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 startedMatt
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.
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.
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 ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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