phazeprod wrote:You can always find things for cheaper, but how much is your time worth? Plus, when I order from Woot, it always gets to my front door, if there's a problem, they always take it back, and I don't worry that my CC info is being stolen. All in all, it's hard to beat this flashlight for 5 bucks, so i think my wife is in for three more also (teach her to not sign out on her computer!)

What time?

1) The eBay flashlight arrived at my door
2) All my vendors have a return policy PLUS I'm also protected by eBay AND Paypal.
3) My Credit Card info is INVISBLE to the vendor because payment is made through Paypal so it can't be stolen
4) And as someone who has over 100 Woots (check my status on the left), I can tell you that no, Woot does not always take items back. Check their FAQ if you don't believe me. You'll often have to deal with the manufacturer.

So what exactly is your point? I wasn't only talking about cheaper. The flashlights I cited were also BETTER. Cheaper and better, and all those points you mentioned also applied to my flashlights. And I didn't spend any more time buying them than I would Wooting.

In for one because I've been wanting one for awhile now, but I just kept missing it.

It's for emergency purposes in my car. I'm hoping its durable and won't end up leaking battery acid through my trunk. In that respect, does anyone have some good suggestions as to how I might store the item and/or batteries to minimize the chances of something going terribly wrong? I have a sports car and things not tied down in the boot tend to get some harsh treatment.

Annoyingly, I still haven't received my previous Woot purchase. Y'all took my money for three Skil tool sets on 4/14 and they still have not arrived. It's 4/23 now. That's NINE days going on ten and eleven by the time Monday rolls around. Boo.

smohan123 wrote:In for one because I've been wanting one for awhile now, but I just kept missing it.

It's for emergency purposes in my car. I'm hoping its durable and won't end up leaking battery acid through my trunk. In that respect, does anyone have some good suggestions as to how I might store the item and/or batteries to minimize the chances of something going terribly wrong? I have a sports car and things not tied down in the boot tend to get some harsh treatment.

Annoyingly, I still haven't received my previous Woot purchase. Y'all took my money for three Skil tool sets on 4/14 and they still have not arrived. It's 4/23 now. That's NINE days going on ten and eleven by the time Monday rolls around. Boo.

re: Leakage ... even if the batteries leak, the chemicals will be contained within the flashlight so you need not worry about damage to your car. To prevent any leakage, buy quality alkalines. Actually, I had good experiences with every brand (including store brands) -- except Rayovacs, which leak quite a bit. And don't store in temperature extremes.

re: late delivery ... check your account or email for a tracking number and see where the items are. If they have left Woor, then you'll need to check with the carrier, i.e. Fedex and/or USPS.

True hurricane preparedness includes a hand crank flashlight - no batteries needed at all! NO matter how many batteries I buy to stock up for hurricane season, I never have any when one hits. My hand crank one is very bright and also has a radio and cell phone charger.

Robearlbms wrote:Getting close to hurricane season. There is a bit of a swirl in the atlantic. http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/watl/flash-avn.html. I am in hurricane alley.

Must have 3, toot sweet. Hurry Woot Hurry.

For those who want a truly impressive flashlight, and are willing to pay a premium, I suggest: http://www.brite-strike.com

I have purchased a flashlight from them, and it is awesome, but cost more than I want to pay for anything that is for occasional use. I got it back when i needed a light to use every night.

smohan123 wrote:In for one because I've been wanting one for awhile now, but I just kept missing it.

It's for emergency purposes in my car. I'm hoping its durable and won't end up leaking battery acid through my trunk. In that respect, does anyone have some good suggestions as to how I might store the item and/or batteries to minimize the chances of something going terribly wrong? I have a sports car and things not tied down in the boot tend to get some harsh treatment.

The instructions for this flashlight recommend removing the batteries if not in use for an extended period of time. This will help prevent or slow battery drain but may also help prevent battery acid leaks.

Do you recall all the old horror movies where the hero drops a flashlight and it stops working (broken bulb)? These scenes will make no sense to anybody soon. I just saw the Jack Webb movie "Dragnet" and a person carring a "wire" had this thick wire recorder about the size of two slices of bread. The person seeing it for the first time say, "Wow! That's really small!"

Tested this flashlight outside in the dark & was shocked how bright & how far the light beam reaches, like to the tops of tall 100-ft. pine trees to lighting up the eyes of a cat 250 feet away at a minimum, with what looks like plenty of range to spare since I did not have any longer open areas available to test it with.

Aarmed wrote:Keep in mind this is more of a mini flashlight, than a regular one. Well, not mini, but still not regular sized.

the "regular" sized flashlight was a product of the batteries needed to power it for an extended period: C, or D batteries.

sure, it doubled as a nice blunt object, but having a flashlight as large as you might be used to does not really make sense.

