LED flashlights cheap, for night cachers

[chuckr30]

Some people like to go geocaching at night. That means it's good to have a flashlight. LED flashlights (I have been using them for about 3 years) provide a nice bright light at short range, and just sip battery power. The batteries last a long time.

 

You can get cheap LED flashlights (even when you count shipping) from www.allelectronics.com. That's where I got some of mine. They have one to clip on your baseball hat front or clip on your pocket. It's real handy. Another handy one is the LED headlight I have.

 

I have also convered a flashlight to a red LED. The red LEDs are really power savers. I have had the same batteries in mine since 2003. I use it every night to go around, turn off the lights, and lock up the house. I can't believe it has lasted 3 years (2 C batteries).

 

I just thought i would pass this good deal on to you folks.

 

Shakelights

===========

Shakelights are the flashlight you might have seen in the store or on TV. You shake it to charge a capacitor and it is lit by an LED light, which sips the power daintily. They often have clear cases so you can see the insides.

 

I bought a 2 pack from Menard's last year. One full-size flashlight (looks like it would hold 2 C batteries) and a mini (the size of a 2 AA flashlight). I noticed the following things. First, it works as advertised. Shake it up and the magnet moving back and forth charges a capacitor. A cap is better than a battery because it has many more charge/discharge cycles than a rechargable battery. Nicad's usually go bad within 1-2 years, they can last up to 3 years if you really know your batteries. Caps last much longer because they are constructed differently than a battery.

 

Typical LED's cannot light long distances like a regular flashlight bulb can, but they light short distances just fine (up to 10 feet). This particular shakelight has an excellent lens which throws the light further than the average LED.

 

Next I noticed that as the light sat in my drawer the cap discharged its power. I guess this is just the way caps work.

 

Next, the small flashlight could not hold much power before I had to shake it again. And I had to shake the small one much more to get a good charge. I'm guessing this is because the magnet in the small shakelight has less distance to travel so it cannot generate as much current while shaking, plus the cap is smaller and cannot hold as much charge.

 

Bottom line: I like the big shakelight and will use it when the power goes out, but will probably never use the small one.

 

Pumpers

=======

A pumper flashlight is one you squeeze. This turns a wheel inside which moves a generator, which charges a battery. It is often lit by an LED light.

 

The good side: gives you exercise and you can pump until you are tired, then use the stored energy in the battery for light. It uses an LED for light. Bad side: it uses a rechargable battery (probably a Nicad, the lesser of all rechargables) which will eventually go bad.

 

Note: Some pumpers only emit light while you are squeezing the handle. This is a waste of time and your energy. Get one with a battery. I think I paid $7 for mine at Big Lots. You never know what you will find at Big Lots, they get new stuff each week. If you see something you like, grab it because you will not find it again later.

 

Bottom line: I will keep mine around and use it occasionally.

Edited February 6, 2007 by chuckr30

[+hukilaulau]

Nice review, thanks. I got one of the shake lights but it was stolen before I could try it out.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

You can find lots of useful flashlight related info at: http://www.flashlightreviews.com. The reviews cover beam strength and battery life for all kinds of lights, both incandescent and LED.

[+jcblough]

I found an off brand led flash light near the check out at wal-mart not too long ago - comprable to a mini-mag for $8.00. I've used it on all my night caching trips. I like it alot.

[+nytrostarss]

I just purchased a new Mini Mag-lite, its about the size of the original but now uses an LED, they go for roughly 20 dollars and it really is the best light I have purchased for the price so far, I use it for work and play, give them a look!

[+coreynjoey]

I love my LED head light. Keeps your hands free and points light to wherever you're looking, and the glints show up great!

 

How long do the shake lights last before you have to start shaking again?

Edited February 8, 2007 by coreynjoey

[+mudsneaker]

thanks for the reviews, I've been curious about those shakers but figured it was to gimmiky.

