BrianW
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 1999
- Messages
- 2,563
- Real Name
- Brian
The Caribbean's regulator is especially nice, but I don't care for some of the flashlight's other features. The twist-on/twist-off feature requires two hands, which is almost unusable, say, while walking the dog. Also, the twist-on/twist-off feature just reminds me of every cheap flashlight I've ever owned that had to be turned on and off in that manner because of a switch malfunction.
I also prefer a flashlight that takes standard (i.e., cheap) alkaline batteries (AA, AAA), but that's just me. That way I can have one stash of batteries for remotes, cameras, and toys without having to stock "special" batteries for any particular device.
I also don't understand the reviewer's dislike for battery cages. He says that battery cages are just something more to lose, but, honestly, when are you ever going to have a battery cage outside the flashlight when you're not changing the batteries? It's not like you're going to reach for your flashlight and discover you can't use it because the battery cage has been misplaced. It's like inadvertently misplacing the bulb. It just doesn't happen.
If you're considering the Sam's flashlights, I can tell you that they have no regulator. (Nor, at that price, should you expect one.) They have O-rings at all assembly points. I consider them dunkable (Edit: even dunked one, just to be sure), though the wettest conditions (Edit: until tonight) I've used them in was in a heavy rain storm, during which they got extremely wet and performed flawlessly. They're built like tanks and can take a lot of abuse. If they had a regulator, they'd be the perfect flahlight for me. But for less than $14, I think they're great, and I can afford to get one for each car, one for each nightstand, and one for the shed.
Still, it would be nice to have just one uber-flashlight. (Not that I'm compensating, or anything.)
That's a great site, BTW, and I learned a lot from it. The reviewer does a great job of quantifying his data in a way that makes meaningful comparisons easy to do.
I also prefer a flashlight that takes standard (i.e., cheap) alkaline batteries (AA, AAA), but that's just me. That way I can have one stash of batteries for remotes, cameras, and toys without having to stock "special" batteries for any particular device.
I also don't understand the reviewer's dislike for battery cages. He says that battery cages are just something more to lose, but, honestly, when are you ever going to have a battery cage outside the flashlight when you're not changing the batteries? It's not like you're going to reach for your flashlight and discover you can't use it because the battery cage has been misplaced. It's like inadvertently misplacing the bulb. It just doesn't happen.
If you're considering the Sam's flashlights, I can tell you that they have no regulator. (Nor, at that price, should you expect one.) They have O-rings at all assembly points. I consider them dunkable (Edit: even dunked one, just to be sure), though the wettest conditions (Edit: until tonight) I've used them in was in a heavy rain storm, during which they got extremely wet and performed flawlessly. They're built like tanks and can take a lot of abuse. If they had a regulator, they'd be the perfect flahlight for me. But for less than $14, I think they're great, and I can afford to get one for each car, one for each nightstand, and one for the shed.
Still, it would be nice to have just one uber-flashlight. (Not that I'm compensating, or anything.)
That's a great site, BTW, and I learned a lot from it. The reviewer does a great job of quantifying his data in a way that makes meaningful comparisons easy to do.