A neat, inexpensive, cool little light....(PICS added)

for the cheap. I posted this in the thread about needing a light for reading. Then I thought, what the heck, I like this little light so much it deserves a thread of its own. Reposting here the gist of it again……………………

Go to Lowe’s. $3.98. Faboo little light. Small. Smooth. Nicely built. Quite. Nice positive feeling switch. Runs long-time. Crisp pretty much everything else including the led holder which threads into the head to get to the lens. Super-easy to take apart yet it goes back together tight and without hassle. That means sound engineering and machining. It has both.

I bought 15 of them. That should tell ya something.

Ya can also reverse the aspheric lense if ya want and turn it into a floodier, softer beam. Otherwise the stock aspheric as-is angle gives a nice but usable circle that has extremely little spill around it - if any. This is not a zoomable btw but who cares. It’s great. Perfect for discrete viewing including reading. I run a AAA eneloop in mine.

This could be an O-L moddable into something very cool. Prolly take him like 20 minutes. :open_mouth:

Thank me later, Gator.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_350714-50584-600171_0?productId=3692264&Ntt=utilitech+flashlight&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dutilitech%2Bflashlight&facetInfo=

Looks like a Lenser clone.

I'll try one out - if there are any left due to Lumatic's market pressure.

:smiley:

The 2 Lowe’s I’ve been to had lot’s of em’. I think it’s maybe one of their bread n’ butter items along the Utilitech line that ties into the AA alkalines they carry of the same brand. Now just don’t expect any sort of ‘ILF Performance’ outta these. Besides their build quality I like em’ mainly for their low-lumen night-eyesight saving output and the keeps from waking up people around ya.

Sometimes less is more ya know. H) This coming from a guy that buys 15 each. :open_mouth:

Ya, come to think of it it does have a Lenser taint to it.

Hehe....you said 'taint.'

Thanks for the link. Looks like a nice little light and I have a Lowes right by me.

I think it has a tidge more than that. :smiley:

Yeah, you’re a moron… :wink:

A few here actually think I’m not stubid. H)

Hey while on the subject, what do ya think of these for driving a pair of car headlights? I use a Size 10. These Size 46’s are pretty huge though.

http://dx.com/p/classic-high-top-canvas-shoes-white-size-46-63032

I bet they won’t wast long, once leatherman finds out. They own the patent on the led lenser, focusable technology.

The aspheric lense just sits there like lumps on a frog. 8)

with no prob. Just got my FastTech 4-pak protected TF’s blackies in record-setting China time. Looks to be about 2 x as bright now too. But just to be safe, I’d prolly run it only on eneloops or alkalines for any extended time. I’m pretty sure those batts are what it’s designed for.

This little torchie IMO would make the perfect spy flashlight. Absolutely ZERO spill or artifacts when ya leave the aspheric in as it comes. Just a perfect circle. Kinda weird. :open_mouth: I can envision using it for walking around a room without anyone on the outside seeing anything like a torch is lit through the window.

The aspheric’d led circle reminds me of those old Warner Bros. cartoons where a big searchlight spot is blasting down on Daffy Duck or one of those characters. :smiley:

How does it compare to a AAA Minimag? Could be a budget host since we throw out the guts anyway.

My hunch is that it would make a decent budget host simply by the quality way it’s constructed for the most part. Dimensionally that’s another story that prolly can only be truly determined by first getting one. Ya can always return it so no risk losing the $4. :bigsmile:

(Check that. It’s now on sale for $2.98 through 1/31/13) :slight_smile:

$2.98. Geez. That’s a fair shake I’d say. I’m thinking of modding one with something sinister like with an XPE emitter I have laying around. J)

Lumatic uncharacteristically paid higher at $3.98 on a bulk-buy. So now I gotta go back and get their 30-day price-guarantee credit of $15 ’cause I fortuitously kept my receipts. H) :open_mouth: :beer: x :beer:

I must be slipping having paid a whole $1 more……………… :cowboy_hat_face: |(

Got in the door at 8:55. I have to say that this is a well machined little light. Smooth threads that look clean under magnification and so well matched I could not at first see where the bezel mated with the “throat”. O-rings on all 3 seams and a perfectly circular beam. Tailcap switch is reverse clicky(when on, half press turns off). The walls of the battery tube are a hefty 2.5mm thick, throat I.D. is 13.2 mm at the battery tube and 16.1mm at the head.O.D. is 15.6mm at the battery tube and 20.5mm at the head/bezel end. The led is a purplish tint 5mm superbright wired to a 12mm board with 3 components. I’m guessing a cap, a coil, and a reverse polarity diode but I’m only certain of the cap. The wiring looks like it would fail soon as it gets pinched between the board and threads. The pill is plastic(fail) but threads into the head and serves to maintain focal length. The head measures 18.2mm I.D. and 20.5 mm O.D. With the existing lens in place it is 23mm from the end of the battery tube to the back of the lens and 29mm to the back face of the bezel. The existing lens us 14.5mm Dia. The lens opening is 13.5mm and there is a lip(no o-ring) inside tI 14.3mm before it widens out to the full 18.2mm. 1/2” copper tubing fits inside the throat with 1.5mm to spare and 1/2” coupler fits inside the head with.5 mm to spare. Reversing the lens makes a tight spot with some spill. This baby is crying for a 10440 and a better emitter. With a single 7135 chip (no board), a new pill, and the same lens. This would make an excellent, budget mod for a single led.

In fact I couldn’t have written it period. :smiley:

Look forward to seeing a Pro go at it like yourself. I’d especially like to see O-L mess around with it too. :slight_smile:

Me too. Was hoping to inspire him. Stayed up and soldered the copper bits for the pill. Now all it needs is a 10440, a 14mm xpg board(will reflow an xpg r5 from a 20mm board), and a ghetto style 7135. Nice find Lumatic.

$22.98 light. Priceless. :bigsmile:

1/2 the price of a Solitaire with room for a decent pill(for its size) but yeah, modding is often an irrational thing to do. I have the chips, the emitter, and the copper. All I need to buy is a $.50 board and the battery. My mods usually end up decreasing the value of the light(sometimes to zero).

@ $2.98 and if you’re a skilled modder, I think it’s almost criminal if it doesn’t get upgraded and shown off in various permutations. :smiley: 8)

I wonder if there’s a reflector that’ll fit if you nix the lense? You know make it into the Baddest As* AAA/10440 circular spot-thrower out there. ’Course the lense it comes with will potentially give it throw too I suppose. I believe there’s enough room in that head for a pretty deep reflector though. :open_mouth: H)