This blog continues at 2015-11-18…
I just finished looking online at Fenix LD01 and E01 flashlights (torches). I was shocked when I found the prices of the LD01 have skyrocketed to $42. I looked at the LD02 and found it also uses a single AA cell, but it has a push on, push off switch in the end cap. The price is much lower than the LD01. I think what may have happened is the LD02 has replaced the LD01 which is no longer made. Sellers may be taking advantage of the supply no longer meeting buyers demands. So if I decide to get the three brightness keychain light, I may get the LD02.
I looked for the cheapest Fenix E01 flashlights, and found some for $11.00. They make great inexpensive gifts. They are a single brightness keychain: light, small and sturdy like the other Fenix lights. The one big disadvantage is the light has a single brightness which drains the AAA cell rapidly, in less than an hour. The way to mitigate this problem is to buy several rechargeable NiMH cells and have one cell in the light, one cell in my pocket ‘just in case,’ and two spares in the charger, fully charged.
Since I’m not working ‘full time’, I haven’t been using my keyring flashlight as often. I have found that if I use regular NiMH rechargeables the cells need to be recharged after a month or so of not being used. This is because they self discharge, about 30% a month, which is normal. I found that I can buy the Eneloop rechargeables which have a very low self discharge rate, less than 30 % per year. So I have been buying The Panasonic Eneloop cells. The Eneloops were originally from Sanyo, but they sold to Panasonic, so Sanyo Eneloop is older stock. Either way, they are not cheap. But I think they are worth it.
Back to the lights. I found some low priced ITP A3 EOS flashlights, but it didn’t say how much the shipping was. I had to add them to my cart to find out. I was shocked! The shipping was too high, something like 6 dollars each, with no discount for buying more than one. I found out the hard way when I did the 1 click buy on Amazon, and got hit with a high shipping charge. Now I always add it to my cart and check the shipping when I checkout. So I deleted those and bought some others instead, and got free shipping.
I also looked at the ITP EOS A3, which is about the same as LD01. They are a bit smaller and lighter. They come in different colors. I bought some of those, too. Olight was the original seller, now ITP sells them. But I find that I can sometimes find the older Olights for cheaper than the newer ITPs. I like these lights: they are shorter and lighter than the Fenix LD01, but are still well made. They also have three brightness levels. The ITP lights now come in Max version, which is brighter and has a fourth mode, a strobe or flash mode. I don’t really see a need for this. If you want to get a flash effect, just point the light at someone and wave it back and forth, and they will see the light go on and off. The added brightness is nice, as long as it doesn’t take more from the cell, which already has too short a life. Some of the lights come with a high, medium, and a ‘moonlight’ or ‘firefly’ mode which is lower than low brightness. I would rather have the low mode, which is more useful to me than those other lower than low modes.
I have also found that twist on, untwist off lights are easy to switch modes, but the pushbutton lights can be harder to control. And if the pushbutton is on the end cap, the light most likely will not sit on its end, if you want to use it as a candlelight. Still, some people like the pushbutton on the end, and don’t like the twist lights. The twist lights are more reliable; I have had the pushbutton switches fail occasionally. There’s nothing much to go bad on the twist light. The O-ring may get worn, which may lower the waterproofing. But that doesn’t affect the switch, as long as the light stays dry.
I’ll end this by saying that there is no such thing as a perfect flashlight. Every flashlight is a series of compromises between light output, battery capacity/operating time, cost, and other factors such as size, waterproofing, durability, etc. The one single major flashlight improvement over the past decade has been the white LED. It alone has given flashlights a whole new life and meaning. They have gotten smaller, brighter, more durable, and less expensive over the years. Let’s hope they continue to improve. 🙂
Update Oct 27 – I looked at some of the single cell flashlights Dealextreme.com offers. I ordered one that looks very similar to the Fenix LD01. I also ordered several of the under $5.00 flashlights they have. Then I saw something very interesting.
They sell a flashlight head for $10 that screws onto an e-cigarette battery. This is a real beast! It puts out 800 lumens, which is ten times what the keychain lights put out. For just ten bucks! I looked for e-cigarette batteries but they don’t have any, which strikes me as odd. I searched online and on eBay I found a few lithium-ion rechargeables that can handle the heavy 2.8 amp load, and they were in the $35 to $45 range. I could order 1 or 2 of these flashlight heads, and wait for a month until they arrive from China (DXsoul ships from the US but doesn’t offer them). Then when the heads arrive, I could buy the battery pack online or look for one in the e-cig store (probably cheaper online). Right now, near the end of October, the shipping slows down as everyone starts ordering stuff from China to stock up on items for the end of the year black Friday and Xmas holidays.
This blog continues at 2015-11-18…
