Speaking of Flashlights

[blume357]

A couple of years ago I bought a Rayovac LED rechargeable flash light that is the best flash light I've ever had. Keep in mind I have to use one everyday in my work. I paid for me a whopping $80 for this critter and liked it so much I bought another one for back up. The thing is I lost the backup one this past Fall, I think I know where it is and may be able to retrieve it this September... in the mean time my original one has been running good until yesterday.. Seems early in the week I was down in a basement checking the hot water unit connections to a chimney and had to move a curtain to see something and I set the flashlight down on the stairs and it proceeded to rolll off to the side.. not big deal this puppy is touch... I had left it on and went to get it and the light seemed a little dim... the reason was it had fallen in the well of a sump pump and was under about a foot of water. Impressed me that it was still glowing... then yesterday when I went to use it the switch was funky and did not want to work or would most of the time just go to dim....I put in on the dash of my van to cook it some and have had it here in my office hoping the dry setting I have the mini-split set on will help dry it out.... and it seems to be getting better. My real beef is they don't make this flashlight anymore. I just did a search with model number and there are multiple listing and they all say out of stock. What is with manufactures that create something really good like this and then stop making it?

Rayovac model: RWP18650-B

 

[Hertervillian]

Adjusted for inflation, I can recommend the Surefire Stiletto. Without seeing the specs on yours, I'd say this is a bit smaller probably has a couple extra features and like as not brighter.

 

[jimbo1096]

Lots of good flashlights out there now. I was helping my son install a new water heater a couple of weeks ago. Why they put water heaters in the attic, I don't know. But it sure is a pain. He had his really good flashlight up there. We set it on a 2 x 4 cross brace. It rolled over and seemed to jump off the 2 x 4 with a mind of its own and of course, we were next to the fireplace chase and down it went about 20 feet. It landed in a bed of loose insulation and we could see the beam, but there was no way to reach it. I had a strong magnet in my truck and went out and brought it in, and fished for the flashlight for 10 minutes before my son looked at me and said "you know that thing's made out of aluminum, don't you". It's still there.
Do you bought me one just like it and it's a great flashlight. Recharges through a USB cord. It's a Nebo Redline Blast RC with 4X zoom.

 

[NikA]

My rechargeable flashlights are Streamlight brand. Had an issue with one after dropping or soaking it (can't remember which), the manufacturer makes a kit for end users to DIY refurb. My guess is that Rayovac doesn't manufacture anything related to flashlights anymore and they couldn't continue product support because they couldn't contract to manufacture them as cheaply as they would like. This doesn't seem to be as much of an issue with companies that manufacture their own designs: SureFire, Streamlight, etc.

Olight is Chinese but has some pretty interesting options. I found today that one of their laser sights that has been ignored in my safe for the better part of a year is still fully functional.

 

[Killer Bee]

I have several high output lights that cost big $$$ but the Streamlight Wedge is a great daily beater

runs a good while on charge and uses same cord as my phone

flat profile fits pocket, brief case, etc very well

American made high performance for $90 is a winner in my book

Wedge® EDC | Slim Handheld Flashlight | Streamlight®

 

[blume357]

this Rayovac seems to have dried out and fixed it self.... for a while the little blue light that comes on when charging was just staying on and flashing on its own... I may one day look at one of the made in America Flash lights if they have one that doesn't look like it goes in a super models purse. I'm not into fashion or a new look just because it is new. then again I remember 30 years ago we sweeps were using these Q-beam I think reachable lights that were humongous.... wish I still had one laying around to take a picture of.

Speaking of the little blue light, that is my one complaint about the light put it in the wrong place;

If they had put the light above the plug in for the charger cable it would be a lot more visible.
Oh, and contrary to other lights, I have yet to figure out how to take this thing apart... I'm sure it is like all the others and just various machined aluminum parts that screw together but they must have used permanent lock tight on the threads.

 

[Mobuck]

The downside of rechargeable is when it's dead, it's dead until you get back to the charger.
When I was 'on the road' traveling for work, I carried extra batteries in my overnight kit. A couple minutes and my light was ready for more use.
I keep a cheap 'solar' flashlight on the dash of the farm pickup. It provides a good amount of light and I've never run it down doing after dark chores or working on equipment.

 

[blume357]

After way too many years of doing my work I finally discovered the head light flashlights... and it made my work life so much easier .... A couple years back I bought a Milwaukee rechargeable one and really liked it... the problem of course was. a lot of the time it would run down in the middle of a job..., working in a fireplace, under a house or up in the chimney... I finally got smart and figured out the solution... buy a second one so that I always have one charged up. Then I had to create the discipline of just charging one even when it is not all the way down... Same with above mentioned flashilght until I lost the back up.
Now I actually have four of the Milwaukee head lights. two in my work van and two here at home.

In this regard... I have GPS tracking collars for my two dogs and the collars batteries are rechargeable... if they get low they just go into a low battery mode and only send a single every couple of minutes instead of every 5 seconds... but the receiver that tells you where the dogs are runs off of two AA batteries which really don't last that long... couple hours at the most... but it is easy to change those out as long as you remember to carry some spares.

 

[MaxMan]

The way I lose them?

 

[tazbigdog]

I was a Mag-light kind of guy back in the day when a 5 D cell flashlight was a handy tool. When with a rechargeable one and had that for many years. Tried Streamlight and got hooked on them. Majority of lights I have are Streamlight, except the Surefire 6P and Surefire weaponlight on my AR.

