Originally Posted by
RogerB
The PB 2W is about $60 + shipping, I've found. Can I do better than that in output/runtime/price combo? Flashing mode would be a plus, but not a must-have.
Pretty easily ...
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12060 $28.04 light
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8274 $1.80 mount
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790 $8.10 two batteries
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251 $12.30 charger
The light only takes one battery at a time, but they come in two packs, so you'll have a spare to throw in your tool bag.
At full brightness (400 lumens?), it lasts about 90 minutes (on one battery). At medium brightness (200 lumens?) it lasts about 3-4 hours. At low brightness (100 lumens?) it lasts about 8-9 hours.
The PB Blaze 2w is about 100 lumens at full brightness, lasting five hours on two AA batteries they say. So in low mode, the DE light lasts a bit longer with the same output, or a bit less time with twice as much light. (And at the price I give above, you also have a spare battery, so you can double these times.)
For the cost of the Blaze 2w + some rechargeable batteries, you can almost have two of these lights.
Now, the Blaze has some advantages. (I've got the 1w version -- I'll assume the 2w is the same, just brighter.)
-- It's more rugged -- all around, better construction. These flashlights have glass in the front that can break, and vibration can make them change modes (which can be reduced by putting a shim around the battery and some magnets on it to make it sit tighter.)
-- It's flash mode is awesome -- the DE light has a reasonable flash mode as well, but it's just a basic flash -- the Blaze's flash mode has an actual pattern and it's great.
-- The Blaze also has a better beam pattern -- it's more tightly focused.
I'm not saying these are the best lights ever -- the Magicshine light is basically a bike-light version and superior in a few ways -- but for the price they're hard to beat. Really, if I wanted to spend $60 on a bike light, I'd suggest $90 on a Magicshine, or $50 on the light I'm talking about.