My SAR team's 1 year anniversary is next week. We'll be having a small event the week after and then a larger one for the community in the summer and will be holding raffles.
I was wondering if you guys could recommend some lights that I can order? I personally only have a couple of lights and have a Sipik of some sort coming in soon from Meritline. I'm still new here and to the world of flashlights, but it seems that the Sipik something-68 is one of the more popular models among you all.
For raffling purposes, would that suffice to the average person? The price seems good. I was also considering the Costco ones since they're easier to obtain and I can actually grab a couple for the upcoming event as well.
Anything <$10US that's still great for its price?
Thank you for your help and I look forward to your replies.
I first read your subject line as 'suggestion for ruffles' (my username), so I got pretty excited.
For lights going to the general public, Costco ones running a normal battery would blow their socks off. If you felt nice, maybe give them a once over (tighten/lube/check) before the raffle.
Sipik is good for non flasholics. I was at a mates place and his dad was doing some electrical work and I loaned him my sipik. His wife saw it and wanted one, my mate wants 2 and his dad and mum want one each. Got 5 incoming from Manafont.
not sure i'd normally say this but costco or T-mart .
chinese shipping has been horrible lately if you have an event that soon it won't come from china that quickly without paying a bunch extra for shipping
I was told that we're going to try to have raffles at every event, which is once every few months.
For sure there's one in 2 weeks to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. Then a larger one a few months later as another thank you to thank the community for their support and to commemorate my buddy. <3
Since we're a search and rescue team and we also strive for public awareness of being prepared for emergencies, the items to be raffled will be anything that covers emergency and outdoor preparedness, "search and rescue" (camping?) type items, and the like (so knives, flashlights, small EDC items...).
Thank you for the replies, everyone. Are there others aside from those mentioned that you would recommend?
I'll most likely go with the Costco ones for ease of attaining for the upcoming event and then order the Sipiks for future raffles.
I know there are clones of the Sipiks, but for the "real" Sipiks, are they hit and miss or is QC fairly consistent? Consistent among all their models? Just the 68?
I'm not a fan of DX due to past problems, but I do use Meritline fairly regularly. I'll give Manafont a try too. :)
So the "standard" Chinese sellers are out ... at least for the raffle in 2 weeks... since standard cells seem to be almost mandatory, I would give Bryan from Shiningbeam.com a call (New York based). The Romisen G2 on 1AA might be a good choice. Affordable, easy to use in stressful situations and operates on standard cells and has the Romisen build quality and reliability.
I think something from Shiningbeam is a good choice. Costco lights aren't too bad, either, at about 1/3 the cost. I think the Sipik clones are a great choice for the money, but inconsistent quality and ship times are a concern. Thing is, the Sipiks are cheap enough that you can order several from different vendors and do ok. All of these lights run on AA, which is what you need for non-flashaholics.
I also thought of a super compact variant that would fit in the smallest survival kit /keychain... the Thrunite TI from IS. The biggest problem is often that you don't have a light on you when you need it the most. (that goes only for non-flashaholic of course ;-) ) In a promo you can get 4 for $47.85 or ~$12 a piece....here a review. I think Craig even lives in the same state as you... so shipping should be fast.
I am partial to the Romisen RC-G2 flashlights. You might could get them around the $10 mark you are aiming for if you purchase multiple units. Maybe someone here could recommend a US-based seller who could get them to you in time for your raffle.
Large reflector for size
Nice throw
Quality forward-clicky switch
1x AA only operation, no Li-Ion cells
Beats the pants off an incan Maglite
I'll gift these to users who need a casual flashlight and don't want or can't be trusted with the Lithium cells.
Thank you for the suggestions, everyone. I have a couple Sipiks on the way for future drawings and will be picking up a Costco pack when I get the chance.
I also picked up a set of the little keychain lights at Meritline (here ; on sale for $1.19 + tax, shipped with coupon code) to make little EDC keychains for my little camping kiddos in the summer. Perhaps make one for a raffle as well and toss in one of my older, unused knives. :)