Last year my older brother showed me his Surefire flashlight which almost blinded me. Anyone know how Cree flashlights compare to Surefire flashlights???

borntohunt wrote:Tested this flashlight outside in the dark & was shocked how bright & how far the light beam reaches, like to the tops of tall 100-ft. pine trees to lighting up the eyes of a cat 250 feet away at a minimum, with what looks like plenty of range to spare since I did not have any longer open areas available to test it with.

Yeah, CREE LEDs are amazing. I live in NYC, where it's never dark (I've never seen the Milky Way or any constellation; at best, we can see about 5 stars). Yet, I have a single AA-battery 3W CREE flashlight that can create a visible spot on a building about 50-70 feet away, even with street lamps on.

In for three. Bought two of these same lights on a previous Woot! and wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. Construction is solid and these things are bright. Very bright. The lens cap and reflector are easily removed whereupon you can stand the light on end and use it to adequately light up a small room during power outages (such as the one we had in my town after the spate of recent severe storms.)

For me, the D-cells are a feature, not a bug. Very long lasting, and D-cells are ubiquitous. (Read "easy to find.") At this price, it's hard to go wrong.

frobnicator wrote:How so? Either you like the deal or you don't. If you have serious problems with Amazon stop visiting the page.

I can't imagine how somebody would honestly consider it in future purchases, as though it makes a difference to a visitor.

What would you say to yourself? "Today's deal is awesome. Oh, wait. I have to remember that Amazon now arranges the deals, so maybe it is less awesome. From Amazon the deal is just pretty good. I would have bought 3 when the deal was awesome, but now that I remember to take the deal down a notch, maybe I'll buy 1."

Wow...its a little thing called tax that on my previous woot purchases I did not have to consider.

borntohunt wrote:Last year my older brother showed me his Surefire flashlight which almost blinded me. Anyone know how Cree flashlights compare to Surefire flashlights???

Cree is the emitter (LED). Surefire flashlights often use Cree emitters. These lights are quite bright. Quite. You can't look directly at the LED when on without being effectively blinded by it.

Slurm wrote:For those who want a truly impressive flashlight, and are willing to pay a premium, I suggest: http://www.brite-strike.com

I have purchased a flashlight from them, and it is awesome, but cost more than I want to pay for anything that is for occasional use. I got it back when i needed a light to use every night.

I've looked at b-s flashlights, and I really wouldn't recommend them. Not that there's anything wrong with the lights, but as someone who knows enough about modern flashlight internals to see through their marketing BS, they haven't got anything comparable Fenix or 4sevens lights don't except the price tag. (Exception: the one with the video camera built-in -- that's pretty unique.)

I'd really recommend 4sevens lights for anyone wanting a major step up in quality from the 100s of ebay/dealextreme/aliexpress lights. They're on par with Fenix, Nitecore, etc. for quality, but 4sevens lights are always cutting edge tech -- when new LEDs come out, you'll almost always see them in 4sevens lights first.

Aarmed wrote:Keep in mind this is more of a mini flashlight, than a regular one. Well, not mini, but still not regular sized.

Well, at 9.5 inches I wouldn't call it "a mini." 9.5 is at least standard in my experience but perhaps I have more experience than you...

jannypop wrote:Now dat's cool!! Quality post!

Isn't it that the horizon is moving down?

I bet George Clinton owns one

[quote postid="4453979" user="sdc100"]What time?

1) The eBay flashlight arrived at my door
2) All my vendors have a return policy PLUS I'm also protected by eBay AND Paypal.
3) My Credit Card info is INVISBLE to the vendor because payment is made through Paypal so it can't be stolen
4) And as someone who has over 100 Woots (check my status on the left), I can tell you that no, Woot does not always take items back. Check their FAQ if you don't believe me. You'll often have to deal with the manufacturer.

I stand corrected-- you have obviously worked out a good system for yourself. I often project my personal experience on others as though it's true for them as well. I have had many problems with eBay in the past, so I now avoid it. I've never had any problems with Woot, so I order without second thought. My time is valuable.

Slurm wrote:
For those who are thinking of using an adapter to power these with a smaller battery -don't do it, just buy a smaller light. Your AA powered version will go dark when you are counting on it. If you are gonna buy a 2 D cell flashlight, get 2 D cells and have a light that works when you need it.

To bad we can't find really good adapters. A really good adapter would use three AA cells.

wskehr52 wrote:To bad we can't find really good adapters. A really good adapter would use three AA cells.

A quick google search shows many 3xAA to "D" adapters, but I haven't used any myself, and will let each user run their own cost analysis.

EDIT: please ignore previous link as a user pointed out that the adapter was wired in series rather than parallel.

