“Compatible with (2) AA rechargeable ni-cad batteries”
Glad to know it’s compatible with 1970s-era battery technology. How about, oh, NiMHs for example?
That killed it for me, too. I have 50 or so CR123A lithium batteries in my work van at all times…
2 hours of run time on Alkaline batteries and they claim 10 hours on Lithium batteries. So take that into consideration if you plan to use it frequently.
Edit: That was actually from a description of the CREE version. I’m not positive on the Luxeon.
Compare with Fenix before buying.
Best I can do is two previous woot-offs selling this:
http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=3527723 October 27, 2009
and January 26, 2010
http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=3740941 for the same price.
A flashlight for $18… Hmmm. Well it says that it has a 5 Watt bulb, which would be very bright, but…
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Almost everything I see in flashlights that say they are higher than 1 watt, is usually not true. Maybe if woot showed some pictures of how powerful the beam. I remember this whole video when they had the ‘Disco’ ball light… Why not with this flashlight?
A few comments on Fatwallet.com when Buy.com offered it in June 2009 for $24.99:
By the way, the Amazon flashlight referred to in the comments is almost the same model, not quite.
If this light is as powerful as the other Smith and Wesson flashlight they had on Woot, I’d say these are well worth it, albeit IMHO the other light is better than this one, and it sold for $15.
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=15498
Now a warning about this light. Although it’s not mentioned anywhere in here, that tip is possibly a weapon.
If it’s anything like other flashlights I have, the tips are jagged and are partially sharpened in the dips or indentations. The idea being that you can use the flashlight crown to dig into someone face, throat or wherever. On some lights it’s called an “assault crown.”
Here is a dramatic version of an assault crown. The tip on my lights are more like the one on this Woot S&W.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20760
And here are images of flashlights with assault crowns:
http://tinyurl.com/LightWithAssaultCrown
The hassle about this feature is that the tip on my light was always getting in the way, scratching or jabbing me. And forget about puttin the light into a pants pocket. Plus, I was always concerned about dropping it when walking my dog and the “assault end” striking my dog.
The tip was such a hassle to deal with I retired the three lights I bought, they were just too much a pain, literally, and a danger.
I don’t know if the tip of this S & W is an “assault crown,” but I have to wonder why is it shaped the way it is unless it is one.
I can’t find any info on their site about this model. I searched by model number (0 hits) and the word ‘flashlight’ (4 hits) and came up empty on this particular one.
So far, I’m not able to find it either, and the manuals on their website only seem to be for their guns (go figure).
Having about 100 LED or other flashlights and kinda being an authority on what is bright, what is not, I can say that I marveled at the 3W S & W flashlight I got on Woot.
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=15498
In fact, when I was walking my dog one night I shined the light on the side of a 20 story condo building wall to see just how far the beam projected. The light beam cast to the top of the building! And at about 16 floors I could shine the beam and illuminate objects on the condo patios (yeah, I did this test quickly in the event someone yelled something similar to: “Hey you woodchuck, quit chucking my wood!”)
That’s a very powerful light.
It’s such a great light that I decided to keep all three for myself, whereas the original intent was to give them as gifts.
So if this is 5 watt I’d say the beam is worth the price, in “light” of my side-of-condo-building test.
I feel confident in saying these will be the most powerful small flashlights you will ever own. (Mine work on three AAA batteries. And the build quality is superb).
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It says this 5 watt light puts out 100 lumens… On other sites they have 2 & 3 double A battery lights that put out as much as 800 lumens… does that mean those lights would not only light up your tall building, but possibly begin melting the outside bricks?
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These new LED ratings are all over the map, it is hard to say if I am being enlightend or kept in the dark.
Is this the same light on Amazon, for $25?
http://tinyurl.com/WootAmazonFlashlight
If so, there’s 52 customer reviews on there.
Those are very handy little lights. I bought three and plan on keeping them as well. I can see the lantern cap and magnet as coming in very handy some day. While they may require an extra battery (and they are AAA) they should last quite a bit longer as well. They claimed 12 hours to the 2 of the current deal. The light output is still 100 lumens too. But I still picked up one of these as well because I won’t be providing the batteries where I intend to use it.
The model number on that one is SW775CR and this one is apparently SW775LX.
If I were guessing, I would say that CREE made the LED’s for the early units and they changed to Luxeon later on (or the other way around). One of the product images shows Luxeon on the packaging, but they use CREE in the description. The comment on the image states that CREE and Luxeon are competitors.
I don’t pay attention to what manufacturers say about lumens, watts, etc.
My test is the beam I get when shining it on objects.
That’s why I say if it’s anything like the 3W S & W light, then it should prove to be a very powerful light, unless the technology is different on the two models.
But see the Amazon reviews. Others have also said that the beam is very bright.
In any event, at $22 shipped for one (I’d get three) I would think it a great light. What I like about the other Woot, however, is the emergency feature (flashing red light) and the cap that converts it into a lantern.
More to the point, what would I do, I’ll wait to see if Woot offers the other lights again. That light is far more versatile and it does not have that pain-inflicting assault crown.
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Michael, yup, same light, so if I order here, I save $2… Unless I order two or even three. Why it’s almost like buying two and getting the third one free! (almost)