Anybody knows about the Costco LED 145Lu Cree LED Flashlight?

[e9999]

since i recently discovered that there are people here with scary expertise and interest in flashlights and I followed a bit the discussion on the extra powerful lights available out there, I wanted to ask about the 145 Lumens Cree LED light I saw in an ad. It's a Leatherman Monarch 500 with 6 (!) AAA. It is supposed to be available in the stores. Have not seen one yet and could not find anything much online.

Anybody knows about this thing? Good quality, good light intensity and pattern etc? Good buy?

[crushr]

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178544

[e9999]

Originally Posted by crushr

http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178544

thanks


added: check the bottom of the 2nd page on that forum, good stuff... seems like one or 2 may be in order! oh, and it's 3 AAAs at a time in a holder of sort...
mmm.... come to think of it, the lack of reduced power for longer battery life is an issue...

[firetruck41]

I remember seeing a costco ad for it, couldn't find it last time I was at costco a few days ago.

[e9999]

not at mine either

[sjcruiser]

Ask the stock room person to see when they are in. The local Costco ordered 500+ lights that were supposed to be in on Monday. I haven't had time to stop by yet.

[firetruck41]

The Leatherman Monarch is available at the PDX airport area Costco, it says it is 145 lumen, and is a Cree LED, it is packaged so you can turn it on and view it's light output at the store. It is pretty bright, but can't tell much in the brightly lit store. My wife was with me, and after buying 2 flashlights (Rayovac and Task Force Crees) in the last couple weeks, she put the foot down on buying another. She thinks I'm crazy. But it would be nice to have a smaller form factor light like the 3@ AAA-cell Leatherman, with the same output as my 2@ C-cell, and 3@ C-cell Crees.

[e9999]

they finally made it to my Costco, $30.
It's bright all right but hard to tell if it's unusually so.
Any expert opinion on whether it's a must buy or not?


added: wow! read some of the threads on this light in the candlepowerforums... These guys are more into lights than we are into cruisers...
general consensus seems to be that it's a decent light and good buy but has some technical issues

[Landpimp]

last night on NBC Nightly News.......they talked about LED was gonna replace most all lightinig, even some towns are changing out street lighting to LED, huge savings in just 4 years.

so the news is out

[calamaridog]

I can't find this light. Tried two different Costco's. I'll try one more before giving up.

[Landpimp]

not at my Costco either.....save ya a trip to WA

Originally Posted by calamaridog

I can't find this light. Tried two different Costco's. I'll try one more before giving up.

[firetruck41]

They only had two small cases of them at the PDX costco, a few weeks ago (I hinted heavily so hope to see one in my stocking), but when I was there about a week later, I couldn't find any.

[e9999]

I think that technology is over the head of the general public so not obvious that they will sell well.

I was at the Costco playing with the light, checking for blue tint. This younger guy comes over, looks at them, and comments on the price for only a *1* LED light. Says his headlight has *5* LEDs and was cheaper...



[to summarize some of the tech discussions on the light, a couple of significant drawbacks seem to be that the focusing feature is worthless as in big hole in the center if you widen the beam, and the running time is only something like an hour or 2 with alkaline AAAs. Still a good light if you need brief bursts of powerful light, for burglars, bears etc, I guess... ]

[firetruck41]

Originally Posted by e9999

[to summarize some of the tech discussions on the light, a couple of significant drawbacks seem to be that the focusing feature is worthless as in big hole in the center if you widen the beam, and the running time is only something like an hour or 2 with alkaline AAAs. Still a good light if you need brief bursts of powerful light, for burglars, bears etc, I guess... ]

I would be very happy with 1-2 hours of quality light on only a couple of triple-A batteries. A small, powerful flashlight light like that, is not meant to be a 8 hour work light...

[e9999]

well, Santa did somehow figure out I had looked at that light in the store and talked about it at home... He's way smart too cuz when I went to my Costco a few days ago they were out already...

it is bright indeed! Can't quite compare to other LEDs but sure way brighter than even my big Maglites.
What I like a lot is that the tight spot setting is nicely round and pretty small too. But as mentioned, when you open up the focus there is a big dark hole in the middle.
Feels very sturdy, quite heavy. Nice to have.

[firetruck41]

Santa brought me one too! I believe it is the same led emitter as the rayovac and taskforce, it is a cree LED. It uses a reflector instead of a collimator (sp?) lens. It is not quite as bright as the C-cell cree LEDs I have, but pretty close. I haven't put new batteries in yet, so the original batteries could be a factor in the brightness. It is best to just leave the beam focused, as widening the beam just dims the output. It is heavy, and better machined than the aforementioned lights, and also has a very nice molded codura case. I think they only had these in stock for a few days.

I think it is a "special" deal for leatherman, as their factory/headquarters is right next to my costco, and when I stopped at the factory store last week, they didn't have any of these lights.

