A shady company I no longer have dealings with contacted me through me blog and asked me to choose an outdoor product from their site to review. I wanted to choose something budget, and something a little different, and this is what I came up with. It’s a 3xAAA camping lantern that looked well built on their site, and I liked the overall style and design. And at about $10 the price seemed right.
Product Description
You can read the full review here on my blog, which also has higher resolution photos.
This is a single mode 3xAAA hybrid flashlight/camping lantern with an XP-E (?) Q5 emitter. It doesn’t seem to have any regulation, making it a “vampire” which can suck all the juice from the battery.
The design is simple: the diffuser slides back and forth turning it from a flashlight into a lantern. The body is anodized aluminum and so is the base, so it’s this interesting hybrid of plastic an aluminum. There’s a reverse switch at the tail.
Official Specs (From GearBest)
Specifications
General | Type: Camping Emergency Lights For: Camping, Fishing, Hiking, Emergency, Travel Material: Aluminum Alloy, Glasses Functions: Long life, low power consumption, bright and no stroboscopic |
|---|---|
Specification | Power Source: 3 AAA battery (not included) |
Dimension and Weight | Product weight : 0.1kg Package weight : 0.15 kg Product size : 11 cm (Folding Size), 16 cm (Unfolding Size) Package size : 13 × 8 × 8 cm |
Package Contents | Package contents: 1 x Camping Lamp |
Oops, the box was crushed.
..but it was packed in bubble wrap, so it came out without a scratch.
Fit and Finish
Here you can see that the emitter is quite a bit off center. There is also dust on the inside of the unit on the reflector. I’ll have to figure out a way to take it apart. Other than that, the fit and finish is pretty good. The anodizing is nice and it seems well built. The off-center emitter does not affect the lantern functionality so it’s not a big deal for me.
Tail Cap Reading
I get 1.3 amps on my cheap yellow meter with 3 2nd generation Eneloops hot off the charger.
Flashlight
The reflector on the flashlight is plastic and so is the lens, but the shape of the reflector is pretty good, so it produces a nice tight beam with the small die Q5. If the emitter weren’t off-center it would be even better. The tint is the typical cool white for this type of emitter.
Lantern
With the diffuser extended, it’s a pretty good lantern. It has a ring on the base to hang it on, but I like it better standing on the base like the photo below.
Run Time Test
Thanks racer. Nice review. Now the wait for the 200 hr run time AA version.
djozz quotes, "it came with chinese lettering that is chinese to me".
"My man mousehole needs one too"
old4570 said "I'm not an expert , so don't suffer from any such technical restrictions".
Old-Lumens. Highly admired and cherished member of Budget Light Forum. 11.5.2011 - 20.12.16. RIP.
Nice lamp!
I like.
Someone asked me if GearBest has a BLF coupon and I do not know. They seem like a fairly new shop, and Karen at GearBest seems really nice so I’ll ask her when I get a chance. But if someone discovers one, please let me know and I’ll add it to the review.
Im thinking about trying one of these: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/3W-200-lumens-3-Modes-adjustable.... Its a blatant copy of the uco lumora but its a third of the price. I have the lumora and its pretty nice, plus is takes AAs which is a plus. Anyone have eny experience with these?
and the verdict is?
that thing might even take a 32650.would be nice if it has the length.set of nesting spacer tubes would get you 18650,26650,and 32650.