6 watt, 120 lumens, Luxeon K2 LED...

Dorcy Light

Saw it at target for $39.99

I want one!

Thoughts?

6 watts ... 3 AAA batteries ... what's the advertised runtime? Can't be too much more than about 37 seconds. (Kidding of course, but only half-so. I really would like to know what they advertise.)

I can't remember the run time. But it runs on 6AAAs, not 3.

IIRC, run time was 2.5 hrs?

For an extra $15 the Fenix L2D - CE looks a better bet.

oh yeah, and it says 3 AAA on the website but that has to be a typo. I am pretty certain it is 6 AAA batteries...

The Dorcy is like the poor man's ham (AKA bologna)?

i wouldn't buy one, but thats mine opinion and taste. I like small single or two cells lights, so you can carry them around on you. This way it's much more likely it will be on you when you need the light. I also don't like 3 or more battery light, because i always end up with one or two too little or too much.

And at 40 bucks, you might aswell buy other good and bright lights. If you surf around, you can find many reasonable priced quality lights.

That seems like a lot of current to pull from just 3AAA. In general, K2 emitters are not favored by the flashlight crowd these days. Sure, they can be very bright, but they're not too efficient and they can get quite hot. In addition, with those batteries, I wouldn't be surprised if this light is at max brightness only for a limited time before it starts to gradually dim, at least on alkalines.

However, if you don't need light for extended periods of time, then it very well might be a decent light for you. Typical household use for most people is probably in spurts of several minutes at a time, instead of leaving the light on continuously for a long time. This could be a good bump-in-the-night or "what was that sound?" kind of lights.

Given the size, it looks like a 3-AAA light to me. (Personally I think that's a bad sign right away. Many of these offshore 3-AAAs use a cartridge for the batteries, which adds two more sets of spring-loaded contacts to the circuit -- more tiny, unrepairable bits to go wrong.)

But there's no way it's being run at 6 watts. What they actually mean is the LED itself is rated to a maximum of 6 watts. The circuit is almost certainly designed to run at half that or less. Truth in advertising -- hah!

You can buy a lot more flashlight for your money. A Fenix if you can afford it (pretty amazing spec's), or even a MagLED as a bright utility light.

I am a firm believer in Underwater Kinetics lights. The warranty is not a joke. The industrial models are very durable and carry UL and CSA Class I Div 2 ratings. While the LEDs are 2watt, they are bright enough for most every use. They are in your price range. The real question is what do you need a 6 watt led for?

For use outside the house I've pretty much switched 100% to a headlamp - specifically the Princeton Tec EOS. Not having to hold them is just so handy (no pun intended), they're tiny, lightweight, very bright, and durable.

I recently bought the tiny Fenix P1D Cree light (uses the single 123A battery) to have as a small backup for the EOS. It is AMAZINGLY bright for its size and has a long shelf life (lithium), but kind of expensive - about $70

If car camping I'll usually bring a Coleman lantern to help light things up for the Scouts.

Inside my car & house I continue to use an array of somewhat abandoned field handheld lights - my favorites are the 4AA Underwater Kinetics LED (bedroom), the 4AA Streamlight PolyPro LED (car), the Princeton Tec Impact XL (family room), and the little 2 AAA River Rock LED lights from Target (living room & bedroom). The Underwater Kinetics has more of a flood beam - very nice consistency. The SL PolyPro is more of a spotlight. The PT Impact XL isn't as nice as the UK or the SL PolyPro, in my view.

Agree with the UK lights. I have a couple of the UK 4AAeLED lights in various kits. Very usable amount of light with good coverage.

I can't help you with that model, but I have a half dozen of these , got them at Costco, two for about $19 if I recall correctly. I am more than happy with them, so I expect that other of their lights might be OK...

I think I have owned 2 Dorcy's (not the one you are looking at though), and I must say that my experience with them is such that I would have to be a dork to buy another one. Both mine burned out very quickly, and rusted on the inside, and then fell apart.

I wouldn't spend $39.00 on a Dorcy.

Dave

Since I first read this thread I have been looking for the most powerful LED light I could find. The only one I could find that was more powerful was the Trek™ 6000 ex60 and it was over $200 and only operated at full power 4-5 hours. So I'm gonna try the Dorcy and will let you know how it works.

It does indeed use 6AAA batteries. I was checking it out again in Target.

For that price, I would rather have a Surefire G2 Nitrolon. You'll have a few bucks left over for batteries too or to start your fund for a 150 lumen cree bulb assembly.