Review: DX Powerlight HX-G011 1W 1xAA (DX sku 2089)

First thought. Wow, it's light. Second thought, "It's nearly weightless". Brighter than I expected with a cheap alkaline in it.

Doesn't look like the head is removable short of sawing it off. Having had a good look with a 30x magnifier, the head would need a saw to remove it. On both of them the LED is better centred than expected.

The squeaking of the threads got to me, but a small drop of thin oil and some graphite (IOW I scribbled on the threads with a pencil) followed by a wipe with a tissue soon sorted that out.

I am skeptical of water resistance, the O ring at the tail end doesn't seem to engage with the tailcap. Will test this when I get home.

Will do a proper set of tests soon.

3 watts - no chance! Not even close.

Hey Don, I'm glad you received these. Not bad for the price wouldn't you say? I'd be interested to see what you think about the beam quality. In my opinion, the two samples that I own have the nicest, smoothest looking beam of all my flashlights. Reasonably bright too, although 3W is obviously a stretch.

CJ 1-Watt Pocket LED Flashlight :
$3.99
http://www.goldengadgets.com/cj-1-watt-pocket-led-flashlight.html
Rubber 1-Watt Pocket LED Flashlight
$2.99
http://www.goldengadgets.com/rubber-1-watt-pocket-led-flashlight.html
I wouldn’t dare request this at the ‘other’ site !
Thanks.

I have two of the ones in the second link...and for the price the kids love them. Not as bright as a cree, im suspecting the led used is a Nichia. The light has good runtime and seems to run fine on 3.2 volt cells. And just wanted to say Welcome to the site CPF..........

Hey there cpf, welcome to the site, enjoy your stay here!

I had two samples of the CJ 1-Watt Pocket LED Flashlight. They are excellent for the price. The threads on the tailcap were nice and smooth, the clicky switch worked well, and the runtime was excellent, more than 24 hours on a good alkaline AA. I carried one with me every day for a year or two, and it finally started to get flickery and I eventually threw it out. It was a great investment of $5.00. I wouldn't buy more just because I personally don't like the rubber grip. But if you like the looks of the CJ-1 you'll probably be very happy with it, and you can't go wrong for the price.

And thats the difference between this site and the other......feel free to be part of the group.

Glad to see you here. I have what I believe to be the same as the second one. It's not what I'd call rubber, it is some sort of hard polymer - as is rubber but not as hard.

Mine lives on my work keys. Still has the AAA I got with it and it is still working just fine. I'd not reckon on serious water resistance, the plastic window at the front has got itself pushed in by some of the stuff I routinely carry in my pockets and I've not yet found a non-destructive way to get into the head and glue the lens back in place. Still looking though.

Other than that, it is a robust and useful little light that seems to have ample runtime for most purposes. If it stays dark longer than that, then even in winter here, we are in trouble.

Im surprised because both of mine are AA's.........unless i was sent the wrong one.

You're right - it does say AA and mine is an AAA - not the same light at all.

Well i do like the light and for the price it isnt bad at all.....i like the clear one and the wife and i plan on ordering more for my nephews and nieces.

<noob alert>

just got "1W LED Flashlight (Black)" from FP which seems to be another Powerlight HX-G011.

( http://www.focalprice.com/LF018B/1W_LED_Flashlight_Black.html )

  • it's black, not grey as shown in the DX pic, better looking in my op.
  • externally, no flaws at all, really good for the price.
  • lens has some small 'lint' on the inside.
  • reflector has a few small 'water spots'.
  • reflector seems to have a small damaged area, pin-head sized,
  • will have to change the O-ring.
  • fully agree with "There are no spots, no shadows, no noticeable hotspots, just smooth, clean, usable light from the center all the way out to the edge of the aura" mentioned in the OP. But mine seems to have a (small) dark half-circle at the edge of the aura,

Quite satisfied taking the price ($3.71) into account, will order a few more to give away. This one is going to be attached to my backpack that I always carry. Using Eneloop. If it has the kind of runtime mentioned in the review, I'll be very happy.

