Customer Reviews

Dorcy 41-2498 1/2-Watt LED Flashlight

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Two problems I've had with all other previous LED flashlights: 1) the light is all in one small-angle area, with almost no light at all outside this, 2) there's no real hot-spot, the light is pretty uniform within the beam. With standard (non-LED) flashlights, there's usually a very bright hot-spot, and a wide-angle low-intensity beam that allows scanning for things in the dark, and then getting a better look at details with the hot-spot. This flashlight shares these characteristics with non-LED lights, eliminating all of the objections I've had with LEDs.

Two concerns:
1) the bulb gets very hot in use, so I'm skeptical about the claimed 70,000 hour bulb life,
2) I've seen one package for this product that claims 200 hour battery life, and another (with the same part number) that claims that the LED is a 25 lumen, 1/2-watt unit. These two claims are somewhat contradictory, in that 200 hours at 1/2-watt would be 100 watt-hours, which is way, way more energy than can be crammed into four AA cells. However, the packaging does say "200 hours of useful light", which may mean 4 hours of really bright light, 4 hours of kind-of-bright light, and 192 hours of yes-there's-still-light-coming-out-of-it. The package I bought had the 1/2-watt, 25-lumen claims, which are much more important to me than 200-hour life, so I'd be a little concerned about ordering one if it's going to be a different version, optimized for battery life.

Nice flashlight, life long LED bulb but beware of changing batteries the front end has to be removed and four aa batteries installed. When closing the flashlight and attempting to screw down the unfriendly front end I broke the plastic parts that fit on the battery. This is poor design and I would like Dorcey International to replace the parts and change their design. What good is a lifetime bulb, when the whole assembly breaks the first time you replace the batteries. Contact info not available on the flashlight of course to provide feed back to the vendor.

I was introduced to this flashlight two years ago because The Moorings uses them on many of their charter boats. I bought two when I returned from vacation and they have been in constant use since then. One is used almost every day during the winter when my wife and I go for our evening walk which is usually in the dark. I use NIMH batteries which I remove, recharge and replace once a week. I've never had a problem with parts breaking or difficulty reassembling. I like the size and the fact that it uses AA batteries. It's truly a great product for the price.

October 5, 2010 Update

Both units have been in use since the main review was written and have performed as expected. One unit is used more than the other and the batteries in this unit have been removed, recharged, and replaced many times without any issues. I would still give this product the highest rating.

What more can I say? I got three uses out of it and now the little LED just glows feebly when i switch it on. Cleaned all contacts, replaced new batteries == no joy. :(

I have taken this to Israel, Thailand, hiking in the U.S. and Canada. I could not be more pleased. It is compact, lightweight and burns BRIGHTLY for a LONG time before changing the AA batteries. I have bought more for gifts, a great Christmas stocking stuffer that kids and adults can always use. Great for camping. I also keep one of these in my SUV at all times. Waterproof and it's an UNREAL price.... Highly recommend it..

Bright light and long battery life. Seems that
those old incandescent flashlights were always
dead when you needed them. This is a bright lite
and the batteries last 10 times longer.

I like it.

I have owned this flashlight for more than two years. I bought it for hunting, and it has been superb. The feature I like most is the long battery life. I change the batteries once a year, but they have never been run down when I replaced them. Ever tried using a standard flashlight after letting it sit for a Year? Usually batteries will be near dead, but not with this jewel. This flashlight isn't super bright, but works great for around the house and for my hunting needs. I've never had any problems changing batteries. You do have to put it back together the way it came apart (not rocket science). If you want reeeally long battery life and a great, durable flashlight, this is the one for you.