This new seller is selling these for $35.90 and $28.90
All I can say is buy buy buy.
This is a more realistic price.
The Rook only makes sense as an AA light, but the AA performance is crap, so it doesn’t make any sense at all, not even at $26 (with the coupon).
What do you mean by this?? What is wrong with 14500s?
Rook looks good to me. Depends on your intended usage.
I would use it mostly with 14500’s, and be content to know that in a pinch
( or, say emergency like-Earthquake aftermath)—-the readily available AA’s would work also.
Yup, I read the review and the thread about the Queen and Rook a while back. I understand that AA performance is not that great. I’m OK with that, because AA use would be emergency circumstances only. I like having the option though.
Where you lost me is on 14500 use…. Cainn said it “only makes sense as a AA light”. Why? I must be missing something from the review and other threads, because to me it sounds like it performs as should be expected on 14500s.
What am I missing?
Only minor flaw seems to be annoying lack of lock-out capability. I could live with that. Could teflon tape work to lock-out?
A 3 x 14500 light is necessarily bigger than a single 18650 light, yet has less total runtime. So it doesn’t make sense to design a light that way.
OK I get the logic there. That makes sense. The Rook really is kind of a unique niche light.
That could be seen as an endorsement of the 16340 Queen in a way… at least it has a shorter body for the tradeoff in runtime.
I see that logic also but on the other hand, you can’t run an 18650 light off of an AA cell in a pinch. Think of it as a large headed 14500 light but with 3 times the runtime. I can’t accept the parasitic drain with no lockout. I ordered a BlackShadow Padme yesterday instead. Should be a far better torch and worth every extra penny. It doesn’t hurt that I got it for $48…that’s what sealed the deal for me. 
I actually ended up ordering the UV-S5 [King clone] from fasttech today for $40.50 - can’t beat that with a stick! 
The Cyclone C88 is my favourite multiple AA light. I love it. I just feel it’s a shame they couldn’t figure out a way to bring the AA performance of the Rook closer to that. They would have had to design it differently of course (maybe a series carrier, and a buck driver for 14500 use) but I think it would have been great.
But, well, we’re all different. The world would be boring if we weren’t 
Did you cash in some frequent buyer miles for that somewhere, or did I just miss a special?
Wish the more recent Cyclone didn’t have the reliability/quality issues that some have reported. Can’t bring myself to roll the dice.
Big sale here! Use the discount code for 20% off. bf1220
Exactly. Fantastic deal! ;)
Which coupon did you use? thanks
A 3x 14500 light is just very awkward. Too many cells for a 2x charger, and less runtime anyway. Also pricey if you use premium cells (only sanyo makes them I think). For emergencies, 18650 lights often run on 2x 123a primaries.
I get ya. Had a feeling the odd cell count was part of it.
Good point about cr123s… but to be fair, they are not nearly as common as AA in the non-flashy world.
Got my order super quick. Packaged good. As promised. Recommend fasttech.