I disagree. I have given away a bunch, and they work, and are bright.
Try one marked EnjoyDeal.
Few care about tint. I have not noticed. Most people dont use flashlights for flashlights sake, but when needed want one that turns on/off and is reliable. I have found these fit the billl.I am not dure of the output but estimate 80 lmn and maybe more.
The OP asked for a light priced around $5. As usual a lot of folks here don’t do as requested, but recommend one that is 3 times that amount. That is OK, but why not also find one at the requested price?
The only problem I have notices with most of those light is that the threads are too few and shallow.
Jerry
I think you will be fine with these, very bright and throwy with a 14500, the only issue I had with mine (supposedly ‘Titanium’ version) of this same light, is the UI tail switch being very spongy.
Its weird by the button requires a deeper press than my thumb can manage.
Shallow indeed, but pretty impressive light considering what you are getting for $2 today. It may not survive long but time will tell. I compared the brightness and beam to several other AAA’s I own and estimate it to be at least 120 lumens which is brighter than almost any flashlight people might have had 10 short years ago.
This conversation about LiFePO4 and a entire thread from a total trollish noob talking about building a light based on LiFePO4 after joining the forum a day earlier is all because of silly paranoia about lithium ion .
The information he quoted was old /odd and BLF members were just being nice when they probably should have just shut him down .
Like lightbringer said the LiFePO4 is commonly used in junk solar walkway lights .
The high discharge chemistry LMR cells used to have high discharge but not large capacity.But in the past few years the new cells have both capacity and ability to deliver a bunch of amperage too....So do you want dollar store landscape solar light cells or ...Name brand high end cordless drill batteries.
The fact every charging manufacturer absolutely ignores the fact they even exist ought to tell you something .
Actually, LFP is quite nice. Like I said, it’s got an almost flat voltage curve from just out of the charger to mostly spent. That’s why they’re used in (better) solar lights. Cheapies still use NiMH and boost drivers.
And LFP batteries are used in RVs, etc., where you want nice safe easy to use (including charging) batteries for offline power.
HgO is (was) used in cameras to power built-in lightmeters. Lousy capacity, pricey as Hell, but held a rock-solid flat voltage curve which could be used as a voltage-reference without having to use a voltage reference.
Use the right cell for the job, is all.
Look, if you ain’t looking for a scorcher of a light, you could create a “regulated” light that keeps a pretty much constant brightness, again from charger to charger, without any 7135s or anything, just a simple stoopit resistor, vs needing to regulate the current to the LED via an actual active circuit. Might be useful for medical use, jewelry, anything where a constant brightness is more highly regarded than absolute brightness.
Yeah, given that 7135s can be had for pennies, it ain’t much of a savings, but in theory…
Spring came loose, so tightening the light resulted in the light turning off...
Clip is kind of useless. It comes off rather easily.
Conclusiong: For $ 3.60 an okay light to give away.. people will be able to see things in the dark..... period ;)
Not for gifting as a birthday present, although that could be okay if you are really low on funds.
It has a lovely UI: High, Med, Low, Strobe, SOS...
No memory (actually next mode memory in that regard).
The eneloop battery was kind of empty yes, I just noticed.. Tried a fresh Duracell battery (only using for runtime graphs on AA flashlights :p) and got an amazing 39 lumens! Tried another Eneloop battery (also not fully charged) and got the same number..
At least it has threaded rings for driver and tail switch, easy to mod.
Maybe this is incomplete overstock that the current vendor slammed an el cheapo driver in.
Have 2 on the way to me so we shall see when they arrive.
Thanks for the pics, it looks decent, now we just have to make it perform decent.
we have the Technology!
Problem in my opinion is the battery included. It must be junk ;)
My particular question was more related to helping someone out in the middle of the night (evening) and give them a flashlight to take home. Here in the Netherlands we cycle a lot, even at night. So giving a flashlight to someone driving on an unlit road could save them from getting into an accident :)
Are you still looking for suggestions, have a look what I came across this while browsing around amazon. or this one.
this one gives you a choice of body color.
With the same thought that it can be gifted without much remorse.
