
them till they throw me out, or until I have one for each car, coat,
bedroom, and tool box, whichever comes first.)

My real flashlight is a 4-D MagLite, but damned if I know where it is at
the moment. Hope it turns up when I happen to clear the right pile of
junk off some horizontal surface around here. They aren't as good as
the used to be, but they are also a lot cheaper than they used to be.

I'd just go to Harbor Freight, BigLots, or local cheap junk store, and
see what they have. The gray ray-o-vac branded ones are pretty good- I
have a couple of those- but I haven't seen them in stores lately. Buy
one, take it out to the car and take it apart and see just how cheap it
is, and if it looks okay, go back in and buy 4 more. Avoid blow-molded
ones like the old gray tube/red cap ones like Rat Shack used to give
away. I had 2-3 of those years ago, and the cap ring shattered on every
one. Look for LED or krypton bulbs- traditional flashlight bulbs are
useless at this point.

--
aem sends...

DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.


I used to find surplus Navy flashlights cheap and durable. Now I prefer
LED headband lights. They may cost more than $10 but appear to last
indefinitely.

There's not much battery weight to cause damage if it's dropped. The
feel of the band makes it easy to find in a dark drawer, or you can hang
it. To take it with you, you can wear it around your neck so it won't
be dropped or misplaced.

You can see with both hands free. The kind with lithium buttons would
have a shelf life in years, while AAA NiMH cells (with three spares in
your pocket) would would be thrifty for extensive use.

In , DemoDisk wrote:

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

I have two smaller aluminum body LED flashlights that I consider better
bargains. One is the Dorcy 1-AA 3-LED one, available at some hardware
stores and maybe some drug stores and the like. The other is a 3-AAA
3-LED one that I got at Dollar Tree. ($1 for the light without batteries)

The Dorcy one has actual electronics in it, but I still consider it to
be a good reliable flashlight.

The $1 one from Dollar Tree is simpler without actual electronics.

Both work usably from batteries too pooped out to get an incandescent
bulb to glow brighter than a cigarette.

Both are good at surviving falls onto hard surfaces, especially the
Dorcy.

I decided as a result of this thread to torture-test these two lights.
My test was to toss both of them 25-30 feet into the air over a parking
lot, 10 times with switch off and 10 times with switch on.

The $1 one survived the first couple tosses. Somewhere between the
2nd and 9th this torture testing ruined it. After the 7th, the clear
plastic "lens" over the LEDs-and-reflector was no longer there.
I tried the switch after the 9th, and found it not to work. I opened it
up after the 9th, and found the battery carriage to be broken into many
pieces. This light may have survived as little as two of these tosses.
However, I consider this light to be able to survive a much larger number
of mere drops onto hard surfaces. I consider this $1 light to be a good
bargain unless you use it enough to run into three AAA cells being a lot
less economical than a single AA cell.

The Dorcy one survived this testing through the 15th toss. After the
15th toss with falling 25-30 feet onto a parking lot, the switch worked
very irregularly and barely usably. I discontinued the torture testing
of the Dorcy after the 15th toss because the light barely survived this
much torture testing.

It appears to me that the $1 3-AAA 3-LED one can probably be run over
by a car a few times, and the Dorcy 1-AA-cell 3-LED one can be run over
by a full concrete mixer truck a few times.

Beware of the $3 or so 9-LED flashlight. Someone I know got one, and
the switch started not working very well after a few months of moderate
though likely-above-average use.

- Don Klipstein )

On 2010-03-09, DemoDisk wrote:

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

There used to be a cheapo brand called K-something (K-lite?) that's
dirt cheap, and fairly reliable. $1 ea fer dbl AAs. Beware though,
you get what you pay for. My current go-to flashlight is an older 2
D-cell Garrity. Waterproof and rubber armored. They're very
reasonably priced for how good they are. My recommended brand.

Whatever you do, stay away from Maglites. I've owned at least 2 doz
over the years. Overpriced crap. I've yet to own one that didn't
eventually fail, usually sooner than later. You couldn't give me one
(and they used to)!

nb

On Mar 9, 6:52*pm, notbob wrote:
On 2010-03-09, DemoDisk wrote:

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

There used to be a cheapo brand called K-something (K-lite?) that's
dirt cheap, and fairly reliable. *$1 ea fer dbl AAs. *Beware though,
you get what you pay for. *My current go-to flashlight is an older 2
D-cell Garrity. *Waterproof and rubber armored. *They're very
reasonably priced for how good they are. *My recommended brand.

