Flashlights

A man came to pick up a machine one night. He had a flashlight the size of a roll of dimes, which put out light like a 3 cell maglight. He said it cost $80 and was powered by a stack of hearing aid batteries. I haven't seen one since. Anybody know what it was? Paul

Probably a SureFire. Compact aluminum flashlights that run off lithium camera batteries. That's one of the cheap ones.

GTO(John)

Where did you find these? I looked on their web site and in their current flyer with no luck. TIA.

Ted

They were on special a few weeks ago. The "book lamp" is part# 8045117 on page 265 of the online catalog. The others are not there.

I bought my son a pair of White LED flash lights - he really likes them due to the high brightness. Long life 'bulbs' and not so bad on the batteries as well.

Martin

The measurements I've seen online for AAAA are 8.4mm diameter by 40.2mm long. AAAA alkalines are available on ebay at about 40 cents each. I don't know of sources for NiMH AAAA's except for the kludge of taking apart a rechargeable 9-volt; apparently some of them are made up of 6 to 8 cells very close to AAAA size.

-jiw

The CSI lights have GPS in them with a waypoint for the hair sliver.

If Mag & Surefire are the cheap ones, what are some of the expensive brands?

It's cheap for a Surefire. Their most expensive models are up around $350. Another premium brand (but not that overpriced) is Streamlight.

Mags really are inexpensive for a premium flashlight. Their biggest light's only around $25. I'm a fan for the value they offer. Serious flashlight guys are pretty against them for their large size/output ratio and corporate practices.

GTO(John)

Corporate pracices? Now what's that all about?

Jim

================================================== please reply to: JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com ==================================================

I'm not up on the whole story, but they were able to get a slew of patents (like for a knurled metal tube with a light at one end) years ago. Now any small company who wants to compete in this market gets a truck of lawers dumped on them. Apperently they use baseless lawsuits against folks knowing they can't pay for the legal charges to defend themselves.

Ever noticed that other than one or two _very_ different companies, you don't find high-quality flashlights in the $10-25 range?

Of course, I'm still a sucker for the Maglite 6D and 2AA models.

GTO(John)

Then you musn't have had a decent LED flashlight yet. I was given a Princeton Tec "Attitude" last summer and lost all my many years of desire for a Maglite. Not that they aren't good, it's just that, IMO, better has come along.

Ted

I agree! I don't even know where my mini-mag is any more. I quit using it when I bought my Streamlight. I also carry a Coast Tools three LED, three "N" cell light that is about the same size as the old mini-mag. The best thing is battery life. Some days I could burn through a pair of AA in the mini-mag in a day or two. Batteries last in my Streamlight about six months of daily use, and I have yet to replace tha batteries in Coast light after six months or so. Greg

I like the Minimags because they're cheap for the quality. Takes common batteries, bulbs, aftermarket parts, and LED conversions. I like the 6Ds because they're a lead pipe that's bright on one end. Also can be made into a light cannon with a replacement multiple head.

GTO(John)

I am trying to stick to AA or AAA cells for the price advantage and so I can go to NiMH if I want.

Ted

Battery price is no problem. My battery use has dropped so much I really don't care what I pay for them. I would like to go with NiMH for the Streamlight, but it is not a problem. I used to buy a 24 pack of AA batteries every 5-6 months when usig a mini-mag. I am down to 6 AAAA batteries a year! I do not use the three "N" cell light much so I expect batteries to last a year or two. GReg

I knew an old school NYC cop who used to bitch about not being able to get the last battery out of his Maglite after using it on some skell......

snipped-for-privacy@epsno.com (Jedd Haas) wrote in news:jnh-1701041535480001@192.168.0.2:

Well, I just bought an ARC LSP off eBay. It was a deal at $120. I have been carrying it everywhere. Small and bright. It uses a 1 watt LED. My wife wanted to know why I wanted yet another flashlight. The next night we were out walking, and she said "I wish I had a flashlight", and I did!

I firmly believe that if you can't easily carry the flashlight, you will not have it when you need it.

The ARC LS runs off a 123 cell, or with another body ($15) two AA cells.

More flashlight information can be found at:

If memory serves, aren't they the size used in 9 volt transistor batteries?

(hint, hint; rip em apart)