Anyone have any experience with http://www.dealextreme.com Flashlights? A few of the popular brands there seem to be ultrafire and trustfire.

Im looking for "throw away" lights cheap and found they have a whole bunch of um for 15$ and under. After the whole grocery store thing Im thinking having a few 4$ flashlights in the car wouldn't hurt.

Another lesson learned, When someone takes your flashlight into the bathroom....You'll never look at it the same way again.

I've only bought Fauxton keychain lights from DX. They make great give away lights. I'd ask around on CPF what the better models are.

Personally, I think the Fenix E01 is the perfect loaner light. Single mode, AAA battery, 10hr+ regulated runtime, extremely durable. Put in a lithium AAA and it'll run forever. Amazon has 'em for around $12.

No affiliation with Fenix, I've just given out a bunch of them as gifts to non-gadget people.

I've bought a lot of lights from DX. Your link doesn't bring up a specific model, just the home page, so I don't know which ones you mean. I have 30 or so of the "faux-tons" and they're terrific for the money ($.50 each). I have half a dozen of these Black Cat 1 x AAA lights with three more en route to me right now. For the money they're amazing. The 100 lumen rating almost certainly isn't "out the front" but goosed at the emitter but they're dazzlingly bright, as well as waterproof and durable.

I also have one on the way that a fellow ETS'er recommmended, a 1 x CR123A model.

I'll admit that I often leave my $160 SureFire E1B at home and take the Black Cat instead. Yeah, the SureFire is much better but if I lose the BC I'll only be mildly bummed, not livid! The BC has good focus, excellent brightness and good battery life.

Sorry if this doesn't address the specific light you mean but the link doesn't bring one up.

BTW, everyone I've gifted with the BC has raved about it! My only quibble is that it's hard to find in the dark (being black). So I ordered a couple of the same thing in red. They should be here with the next order.

In case my praise was too faint, these are superb lights! I'd like to keep a dozen on hand at all times. At the price you can lend them without fear, while still knowing you have a serious torch on hand when the chips are down. The reflector in this little gem is really good.

IMOHO it has no peer at the price (so are as I've seen).

The Romisen RC-G2. I have one of these in every car and a few more in toolboxes and drawers. Great AA light. Comparable beam and throw to my Surefire E1B. Forward clickie. Solid feel in the hand. Highly recommend.

I've also bought 25+ of their fauxtons and they have all worked well. I keep them for kids to play with or give-aways to unprepared people.

It's been a while since I last purchased from them, but as long as you keep "You get what you pay for" in mind and consider the lights mostly disposable, you should be happy with them. If you buy enough, you'll get some duds or mixed up orders, but the amount you save overall is enough to satisfy many/most. Just don't expect to do last minute gift shopping from them.

These are the fauxtons I buy: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultra-value-bright-led-keychain-flashlights-white-10-pack-20241 .

With regard to the other flashlights on DX, some of them are pretty good. For the flashlights I depend on I've decided to stick with brands that I'm comfortable with their reliability.

At the risk of being a sourpuss, isn't DX generally on the ETS 'humanure' list? I recall an utterly shameless knockoff of the DR/CRKT blade with logos and all. YMMV, but I'm not inclined to support such outright theft with my hard-earned dollars.

DX stuff quality varies greatly, I've gotten deals and have been burned, so read the reviews and discussions, and know it's a crap shoot.



They are just a reseller, how many of your local shops carry buck 110 knock offs? Besides it could very well be the manufacturer for CRKT selling out back door.

I used this one for many years and really liked it:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-a...a-1-14500-19187

It would start to flicker on occasion and I'd clean all the screw-together surfaces and contact surfaces with alcohol and it would return to normal. Then that routine cleaning stopped working. I resoldered contacts in the head and that stopped the flickering for a while. I tested the switch on several occassions to see of that was the cause of the flickering but it always tested good. But eventually I had to replace the light. However, it lasted for many years of significant use and I certainly can't complain for the price.

I now have a Quark 1xAA made by 4sevens. It is a better light in every aspect. But it cost me $57 vs. the DealExtreme clights cost of $16.

Also, don't expect DealExtreme advertised lumens to be anywhere near accurate. The light I describe above was advertised as 220 lumens. I'd give it 75 lumens max. Not bad for $16, but no where near what DealExtreme claims.

I also have this light from DealExtreme:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultrafire-w...-2-cr123a-16178

I bought it at the same time as the other one. It has had flawless operation, but it hasn't been used much at all. I have it mounted as a weapons light on my shotgun, so it's only usage has been turning it on for a few seconds every month to make sure all is well. So far "all has been well", but it's only been turned on maybe 50 times, and then only for a few seconds each time. This light is advertised as 250 lumens, but it's output is still sightly less than my 180 lumen light. Probably about 150 lumens in real life. Not bad, but not the advertised 250 either.