Anybody using the LED flashlights ?

[clint]

Im looking for any information you guys have about these flashlights. pro and cons
What brand are you using ?

How many battery does it take ?

Battery life ?

How bright are they compaired to regular bulbed flashlights ?

how many LED's is the light ?

how much did it cost ?

Any links to websites for the lights would be great also. Ive looked at some of the cheaper LED lights at walmart. But they dont have any on display to see how bright they are. Kind of a bummer  I think the brand of these lights was rayovac. They only ran off of 1 AA battery so Im not sure how bright it would be. It did have low med and high setting on it. Thanks for any information you guys can share.

clint

[Ka6otm]

clint,

I have had the Princeton Tek Attitude flashlight for about 8 or 9 months now.  These are promoted as (sort of) scuba diving flashlights and the manufacturer says they are waterproof to 500 feet, so at least you know they are waterproof enough for us.

The Princeton Tek Attitude uses 4 AAA batteries.

The manufacturer claims a battery life of 150 hours.  Don't know if the claim is true as I probably only have 20 or 30 hours on it so far.

The brightness is about 75% of what a Maglite AA puts out in a direct comparison my wife and I did in the woods while camping.

This model uses 3 white LEDS.

You can get them for $19.95 and free shipping (batteries included) at the following URL:

http://www.backcountry-equipment.com/accessrs/a-hd_lmp/pt_flashlights-attitude.html

Take care,
Ka6otm

[MI VHNTR]

I've got a Streamlight Clipmate with 3 green LEDs. It uses 3 AAA batteries and has 80 hour battery life and 100,000 hour LED life. I wanted green for use at night while hunting, since you don't lose night vision with this light. The light also has a full lifetime warranty. It comes with a clip, lanyard, and a strap for using it  as a headlamp. They run $15-20.         MI VHNTR

[Ka6otm]

I went to a gun show Sunday and checked out the new Princeton Tec Impact II LED Flashlight.

Wow, talk about impressed.  This one has only one LED, uses 4 AAA batteries and has a fixed focus lens instead of having the unfocused LED out in the breeze.  We were shining it on the ceiling inside the gunshow-and this was probably a 50' high ceiling.  You could see a definite beam on the ceiling.

I bought it and at 8:30PM last night, I went out into the backyard with 3 flashlights to do a comparison.  The 3 were: the new Impact II, the Attitude and the Maglite with 2 AA batteries.

I would say the Impact II was at least twice as bright as the Maglite and three times brighter would probably be more accurate.  Definitely a keeper.  The Maglite came in 2nd and the Attitude was third, but there isn't a huge difference between the Attitude and Maglite.  As I mentioned in a previous post, the Attitude probably puts out about 75% of the light the Maglite does.

This one only has a 75 hour claimed battery life, but I don't see that as much of a problem.  It also comes with a built-in pocket clip, much like the Spyderco knives, but the clip is molded into the plastic shell of the flashlight and a claimed 10,000 hour LED life.

Oh yeah, bought some gun stuff too...but you've gotta love the idea of not taking extra bulbs and batteries on hunting trips.

For what it's worth,
Ka6otm

[myronman3]

do a search and go to their site.  i remember seeing some led's there and they really interested me.  i havent got one yet,  but i have done alot of business with held's and have always been inpressed with the quality of the stuff they sell.   until i saw the led lights,  i was sure that my sure fire would be my only flashlight.  i might just find room for the led, though.

[daddywpb]

We carry Streamlight Clipmates to clip on our hats. They are nice, and battery life is great, but don't put out much light. We also carry Surefire G2 Nitrolons. I get about an hour out of the batteries, and it's all the light I need. Most people would probably be happy with the LEDs, but I like to have more light - just in case.

[Spot Shooter]

I use a Yukon HL headlamp that has a Lexon (1 Watt) LED in the middle and three of the smaller LED's.  I like it alot.

I also have a UnderwaterKinetics (UK) Lexon bulb model, however I pulled a fast one with that.  The lexon's are almost as bright as a Xenon however they burn 2.5 times as long 10 hours vs. 4 hours on the same batterys.  SO, I bought the 4AA model with the Zenon bulb, and a 2L (litheon) model and swamp'ed the heads on them (they are the same).

  So what I now have is a 100% water proof very small very powerful (good for 10 hours instead of 4) Lithuim power'd backup light.

Lith's  (CR123) batt's are more expensive BUT they are very very light compared to alk's.  Also they aren't affected by heat/cold like alk's and have a 10 year shelf life.. BTW - they also don't tend to break like incandescent's do when you drop your flashlight.

 Spot

[smokey66]

i also bought a  Tec Impact II LED Flashlight. the only thing that impressed me about it is the battery life. it has a fixed focus beam and the light has a blue/purple hue. mine is NO-WAY as bright as a 2 aa mini maglite.  at 40 yards the minimag can project a VERY tight/bright beam onto  the target, while the impact II will only illuminate the target with it's soft light..  My opinion: ABSOLUTELY NOT WORTH $25......

[Robert]

Takes 3 AAA bateries, very bright.  They seem to be well made, I am sure the warantee is not as good as the fancy name brands....but buy 3 of them for the same price and put two away in leiu of a warranty.  These make great stocking stuffers.

[S.B.]

I've recently been usig what I call a shake up flashlight. Led illumination, and a small electro magnet set up in the handle. No batteries to go dead and no sealed bulb to burn out. Not as bright as a regular flashlight but always works and no dead batteries! I got my wife one first, for her car, and then bought two from an internet advertisement one regular size for my truck and one smaller one for deer hunting. Her's was $27 and mine was two for $20 shipping included. Just shake the thing for a couple of minutes and your good to go. If it gets dim, just shake again and go again.

[ShadowMover]

The best LED flashlight I've seen is at the sporting goods section at Walmart. It is made by Brinkman. The have two types, one is with two AA batteries and the other with two D cells. It costs $19 and has 4 white LEDs with a prefocused lens that casts a beautiful beam over 30 feet. You can also run it with only two LEDs to extend battery life. On the low setting I'll bet it would last a week before it killed a battery. I've never seen these lights on the internet, but I have them in all my vehicles and gave them as gifts last year to all my kids as stocking stuffers. The latest ones also have a blue and red filter lens.
Try it, you'll like it. :wink:

[daddywpb]

A little side note about Streamlight. I was in the attic with my Clipmate on my hat last weekend. I hit the light on a rafter, and it fell through the attic opening, and bounced off my gunsafe on the way to the ground. The clip part, and the endcap broke in the fall. I sent Streamlight an email asking them if I could order the parts seperately. Didn't hear anything from them, and was about to call and complain that they didn't even respond to my question when I got an envelope in the mail with a new endcap and clip in it. No paperwork, just the new parts. I was impressed. The only other company that I've had that experiance with is Dillon Precision. Those of you that reload will know the name. Once you buy a press from Dillon, you'll get any needed parts for free, and my Dillon 550 is 18 years old.

[rickyp]

the LED flashlights are bright for close up work, but leave a lot to be desired for distance.
I know they have come along way with the new 1 wt. LED and new reflectors and the price is dropping.

they ar great for hunters but I still like a beam that will l,ight up the wood line at severl hundred yards.