 

I did pick up those wind-up ones from Costco as a back up to my battery powered ones. Definately worthy for emergeny kits! With the light/radio combo you cant go wrong IMHO for the money. Gave my sis the other one for her emergeny kit.

You wind for a couple minutes and get 10-15 minutes of light roughly depending on how long I actually put forth the winding effort. They have decient light for 3 LEDs. I like to use it to get myself in and out of a cache area to save batteries. Using the super bright battery ones (headlamp and handheld) while actively looking for the cache.

[+DonB]

I love my LED head light. Keeps your hands free and points light to wherever you're looking, and the glints show up great!

 

I bought one at Walmart made by Energizer. I actually bought it when I was working under a sink but I imagine it would work great for geocaching. It can be switched to spot, flood, or red leds. I think I paid a little over $12.00 for it, and it takes three AAAs. Really a nice little headlight.

[chuckr30]

How long do the shake lights last before you have to start shaking again?

I have never put it to the test but I thought I read somewhere you shake for 5 minutes, and get 20 minutes of light. Capacitors (in the flashlight) cannot store as much charge as a battery and do not last as long. But they still do pretty good for free electricity (just shake and go). For a cap to store as much charge as a battery the cap would have to be much larger, think AA battery versus a 12 oz soda can size cap.

 

I also have the Septor LED headlight. It's great for working under the sink, under the car, in the attic, or just reading in bed. It has 3 levels of light and I usually only use the first (dimmest) level.

Edited February 8, 2007 by chuckr30

[+Knight2000]

I have bought 2 LED flashlights.

 

One was a Garrity from Walmart. It has 1 LED, uses 4 AAA and claims to have 85hours of battery life. It was about $9.00

 

Then i was at the dollar store (Dollar Tree). For $1.00 they had a 3 LED flashlight, no name brand that i can find. Uses 3 AAA batteries. A little smaller than the $9 unit but it seems to be much brighter. Im sure the power wont last as long.

 

Can the Dollar version be that much worse???

[+Driver Carries Cache]

After doing TONS of online research I bought a Petzl Tikka XP... one of the best investments I've made for Geocaching. Next purchase will probably be a a Surefire flashlight. I'd love one of the selective LED/incandescent models (with red LED's). LED gives you more efficient battery use, incandescent gives you super-bright and powerful light for when you need it.

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

[Suscrofa]

Shake light and dynamo are just plain crap. LED are so efficient nows that you get days of light at the same power out a set of AAs you can share with your GPS !

[+Knight2000]

After making that post earlier the wife and i were shopping at home depot and found another LED flash light.

 

I havent used it too much yet- but it seems really nice for the money. It is a HUSKY 12- LED flashlight. It was less than $6.00. It uses 3 AAA batteries (included). It seems very nice. For those who dont want to spend too much- this seems really cool.

[+Renegade Knight]

...How long do the shake lights last before you have to start shaking again?

 

I dont know. I got everone some shake lights for their bug out bags. I can tell you my kids use them to do some stealth reading at night. Works great for them. I don't hear them shaking and unless I'm really looking they don't bleed much light under the door.

[+Renegade Knight]

After doing TONS of online research I bought a Petzl Tikka XP... one of the best investments I've made for Geocaching. Next purchase will probably be a a Surefire flashlight. I'd love one of the selective LED/incandescent models (with red LED's). LED gives you more efficient battery use, incandescent gives you super-bright and powerful light for when you need it.

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

Check out that flashlightreviews.com page mentioned. LED's have caught up to incandecent for every purpose you may have for it including bright lights with a lot of throw.

[+Renegade Knight]

Shake light and dynamo are just plain crap. LED are so efficient nows that you get days of light at the same power out a set of AAs you can share with your GPS !

If you are expecting a blinding light that can outshine the sun then you will be dissapointed with a shakelight. If you want a light that just works, no need to ever worry about batteries they work well.

 

As for AA's I agree and tend to focus on making sure my LED lights use AA's rather than CR123 or AAA's because then you have one battery to carry instead of 2 or more kinds.

