Customer Reviews

Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Jet Black

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(39)

 

 

I bought both this 9-LED unit and one each of the "GIANT Light - Small Package" Flashlights; the 21-LED and 28-LED versions, both for $[...], right here on Amazon.com. side-by-side, the light put out by the 9-LED unit's embarrassing. Yes, the 9-LED unit is slimmer; the head is the same size as the barrel, essentially, so it'll slide conveniently into a space the size of a roll of quarters. But, when you pull it out and use it, if you're lucky, like some here, it will work. In my case, I have to keep unscrewing and screwing in the battery compartment lid to keep it on... and it *still* flickers off for no reason or if lightly jostled. Forget it.

The 21- and 28-LED units light up a dark closet like a floodlight. They're amazing. For 12 bucks, the 28-LED unit is an excellent deal. Since they're both the same size and price, I'd get it over the 21-LED unit. LEDs are power misers. And both units have been rock solid. And they come with a nifty little nylon velcro-closed belt case.

Bought 3 of these flashlights in different colors. One of the units, the cool blue one, first started showing intermittent lighting, then died. After pushing on the glass face of the flashlight, the light came back on, but soon went away. After a few more tries pushing on the glass face, the light came back on, hopefully to stay. To ensure that it stays operational, I've added superglue to make sure the glass does not shift out the millimeter or two that seems to kill the flashlight. Still decided to give it 4 stars because for the price it does give out decent light to use on camping trips, and battery life has been good though I have not timed it. Also, to be fair, it did take some abuse from my son, and I don't really expect a low priced flashlight to handle too much abuse.

This is such an incredibly good product - the LED's are bright, the bulbs last forever, and the batteries on the ones I bought months ago haven't needed changing yet, even with daily use. The construction is excellent. It's a little hard to thread the loop of the strap through the pinhole-sized eyelet at the back of the flashlight cylinder, but that's the worst I can say about this. I paid $8 for these at another online store, and they were still worth it. At the price here, even better.

Once you have a few, you can find great uses for them:
- Outdoors, of course - camping or simply going for a walk
- In the garage or toolbox for finding stuff
- As emergency lights, tucked away accessibly in each room
- Personal flashlights - in your car, purse, camera bag
- Supplemental lighting for your camera if you take close-up pictures of nature or anything small (your built-in flash can't point that close to your lens)
- Carry them while bicycling - spare headlamp for your bike

I was first attracted to this product by its small size, excellent light intensity, and price. When I received the package, right on the back was a safety disclaimer. Turns out this product is manufactured in China and the pain they use on it is lead based. More troubling was the fact that warning label advised the user to wear goggles and gloves when using the flashlight. When was the last time anyone had to use flashlights and gloves to use a flashlight. As the proverbial saying goes, you get what you pay for. I just didn't expect that such an simple product would be a detrimental health risk.

This review applies to the following 3 products (same item, just different color: jet black, gunmetal gray or cool blue):

Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Gunmetal Silver
Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Cool Blue
Super-Bright 9 LED Heavy-Duty Compact Aluminum Flashlight - Jet Black

Most LED lights you find in stores now for this price use those exotic lithium "coin" type batteries, but not these little flashlights. These use regular AAA batteries (3 of them) and those are available just about anywhere, and you can even find rechargeable AAAs easily. So battery cost is low to negligible.

The price itself can't be beat at $2.99, but what are you getting?

The body itself is aluminum, not plastic. And that's good. The whole thing fits in your fist very comfortably, very light, yet feels nicely built, solid. Even tapping with your fingernails gives a solid tock instead of thin metal clink or plasticky clack.

The general shape is round, but with "ridges" so it should not roll much, even on a flat surface.

The trigger as at the rear end, and there is only one power setting. This makes it more like police-style tactical lights, but also makes it impossible to stand "up" on a flat surface for use as a temporary torch.

The endcap is NOT o-ring sealed so it's NOT waterproof, but tight enough to be water and splash resistant. Don't dive with it, but it should work in the rain well enough. And being so light even WITH batteries inside, it's virtually shockproof.

Open the endcap and you see a "battery holder" which slides out. You load the 3 AAA batteries into it (all clearly labeled). Slide the holder back in, seal the endcap, and you're in business!

The light is pretty darn bright, though a bit scattered. I also have a LED Maglite (which cost me $25, has a single 3-Watt Luxeon LED, uses 2 AA batteries) and this is almost comparable to that brightness. However, my Maglite (tm) has focusing controls, and energy management circuit inside, as well as a "torch mode". This little thing can't do any of that. But at 1/8th of the price, does it matter?

Yes, it's made in China. Don't expect miracles. You'll probably see a couple DOAs and the batteries they include are lousy generic alkalines. Replace with quality alkalines or even rechargeables soon to save even more money.

All in all, $2.99 for a flashlight is very good, and this flashlight can rival stuff costing five times as much, which makes it a definite bargain.

I needed several small flashlights so I purchased one to evaluate quality - good thing I did because they don't seem any good. The sample I received does not work at all (that is, there is no light output). I put fresh batteries in it but that didn't help. I checked for loose or missing parts but could find no obvious cause for the failure.

I then purchased 6 Sears Craftsman LED flashlights for $7.50 on sale. Every one of them works perfectly.

(I gave it a one star rating only because I couldn't give it a zero star rating.)

This flashlight is great, it offers really good lighting, and it only uses 3 AAA batteries, making it very efficient. However, beware who you buy it from. I've bought three of these flashlights overall. Two of them came from the merchant ETOOLSCITY, and they worked great. This merchant sells them with the batteries, and some of them with a little bag to hang from your belt. The packaging is great and you can tell they are new. However, the merchant **seller_atl** sold me a poor flashlight. It was supposed to be a 9-LED light flashlight but instead I received a 8 light flashlight (since one of the 9 small bulbs did not work). This seller does not include the batteries with the order, and on top of that, the packaging is very poor. It seems to me that seller_atl sold me a used flashlight when it was supposed to have been new. I strongly recommend the products from eToolscity, but caution against those from seller_atl. Although the products might seem the same THEY ARE NOT! Spend your money wisely on good products that will last a long time, not on cheap, and possibly used products that come defective as it is.

I bought 8 of these to help out during the coming hurricaine season down here(Florida) and from what I see i think everything is gonna work out fine.Bright light, easy ergonomics and a great feel in your hand(it is only 3 inches long but the circumference is full in your fist and the batteries load like you were filling the chambers of a weapon .)So when the power goes off I believe the light from these little sawed-offs should fill the rooms;yes, the light is that strong.( I would suggest dumping the batteries provided and pick up duracell AAA wholesale.)Either way these flashlights seem like a great bargain for any season.And as tough as nails.(I like the silver gun metal color.It fits)

This is a good light. The LED is very bright and the batteries last forever. The case is light and works well in pocket or purse. The light is bright, but it is not a focused beam like a Mag-light. It also tends to wash out colors like a florescent light, but it does throw out a good deal of light.

Excellent little light, I have bought a few for camping and more for friends. Only one caution, when installing the batteries read the markings. As I am guessing this may be the problem with some of the self absorbed geniuses on here who can't get this light to work. One battery goes + side down the other 2 are + towards the bulb end. As far as light goes, this little light will light up an entire campsite with white light and blind anyone you shine it at close range. Enjoy, I a ordering more for just about every spot I had am conventional flashlight.