Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Discuss all of the great hunting opportunities in Minnesota

Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby Lumpy on Thu Jun 15, 2017 6:30 pm

Being the old fossil that I am, most of my flashlights were bought years or even decades ago and have incandescent bulbs. Is it worth reinvesting in LED lights to take advantage of the higher luminosity/greater battery life? LED's are inexpensive true, but what you already have is free. Given that LEDs run the gamut from near-disposable keychain trinkets to electric lanterns how much light do I want? What's a good lumen-to-dollar cost ratio? Would a "grid down" scenario as opposed to what you'd take on a one-week camping trip make a difference?
User avatar
Lumpy
 
Posts: 2700 [View]
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 2:54 pm
Location: North of Lowry, West of Penn

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby bigscoop on Thu Jun 15, 2017 7:45 pm

Hi,I have 3 LED Maglite (2 D size ) , for less than $30.00 they are well worth it for an" all around", larger light.
bigscoop
 
Posts: 37 [View]
Joined: Sat Mar 16, 2013 8:19 pm
Location: White Bear Twp. Mn.

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby brad3579 on Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:28 pm

If you have any cordless tools you may want to think about buying that companies lights. I have quite a few Dewalt 20 volt and they work great.
User avatar
brad3579
 
Posts: 611 [View]
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:39 pm
Location: Lino Lakes

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby linksep on Thu Jun 15, 2017 9:53 pm

Probably cheaper than retrofitting your existing lights and a lot more compact:
http://a.co/8vzNLpC

I have had a few of these, I have determined that I prefer the single mode lights. Try buying from a few different sellers because there are good "Ultrafire" flashlights and bad ones (I'm pretty sure "Ultrafire" is a knockoff brand of a brand that never really existed... and there are knockoffs of the knockoffs so quality can and does vary). There are even websites dedicated to modding these and determining good ones from bad.

They can use AA batteries...for about 10 minutes of "ON" time. I bought "Nitecore" 14500 lithium-ion batteries and charger to go with them; I tell people I have a $7 battery in a $6 flashlight.
Science: noun, Whatever answer will help to advance communism.
linksep
 
Posts: 741 [View]
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2012 10:41 pm

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby hard h2o on Thu Jun 15, 2017 11:53 pm

If you belong to Sam's Club or Costco make sure to look there. I have quite the collection of lights bought from the warehouse clubs.

I just got these for $9.99 from Costco: https://www.costco.com/Duracell-2-pack-LED-700-Lumens-Flashlight-.product.100319990.html

I have given a few of these or variants thereof for presents: https://www.costco.com/Feit-LED-Flashlight-Kit-1000-Lumens%2c-3-pack-with-case.product.100134566.html

They often have multi packs of lights:
https://www.costco.com/Feit-Electric-500-Lumen-Flashlight-3-pack.product.100049686.html

https://www.costco.com/Duracell-LED-Flashlight-350-Lumens%2c-4-pack.product.100320474.html
hard h2o
 
Posts: 734 [View]
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:08 pm
Location: Oakdale, MN

Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby BBeckwith on Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:10 am

Those Duracell lights are good values, just know that they drain batteries sitting inactive


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
The IQ of a mob is the IQ of its dumbest member, divided by the number of people in it.
User avatar
BBeckwith
 
Posts: 1082 [View]
Joined: Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:33 am

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby Lumpy on Sat Jun 17, 2017 10:19 am

I get a lot of "free just pay shipping" spam, and LED lights are a perennial favorite item offered. Are these likely to be worth the price?
User avatar
Lumpy
 
Posts: 2700 [View]
Joined: Sat Dec 28, 2013 2:54 pm
Location: North of Lowry, West of Penn

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby TSKNIGHT on Sun Jun 18, 2017 7:23 pm

I've replaced the xenon bulbs in all my MagLight with LED bulbs. The 2 & 3 D cell lights make good car flashlights and last for hours on a set of batteries.
My 6 D cell Maglight lasts over 12 hours in subzero temps and I have no clue how long it will last at summer temps.
So far I have 4 LED Maglights with less than $20 invested.
TSKNIGHT
 
Posts: 211 [View]
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 8:56 pm

Re: Upgrade flashlights to LEDs?

Postby gbono23 on Wed Jun 28, 2017 1:49 pm

I agree with hard h2o, the Fiet triple pack at Costco is amazing. They had them for a while at $29 for the set. I think on the web they are $36 or so, but you can't look directly into either of the big ones, and even the small one is really bright.
gbono23
 
Posts: 99 [View]
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 6:03 am


Return to Hunting

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests

cron