Whatever you do, stay away from Maglites. *I've owned at least 2 doz
over the years. *Overpriced crap. *I've yet to own one that didn't
eventually fail, usually sooner than later. *You couldn't give me one
(and they used to)!

nb

I have about a 15yr old Maglite that works just fine.

DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.



I have friends and customers who have little boys who often think
I'm a jungle gym and want me to toss them around and hang them
upside down, etc. The critters are also good at testing the durability
of just about any product. I will often get several industrial
flashlights for the little guys at the supply house, it keeps them
occupied for hours. Oh yea, I get extra batteries for them too. Little
boys love the real live contractor flashlights, especially those with
the magnets.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N9E6/

http://www.rayovac.com/flashlight/i2d-b.shtml

TDD

On 03/09/2010 04:26 PM, DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.


Not uber-cheap, but the $30 Lowe's "Task Force" 2x C-cell 3W LED
flashlight is impressive enough that I have four of them - one to leave
by the front door in case the power goes out, one as a sometime work
light, sometime bike light, and two to carry in vehicles. Kicks my old
Mag-Lite's ass at less than half the size and weight.

nate


--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

Generally, flashlights with switches - instead of a sliding contact - are
better quality.

Currently, manufacturers can't stoke enough LEDs in a flashlight to equal
the output of a 4- or 5-cell monster. But the day is coming.

Check out the ones at Sam's Club. It's the same "Luxeon" 3-watt
LED and you get a couple for the same price.

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
On 03/09/2010 04:26 PM, DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day.
The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop
onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more
durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several
places
throughout the house.


Not uber-cheap, but the $30 Lowe's "Task Force" 2x C-cell 3W LED
flashlight is impressive enough that I have four of them - one
to leave by the front door in case the power goes out, one as a
sometime work light, sometime bike light, and two to carry in
vehicles. Kicks my old Mag-Lite's ass at less than half the
size and weight.

nate


--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel


--
Nonny


Luxury cars now offer a great seating option for politicians.
These seats blow heated air onto their backside in the winter and
cooled air in the summer. If sold to voters, though, the car
seats
are modified to just blow smoke up the voter's rump year-round

On 3/9/2010 4:26 PM, DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.



Go to Harbor Freight and pick up several of their LED flashlights when
they're on sale, which is frequently. You can sometimes get a
flashlight for just 3 bucks or so and they are amazingly handy and bright.


Jay

On 3/9/2010 9:37 PM, Nate Nagel wrote:
On 03/09/2010 04:26 PM, DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.


Not uber-cheap, but the $30 Lowe's "Task Force" 2x C-cell 3W LED
flashlight is impressive enough that I have four of them - one to leave
by the front door in case the power goes out, one as a sometime work
light, sometime bike light, and two to carry in vehicles. Kicks my old
Mag-Lite's ass at less than half the size and weight.

nate



Along the same lines I have flashlight with a CREE LED that uses a CD123
battery. Much smaller form factor and I carry it on a small belt
holster. It is super rugged and has variable intensity so you can go for
extra long battery life if you need to. I also use it for biking
mounting it in a molded rubber cradle that has a velcro strap. I used to
have a dozen cheepos but decided one really good one works much better.

On 3/9/2010 10:24 PM, HeyBub wrote:
DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.

Generally, flashlights with switches - instead of a sliding contact - are
better quality.

Currently, manufacturers can't stoke enough LEDs in a flashlight to equal
the output of a 4- or 5-cell monster. But the day is coming.



Look at lights that use CREE LEDs. You aren't going to find them at
Harbor Freight but if you want great rugged efficiency in a small form
factor its the way to go.

Lets see. You didn't like the crap maglite, so you bought 23
more of them? Why do I have a hard time believing you?

I've had good luck with Maglite brand. Mine tend to be well
made. The last Mini-Mag I got from walmrt, the threads were
very loose. Might just be the walmart ones, I don't know.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"notbob" wrote in message
...

Whatever you do, stay away from Maglites. I've owned at
least 2 doz
over the years. Overpriced crap. I've yet to own one that
didn't
eventually fail, usually sooner than later. You couldn't
give me one
(and they used to)!

nb

Those flash lights look good. Sturdy, and should be enough
light to be useful. Glad the kids are high energy, and
playful. Too many kids now days are video addicts.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"The Daring Dufas" wrote
in message ...