Q1 : can't clean the lens, right ?

Q2 : not worth touching the refector, might peel off, right ?

Hey cpf, I'm glad that worked out for you! So how was your experience with Focalprice.com? I also ran across this same light, and I was also considering ordering a few of them. So it sounds like Focalprice.com is legitimate. If you feel like it, feel free to write a review of your Powerlight, you can find a review template and instructions here. To answer your questions,

Q1: In the case of these Powerlights, I can't think of any clever way to get to the lens, because they can't be opened on that end. They're basically not modifiable.

Q2: Same goes for the reflector.

If you're going to order more for friends and family, you might try a few of the different options that Focalprice has in the same price range:

http://www.focalprice.com/LF336B/Powerlight_Compact_3W_LED_Flashlight_with_Lanyard_Black.html

http://www.focalprice.com/LF083B/New_1W_Mini_Keychain_Flashlight_Torch_Black.html

http://www.focalprice.com/LF018B/1W_LED_Flashlight_Black.html

Thanks. They look exactly the same, the "Bulb: 1 Watt Luxeon LED. Bulb life: up to 100,000 hours." desc made me choose the one I did buy.

I discovered FP thru AnandTech forums where some one had posted a Hot Deals link to http://www.focalprice.com/LF367W/Mini_Cow_LED_Keychain_Light_White.html . I got 10 of them for $2, yes $ two.

btw : A year and half ago I did not even know about CREE f-lights. Was at DX, saw the led f-lights there, discovered CPF, got a UF C3 SS single-mode, still amazed ( like most of people who see it ). Very few people are aware of CREE-type f-lights. I'm still learning.

This is the budget light forum, right ? You could get the Powerlight ( or any other item ) cheaper at FP by using these coupon codes : 2OFF5 ( $2 off a $5 order ) or 3OFF10 ( $3 off a $10 order ). Eg : you could get two Powerlights for ( 3.71 + 3.71 - 2 ), ie $2.71 each.

See : http://www.retailmenot.com/view/focalprice.com for details.

I'm sure the second one works.

Edit : Sorry, what I posted earlier about the coupon codes is wrong. You can use the coupon codes even if your order does not have a single item worth $5 ( or $10 ). Coupon codes cannot be used only for special offers, discounted offers, 99c items.

I just ordered this light from Ebay: 280442891750

I think its the same light as in the original post.

The price $1.48 incl postage. Amazing!! Ordered it yeasterday and I got a mail today stating its shipped. DX could learn something

And it got some good comments on CPF and if they are true I might buy 10 more as gifts.

That's a pretty good looking light for $1.48. Make sure you let us know how it is when you get it. Smile

Wow, that's a deal. I just sent them an email to see if they ship to my country. There are actually imitations of the Powerlight, some of which are flickery, worthless pieces of junk. But for $1.48 I suppose I might take the risk...

Cool, they do ship to South America. I ordered three for the grand total of $4.34!!! If they turn out to be total junk then I will deprive myself of lunch some day and save a lot more than $4.34. Good grief, these are cheap. What could you buy for $1.48?

Brownies? Nope. $1.51/ea
Tomato soup? Sorry. $2.27/ea
12 ounces of rice? Forget it. $2.70

I could consume any of the above food items in less than 3 minutes. But somehow they sell a working flashlight made of machined, painted aluminum with intricate threading, a moving switch, rubber switch boot, high-tech LED technology-- and to top it off, they ship it to me from China to South America. For $1.48. And it can last a lot longer than 3 minutes. This is mind boggling.

I got two of those black ones from ebay for $3 shipped. They are not quite the same as the Powerlight though both have styling "inspired" by Fenix. If this black one is the same as the two I have, they are a fraction shorter than the Powerlight and don't seem to be as bright but I've not had them near the meters yet. Maybe next week.

Looking forward to the results. One member of CPF have said that his Ebay light delivers 20 to 30 lumens OTF. Well enough, but better with exact measument.