For example the "New Design! 6AA > 2D" (page down a few times) looks like they might work:

radi0j0hn wrote:Do you recall all the old horror movies where the hero drops a flashlight and it stops working (broken bulb)? These scenes will make no sense to anybody soon. I just saw the Jack Webb movie "Dragnet" and a person carring a "wire" had this thick wire recorder about the size of two slices of bread. The person seeing it for the first time say, "Wow! That's really small!"

With television sets, it's the opposite. The screen used to be the size of a sheet of notebook paper. Now... as big as a living room wall.

SaVioR wrote:For those interested, the smaller, more 'focused' sister of this big flashlight, can be found just a mere click away from here. I've got both and due to the recent tornados here in Tampa, I've found great use out of them! The Cree series never seems to fail for the price.

Hey, appreciate the link. This compact model is exactly what I was looking for. Any idea as to how to get onto the moofi mailing list?

cedaroo wrote:A quick google search shows many 3xAA to "D" adapters, but I haven't used any myself, and will let each user run their own cost analysis.

For example the "New Design! 6AA > 2D" (page down a few times) looks like they might work:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?267085-Odd-Mods-Battery-Adapters-Complete-Listing-New-designs-and-Clearance-Sales!&p=3326024#post3326024

Ignoring that those are sold out, that spending $35 to upgrade a $5 flashlight won't make sense for a lot of people, and driving 7.2V (instead of 2.4-3.0V) into the light's circuit will probably fry it, those holders don't fit in these lights. The battery compartment depth & spring design is different in these lights than in the Mag-Lite 2D and those holders were designed for the Mag-Lite. (I just tried one and it doesn't fit. I don't see how it could be made to work.)

[quote postid="4454594" user="ledastray"]

Thanks. I missed the voltage difference for that one.

But like I said a few seconds on Google turns up a multitude of AA to D size battery such adapters.

A few more seconds of searching turns up: http://www.aventrade.com/baad.html

It claims "Will run on 1, 2, 3 or 4 batteries (parallel connection)" and "Will fit any devices that take standard D size batteries".

But again, I haven't tried these and can't personally vouch for their quality or suitability.

spending $35

And if you read my post you'll see I clearly suggest you consider your own cost-benefit analysis. Some people really value using multiple AA's - personally I have a charger that recharges D's.

Cheers.

geo8rge wrote:Flashlight nerds want to know what the lens is made of? If it is plastic, can the lens be removed and what diameter it is. What circuit if any it uses to drive the LED would be nice to know too.

then

matt1976 wrote:They're inexpensive, thin polycarbonate, comparable to a Maglite lens. I can't get the lens out to measure it exactly, but it's about 1 5/8" or 1 11/16".

Having one out (to check battery holder fit) I played with it a little more.

The bezel ring will unscrew. The reflector & front lens are held into it with a nylon(?) press fit ring. Popping them out was easy with some pressure on the lens. I measure the lens as 40mm diameter & 1.6mm thick.

I'm a little surprised, but there is actually 0-ring seals between the lens & bezel ring and the bezel ring and the head.

Pulling the bezel w/reflector exposes the LED, but not the circuit that drives it. I can't unscrew the flashlight head from the body on this one. (I don't know if it is just too tight, glued, or maybe press fit. There does appear to be a seam though.)

cedaroo wrote:And if you read my post you'll see I clearly suggest you consider your own cost-benefit analysis. Some people really value using multiple AA's - personally I have a charger that recharges D's.

Cheers.

Sorry. I don't think I was worried about you, because you seemed to be thinking about the problem and only throwing out ideas to be helpful, but someone going, "oh, cool" and clicking on order links could have gotten a rude surprise.

I really think these are great for what they are, but anyone still reading this and wanting to modify a 2D light should start with a Mag-Lite. That's the defacto standard and what upgrade parts are designed for. A few millimeters here & there and pretty soon you're talking a *lot* of extra work.

Oh, anyone considering running batteries in parallel should realize that has it's own set of problems that you should learn about before trying. (Cell balance, etc. Usually solved with expensive chargers, but extra care is an option I think. I don't have any personal experience....)

ledastray wrote:Sorry

No worries. I'm quite thankful you noticed the voltage difference and knew it wouldn't fit.

I don't think I was worried about you

Now that's just silly. ;)

Cheers.

Since after reading all forum posts without seeing the answer for this . . .

Anyone have any good guesses on what the expected avg. battery life range is for this 3-Watt Cree LED Emitter flashlight???

Mega-Thanx!

