Flashlight Blogging
The wiz has a comparison of $9 Sipik v. the Fenix PD20 as every day carry lights.
While the $9 light in no way compares to my Surefires or Streamlights, it’s definitely worth the $9 as a throwaway light. I have four. I gave two to the kids and put two in some go bags.
March 23rd, 2012 at 10:03 am
I can vouch for the PD20 being an excellent light. I love mine, and it outshines all of my other lights, including the 2 battery lights.
March 23rd, 2012 at 10:34 am
I was the one who recommended the $9 light. Years ago I would have made a argument for why you need to buy the most expensive best spec’d item available. Then I started to loose or break $100 flashlights, $120 knifes, and other expensive items which are essentially disposable. The worst is when you break or loose your new gadget before it’s even a month old. So I started looking for cheaper items that performed half as well as the expensive stuff. What I got was $10 items that performed half as well as $100 items, but, for 1/10 the cost. I could loose a $10 knife and not care. I could break a $10 light and it was no big deal. I always ordered them in pairs. I never meant for these pocket items to last 5 years. Heck, in a year someone will put out a $10 light that’s twice as good as my current $10 light.
The other thing that drove me nuts about the expensive lights was the expensive batteries they use. I don’t really care if my cheap light chews through AA batteries. Those batteries are everywhere and cost basically nothing. The CR123 batteries can cost up to $6/ea, and you can’t find or harvest them out of tv remotes, toys, and garage door openers – nor does every corner store carry them.
Sure, my Sipik is not a Fenix. But it also cost a fraction of what the Fenix does and uses batteries that are in every bodega and kitchen junk drawer.
March 23rd, 2012 at 10:58 am
Throw away lights:
http://www.dollartree.com/cleaning-storage-hardware/Household-Supplies/212c309/index.cat
March 23rd, 2012 at 3:16 pm
slight;y more expensive but I’ve recently found out about 4Seven lights and I’ve got a single AA that blows away my E2E outdoorsman. Waiting on a double AA version of the same light to come in today. ~$60
March 23rd, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Costco has “Techlite” sets of 3 lights for $19 or so. They were recently on sale for $4 off. Stupid bright for 3xAAA lights, especially if you find the ones with the more efficient XP-G emitters instead of the XP-E’s specified on the packaging.
Yes, I’m a member of the “flashlight culture” 🙂
March 23rd, 2012 at 4:39 pm
That comparison came about because andy said:
That’s not an accurate description of the performance of the sipik. It’s a good light for the price, but the quality and amount of light output isn’t comparable to the PD20.
If price is a main concern, then you’d be an idiot not to buy the sipik. If performance is more important then you’ll be better off with the PD20.
The $30 BSA red dot scopes you get at WalMart are a good value for the price, but I doubt anyone would say they perform about the same as a $500 EOTech. The two are designed for the same task, but the EOTech is much better at it. People know that, and make their purchases accordingly. But they need to know there is a difference, and it’s a huge difference.
March 23rd, 2012 at 11:52 pm
I just ordered one for my car. I have 2 Surefire, 1 Streamlight and 1 Pelican LED lights. I use them all but it will be nice to have a cheap throwaway in the car just in case.