Wal-Mart Garrity LED light

[jeepinbandtrider]

I was at wal-mart today picking up oil and stuff for the vehicles and decided to stop by the sporting goods on the way out.

I've been looking around for a decent light to carry on the bug out vests I've been putting together for myself and my wife.

Well I decided to pick up one of these (though both of ours are in black)12.00 dollars a piece.:




click on below pics to open a larger view
The case for it leaves a little something to be desired it is PVC and has a sheen to it. I plan on giving it a very light coat of flat black or OD green just to take out the shine and coloring in the Garrity letters with a sharpie both on the Light itself and on the case.




As you can see it's pretty small yet packs quite a punch for an LED light


A nice large rubber button easy to push and dosen't feel like it will wear though anytime soon:



Both ends have o-ring seals similar to Mag-Lights. The LED looks easy to replace as it looks like it just plugs in like a regular incandecnt bulb. Though the package claims this will practically not be necessary and that it should run 120 hrs on a set of three (3) AAA batts.



The tube appears as though it is the same thickness as a mini-mag tube but I don't know if I would run this one over with my truck as it dosen't feel as heavy. Note it has o-rings on both ends.




The battery holder is very easy to load and insert batteries into. I personally like this feature some may not.



All of it layed out. The diffrent colored lenses just snap to the top of the light.


Pros:
Cheap
Pretty good light at a VERY good price.
Very Bright by my experiences with LED lights.
Standard AAA batts. you can find anywhere.
Diffrent color lenses for various conditions
Push button on the end (this is a pro for me some may like the buttons to be on top)
Did I mention it was cheap???

Cons:
Some people may not like cheap

Nothing holds the lenses down so if you bump into them while they are on the light they may pop off.

LED beam is bright but anything outside of the "circle" is still pitch dark unlike Incandecnt (SP?) lights that are bright in the center yet you still get some light on the outside edges.

Pouch is cheap PVC nylon stuff that is noisy and shiny.

Push button has no "temp on" position. THe light is either on or off.

Paint on the tube is glossy nothing a little bit of paint wouldn't fix.

Hope this is helpfull to someone.

[J-Rad]

I've had one of those for while.

The filters will pop off with rough handling, and I agree about the case.

The gloss finish doesn't bother me so much, but the lanyard is kind of annoying.

Other than that, it's not a bad light, especially for $12 .

[jeepinbandtrider]

Yeah I ditched the lanyard on mine the wife wanted to keep her's.

[TravisM.1]

I bought one a couple years back.

A couple things:
The tube is probably about the same outer diameter as a "C" maglite, rather than a minimag.

I liked the fact that it uses an opitc to focus the LED's light into a "spot" pattern, rather than the "flood" pattern many LEDs have.

It is a bit bulky, IMO, for wear on a belt- then again, I'm used to my Mini-Mag and my River Rock "AA" lights, so it may not be as big of a deal to some.

In my experience, they are waterproof and efficient- I left mine turned on for two days submerged in my parent's swimming pool. When I took it out, the internals were dry, and it still produced a usable amount of light.

My biggest complaint was the grooves machined into the body of the light. They run lengthwise, in the same direction that you push the switch to turn it on and off. With wet hands, it gets pretty slippy, and would have probably been better left smooth, and definitely better with a knurled surface like maglites use.

Dont worry about the lettering on the tailcap- it'll wear off with even the lightest handling.

Overall, I liked it. Nice little light, especially considering the price. I gave it to my Mom to keep in her purse. I have a bit of a flashlight "problem", according to my wife.

[runninjoe]

I got one of those a couple of years back. I went out to the parking lot, opened it,... and took it back.

[Shmerlin]

I've got about 6 or 7 of these laying in different rooms in my house, I also have 2 in my truck, one in the bed (I've got a tounell cover, so its like a huge trunk) and one in the cab.

I really like these lights, the LED's really extend the battery life. They are just really good lights IMO. Sure they are kind of bulky, but they are also cheap, that you can afford to have "throw aways" and for sudden power outages, which are semi-frequent in my area, its nice to have a cheap little flashlight handy, esspecially if you are on the can.

[jeepinbandtrider]

Last night I turned it on and set it on the counter pointing up at the ceiling and with the white ceiling it lit the whole room up with a nice soft glow.

[Jamie]

I got a bunch of tiny garrity led lights, almost flat and attached to a keychain, for $0.99 each for everyone in the house for Xmas stockings...they're awesome...Walmart rocks!!!

nfa

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Are you going to do a real-world battery life test? Just curious.

-urban

[jeepinbandtrider]

Are you going to do a real-world battery life test? Just curious.

-urban

How so?? I'm not sure how you want me to do this. Just click it on and leave it on and see how long it lasts or tell you how long it lasts using it on a normall basis?

[URBAN ASSAULT]

I was thinking an overall battery test. Install three fresh cells, write down the the starting time and see how long there is still usable light. Might be good to know just how much you can count on the light when the chips are down.

-urban

[jeepinbandtrider]

ALright I'll come up with something. Probably this upcoming weekend.

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Cool!

-urban

[jeepinbandtrider]

Alright I'm thinking put it in my bedroom with all the blinds and curtains closed. Turn it on pointing towards the ceiling and check on it once an hr. till it goes dead.

I'll give a general description of the output for every hr. it runs.

I will of course replace with brand new batts. The batteries used will be regular coppertop duracell batts. No "hi-po" batteries just normall ones.

[Shmerlin]

I can tell you first hand I've had one running for over 8 hours strait, durring a huricane, for reading material & potty breaks & what not. And the light never even went dim, hell, I've still got the same batteries in it, and they've been in there for at least a year now.

[jeepinbandtrider]

I can tell you first hand I've had one running for over 8 hours strait, durring a huricane, for reading material & potty breaks & what not. And the light never even went dim, hell, I've still got the same batteries in it, and they've been in there for at least a year now.

Well i guess this could be one hell of a long test

[Shmerlin]

I can tell you first hand I've had one running for over 8 hours strait, durring a huricane, for reading material & potty breaks & what not. And the light never even went dim, hell, I've still got the same batteries in it, and they've been in there for at least a year now.

Well i guess this could be one hell of a long test

Well, I will admit, that other than that one time, I haven't used it nearly as much, but, that being said, the light does still shine. I wouldn't mind seeing someone do an actual continous beam test, I think it'd be kind of cool.

[orphan40]

Sounds like a nice little light. For $12, I gotta get me one.

Forgive my ignorance, but what are the different colored filters for?

[jeepinbandtrider]

Sounds like a nice little light. For $12, I gotta get me one.

Forgive my ignorance, but what are the different colored filters for?

You use red lens is to preserve your natural night vision. The blue is so you can see blood works well for medics or tracking injured game.

[orphan40]

You use red lens is to preserve your natural night vision. The blue is so you can see blood works well for medics or tracking injured game.

Thanks

[Shmerlin]

You use red lens is to preserve your natural night vision. The blue is so you can see blood works well for medics or tracking injured game.

Thanks

Blue is also really usefull for seing through fog or smoke.

[platinumwolf]

They are pretty decent little lights, I just picked one up today. I'm going to play with it(the light that is) tonight


Edited: Cause it just sounded wrong!!!

[The Ron]

Isn't blue the type of light that is hardest to spot by others? If you are trying to not be spotted that is.

[jeepinbandtrider]

I think that would be red. The blue is still very bright and noticable.