I recently stayed at a relative’s house on a rural island. Very dark at night, and lots of open space. I had my Dry with me, but the relatives had three 2 D-cell lights in the house, all the $2 incan type. I wouldn’t mind getting them replacements if there’s something out there significantly better, but not too expensive (I don’t think they’d want me to get them three $50 flashlights).
Li-ion lights are out of the question.
Any suggestions?
Why D-cell? You can get a 1AA that will blow away what they have and not use those huge batteries.
I guess its also about the size and run-time!
What about the old favourite …… A 2D mag???
Yes, maybe with a showerhead…
Just get them PR flange LED bulb replacements. They’ll more than quadruple their run times and be significantly brighter while retaining the familiar feel of their existing lights.
I have a number of those in different mags and I love them. They're cheap and work well.
Thanks guys for all the responses.
Speedsix: I think they bought those big 2 D lights for the shelf life. I would guess that in their location (quite remote, and there’s no 24-hr stores for emergencies) they need a light they can just leave there and forget about, for a few years.
PCC and scaru, I might try the PR bulb replacement options. Seems that there are a lot out there. Nite Ize is probably trustworthy. Any others?
I picked up a replacement bulb which is meant for Maglites from here: http://www.thetorchsite.co.uk/TTS-3WCR45_CNC_XPG-R5_LED.html I however didn’t use it for a maglite or flashlight so I don’t know how well it will work for that purpose. It was used for upgrading an Energizer weather ready lantern which was previously upgraded from the stock bulb to a cheaper maglite led bulb which I bought locally. It was definitely a nice upgrade from the old led bulb.
My long term power outage lights are a pair of Fulton angle-head lights with a Nite Ize 1W PR flange drop-in mounted and their 1/2W drop-in ready to go in the tail cap storage. If its a simple power outage situation where the power will only be out for a few hours up to a week I’ll use the 1W bulb, but, if it looks like we’re in it for the long haul (earthquake) then a quick bulb swap will save the batteries for about three times the run time compared to the 1W. Nite Ize has great CS in that they’ve replaced one bad PR flange drop-in for me when it stopped working shortly after I bought it as well as one of their 3-LED Mini-Mag drop-ins having crooked LEDs without hesitation. The PR flange drop-ins have the added advantage of having a wide voltage range so that I can use the same bulb in a variety of lights that use PR flange bulbs regardless of the battery configuration.
Another to consider: Rayovac Roughneck 2D
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004TP2FFK/ref=mp_s_a_9?qid=1342378593&sr=8-9
I picked one up for $10, + $5 shipping. 200 ANSI lumens, high/medium, flood to throw zoom. Drop proof to 15 feet. Makes a good 'fugetaboutit' garage light.
But I do like the idea of upgrading the D Mags.
D shelf life isn’t all that good, but you probably meant run time. I truly hate leaky batteries.
As a first choice, I’d say send them a nice modern 200 lumen AA or 2*AA light with some L91s and the PR2 led bulbs; maybe something like an R5-A3 . If they’ll do rechargeables, some Eneloops and charger.
A nice AA light with LED might have more run time with higher output on a low setting. I seem to remember people recommending the Everyready Indestructible as good and cheap mainstream light.
If you really want a cheap D light, Rayovac has been unloading their 2 cell roughneck LED with sales on Amazon again recently. Not a good light, but long run time on low with D cells, which is a very good level (60 lm?). I set ours up as throw and leave it that way. More money, but an LED mag is probably the way to go if they want to stick with D primaries.
The easiest and least expensive way is Nite-Ize or
Terra-Lux drop in’s. I’ve had both & prefer the Terra-Lux.
Thanks again everybody!
I’m looking into getting a 2D LED myself. Amazon has this MAGLITE ST2D016 2-D that looks decent. It’s nice that it supposedly allows you to adjust the beam focus.
Then there is this new rugged Rayovac Indestructible DIY2D-B , but it says “ships in 3-4 weeks”.
If you’re willing to go with AA, these make great “long term storage lights”.
You can get 20 hours out of a 3AA ($7.86) [32 Lumen]
http://www.amazon.com/Dorcy-41-2510-Carabineer-Waterproof-Flashlight/dp/B0039PV1QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351021036&sr=8-1&keywords=dorcy
You can get 5 hours out of a 4AA ($15.94) [180 Lumen]
http://www.amazon.com/Dorcy-41-4750-Lumen-Flashlight-Batteries/dp/B002OOZERY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351021036&sr=8-2&keywords=dorcy
Don’t use the Alkalines that are included with them. Put some Energizer Ultimate Lithium cells in them, they have a 15 year storage life. You can get a pack of 12 at Sam’s Club for $19.99.