I have friends and customers who have little boys who often
think
I'm a jungle gym and want me to toss them around and hang
them
upside down, etc. The critters are also good at testing the
durability
of just about any product. I will often get several
industrial
flashlights for the little guys at the supply house, it
keeps them
occupied for hours. Oh yea, I get extra batteries for them
too. Little
boys love the real live contractor flashlights, especially
those with
the magnets.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002N9E6/

http://www.rayovac.com/flashlight/i2d-b.shtml

TDD

LED lights are good for close range work. But, if you want
to see a racoon in a tree, filament bulbs work better. The
exception is the Mag lights with built in LED, those are
excellent.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...

Generally, flashlights with switches - instead of a sliding
contact - are
better quality.

Currently, manufacturers can't stoke enough LEDs in a
flashlight to equal
the output of a 4- or 5-cell monster. But the day is coming.

What's your application? Walking the dogs? Repairing
computer equipment? Blinding burglars at night? Potty runs
during power cuts? Eating dinner during power cuts?

Once we know your use, we can be a lot more helpful with
ideas. There are so many reasons for a battery light. I have
several different types of battery lights for different
reasons.

Minimag for the pocket, 4D mag light near the front door for
chasing racoons, and blinding burglars, Xenon light in the
vehicle for reading signs and house numbers at night,
fluorescent lantern for night camping meals.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"DemoDisk" wrote in message
news:z4ydnbNpxscVIQvWnZ2dnUVZ_sqdnZ2d@yournetplus. com...

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every
day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short
drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more
durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several
places
throughout the house.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/yago97.html

Flashlight! Flashlight!
Who's got the flashlight?

By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM


If the standard procedure for turning on your flashlight
includes pounding 10 times on a table top, removing, then
reinserting the same old batteries, and finally staring
blankly into the unlit bulb, then
perhaps it's time to rethink how well you are prepared for
the next power outage or emergency.

after the current rash of wild fires, hurricanes, and power
outages, All of these articles suggest that your emergency
preparedness supplies include a battery-powered flashlight
and extra batteries.
However, there are hundreds of different flashlight types,
using all sizes of batteries. Some have incandescent bulbs,
some have krypton bulbs, some have LED lamps, and some have
fluorescent tubes. In addition, there are flashlights
designed to operate on 6-volt lantern batteries, multiple
AAA, AA, C, or D cell batteries, plug-in rechargeable
batteries, and mechanical motion recharging devices.


Flashlight testing

Five new technology flashlights tested against standard 2
"D" cell flashlights. (Left to right) MagLite, Garrity,
Mini-MagLite, Garrity LED, Dorcy LED, and Eveready 2 "D"
cell flashlight


Ever wonder just how long a flashlight will operate on a set
of batteries? During a real emergency, it is
possible that not only your neighbors, but also everyone in
your entire city or state may be without power. Your
flashlights may be your only source of emergency lighting
for a week or more. Even if
you can find a store that is open, I assure you the
flashlights and batteries were sold out days ago.

You need at least two real emergency flashlights, and expect
to pay up to $20 each, plus another $20 for an extra supply
of good quality batteries and a few extra bulbs.
Rechargeable do not hold
their charge long. Without electricity they cannot be
recharged.

I no longer buy any flashlight that uses the older style
incandescent bulbs and cheap slide switch, as these never
seem to work when you need them and quickly discharge their
batteries. Some use a much brighter krypton bulb. These are
a good choice when you need to shine a spotlight a very long
distance, but they will use up batteries fast.


New flashlight technology
The newest generation use one or more light emitting diodes
(LED) as the light source. Advancements have made a vast
improvement in both their white color quality and
brightness. LED does not have a filament to burn out. LED
lamp has polarized positive (+) and negative (-) terminals.
The theoretical life of an LED lamp is in excess of many
thousands of hours of operation when used with the proper
power source. In addition to long life, an LED lamp greatly
extends how long a given set of batteries will last.


General Electric fluorescent lantern provides room-filling
light
using four "D" cell batteries. Another new lighting is the
fluorescent lantern. Most of these battery-powered lights
look like a
small version of an old camping lantern, not a flashlight.

battery-powered fluorescent light can provide really good
lighting
levels throughout an entire room, and are ideal to
illuminate a
kitchen or living room during evening meals. I recommend
having at least one
battery-powered lantern to go along with any other emergency
flashlights you have, and limit its use to only a few hours
each
evening during a power outage as they consume more power
than any of
the other flashlights we tested.

Unless you want to stock 10 different sizes of batteries, I
suggest
limiting all your battery-powered flashlights, lanterns,
radios, and
electronic games to just two or three basic battery sizes.
This makes
things much simpler when they can get complicated really
fast, and
limiting battery sizes allows stocking more of each. Since
newer
lighting and electronic technology is moving to higher
voltages and
smaller sizes, many of today's battery-powered devices may
require
three or four smaller AA or AAA batteries instead of one or
two of
the larger C or D size batteries typically used in older
devices.