[+atmguy775]

In my job I use a flashlight a lot (which is a mini mag) that i would have to change batteries every 3-4 months, about a 1 1/2 years ago I was in Wal-mart and found a 3 bulb led converter for a mini-mag. I went ahead and got and a new set of batteries and I haven't changed batteries since. The only downside is you can't adjusted the beam width but the brightness makes up the difference. I also got one of knock-off shakers at Walgreens (the equivelent of 2 'c') and use that for caching. I let that sit for a month or two and still works, a 30 sec shake and it's back to normal. Just my two cents but I haven't had any problems with them.

[+briansnat]

Not really a getting started issue. Moving to the general forum.

[+PJPeters]

I've got a Petzl Tikka XP headlight that I got for hiking. Works just fine for camping, caching, whatever. And it fits in my 'cache kit' nicely. I also have a couple keychain led's that I have for 'emergency' use - in case it gets too dark before I get back to the car. They came with a clip that I can attach to my hat, tent flap, whatever. Another nice-to-have item.

The best part about led's is the battery life on them. They'll last forever.

For just plain brute-force light, I have a SureFire. I love it. The thing throws more light than anything I've seen for it's size. Just don't use it to read a map, or any close-up work. The drawback is the battery life. In order to get that much light, it pretty much eats batteries. Fortunately, you can get them pretty cheap at their website.

For caching, I can't say enough about my Petzl. It's probably the best way to night cache.

[+NightPilot]

The main attraction of the shake lights is that the batteries don't go bad and leak corrosive fluid all over the place when you leave them in a very hot place for months at a time. They're useful as emergency lights, which can be left alone for long periods without any maintenance. Lithium batteries do better than alkalines over the long term, which is why I have a couple of lights that use them. I don't buy many alkaline batteries, just what I need for clocks, remote controls, etc, which don't use much power and don't get much attention. I use NiMH for normal uses.

 

Light is light, and goes just as far whether it's emitted from an LED or from a krypton bulb. If you want 'throw', then you need a well-designed reflector and lots of lumens, no matter the source of the lumens. LEDs are getting much more efficient and powerful, and you can buy LED bulbs that rival any incandescent bulb. I don't plan to ever buy any type of incandescent bulb again, for flashlights or for the house, or anything else.

[+Kit Fox]

What's The Best Flashlight

 

Flashlights

 

Geocaching Flashlight (4 pages)

 

I use a mini-mag with the "bright ize" LED Conversion, and a Surefire E2W. For low power situations, I use the Mini-mag, when I want a bright light, I use the Surefire.

Edited March 31, 2007 by Kit Fox

[+michigansnorkelers]

After doing TONS of online research I bought a Petzl Tikka XP... one of the best investments I've made for Geocaching. Next purchase will probably be a a Surefire flashlight. I'd love one of the selective LED/incandescent models (with red LED's). LED gives you more efficient battery use, incandescent gives you super-bright and powerful light for when you need it.

 

Driver Carries Cache

(madmike)

 

Yeah, me too. I looked all over for the best headlamp, asked for and got the Petzl Tikka XP for Christmas. I really like the "Boost" feature that lets you send an intense beam when you need it. I've used it on several night caces and was very pleased with it.

 

Headlamps work soooooooo much better than flashlights! The light is always where you're looking, an advantage you really don't appreciate until you try it.

[+DonB]

Some people like to go geocaching at night. That means it's good to have a flashlight. LED flashlights (I have been using them for about 3 years) provide a nice bright light at short range, and just sip battery power. The batteries last a long time.

 

You can get cheap LED flashlights (even when you count shipping) from www.allelectronics.com. That's where I got some of mine. They have one to clip on your baseball hat front or clip on your pocket. It's real handy. Another handy one is the LED headlight I have.

 

I have also convered a flashlight to a red LED. The red LEDs are really power savers. I have had the same batteries in mine since 2003. I use it every night to go around, turn off the lights, and lock up the house. I can't believe it has lasted 3 years (2 C batteries).

 

I just thought i would pass this good deal on to you folks.

 

Shakelights

===========

Shakelights are the flashlight you might have seen in the store or on TV. You shake it to charge a capacitor and it is lit by an LED light, which sips the power daintily. They often have clear cases so you can see the insides.

 

I bought a 2 pack from Menard's last year. One full-size flashlight (looks like it would hold 2 C batteries) and a mini (the size of a 2 AA flashlight). I noticed the following things. First, it works as advertised. Shake it up and the magnet moving back and forth charges a capacitor. A cap is better than a battery because it has many more charge/discharge cycles than a rechargable battery. Nicad's usually go bad within 1-2 years, they can last up to 3 years if you really know your batteries. Caps last much longer because they are constructed differently than a battery.

 

Typical LED's cannot light long distances like a regular flashlight bulb can, but they light short distances just fine (up to 10 feet). This particular shakelight has an excellent lens which throws the light further than the average LED.

 

Next I noticed that as the light sat in my drawer the cap discharged its power. I guess this is just the way caps work.

 

Next, the small flashlight could not hold much power before I had to shake it again. And I had to shake the small one much more to get a good charge. I'm guessing this is because the magnet in the small shakelight has less distance to travel so it cannot generate as much current while shaking, plus the cap is smaller and cannot hold as much charge.

 

Bottom line: I like the big shakelight and will use it when the power goes out, but will probably never use the small one.

 

Pumpers

=======

A pumper flashlight is one you squeeze. This turns a wheel inside which moves a generator, which charges a battery. It is often lit by an LED light.

 

The good side: gives you exercise and you can pump until you are tired, then use the stored energy in the battery for light. It uses an LED for light. Bad side: it uses a rechargable battery (probably a Nicad, the lesser of all rechargables) which will eventually go bad.

 

Note: Some pumpers only emit light while you are squeezing the handle. This is a waste of time and your energy. Get one with a battery. I think I paid $7 for mine at Big Lots. You never know what you will find at Big Lots, they get new stuff each week. If you see something you like, grab it because you will not find it again later.

 

Bottom line: I will keep mine around and use it occasionally.

 

Walmart has a led head lamp made by Energizer that has a three position switch for spot, flood, or red leds. It takes 3 AAAs and the part where the leds are is adjustable from straight ahead to straight down. I think I paid a little over $12.00 for it. Really nice unit.

[+GSVNoFixedAbode]

Just to chime in with something that tickled my fancy as a LED headlight. It's also the modern day equivalent to the propeller beanie! The stealth aspect of it would seem to fit nicely with 'caching and the gear we carry!

 

 

The bill of the cap hides a solar panel for charging during the day with the LEDs hidden at the front. More of a backup rather than primary light I suspect.

[fivedime]

I am a die-hard Surefire fan, carry an E2D with me every day, everywhere. Needless to say, when I'm out caching and I need a light, day or night, it's there. I have simply resigned myself to the fact that batteries and their associated expense will be a part of my life now, and buy the 123's in bulk.

 

I also keep a couple of Inova LED lights in my bag for when a bit less light is needed...an X5, X1, and a pair of microlights (one white, one red). I have been a fan of red LEDs for quite some time now; if you need just a little light for a moment at night you can't beat red...it won't affect your night vision nearly as much as white light will.

 

The Night Ize LED conversions are great for 2-AA Mag Lights, unfortunately they have quality issues. It's not uncommone to get one with a malfunctioning switch unit. Great when they work, though. In addition to longer battery life, another beneift of LED lights is the "bulb" will effectively never burn out.

[eVh_5150]

For a simple light I just use a 35mm film canister, a small switch or momentary on button, a 9v battery & battery clip, an LED & metal bezel, and a resistor that depends on the voltage of the LED. Great for stealth mode. They let out enough light to find things, but not so much that everyone sees your light. Use a rubber band and a paperclip and it will clip to the brim of your hat.

[Dinoprophet]

I have a Totes windup flashlight. The claim is that it will last for 30 minutes or more, but I've found it starts dying immediately and is uselss within ten minutes. It has two settings -- one LED or three -- and neither is very powerful.

 

I also have a really cheap shaker. When I first got it, I shook it up and left it on to see how long it would last. I turned it off after a couple of days, and it was still going strong -- that's a single 30-second shake. It isn't very powerful, but it's good for ten feet or so. Also, the body is transparent and the whole thing glows when it's on, and it will illuminate a confined space.

Edited April 2, 2007 by Dinoprophet

[+Knight2000]

Went to a gun show Saturday and this guy had loads of 12 LED metal lights w/ batteries for $2 each. They seemed to work pretty good too. I would much rather have these than the 3 LED lights from the dollar store!

[+sargenv]

I picked up a dozen or so 9 led flashlights from an online seller. Surpluscomputers.com I think, and they sell two of these lights for like $9 shipped. They take 3 AAA's and last for a good amount of time on them. I use Nickle Metal Hydride rechargables in them and they last a good long time but in a pinch Alkalines will also work. I've thought about leaving these little lights as swag for when I put together an ammo can sized cache or three. Me and my partner tend to do caches at night due to time availability, so it kind of fits in with how we go caching. I need to also get one of those headlamps with the option of red LED's and the brighter white ones.

 

Vince

[discord2k]

check out ledshoppe.com for wicked cheap lights with free shipping no matter what you order. I've bought tons from these guys!

[+gh patriot]

 

My Princeton Tec EOS does the trick. I also carry a 2D 3 watt maglite.

[+Rainwater]

 

I also have a really cheap shaker. When I first got it, I shook it up and left it on to see how long it would last. I turned it off after a couple of days, and it was still going strong -- that's a single 30-second shake. It isn't very powerful, but it's good for ten feet or so. Also, the body is transparent and the whole thing glows when it's on, and it will illuminate a confined space.

 

Sorry but its not a real chake light. The chineese have flooded the cheap shake light market with battery powered knockoffs. If you look real close there are 3 lithium coin cells inside stacked on thier edge. Sure it has a metal shaker thingy and you can chake it but it does nothing. I have torn 3 of these things apart because I got real suspicious that they lasted so long on a coupld of shakes. Our saftey officer bought some for the emergency kits and after I prooved they had batteries in them he threw them away. The metal "shaker" wasnt even a magnet but a piece of steel and the wires from the "Coil" went to nothing. It was nothing more then an LED and 3 batteries. beware of chineese made crap!

 

By the way you can find this same information online but there is nothing you can do becasue they are made in china and the company that makes them has no contact information.

[+angevine]

My husband bought the ultra-bright flashlight that's supposed to frighten animals If you shine it on them. I brought it with me when I spent two wees alone in a dune shack on a writing residency.

 

My review? The mouse living in the shack with me did everything but give me the finger when I shone the bright light on him to dissuade him from making noise deep in the night.

 

Your mileage may, of course, vary....!

 

-- Jeannette

[+NightPilot]

Lights don't frighten animals. Anyone who claims they do is just trying to get your money.

[+HappyHabanormal]

i used 1 of those shake lights when i did a cache that was in a cave. about half way in i shook it and it fell apart. pitch black. i had 3 battery flash lights when i got a chance to do it again.

[+Renegade Knight]

...I also have a really cheap shaker. When I first got it, I shook it up and left it on to see how long it would last. I turned it off after a couple of days, and it was still going strong -- that's a single 30-second shake. It isn't very powerful, but it's good for ten feet or so. Also, the body is transparent and the whole thing glows when it's on, and it will illuminate a confined space.

 

As someone else pointed out. You got taken on that shaker. Check out flashlightreviews.com on shakers. If you really need one (and you can't beat them for their purpose) buy a good one and know what you are getting.

Edited April 11, 2007 by Renegade Knight