MassMark
01-11-2010, 09:31 AM
With all the fancy-schmancy tactical lights available at often stratospheric prices, I found it a bit refreshing when I spotted a Dorcy 200 Lumen Flashlight swinging on the peg hook at Dicks Sporting Goods. I was even more surprised by the price: $35.00, (even cheaper on Amazon). With the beauty of the "Dicks Sporting Goods Employee Discount" at play, I figured: "what the hell?" and picked it up....
With one exception, (tail-cap), I could not be more pleased with this light! It's hard to believe after being bathed in 200-lumen lights priced over $100.00, that this light is so affordable - and so goddamned bright! It also runs on 3 AAA batteries, which is an added bonus - no CR123's to buy and batteries are available virtually anywhere. As luck would have it, I arrived home at night, took the light from it's package, popped the batteries into the holder and turned it on...WOW! This thing is bright! The beam is very wide, with a bright center spot. There is a tiny bit of "shadowing" in the center spot - perhaps some lens/reflector issues, but nothing major that takes away from the value in this light. I don't have any hi-tec lumen measuring devices and if I have time, will try and do a comparison with some other lights I have and take pics, but my initial impressions are that this is a super light at a great price.
The only downside I see, is the tail-cap: It's a twist-on type, with a an instant-on only feature. I think this light would be perfect with a click-type tail-cap, as most other Dorcy lights have. I have a tendency to leave the caps turned just enough to activate the instant-on feature, but sometimes too far - where they will activate to on in my bag. I think a click-type tail-cap would complete the circle. Construction is all aluminum and the light feels pretty substantial. Dorcy lists this light at 200-lumens, with a 3-hour run time. The unit came complete with Energizer batteries, (nice touch), so when these run out, I'll put some freshies in, turn it on and let it run its course and post the results. I may also weapon-mount this thing and torture it a bit...In the meantime, here's a link to the light if anyone is interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Dorcy-41-4289-200-Lumen-Tactical-Flashlight/dp/B002QHPFDC
With one exception, (tail-cap), I could not be more pleased with this light! It's hard to believe after being bathed in 200-lumen lights priced over $100.00, that this light is so affordable - and so goddamned bright! It also runs on 3 AAA batteries, which is an added bonus - no CR123's to buy and batteries are available virtually anywhere. As luck would have it, I arrived home at night, took the light from it's package, popped the batteries into the holder and turned it on...WOW! This thing is bright! The beam is very wide, with a bright center spot. There is a tiny bit of "shadowing" in the center spot - perhaps some lens/reflector issues, but nothing major that takes away from the value in this light. I don't have any hi-tec lumen measuring devices and if I have time, will try and do a comparison with some other lights I have and take pics, but my initial impressions are that this is a super light at a great price.
The only downside I see, is the tail-cap: It's a twist-on type, with a an instant-on only feature. I think this light would be perfect with a click-type tail-cap, as most other Dorcy lights have. I have a tendency to leave the caps turned just enough to activate the instant-on feature, but sometimes too far - where they will activate to on in my bag. I think a click-type tail-cap would complete the circle. Construction is all aluminum and the light feels pretty substantial. Dorcy lists this light at 200-lumens, with a 3-hour run time. The unit came complete with Energizer batteries, (nice touch), so when these run out, I'll put some freshies in, turn it on and let it run its course and post the results. I may also weapon-mount this thing and torture it a bit...In the meantime, here's a link to the light if anyone is interested:
http://www.amazon.com/Dorcy-41-4289-200-Lumen-Tactical-Flashlight/dp/B002QHPFDC