How to select a flashlight
To help demystify the process of buying a flashlight for
real
emergency preparedness, I recently tested five of the most
popular
battery-powered flashlights and lanterns currently being
marketed
against a standard two D cell traditional flashlight. During
a
lengthy power outage, you are primarily interested in
finding your
way around an otherwise dark house, so I have not reviewed
those foot-
long D cell battery-powered flashlights that can shine a
spotlight a
mile away. We want to illuminate a small room, not blind a
deer in
the next county. I would like to point out that this was a
less than
scientific testing process, since we are interested in the
relative
differences between models and not specific individual
performance.
Whatever flaws there were in my testing, it affected all
models the
same.


Testing setup in photography studio shows tripod-mounted
light meter
and measurements of distances for flashlight under test.


Since a flashlight that provides a large or very bright area
of
illumination may have a shorter battery life, I have
included a very
rough measurement of illuminated area along with light
brightness. I
also noted how long the particular flashlight operated on a
single
set of batteries. All flashlight tests started out with the
same
brand of good quality fresh batteries. Note that some
flashlights
require more batteries than other designs, which will also
affect
useful operating life. I am using the term "useful operating
life" to
mean that point at which the light output is no longer
bright enough
to provide an adequate lighting level, not the point when
the light
goes completely out.


Testing procedures
I set up my photography studio with an off-white flat
background that
covered an entire end wall. I took a light level meter that
measures
three different ranges of foot-candle illumination levels
and mounted
it in the center of this background. I then positioned a
stand to
hold each flashlight with the lens exactly six feet from the
light
meter and background. Although I could have achieved
different
readings at other distances, I felt this would be a good
average of
working distance. The measurements of the area being
illuminated were
taken in a totally dark room, with the flashlight under test
being
the only illumination. All of the flashlights produced a
very bright
center area, with a larger outer area that was much less
bright. The
outer areas still had adequate illumination for finding your
way
around a dark room, but only the primary center areas were
bright
enough to read or work by.


Final results
The table summarizes the tests of six flashlights and one
fluorescent
lantern. Although any of these would easily light your way
down a
dark stairwell or rural road, several models provided much
better
lighting quality and longer battery life. All of the
incandescent
flashlights produced a slightly yellow light, while all of
the LED
flashlights and the fluorescent lantern gave off a white
light. The 1-
watt "super bright" LED flashlight I tested by Dorcy was
actually
almost blinding, and provided the largest overall
illumination area.


Measurements being taken in totally dark room of
flashlight's
illuminated circle area. Each flashlight tested had a
totally
different illuminated area even though all were mounted the
same
distance to background.


When reviewing the results of this testing, note the
extremely long
time all of the LED style flashlights lasted, compared to
the
incandescent. In fact, I called it quits after four days of
continuous operation, as both LED flashlights were still
providing
enough light to find your way in a very dark room, but their
light
levels had dropped to a tiny fraction of their original
illumination.
The Garrity white LED was the overall winner in operating
hours, and
did this with only three tiny AAA batteries.

All of the flashlights illuminated a very bright round
circle
directly in the center of focus. However, the fluorescent
lantern was
able to illuminate all areas of my entire 12-foot x 20-foot
studio,
although no areas were illuminated as brightly as a
flashlight. I
strongly recommend owning at least one of these fluorescent
battery
lanterns. I think the traditional slide switch flashlight
with two C
or D cell batteries is not suitable for extended power
outages due to
their shorter operating life and difficulty with their
switches and
battery connections making good electrical contact.

All of the LED style flashlights tested had an anodized
aluminum
housing, a sealed push button switch, and machine-threaded
parts with
waterproof rubber seals. I selected these six "finalists"
due to
their smaller size and rugged construction, and all would
make a good
general purpose flashlight. My hands-down favorite was the
Dorcy "Metal Gear" 1-watt LED model. The Garrity LED was my
second
choice, which actually lasted far longer than the Dorcy LED
model due
to the less bright LED. Both were small with a single LED
lamp, and
both required three small AAA size batteries. I really like
the metal
belt clip on the Dorcy, but some of you may prefer the nylon
pouch
with belt loop that comes with the Garrity.

The 1-watt LED Dorcy "Metal Gear" model produced a very
bright center
area, with a large outer area that was also fairly bright.
The
Garrity LED model produced a large diameter center light
with very
little lighted area outside this circle, which gave the
appearance of
a brightly focused stage spotlight.

