Another great super-budget 1-AA

Just got this from Meritline: http://www.meritline.com/high-quality-compact-aluminum-led-flashlight-037-10---p-58102.aspx

Brighter than my original BLF-Delights from digitalzone (before they goofed them up), paid $1.09 shipped (daily deal, regularly $4.99). This is my new delight, surprisingly bright, nice matte finish and positive clicky. The styling is a little busier than the BLF-Delight, but I think it's a better deal overall. Keep an eye out for this one, if it shows up on sale.

Hmm! Looks pretty nice, thanks for the tip boomhauer. Unfortunately they don't ship to the country where I live. But I wonder if I could find it on their eBay site, which apparently ships to more countries.

This one also looks like a steal: http://www.meritline.com/led-adjustable-focus-zoom-flashlight-blackcolor---p-53780.aspx

Look the LED. It will produce less than 10 lumens. Avoid

I have a flashlight with those LED. Dissapoint

Stay away from those emitters. They are 15 lumens at best and very blueish. -have a few from them not this exact flashlight but they are absolute garbage at that price point.

I have:

http://www.meritline.com/led-adjustable-focus-zoom-flashlight-blackcolor---p-53780.aspx

It is a generic 2microwatt led with very blueish tint. Not reccomended.

http://www.meritline.com/focus-zoom-lens-flashlight-light---p-44807.aspx

This one claimed to be cree is infact a very obscure osram ostar variant emitter. It does 40 lumen by eye at best.

Bought 4 and asked for a partial refund since they were usable but definitely not cree class. On the positive side they are white not blueish. The emitter pattern (zoomed) is perfectly square consisting of 5 L shapes. Compering to a osram golden dragon it has at best 50% luminance.

Beware!

Wait, could you please post a photo of the emitter (or pattern)? It can't be an Osram Ostar, or I'd buy 10! :D Actually I'd say the led IS an Osram golden dragon (plus or not). I forget where I bought mine, maybe it was meritline, at least it has the same laser sticker. Does yours have a Sipik logo? I'm very happy with mine! It's not the brightest, but I't doesn't eat too much juice either.

It is like this. It looks like an ostram ostar if you pick just one of the quad emitter assembly. Could be very well osram silver rat deluxe regarding the output.

Well yes, the Ostar uses 6 of the golden dragon dies (there is also a 4 die version). As far as a I know this is an Osram golden dragon led (without plus), which is indeed less bright than the later plus variants. My Sipik has only 2 divisions and isn't as dim as you describe yours.

More about the Osram golden dragons:

http://budgetlightforum.cz.cc/node/519?page=1#comment-6915

Compared to sipik 68 zoomie from DX which uses cree Q3 has at least 50% less output. That is subjectively speaking by my trusty eye-o-meter.

Huh, funny, I have this one too (not from Meritline though) and I really like it. For the price I think it's a great deal. But I noticed that Meritline's description claims Hi/Low/Strobe. Does yours have that? Mine is just a single mode.

Have to check again but i think the modes are present almost 100%. I bought 4 at 5,99usd and recieved a 6usd refund. At that price + refund they were reasonable.

Nope, no modes at all. I'm getting sloppy these days.

While I agree that the emitter in the flashlight in my original post is a generic Chinese garden-variety, it is clearly the brightest example I have seen, probably 20 lumens or slightly more. In the context of super-budget lights, at $1.09 shipped I think it's a steal.

I have one of the Sipiks with Osram led, and while I think it's a nice light at $5, it's really neither fish nor fowl for my purposes. I find myself reaching for one of my many handy $1 lights for a quick task, or getting out my $13 Romisen RC-29 for a focusable light. My Osram lights seem to get lost in the middle.