LED Flashlight experience

[bletso]

Give up on the cheap. Go to a dive shop or amazon and look for an LED dive light. End of problem.

[blakeney]

Get a halo from ridged industries.absolutely amazing

[ReMetau]

Originally Posted by bletso

Give up on the cheap. Go to a dive shop or amazon and look for an LED dive light. End of problem.

Some dive lights operate at higher temperatures and should not be used outside of the water.

[Travis McGee]

I randomly bought an el cheapo Rayovac milled alloy LED light that uses one AAA battery. Costs $4 with the battery. It has been my nightly hot tub light for over a year, including many full submersions. The single AAA battery gives about 20 hours of useful light. It's not for lighting up the anchorage, but for a useful deck and cockpit light, it impressed me so much I bought a case of 12 of them directly from the Rayovac website and gave them out as Christmas gifts, and I leave them all over the place for my own use.
Mini Flashlight LED Keychain

SKU:BRSLEDKEY-BMFA
Price:$3.99

[Eyeback]

I want to echo F51's experience with LED's going bad after a time. It is no help to read which products are good on a forum or amazon because you do know if the user is in the pockets of the manufacturer. I don't trust half of the reviews I read on Amazon or any other forum. Case in point....those stick lights that get glowing reports on amazon. I bought a bunch of them and they all went bad after a few months. Ditto Walmart. I did my homework on a great LED light there and it lasted less than a month. So buyer beware!

[Travis McGee]

Well, I have used one of those Rayovac micro-LED keychain lights for over a year, and several others since I bought a box of them, and they are all going strong. The twist-on with an o-ring is both simple and waterproof. I personally recommend them.

[MarkJ]

I died of a heart attack last week in the Chandlery when I walked past their torch shelf. What an expenisve joke!

I buy a great torch from Cost U Less white light in front and a glowing handle of red or green.
They are $6 and i buy 3 or 4 at a time. Great for the dink at night!

They are meant to ve waterproof, but as the OP says its the gizzards that corrode. So they last for a year or so and then i bin them.

[ReMetau]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I died of a heart attack last week in the Chandlery when I walked past their torch shelf. What an expenisve joke!

I buy a great torch from Cost U Less white light in front and a glowing handle of red or green.
They are $6 and i buy 3 or 4 at a time. Great for the dink at night!

They are meant to ve waterproof, but as the OP says its the gizzards that corrode. So they last for a year or so and then i bin them.

Such great consumerism. Buy a cheap ass product and replace it often because it is cheap.

[tartansail]

I've been using a Bayco SLR-2166 rechargeable combination worklight and flashlight for the past two years. I wouldn't use it on night watch, but the worklight is great for working in the dark corners of the boat and the flashlight is plenty bright for finding the stuff I drop.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by ReMetau

Such great consumerism. Buy a cheap ass product and replace it often because it is cheap.

Keeps people employed. Well, Chinese people anyway

[Mycroft]

Best damn flashlight I've ever had!
Streamlight 90541 Survivor



More than a bit spendy at $62, but waterproof and BRIGHT! Dropped banging into the bilge, no problem. You can hang it, lay it on its side, it stands up and the batteries last a good long time.

[boatpoker]

So back to the OP's question. I agree. I have spent from $4 to $80 on LED flashlights and the same thing happens. After a while you have to give them a thump to get them to work. Cleaning or bending the contacts does not seem to help.

[noelex 77]

Have a look at Zebralight as an alternative. Much smaller, brighter (despite the claim it is the brightest right angle flashlight the Zebralight produces 2-6x more light depending on the model) and more efficient.
They are a similar cost.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

So back to the OP's question. I agree. I have spent from $4 to $80 on LED flashlights and the same thing happens. After a while you have to give them a thump to get them to work. Cleaning or bending the contacts does not seem to help.

Good flashlights will not do this. They are very durable and reliable, but flashlights like this are expensive, $80 is at the lower end.

Unfortunately many well known brands like Magnalite and even Led lenser are not well made especially for the wet environment. You need to spend a bit more if you want something dependable.

Have a look here:

Cracking a coconut with Catapult V2 flashlight - YouTube

And here:
HDS Systems: EDC $modelType Flashlight Details, EDC Executive Flashlight details, EDC Tactical Flashlight details, EDC LE, Ra Clicky, Ra Clicky Tactical, EDC Flashlight details, Every Day Carry Flashlight, EDC-120-E 120 lumens, EDC-140-E 140 lumens,

[hugosalt]

Have my Energizer Hard Case Tactical number of years now,
bought on Woot (thinking about $25.) Do not see my exact model any longer but Amazon and others have very similiar
for about same price. Thinking when I researched it, not sure, it was developed and 1st made for the military.(originally price $80. +-
Also has red, blue and infared features. Solid build, I have
abused this light and still as sood as new.