Most of the incandescent type flashlights are focused for
much
greater distances than the LED types, but for compact size
and
excellent battery life I believe your emergency flashlights
should be
LED design with a gasketed, moisture-resistant, metal
housing. Most
flashlight manufacturers are starting to add an LED model to
their
product line. I liked the Dorcy 1-watt LED model so much I
purchased
three for myself after the testing ended. Most of the
flashlights in
this article are available from Lowe's, Home Depot, and
Wal-Mart.


Battery considerations
During an extended power outage, you may need to operate a
flashlight
or fluorescent lantern for up to six hours per night, for a
week or
more. This is much longer than most standard flashlights are
intended
to operate, and could consume up to 24 batteries depending
on what
type and size flashlight you purchase. This is still more
batteries
than you normally keep on hand, so you will need to change
your
thinking about stocking extra batteries, and be sure to
check their
expiration dates every few months.

Buying the best flashlight in the world is still a waste of
money if
you are not willing to stock lots of spare high-quality
batteries to
keep it operating. The more expensive alkaline batteries
will last
much longer than standard batteries and are well worth the
cost for
your emergency preparedness. I like to vacuum-pack my
emergency
batteries in multiples of four, for each flashlight's
battery count.
A flashlight requiring three batteries will need several
packs of
twelve batteries per pack. This way you will not need to
open more
sealed packs than necessary at one time, and I keep them
stored with
my emergency flashlights. Do not store batteries in a
freezer as some
people suggest, but you do need to keep them in a cool and
dry
location.

Again, this was a somewhat subjective test, but should still
provide
a good idea of what to look for. Be sure to keep in mind the
area of
illumination when deciding which model is right for you, and
do not
be surprised if you need more than one type to meet all of
your
emergency lighting requirements.

Find an item lighting.
The flashlight in your hand, looking for something.

Friend or foe lighting.
When you need to see what's that noise in the pasture. Or in
the first floor
at 3 AM.

Work lighting.
The headlamp strapped on your head. So you can see what
you're doing while
you fix something.

Walk around lighting.
Most ceiling lights and lights in parking lot are walk
around lights.

Reading lights.
Nice to have a good book to read. Or you have to do your
paper work for your
employment.

Information lighting.
Indicator panels, television, weapons fire, etc.

Route lighting.
Street lights, airport runway lighting, hallway lighting.

Supernatural lighting.
Orbs, ghosts, ball lightning, UFOs, etc.

Decorative lighting.
Christmas lights, fireworks, lava lamp, stage effects, etc.

Sign lighting.
Street signs, billboards.

Security lighting.
Electric eye, infrared motion detectors, lighting for
security
cameras, etc.

Scientific lighting.
Light outside the normal visual spectrum artificially
observed and/or
artificially produced for forensics, night vision,
scientific inquiry,
etc.

Please be sure to add any I missed.

Photon squeeze light. Carry on keyring for occasional light
needs. Like when
I dropped my mini mag last week outdoors at night.

Mag or Garrity 3 or 4 D cell light. Slice the night. Read
house numbers.
Beat off muggers and burglars. See what is that noise in
your chicken coop.

Tactical Xenon light. Expensive light with expensive bulbs
and expensive
batteries. But it does a terrific job of lighting house
numbers for night
service calls. Also good for spotting racoon in trees.
Actually small enough
to put in pocket.

Closet light. Runs on D cells, some run on AA cells. Can be
fluorescent,
filament bulb, or LED. Stationary applications, for short
term light. Many
closet lights are bright enough to light up an entire room
enough to walk
around.

Camping lantern. Mine is fluorescent and runs on D cells.
Some have LED, and
some have filament bulbs. I suspect LED are less light, and
filament bulbs
are more light.

Dorcy single AAA LED light. Fits nicely in the coat pocket,
and provides
light when everything else is broken.

Spotlight that plugs into the lighter socket. Light up the
entire side of
the house. Make burglars go into V-fib. Spook the horses.
Signal alien space
ships, and confuse airplane pilots. A bit too bright, some
of them. And
plenty fun to play with.

Mini Mag light. My daily work horse. Use it several times a
day, every day.
Nite Ize and Terralux conversions are an excellent idea.

Headlamp. Used when working, so as to keep both hands free.

I'm Christopher Young
and I approved this message.
..
..

The ones I have have a 3W Cree LED, supposedly better than Luxeon,
although if the Luxeon are cheaper and you don't need the extra light
output, they still may be a good deal

nate

On Mar 9, 10:47*pm, "Nonny" wrote:
Check out the ones at Sam's Club. *It's the same "Luxeon" 3-watt
LED and you get a couple for the same price.

