Received my order of two BLF DeLights today from digitalzone88 (shipping to Los Angeles). Ordered on 4/28/10 and received 5/12/10. I'm liking them quite a bit. Pretty good brightness for the price. Quality is good and consistent between the two I ordered. There are scratches/specks/dirt on the lens but the beam/hotspot was still pretty clean. So far so good...looks like a good buy. May buy more!
All with cheap alkalines in them. I thought - turns out there are NiMH in the Powerligts so this isn't a fair test. Will redo tonight
| Powerlight 1 | 285 lux |
| Powerlight 2 | 295 lux |
| DeLight 1 | 552 lux |
| DeLight 2 | 1430 lux |
This time, I'm going to use the same cell in all four of them - a well-used Duracell measuring 1.31V - I'm running low on alkalines though i nearly bought a 40 pack at the weekend. I don't approve of disposable batteries though so prefer not to use them. I'll do the same tests with an Eneloop as well. It measures as 1.37V. Also decided to dig out a new alkaline (1.53V) as it seems these lights are heavily voltage dependent - they'd be really good with lithium AAs though it does seem strange using a disposable cell that cost twice as much as the light. For the price I'd put the cheapest alkalines in it and toss the whole thing if the cell leaked.
DeLight 1 is the shorty - I now suspect that it is actually too thick a layer of hard plastic goop that serves as the switch retaining ring because it is exactly the same length as the good one.
The throw measurement is in lux at 1 metre, the output number is in lux
|
Throw | Throw | Throw | Output | Output | Output |
| Light | New Alkaline | Used Alkaline | NiMH | New Alkaline | Used Alkaline | NiMH |
| DeLight 1 | 1050 | 617 | 985 | 178 | 97 | 163 |
| DeLight 2 | 1488 | 836 | 1457 | 196 | 114 | 180 |
| Powerlight 1 | 328 | 185 | 288 | 92 |
61 | 80 |
| Powerlight 2 | 310 | 167 | 239 | 98 | 59 | 77 |
Just for fun since Mr. Shorty - DeLight 1 - is not actually usable, let's see what happens with a 14500 in it. Nothing at all. Cell protection must have cur in or something as it still works. I was expecting smoke.
About to fire up the runtime box - the only one in the house that runs Windows in order to do some alkaline, NiMH and anything else I can think of that the meter can log. I've ordered a stock of batteries for the meter given that the 9V batteries only run for about 3 days continually before needing replacement.
I imagine the DeLight will not run for as long as the Powerlight though a switch mod involving a resistor to give a low mode ought to be an option. I have an otherwise useless DeLight to experiment on. The high (the level it normally is at) is useful enough, but if it is possible to add a low a fair bit lower than the Powerlight for eternal runtime, it would be really nice. Component cost would be a few cents (1/4 watt resistors are tiny and about 2 cents each retail) plus an hour or so of time to fit the components if I can figure out how to turn the stock switch into a two level one.
And how to dig out the hard plastic that holds the switch in place without killing the tailcap.
This is the BLF DeLight in all its incredibly low priced glory.
The business end.
The body and tailcap
Incredibly thin body. It is a lot thinner than it seems here.
Hmmm, not half bad. Did the finish come scratched like that? Is it a high-sheen glossy finish that looks like plastic, or is it a matte black?
By the way, after a temporary hike in shipping costs (a scandalous $0.09 or 18.75% increase), they're back down again, and lower than ever. $0.47 if you live in the USA and $0.47 if you live anywhere else in the world. ;)
I think the marks are mostly pollen. Must cut the grass today. The DeLights got stuck in a bag with a lot of other lights when I was away. Do you think I took enough lights? I make it 68 of them there - the blue plastic thing lives there.
There were a few missing there. Pity I never got any beamshots as the sun would go down and it'd rain. Again.....
I don't think there were any marks on it when I got it. The finish isn't glossy, it is a sort of satin finish with a mild sheen.
Not a caring environment for lights - it is an old cheapo laptop bag.
The AA lights all got tossed in the compartment on the bottom left. Everything but the 3D and larger Mags will fit in there. Just.
Not a bad way to carry them especially since that is a lot. I thought you were going to build yourself a runway at first to help the local airport out, lol. Also nice to see a bunch of cells being taken as well, one can never have too many batts right.
Okay, you have enough flashlights. No more for you! Do you keep batteries in all of them?
Not normally - I keep a few charged and the rest at storage voltage so they need charging before use. I'm pretty sure I have enough cells to fuel all of them at once. Just.
Ok, I received my BLF DeLights, and they are, well, DeLightful for the price. They all work perfectly. Bright, bluish beam, slightly ugly around the edge of the aura. Rather ugly, blotchy finish and scratchy reflector. The threads feel fairly nice and are actually lubricated. The switch works well. They do not tailstand. I'll try to do a detailed review later. I'm quite happy with these.
Just joined this forum; I have been CPF member for almost a decade but it is not the same anymore. I have been browsing BLF for a while and now decided to take the plunge. Being avid DX'er (ha! ha!!), this is more suited for me.
I ordered 5 of the light from the ebay seller. i am shocked at what I got for under $1.50 I compared this with my first Luxeon light, LGI from Mr Bulk. It is 3AA and cost me $55 shipped few years ago. The light output of this $1.50 is almost comparable to my beloved LGI
- Vikas
Just wanted to say welcome to the boards, you will enjoy your stay here, be happy, be merry.
Hey there sontakke, welcome! We're glad you took the plunge.
Yes, the budget lights are dramatically cheaper and better than they were a few years ago. I never paid $55 for a light, but I did pay something like $5 for one of these:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/sz_8led_1aa.htm
Just ordered six more BLF DeLights. Even got a discount on the postage. They cost me $8.57. Now off to Poundland (dollar store) for some appropriately cheap alkalines to put in them.
Even if the DOA rate is the same as last time (50%) these are still a bargain. Must get around to doing runtimes. Probably on NiMH for consistency which dollar store alkalines are not known for.
Runtime isn't very good for me, about 4 hours. I'd like to see your results.
I suspect these may vary a lot - essentially the less light they put out the longer they will run. Will get around to formal runtimes soon-ish
Reading thru some reviews I have a suggestion.
(EDIT: Created a thread on it HERE:
Reading thru some reviews I have a suggestion.
http://budgetlightforum.cz.cc/node/540
Add in the Summary section:
DATE ORDERED in this format: 2010-08 (Exact day is not important)
DATE REVIEWED (So many times on the net you will run across a review and it's not dated. You order the product and the product you get is totally different than the review)
MARKINGS on PACKAGING / Unit that might give clues to factory that produced the item. / year/month it was produced.
The purpose of the addtional info is so the review matches shipping product. Vendors will change suppliers, substituting different parts over the course of a run. A 2009 model may be a totally different animal than a 2010 model.
Another suggestion: Maybe add review date to thread title so threads may be sorted by review date? Again for the reason a 2009 model may be totally different than a 2010 model,,,,
2010-08_-_DX Powerlight HX-G011 1W 1xAA (DX sku 2089)
or
DX Powerlight HX-G011 1W 1xAA (DX sku 2089)_-_2010-08
(Second naming convention might be better to keep reviews of the same product together)
DX Powerlight HX-G011 1W 1xAA (DX sku 2089)_-_2010-08
DX Powerlight HX-G011 1W 1xAA (DX sku 2089)_-_2011-09
On the review info:
Here is what I was thinking of (Feel free to edit, play with as needed)
Add synopsis , date at beginning like so:
Compare above to current format: