Hi

Can anyone comment on the Princton Pulsar II LED light? At R180 (about $23), its fairly expensive for me. to put you into perspective, i can get a maglite solitair for about the same price.
BTW. i saw a photon 3 (imported from the US) for R500 - $62 !!! to me, that is rediculous.

you don't have to buy well know brands, some local brands can be much cheaper. i bought a "pocket led light" ( what a original name...) for €9.95 and it has everything i demanded.
Pulsar and proton lights are rediculous expensive here 2.... <img src="images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I have a couple of princton tec pulsar IIs. They are not bad, small and bright LEDs. They were cheaper than the photons, but not water resistant, nor do they have the fancy modes of operation like the photon 3.
They work for me and at the right price.

If the LEDs are expensive where you live, get something which fits your budget. You don't have to get it if it is so expensive. The best tools are what you have on you when you need them. I'd get the maglight solitaire, its also a good torch.

Other prohibitively expensive torches like the surefire are currently not on my 'buy' list, as I currently don't see the need to have something so powerful....yet <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Is there some reason you guys outside the US mainland can't get them off Ebay? The postage might be a little more (they weigh next to nothing, right?), but I just bought a handful of Photon 2's for $8.95 each.
I've found that Ebay is usually the cheapest market place for lights, knives, etc.

wel i don't have a creditcard, and other means of payment are hard to find with are excepted in the states. besides sending things by mail cost much and you are not garuatyed that they actually work.

Get one or more ARC AAA L.E.D. flashlights, you will not be disappointed. Here is a web site. Pete

http://www.countycomm.com/light3.htm

Buying products overseas is not easy :
First, you better have to make bulk orders (regroup a few friends/relatives/co-workers interested in the same product...), because, in France, you have to pay customs fees and VAT on the goods + on the shipping costs ; which means, if you buy a small inexpensive thing, you will pay far more customs fees and VAT on the shipping than on the product itself !!!!!

And if you want to keep the shipping costs low, you have to use Postal Services, wait a few weeks (3, generally), and deal with many curious problems (your package goes back to the States when it arrives in France, or it comes back to you 4 days after you send it to the States .... <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> )

Another pb is the payment : if credit card is not accepted, you have to send money via wire transfert. For small amounts, the bank fees are quite high (in proportion...).

And finally, you have to deal with defective equipments ....... that means send products back (and maybe pay again customs fees on the free replacement products when they arrive....)

So far, I have make orders at Kriana Corp (krill lights - I couldn't get in touch with their french distributor) and Photonlight.com (Photon 3 and Xlights - the french prices seemed high and I emptied the distributor stock <img src="images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />, but I finally only made a very small saving).

No problem with Kriana. Good contact with Kris PAULY. Good products.

A few defective Photon lights ; hopefully, Brian AVERY is a great guy and he always found solutions for my defective or shipping problems. Great service.


Alain

Good points, all . . . I too live outside the mainland US (US Virgin Islands), and can't find a lot of things locally.
For me, it's a foregone conclusion that the Internet (and in particular, Ebay) are the answer to lack of local availability.
Even if only for that reason, I'd have some kind of credit card, even if it's prepaid, or a debit VISA or MC.
Another option that works many places is to sign up with PayPal for Ebay purchases, in which they debit your checking account directly. Not sure if there are geographic limitations on PayPal, but may be worth checking out.

thanks for the replies. i wont reply to individuals, i'll just make some comments...

I have an AAA ARC light (R280 / cheaper than an 2 AA maglite) I'm very impressed with it. I left it on the whole night to see the battery strength. Although noticibly dimmer, it was still bright.

I havn'tcome across any local-brand 'Photon' sized LEDs in white - blue is the most common colour.

I don't have a credit card, and the charges are a bit high for individual items like a photon/pulsar, which my parents wont pay (nor do i expect them to). BTW, I did order a wave from amazon.com for my birthday - i saved about $20 in the end!

I want a white LED for a PSK, so i think i'll still shop around about.
PS that ARC is great!