[along]

how far does the light project? LED lights don't seem to have the projection that my krypton maglight, the exception is one I've seen that has a projector type lens, like on a HID light

[firetruck41]

Originally Posted by along

how far does the light project? LED lights don't seem to have the projection that my krypton maglight, the exception is one I've seen that has a projector type lens, like on a HID light

I would guess that you would have a very visible beam for 200'+. I know i can make out any detail I want to at 115', beyond that I have light pollution from neighbors/streetlights, etc, so can't say for sure how far out it is effective. From the comparison pics on the flashlight forums, this light will outperform a krypton maglight pretty easily. If you haven't seen a Luxeon 3 watt or a Cree LED, you don't know what you are missing, other LEDs or those "9 LED" or "15 LED" type lights are garbage in comparison.

[e9999]

I did try out the light outside. In the dark, I could illuminate and see clearly a house something like 200 yds away. Wasn't like bright daylight, obviously, but I could have seen easily somebody walking there I think.

From memory I think this one is much brighter than my big 3D Maglite. And the white light makes it look brighter certainly. I'll do a test.

I also did note that there is a fairly bright halo around the central spot, so the lack of flood capability is not as bad as I feared.

I still would like to figure out how good these "3W" LED replacement inserts for Maglites are.

[Cruisin'Carolina]

I love the Taskforce 60X Santa brought me. Simply amazing.

[firetruck41]

Originally Posted by e9999

I still would like to figure out how good these "3W" LED replacement inserts for Maglites are.

I think I saw some pics on CPF comparing them to the rayovac, the mag LED wasn't very impressive.

[esh]

A telling comment yesterday at Home Depot from the clearance aisle- customer asks if there are any LED Xmas lights left and the clerk answered they were out 3 weeks ago. He went on to say last year they couldn't give them away due to the high cost and next year he hopes they'll order more. Pretty fast consumer buyin imo..

Anyways,

I've been on an LED buying spree lately.. here are the scores


work lights-

(like this one)
60 LED Work Light 60 LED Work Light [] - $28.90 : GlowBug.com : LED Flashlights

(this one, not as much, but it has a cool tripod built into the handle.. doesn't hold a charge well)
63 LED Work Light with tripod 63 LED tripod Work Light [] - $39.90 : GlowBug.com : LED Flashlights

they both share the same charging cords- AC and car DC adapters both included


flashlights-

(decent, pretty bright, luxeon based, excellent build quality)
M-6 M-6 [] - $48.00 : GlowBug.com : LED Flashlights

(gift, kind of cheesy build)
Find heated seats, Towel Warmer, 12 & 24 volt products ,car cover, car bra, locking mailbox search for FL31

(gift, nice quality, night light pattern) kept one of these for myself!
same URL, search for ETW-LL7575

(gift, kind of gadgety but works well)
Cigarette Lighter Rechargeable LED Map Light & Flashlight or search for wag-2252


lantern-

(very nice build lantern)
Freeplay Indgo Wind-up self-sufficient LED Lantern

[along]

Bought the light, if you can still find them, I would buy one. I was very impressed at the light projection, plus the price is right!

[619TOY]

I just picked one up today. Figured I couldn't go wrong for 30 bucks. It seems pretty bright in my bathroom but nightfall will be the true indicator. While I am sure it is a great light, my Ultra Stinger still impresses everyone that sees it. So far I haven't come across any flashlight that compares (it was $75 at Amazon.com a few years ago w/2 chargers).

[calamaridog]

Originally Posted by 619TOY

I just picked one up today. Figured I couldn't go wrong for 30 bucks. It seems pretty bright in my bathroom but nightfall will be the true indicator. While I am sure it is a great light, my Ultra Stinger still impresses everyone that sees it. So far I haven't come across any flashlight that compares (it was $75 at Amazon.com a few years ago w/2 chargers).

Where did you find it? Costco?

And sorry, but Ih8 the Ultra Stinger. The ones we use at work go to the shop every couple months. There is a design flaw in the bulb mounting and they constantly come loose or break. Very bright light but the design is flawed. My Stinger XT on the other hand has performed flawlessly for around 6 years and almost daily use. Very very durable.

On a side note, I just picked up this one:

2008 OLIGHT T10 w. Cree Q5 WC LED 5 levels, 3 modes, 190 lumens! 1 x CR123A

Only $50, runs on 1 - cr123a battery 190 lumens on high! Thing is smaller than a 2aa maglite and throws real damn far, I can hardly believe it.

Specifications:
Uses 1 X CR123A batteries - primary or rechargeable. (not included).
Ultra Efficient, State of the art CREE 7090 XR-E Q5 WC LED up to 190 lumens on high!
Unique half smooth, half orange peel metal reflector ensures a smooth beam and excellent throw.
Specially designed for waterp resistance and anti-roll.
AR coated glass lense.
Aluminium alloy case with MIL-SPEC Type III black hard anodized finish.
Water proof to IPX-8 standard, anti-shattering, anti-scratching and anti-rolling. MIL-STD-810F compliant.
Size: 89.6mm/3.5"(L) x 21.6mm/.85"(D)Weight:43g/1.5oz without battery.

Includes Wrist Lanyard, Spare tailcap switch cover and O-rings.

Output & Runtime Information: Illumination: 190lm(1hr), 85lm(3hrs), 38lm(8hrs), 15lm, 20hrs), 6lm(50hrs)
SOS: 190lm for 3 hrs 17lm for 40 hrs
Strobe: 190lm (2.1hrs)