 

[jav]

My favorite is a nitecore edc27 lite weight it's flat has a clip

 

[Mike J]

After way too many years of doing my work I finally discovered the head light flashlights... and it made my work life so much easier .... A couple years back I bought a Milwaukee rechargeable one and really liked it... the problem of course was. a lot of the time it would run down in the middle of a job..., working in a fireplace, under a house or up in the chimney... I finally got smart and figured out the solution... buy a second one so that I always have one charged up. Then I had to create the discipline of just charging one even when it is not all the way down... Same with above mentioned flashilght until I lost the back up.
Now I actually have four of the Milwaukee head lights. two in my work van and two here at home.

In this regard... I have GPS tracking collars for my two dogs and the collars batteries are rechargeable... if they get low they just go into a low battery mode and only send a single every couple of minutes instead of every 5 seconds... but the receiver that tells you where the dogs are runs off of two AA batteries which really don't last that long... couple hours at the most... but it is easy to change those out as long as you remember to carry some spares.

I have a rechargeable headlamp on my hard hat. I've been using a cheap one I got from Amazon. I probably should have kept the second one that came with the deal but I gave it to a co-worker.
Your post got me to go look at the flashlight I keep by my bed. It is an Energizer. I did a search for it & came up empty. It has probably been discontinued also. It is very bright though & rechargeable. Your Ray-O-Vac flashlight looks very similar to it. I looked on Amazon there are lights that appear very similar to yours & mine for around $35.

I haven't tried it but my wife swears that if you need to dry out anything electrical you should pack it in rice. Apparently the rice draws the moisture out.

 

[Hawk-in-Wi]

I have 2 of the Nitecore HC60

Nitecore HC60 v2 Headlamp

The Nitecore HC60 v2 headlamp takes everything we love about the HC60 and makes it even better. The max output has been increased to 1200 lumen that can reach up to 142 yards. Its 100 degree wide angle flood beam covers your entire field of vision.

www.nitecorestore.com

oldest one is about 2 years old now , still going strong on the original battery and lamp , I use this one hooking and unhooking sets of doubles semi trailer at night, the head band needs to replaced as it's getting pretty stretched out but over all the light still works great

 

[blume357]

Everybody needs to click on the link above from Hawk-in-Wi and then watch the video about the Nitecore HC60 headlamp, that has to be one of the funniest product description videos I've ever seen. A really nerdy Japanese guy reading a way over the top description... I watched it until about the 9 minute point and was only half way through.. I knew it was getting squirrely when he said... "the headlamp now has 1,200 lumens as compared to the old model which was 1000 lumens, that is 200 lumens more!" I guess he doesn't think his audience can add or subtract.

 

[jyo]

Rechargeable is cool until you don't have any power... Then you also need a battery powered light for backup... Headlights are definitely handy when you have to work with both hands...I remember, a couple of years back, during a very rare wind storm, the power kept going on and off in a highly random manner---it got dark---REALLY DARK---and the folks living around me seemed completely unprepared for this---I had upgraded to several AA powered LED Mini Maglights at the time, so I gave my people next door several of my older bulb style Mini Maglights and they were so grateful... ! We live in a very old area with lots of stairs---very tricky in the dark...!

 

[Hawk-in-Wi]

Everybody needs to click on the link above from Hawk-in-Wi and then watch the video about the Nitecore HC60 headlamp, that has to be one of the funniest product description videos I've ever seen. A really nerdy Japanese guy reading a way over the top description... I watched it until about the 9 minute point and was only half way through.. I knew it was getting squirrely when he said... "the headlamp now has 1,200 lumens as compared to the old model which was 1000 lumens, that is 200 lumens more!" I guess he doesn't think his audience can add or subtract.

ya I have to agree the guy is trying way to hard to have a TV type voice , but the light itself is a good one , it doesn't have a lot of range so if you want to see way across a field, it's not the light for you but if you're working with your hands like me hooking up air lines , safety chains , and trailer light cord then it does the job really well .
it has 5 power settings and the nice thing about it if you give the power button a quick push it comes on at the lowest setting , and then each push gives you a higher power setting but let say you have it on a higher level and give the power button a long push/hold to shut it off ( maybe 2 seconds ) and then do the same when you turn it back on , it comes on at the same power level , nice not having to go thru all the different settings all the time

as for running out of battery , it will go into a lower power setting when the battery needs recharged which gives you maybe 10 minutes or so of light before it goes dead

 

[TestEngineer]

My favorite flashlight is a HybridLite 300. It's small, powerful, light weight (floats), and can be charged with either (built in) solar or USB. It can also be used to charge up my cell phone. It's smart enough to reserve 30% of its charge capacity for light if it's been used to charge my phone.

I got mine from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation as a "gift" for making a $35 donation. MSRP is slightly higher at about $40.

It gets charged just before elk season each year, but it's used almost daily. It's never gotten dim from a low charge. Not needing extra batteries ROCKS!

 

[blume357]

My one issue with the fancy head light with the video is way too many functions... low and high beam is about all I want and all that other stuff is just too much.

 

[gnappi]

My one issue with the fancy head light with the video is way too many functions... low and high beam is about all I want and all that other stuff is just too much.

I like when they call a 5 mode light "tactical" I can't imagine scrolling through modes in a real tactical situation.

For years I've only bought various branded 501-B single mode flashlights.

 

[blume357]

Same problem with all of them and the stupid flashing strobe feature. Who came up with that?
I've heard that cops and security guards can use it to confuse a person but like Jimmy Buffet said in a song, "I DON'T NEED IT!"