I don’t think this is a great deal but anyone saying that 150 lumens is not that bright is mad.
Certainly there ARE much brighter flashlights out there, but for me at least, an avid outdoorsman and boater, the tradeoff between battery life/glare and intensity peaks somewhat lower than 150 lumens.
The flashlight I have now has 60 and 120 lumen settings, and usually I use the 60, out of choice!
The red mode would be handy though … this light would be tempting at half the price.
Just to be clear, the 150 lumens is peak output, and will only output at this intensity for 15 minutes or so, before it gradually declines. The 20hr thing on Amazon must surely be incorrect or running the flashlight to death. All flashlights are like this to some degree, although lithium ion batteries a less noticeable.
This is a niche flashlight. Buy this if you:
Read by the light of your gun barrel at night.
Fend off stealthy intruders with your firearm,
Have a tendency to squeeze off rounds inaccurately and need to resort to a melee weapon.
Like others have said before, there are better flashlights out there to do particular things, for the same price or less.
Get a cheap around home/workbench flashlight to loseImean store in your drawers if that’s what you’ll use it for.
Past Woot
Get a headlamp with a dual red/white LED configuration for oudoor trekking.
Pretzel Headlamp
Get a beefier tactical lamp if you’re worried about having to defend yourself or a gun mount specific light if you want to, well, mount a light to your firearm.
[I don’t know much about these, but I would be willing to buy a more expensive, more specialized light for these applications]
PS. I have always opted for Zebralight headlamps for compact, outstanding outputs that can be submerged (tested in a river before). Great product, no red LED, but it makes up for that with varied light output levels.
Really new Sport Woot! We wait 24 hours for a fantastic item, and all we get is a tiny mini flashlight? COuldn’t we get some more golf clubs, or something we can really wrap our hands around?
I hear ya. I checked out the Flashlight you mentioned and it’s on Amazon for$54.99 and comes with rechargeable batteries and a charger too! 180 Lumens looks like its max.
not so “last ditch,” to be honest. these are great defensive weapons and good for also shining into someone’s face to momentarily blind them as well
I own 1 surefire that takes 123 batteries and I have stopped using it because the batteries dont last long and are expensive. Cheap 123s are $1 each. At my local shop they are at least $1.50 per battery when you buy 24 of them in a pack. I also own another tactical flashlight that I cant remember the name of right now but it takes AA batteries and is really nice. That is a $70 flashlight. However my favorite flashlight is a CHEAP one from meritline.com and takes 1 AA battery. it is something like this one here Home - MeritLine
You dont have to spend a fortune on a nice light, all my “expensive” lights where gifts.
I have 2 “tactical” flashlights and dont have either of them attached to a gun. These type of flashlights are truly awesome. I would have never bought an “expensive” flashlight but after I was given a surefire and a different $70 flashlight I cant go back. My personal choice is a LED bulb. The white light is just as powerfull as most surefires without the yellow tinge.
Really?!? $50 for 150 lumen? I paid $9.95 for a 180 lumen 1AA delivered. Bought them around this time last year and handed them out for Christmas—4 light modes, 4 inches long and a focusing beam—this is a ripoff relying on the S&W name for “value”. Look elsewhere, like Fenix.
I’m really looking for a tactical flashlight with higher lumens than 150. I want one that could temporarily blind an attacker. Heard about this technique from a Seal??
I’m thinking a lot of people might be missing the point of this light. It’s not meant to be the brightest, it’s tactical. The feature that is toughest to find on cheaper flashlights, and that I didn’t see in any of the lights recommended here, is the momentary switch. I have a 220 lumen light and unless you’re trying to spot something 100 yards away, frankly I find it to be too bright for most tasks.
Yeah, I’m waiting for a lightsaber to come out. It’ll save me so much time when I’m trimming my bushes.
Not just geeks, ‘flashlights’ have always been ‘torches’ in British english. 
I bought three of the Icon flashlights here on woot about a week ago. they were way cheaper, and work very well, but of course no red LED. I also have a couple that use a 18650 Lithium battery (I think thats the number) I got from the chinese site Deal Extreme. Slow delivery, but as advertised. Pretty well built! No fennix, but was way cheaper
How much do you use your lights, man? I’ve had my Fenix PD20 (one CR123) on me almost every day this summer and have put it through considerable use, and I still have yet to replace my first battery with it. I make a point to always carry a couple of spares with me in my bag, but I have yet to need them.
It’s been established you can do way better for the money. I tend to think you should go to fenix or 4sevens, or shiningbeam, and pick up a AA light that is cheaper and brighter without the red led gimmick and will be of better quality, smaller that three AAA’s side by side and have the same or better run-time.
If you really wanna see how far down the rabbit hole goes, you can get into rechargeable lithium ion and camera batteries that can put you up a notch on what AA’s and AAA’s are capable of, but the technology is so good right now its not needed at all.
I can get the red light to turn on and off. I cant get the white light to work. Does anyone have a solution?
I am having the same problem. The red light activates but the tail cap doesn’t seem to activate the white LED. (or the bulb is defective)
I have an e-mail to the manufacture for replacement under warranty - let’s see what they say.
I called their customer service number and spoke to Debbie who is very sweet.
She suggested fresh batteries and make sure the button on the battery cartridge faces the head of the flashlight. Otherwise send it in and they will take a look at it.
They have had few of these calls.
Thanks, I will try this.