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

...





On 03/09/2010 04:26 PM, DemoDisk wrote:
Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day.
The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop
onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more
durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several
places
throughout the house.

Not uber-cheap, but the $30 Lowe's "Task Force" 2x C-cell 3W LED
flashlight is impressive enough that I have four of them - one
to leave by the front door in case the power goes out, one as a
sometime work light, sometime bike light, and two to carry in
vehicles. *Kicks my old Mag-Lite's ass at less than half the
size and weight.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
Nonny

Luxury cars now offer a great seating option for politicians.
These seats blow heated air onto their backside in the winter and
cooled air in the summer. *If sold to voters, though, the car
seats
are modified to just blow smoke up the voter's rump year-round- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Mar 10, 9:03*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
LED lights are good for close range work. But, if you want
to see a racoon in a tree, filament bulbs work better. The
exception is the Mag lights with built in LED, those are
excellent.

I have both a 4-D LED Mag-Lite and the aforementioned Task Force 3W
Crees, just on brightness and beam pattern alone I far prefer the Task
Force. Only downside is it is not focusable like the Mag-Lite.

nate

On 2010-03-10, Stormin Mormon wrote:
Lets see. You didn't like the crap maglite, so you bought 23
more of them? Why do I have a hard time believing you?

Probably cuz you don't have much trust in your fellow man. Sounds
like a personal problem.

I've only ever bought two, a 5 cell and a 2 cell (D). The rest were
promotional items or gifts. I used to get mini-mags free with a 2-paks
of Camel cigarettes. Every single one of them eventually quit
working. The D cell switches failed and the minis all would get poor
connectivity from their small two pronged light bulbs. All it took
was removing the reflector and moving the bulb pins in and out a
couple times to get 'em working again. but that's still after they
stopped working. Not my definition of reliable. I tossed 'em all.

My mom just ask me fix her 3 D cell maglite that didn't work. I
replaced the batteries and the connectivity is intermittent. Screw
the bottom cap in part way and it works. Screw the bottom cap all the
way and it doesn't. Another failure in my book and I'm not gonna
hassle trying to figure out why and fix it.

No other brand of flashlight has consistently failed like maglites.
Even the cheapest Chinese plastic junkers are more reliable. I'm
talking 100% failure, here. If you like them, keep giving them your
money. They'll get no more of mine. If you still think I'm not
telling the truth, that's your privilege. I couldn't care less.

nb

Stormin Mormon wrote the following:
Lets see. You didn't like the crap maglite, so you bought 23
more of them? Why do I have a hard time believing you?


Re-read his last sentence slowly..
I've had good luck with Maglite brand. Mine tend to be well
made. The last Mini-Mag I got from walmrt, the threads were
very loose. Might just be the walmart ones, I don't know.


I've had a three cell Maglite for about 20 years.
I also have 2 of the mini maglites.
I wouldn't buy any other brand.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

willshak wrote in
m:

Stormin Mormon wrote the following:
Lets see. You didn't like the crap maglite, so you bought 23
more of them? Why do I have a hard time believing you?


Re-read his last sentence slowly..
I've had good luck with Maglite brand. Mine tend to be well
made. The last Mini-Mag I got from walmrt, the threads were
very loose. Might just be the walmart ones, I don't know.


I've had a three cell Maglite for about 20 years.
I also have 2 of the mini maglites.
I wouldn't buy any other brand.


My fav flashlight is a 1W 2AA LED made by Rayovac,bought at WalMart for
18.00USD. It's very bright,heavy anodized aluminum body,tailcap button for
momentary-ON,screw in the cap for full-ON.

Next is a 2 AAA River Rock 0.5W LED penlight from Target for $10USD.

then there's my mini-Maglite with 3 LED conversion and tailcap from Nite-
ize.


--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

"DemoDisk" wrote in message
news:z4ydnbNpxscVIQvWnZ2dnUVZ_sqdnZ2d@yournetplus. com...

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.


And again, wow! More answers and opinions than I could have hoped for!

Thanks to all for your recommendations and links.

Jm

For black anodized tactical "kewl" that eat batteries, log
onto www.ebay.com and type in Xenon light.... plenty to
choose from.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"N8N" wrote in message
...
The ones I have have a 3W Cree LED, supposedly better than
Luxeon,
although if the Luxeon are cheaper and you don't need the
extra light
output, they still may be a good deal

nate

I, however, possessed with intelligence, have not bought 23
more mini mags after deciding that my first one was crap.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"willshak" wrote in message
m...
Stormin Mormon wrote the following:
I've had good luck with Maglite brand. Mine tend to be
well
made. The last Mini-Mag I got from walmrt, the threads
were
very loose. Might just be the walmart ones, I don't know.

