Friday, April 29, 2011

Dorcy 41-4416 Metal Gear 200 Lumen Focusing Led Flashlight Review

The dorcy 41-4416 is a flashlight with the brightness and strength of much more expensive flashlights. It features an anodized aluminum frame, 200 watt cree emitter, momentary operation switch as well as uses common AA batteries. The light comes in between $20-$30 and for the price, it's worth every penny. I took over a week to test my review unit, performing battery drain tests as well as light output over time. It gave me around 3 hours of really bright light and 2 hours of usable light. I like the fact that this light uses ubiquitous AA alkaline cells, versus more expensive cr123a or other less common / more expensive battery types. This makes using the dorcy cheap and easy, with AA cell being found in most stores. The 41-4416 should prove to be very reliable over the years, thanks to a simplistic design. There are no buttons to wear out and everything operates via a simple twist operation. Since the metal gear is like it's name implies, (metal) it can be dropped without much damage and can also be used as a self defense weapon. Most users would keep it in the nightstand drawer or car glove compartment. Even though this is a powerful metal light, it is not much larger than a standard 2 AA light. It comes in at 7.5 inches in length and 1 inch in width, making it easy to pocket and take with you at night. As far as the warranty, this light comes with a 1 year free replacement, which I guess you'll never have to use. This truly is a great light for the money, 200 lumens, metal construction and 55 years of experience from a well known company......You just can't ask for anything more in a light.

You can pick up a metal gear 41-4416 of your own, from dorcydirect.com or amazon.com......You won't be sorry!


Monday, April 25, 2011

MXDL 3 watt 1aaa luxeon led flashlight review

The mxdl 1 aaa flashlight is a great and affordable alternative to more expensive pen lights. It features a powerful 3 watt luxeon led emitter, capable of pushing out around 35 lumens of light. The body of the mxdl is made from high quality aircraft grade aluminum, while the lense and click button are made from plastics and rubber. As far as the size and feel, it fits nicely in the pocket and is easy to hold when in use. It comes with a pocket clip, making it perfect for a shirt or pant pocket. The battery life is above average with around 2 hours of bright light and up to 5 hours of usable light. I bought the mxdl flashlight to replace an aging maglite solitaire, which still had an inefficient incandescent style bulb. Not only is the mxdl 5 time brighter, it also will provide up to 3 hours more battery life than the maglite. The primary buyer of the mxdl is going to be someone who needs a light to carry all the time. Someone in the repair or service industry, like a computer technician or  hone inspector will greatly appreciate it. Whatever the case, anyone who buys this light won't be disappointed. Over the course of 3 months owning and using this light, it has been a good experience. Its anodized coating holds up well against scratches and moisture and is reliable enough for everyday use. I would definitely recommend this light to anyone in the market to buy one. It may be cheap, but it's brightness and build quality give it a good, premium feel

If you would like to buy this flashlight, please follow the link below:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mxdl-xt-7119-3w-50-lumen-led-flashlight-with-clip-color-assorted-1-aaa-55748

Friday, April 22, 2011

Cree Q5 led x2000 zoomable flashlight review 240 lumens

The x2000 240 lumen cree Q5 flashlight is a bright and affordable alternative to more expensive Q5 lights. It uses some of the same great technology, like an aluminum heat sync, focusable flood to spot lens and an emergency strobe function that more expensive units do. It runs off of 3x aaa cells (I tested with NiMh rechargeable cells) and yields 2-3 hours of run time on high, 5-6 on low. The head and body of the x2000 are made of high quality anodized aircraft grade aluminum, while the lens and tail switch are plastic / soft rubber. The x2000 features 2 different brightness levels and a strobe setting (high, low and strobe in succession), all of which can be cycled by half or fully depressing the tail switch. The different modes selected will be saved in the devices memory for around 3 minutes, before going back into high mode as default. Since the x2000 features a cree Q5 emitter, boasting an eye searing 240 lumens, it is bright throughout all selectable modes and battery life. I tested the Q5 emitter in this unit for over a week and found it to be more than adequate for normal nightly tasks (walking the dog, dumping trash, checking out weird noises). The x2000 is small and light enough for every day use and can be carried in the pocket or via the included belt holster. The x2000 truly is a great device for the money, which flashlight fanatics and regular users alike will come to appreciate. This flashlight can be purchased on ebay as well as a variety of other sites for well under $20.


The ebay Link for the exact unit I reviewed is below:


Ebay link to X2000 cree Q5 flashlight


Link to my youtube page





Thursday, April 21, 2011

Symtek Tekfuel LT & MD combo review


Symtek Tekfuel LT
Are you one of those people always running out of power for your portable devices. Everything from mp3 players and tablets, to laptop computers. I know for sure I certainly am, that is why I am always looking for portable charging gadgets to keep my devices topped off. Today I am reviewing two helpful gadgets from Symtek, the Symtek Tekfuel LT and MD. The LT is a small external laptop battery, which has four and three forth amp hours of internal storage via a lithium ion battery. It outputs said power via 5 volts / 1.5 amps usb, or 16-22 volts dc @ 3 amps max for laptops. This makes it the perfect device to keep my small netbook as well as my cellphone topped off for a few extra hours. The LT has a ton of great features, things like a led battery gauge, over and under voltage protection as well as a low battery alarm. As far as included accessories goes, the LT offers a variety of standard usb and cellphone adapters. What really surprised me was the adapter to recharge a psp from a usb port......It ended up working better than other usb chargers in the past. After using the LT to charge various devices, the unit can be recharged by the included ac and dc adapters. The dc adapter features a standard 12 volt to propriety adapter, which also includes a standard airplane adapter. The ac charger features a standard 120 volt U.S.A input socket, as well as multiple tips allowing it to be charged from 120-240 volts ac from countries around the world. (various wall tips included). The Lt takes anywhere from 2-6 hours to fully recharge, depending on discharge state.

Symtek Tekfuel MD
The Tekfuel MD is a usb backup battery, featuring a powerful lithium polymer rechargeable battery. It has a nice, thin design and offers a lot of standard accessories and features. It includes a charger for the psp, motorola, sony and samsung phones. It also features a led battery status meter and a switch to chose 5 or 5.8 volts dc @ 500 milliamps. I tested the MD with a variety of devices, including my ipod touch, cellphone and a strong 10 led usb reading light. As far as the cellphone and ipod, it ran them for over 24 hours (when both the MD and connected devices being fully charged) and would recharge them 5-6 times fully from a dead state. As far as the usb reading light, it ran it for over 8 hours before calling it quits. To recharge the MD, it comes with a standard 120 volt ac wall adapter to 5 volts mini usb usb, which generally takes 4-5 hours to fully recharge. The MD can also be recharged from a standard computer usb port, as long as the user has a usb to mini usb adapter (charging times are about the same with both methods).

To sum it up, both the LT and MD are great products for portable recharging, They also come with a lot of standard features and accessories, which gives them a high value. If I had to recommend either of these products to a friend, I would do so in a heartbeat. These products and more can be found at the Symtek website, which is listed below
http://www.symtekinc.com/