I've lost two 4D LED MagLites due to battery leakage. Both were wasted because I couldn't remove the battery cap after the leakage. Duracell and Energizer batteries. Only things I would recommend would be to change the batteries often. Even if the light is still bright. Also, get a little ketchup packet of automotive battery terminal grease to spread on the battery cap threads. This will keep the cap from seizing if the batteries leak again.

smohan123 wrote:
It's for emergency purposes in my car. I'm hoping its durable and won't end up leaking battery acid through my trunk. In that respect, does anyone have some good suggestions as to how I might store the item and/or batteries to minimize the chances of something going terribly wrong?

borntohunt wrote:Since after reading all forum posts without seeing the answer for this . . .

Anyone have any good guesses on what the expected avg. battery life range is for this 3-Watt Cree LED Emitter flashlight???

Mega-Thanx!

Let's try and work it out. According to the wikipedia page for List_of_battery_sizes, an alkaline D cell is rated at 12,000 mAh @ 1.5 volts with two of them in the flashlight. That works out to 36 Volt Amp hours. Dividing by the 3 watts, that indicates 12 hours, max.

NOTE: I am NOT an electrical engineer, so if I'm wrong, that's life :-)

wskehr52 wrote:Let's try and work it out. According to the wikipedia page for List_of_battery_sizes, an alkaline D cell is rated at 12,000 mAh @ 1.5 volts with two of them in the flashlight. That works out to 36 Volt Amp hours. Dividing by the 3 watts, that indicates 12 hours, max.

NOTE: I am NOT an electrical engineer, so if I'm wrong, that's life :-)

Your math is correct. You've left out converter efficiency and the fact D cells aren't as efficient under that load, so maybe 8 or 9 hours if the LED is driven at 3W. But I bet the LED isn't really driven that hard. If so the batteries give closer to their full capacity and of course they're consumed slower.

I thought someone posted 15-16 hours in one of these messages. I assume that was an estimate (instead of watching the light w/a stopwatch running.) But empirically is probably the only way to get a good idea of runtime.

wskehr52 wrote:Let's try and work it out. According to the wikipedia page for List_of_battery_sizes, an alkaline D cell is rated at 12,000 mAh @ 1.5 volts with two of them in the flashlight. That works out to 36 Volt Amp hours. Dividing by the 3 watts, that indicates 12 hours, max.

NOTE: I am NOT an electrical engineer, so if I'm wrong, that's life :-)

Good job. Appreciate it.

MaseB wrote:I've lost two 4D LED MagLites due to battery leakage. Both were wasted because I couldn't remove the battery cap after the leakage. Duracell and Energizer batteries. Only things I would recommend would be to change the batteries often. Even if the light is still bright. Also, get a little ketchup packet of automotive battery terminal grease to spread on the battery cap threads. This will keep the cap from seizing if the batteries leak again.

If you call the company that provided the batteries and explain the batteries leaked into your device they are generally happy to reimburse you for the damaged items (may take a few months). My mother had batteries leak into her camera and the company paid her $450 in damages (their number not hers) to an old digital camera not worth $50.

Just today bought a box of 12 D Cell Energizer MAX batteries for $11.99 at Sam's. That will go nicely with the 6 flashlights I have coming. $9.99 for a 10 pack if I had only ordered 5.

You can never have enough flashlights in the house. I am looking forward to replacing my 10 and 20-year old maglight with something modern. I have several of the small tactical lights and they are very handy, but in my car I like to have something larger too. It have be used as a sacrificial tool if needed.

Shouldn't these have shipped by now?

Received mine earlier today. All work, very solidly built... would recommend.

EDIT: Just checked with a voltmeter. Voltage going to LED is higher than input (cells') voltage, there's some kind of circuitry in there. Haven't figured out exactly what, though. Some sort of constant voltage regulator, seems like... voltage stays the same (between flashlights and batteries) with batteries that are partially used vs brand new.

Tested with up to a .6volt difference in input, output stays the same, 3.17-3.2v

So, some sort of regulator.... in a 5$ flashlight! Rock on.

Threads on the bottom are really rough, be careful not to crossthread em. Should get better in time.

zigzagjoe wrote:
Threads on the bottom are really rough, be careful not to crossthread em. Should get better in time.

I received mine the other day but didn't have much time to play with them when I got home from work at night. So after work today I put in some Panasonic D cells I had. I found it a bit tight to screw the cap on because of the spring. Because of that I agree with Zigs comment on being careful. Mess up the threads and the flashlight is worthless.

It produces a very tight spot in the middle with some throw around the outside to light things up. The spot isn't very useful in my opinion because it's so tight. It would be nice if it was just a bit wider.

Otherwise it's an OK light. Arrived in a plain cardboard box wrapped in some bubble wrap with a small information sheet with it.

I was in for 3 and plan on giving the other 2 to my dad and brother.