The one time I remember destroying a mag lite, was a 4D. I
used it underwater in the swimming pool. Turned it on and
off zillion times. The next day it was full of water, and
the switch stopped working. I sent it to the mag people.
They wrote back that they replaced the switch and for two
bucks postage they would send it back. Of course, this was
in about 1975, and postage has gone up. The light served me
well, for many years. Until Canadian Customs searched my
van, and the Mag wasn't there when they finished.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"willshak" wrote in message
m...

I've had a three cell Maglite for about 20 years.
I also have 2 of the mini maglites.
I wouldn't buy any other brand.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On 2010-03-10, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I, however, possessed with intelligence, have not bought 23
more mini mags after deciding that my first one was crap.

....but, apparently are too stupid to realize not one participant in
this thread has claimed to have "bought 23 more mini-mags".

nb

And, you aren't the brightest flashlight in the basket,
having failed to notice that you're making a false
accusation.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"notbob" wrote in message
...
On 2010-03-10, Stormin Mormon
wrote:
I, however, possessed with intelligence, have not bought
23
more mini mags after deciding that my first one was crap.

....but, apparently are too stupid to realize not one
participant in
this thread has claimed to have "bought 23 more mini-mags".

nb

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
What's your application? Walking the dogs? Repairing
computer equipment? Blinding burglars at night? Potty runs
during power cuts? Eating dinner during power cuts?

Once we know your use, we can be a lot more helpful with
ideas. There are so many reasons for a battery light. I have
several different types of battery lights for different
reasons.

Minimag for the pocket, 4D mag light near the front door for
chasing racoons, and blinding burglars, Xenon light in the
vehicle for reading signs and house numbers at night,
fluorescent lantern for night camping meals.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org


Oookay. The Radio Shack flashlight wasn't particularly 'handy,' being 11
inches tall, but it cast a strong beam 2 3/4" wide. Surprising for such
a lowly flashlight! Now that it's gone, raccoons and burglars have a
new lease on life. ; )

But it also helped out during storms and, like me, it was cheap. So I'm
leaning toward replacements that cast a strong, wide beam, don't cost
nuthin' (y'know sorta) and won't crap out after a few moderate bumps.
Forget about $30 per flashlight; that should buy four plus batteries for
each. Is that doable?

If the reflector on the Radio Shack C-cell had even been *tin* I
wouldn't be asking here. A penny or two per unit would have made it a
truly Golden Giveaway.

Thanks for your help,
Jm

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Find an item lighting.
The flashlight in your hand, looking for something.

Friend or foe lighting.
When you need to see what's that noise in the pasture. Or in
the first floor
at 3 AM.

Work lighting.
The headlamp strapped on your head. So you can see what
you're doing while
you fix something.

Walk around lighting.
Most ceiling lights and lights in parking lot are walk
around lights.

Reading lights.
Nice to have a good book to read. Or you have to do your
paper work for your
employment.

Information lighting.
Indicator panels, television, weapons fire, etc.

Route lighting.
Street lights, airport runway lighting, hallway lighting.

Supernatural lighting.
Orbs, ghosts, ball lightning, UFOs, etc.

Decorative lighting.
Christmas lights, fireworks, lava lamp, stage effects, etc.

Sign lighting.
Street signs, billboards.

Security lighting.
Electric eye, infrared motion detectors, lighting for
security
cameras, etc.

Scientific lighting.
Light outside the normal visual spectrum artificially
observed and/or
artificially produced for forensics, night vision,
scientific inquiry,
etc.

Cosmic, man!

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Please be sure to add any I missed.

Photon squeeze light. Carry on keyring for occasional light
needs. Like when
I dropped my mini mag last week outdoors at night.

Mag or Garrity 3 or 4 D cell light. Slice the night. Read
house numbers. Beat off muggers and burglars. See what is
that noise in your chicken coop.

Are you dissing my house?

Tactical Xenon light. Expensive light with expensive bulbs
and expensive
batteries. But it does a terrific job of lighting house
numbers for night
service calls. Also good for spotting racoon in trees.
Actually small enough
to put in pocket.

That's an interesting light!

Closet light. Runs on D cells, some run on AA cells. Can be
fluorescent,
filament bulb, or LED. Stationary applications, for short
term light. Many
closet lights are bright enough to light up an entire room
enough to walk
around.

Perfect. Need at least one.

Camping lantern. Mine is fluorescent and runs on D cells.
Some have LED, and
some have filament bulbs. I suspect LED are less light, and
filament bulbs
are more light.


Dorcy single AAA LED light. Fits nicely in the coat pocket,
and provides
light when everything else is broken.

Spotlight that plugs into the lighter socket. Light up the
entire side of the house.

Yeah -- got one, but never use it.

Make burglars go into V-fib. Spook the horses. Signal alien space
ships,

Now you're dissing my neighborhood!

and confuse airplane pilots. A bit too bright, some of them. And
plenty fun to play with.

Mini Mag light. My daily work horse. Use it several times a
day, every day.
Nite Ize and Terralux conversions are an excellent idea.

Headlamp. Used when working, so as to keep both hands free.

I'm Christopher Young
and I approved this message.

Thanks for your input, Christopher
Jm

On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:37:05 -0600, "DemoDisk"
wrote:


"DemoDisk" wrote in message
news:z4ydnbNpxscVIQvWnZ2dnUVZ_sqdnZ2d@yournetplus .com...

Had this 4-cell Radio Shack flashlight that I used every day. The
reflector was brittle plastic and it took only one short drop onto
*carpet* to crack the bulb housing. Useless, now.

Can anyone recommend a *good* cheap flashlight that's more durable?
Something you could buy four or five of to keep in several places
throughout the house.


And again, wow! More answers and opinions than I could have hoped for!

Thanks to all for your recommendations and links.

Jm


I wasn't here for your original question, but I trust that some
recommended looking for lights that use Cree LED's. They're usually
much brighter than any off the shelf flashlights, including those that
have a zillion LEDs.

Here's an example of one that uses a Cree Q5:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14909

I have one of those. Compared it with the 'tactical' flashlight of a
friend on the police dept (xenon bulb). Mine won. Also checked it
against one of those large-headed commercial flashlights with about 20
LEDs. The Cree light killed it. Really surprising projection.

The vendor above is pretty reliable, and known well among the
laser/flashlight hotrodders (yes, they exist), but they're in China,
so expect shipping time. Sometimes they get here quick... other times
a few weeks. If you search the site, you'll find a lot of other
models and brands that use high-efficiency LEDs.

Or you could search Ebay for "Cree" and hope they're not fake (most
probably are OK).

Also be aware of the type of batteries used. Many (including my bud's
tactical) use CR123's or 14500's which deliver current, but are
expensive. The light above uses AA's.

Also, some have various switching schemes, like alternating between
high, medium, low brightness and a couple blink patterns. I never had
much use for that, so I look for just on-off.

And...if you are using AA cells and want rechargeables, Sanyo Eneloops
are known for maintaining charge over very long shelf times. Good for
when you want to stash the flashlights for emergencies. Then again,
you may want to go with regular alkalines if you want max shelf life
and they're not being used much.

On 2010-03-11, Rob wrote:

Here's an example of one that uses a Cree Q5:

I'll hafta check it out. I know LED technology is making huge leaps
in progress. I also like the fact it's reasonably priced, not a total
rip-off like those ridiculous tactical LED flashlights that cost
in the hundreds of dollars. They're just flashlights, ferchrysakes.

nb

*They're just flashlights, ferchrysakes. *


Do a search for The Torch+Flashlight. That puppy is a heck of a light.
CY should buy one to test out. (I'm at work, can't remember link)

They made 5D givaway flash lights for years. The early ones
were grey, with red screw on end, and the later ones were
black with yellow. They had some which were blue, and four C
cells, I may still have one of those. Sadly, I've not known
of RS to do give away flash lights recently.

The closest I can reccomend, is that Harbor Freight has twin
pack, 3d and 2 AA which you can get on sale for ten bucks.
Includes first set of cheap batteries. Metal lights, in case
you want to bop a racoon.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"DemoDisk" wrote in message
news:GYednVkYjKra8QXWnZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d@yournetplus. com...


Oookay. The Radio Shack flashlight wasn't particularly
'handy,' being 11
inches tall, but it cast a strong beam 2 3/4" wide.
Surprising for such
a lowly flashlight! Now that it's gone, raccoons and
burglars have a
new lease on life. ; )

But it also helped out during storms and, like me, it was
cheap. So I'm
leaning toward replacements that cast a strong, wide beam,
don't cost
nuthin' (y'know sorta) and won't crap out after a few
moderate bumps.
Forget about $30 per flashlight; that should buy four plus
batteries for
each. Is that doable?

If the reflector on the Radio Shack C-cell had even been
*tin* I
wouldn't be asking here. A penny or two per unit would have
made it a
truly Golden Giveaway.

Thanks for your help,
Jm