I was wondering if anyone knew where to buy bulk (maybe 10 or so ) flashlights for a decent price. Being that its hurricane season now i want a few scattered about the house as well as extras in our cars. I see a few pop up on amazon but the quality is hit or miss . They don’t have to be surefire-esque but i do want them to work and I’m not sure that dollar store lights would be any better. Ideas? I apologize to the mods if this is in the wrong place.[RIGHT][/RIGHT]
Lowe’s and Home Depot has a in house brand of Cree LED flash light that I have been using over the past few years which are very good on battery life (AAA & AA types) and produce between 90 and 120 lumus. They are small enough to place in your pocket and the aluminum bodies can take a beating. When I last purchased them in November of 2012 they cost $9.99 per two pack.
I’ll be honest, I put those free 9 LED ones you get from Harbor Freight in the other rooms in the house. They are acceptable for general around the house duties and are durable enough to last for what you are using it for.
Call me cheap, but at $2 a piece (or free with the coupon thing) you can’t find a better deal for “bulk” flashlights.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-12-9-led-mini-flashlight-69111.html
If you get their sales catalog, they have the advertisement for the free one with $XX purchase.
All my friends who don’t like expensive kit keep showing up to our outdoor events with cheap LED flashlights like the Harbor Freight one linked above. Their lights last the weekend and they are pretty bright. I see no reason why you shouldn’t have success with these flashlights.
One thing to keep in mind with emergency lights is to train everyone in the household that all lights in storage will always have one battery flipped the wrong direction. This prevents the flashlight from turning on as the result of user error or a bump and draining its power supply.
My Surefire never has a battery flipped as it is on me every day of the year. But that extra flashlight/headlamp I have in every room is “moth balled” meaning a battery is flipped and I know I need to reseat it to use it.
Personally, I find those cheap 9 LED lights like the NRA likes to give out are crap—the LEDs die one by one or the switch gives out before that. I purchased a bunch of Mini Maglite LEDs (not the LED Pro) for under $20 bucks apiece—they have 4 settings: full, dim, flashing, SOS. They always work, take common AA batts, I keep them in all rooms of the house and two in each car—the LAST thing you need in a dark situation is an unreliable cheapass light!
Last year we had a series of wind storms that lasted a couple of days—power was in and out—we had reliable lights everwhere—a GOOD thing! Our very young neighbors across the street had just had their first baby, they live in a house with a steep set of stairs in front—and NO lights or even candles. I talked to them and found out about their situation—rounded up three of my older incan Mini Maglites and a few candles and gave them to them—they were SO happy! After the weather died down, we had a discussion about being at least a little prepared and they now understand that in a bad time, you’re on your own…
http://m.costco.com/Feit-Electric-500-Lumen-Flashlight-3-pack.product.100049686.html
Costco, although location varies. But I have line 2 packages of these unopened and 1 opened in use.
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I have these too, and they are great. Super bright and plenty durable. When I bought them at Costco, they came in 2-packs for $29. I think I still have an unopened pack or two as well.
I have some of the older ones from Costco (still available at my store). Variable power, common batteries (AAA), decent output. Have them stashed around the house. The clicky even lights up when the batteries are low. Nice feature for emergency lights.
How is the battery life?
Lowes will run their “black Friday” sale and you can usually get c-cell, LED maglites for $15 or so. Very bright and fairly tough.
Agreed. I usually buy 2-4 of them every year, and Duracells are usually on sale as well. They make good gifts, I buy them for the minions at work to put in their cars. Inevitably, someone will thank me within a month or so after they use it.
Thanks guys I will def look into those . It’s my last semester of college ,and since I’m the only one in my house that thinks of preparing it kinda falls on me to have basic supplies just in case .
I picked up one of these a few weeks ago at target for $15. I wanted a backup for my streamlight that used aa batteries. I work third shift and burn through batteries like crazy and don’t always need the brightness of the streamlight. This was just the ticket. I think the package mine came in said 60 lumens though not 45. I compared it to an old surefire 6p(non led) and it was a noticeably better/brighter beam. Seems solid also.
http://www.energizer.com/flashlights-lighting/flashlights/flashlight/Pages/tactical-metal-1aa-1-watt-light.aspx
Due to this thread, I just picked up a pair of the “Defiant” (chinese) lights for $9.97 plus tax at Home Depot. Substantial, good illumination (supposed 80 lumens) and a sequential hi/lo/strobe tailcap switch.
We’ll see:)
john
For those who need a very bright everyday carry light I can recommend the Coast HP4 pen light style LED light.
I use it as a back up to my duty light and it is very light weight 2.2 ozs with two (AAA) batteries and puts out 95 luminous and has a 4.5 hour run time.
That looks like a lot of light for the price is a small package. Dang it, now I might be buying another light!
If it’s an AA/AAA light that will be sitting for long periods of time, try to use lithium batteries.
Critical gear that uses batteries gets the batteries rotated every six months if its used or not. I then retask the removed as general purpose spares until the kids use them up.
For everyday carry I have a sure fire stylus pro pen light, but for bulk flashlights go to home depot…reasonable and decent quality for what they are…
Yeah no doubt. I have those flashlights everywhere. Range bag, bailout bag, tool boxes, hell I think every drawer in the house has one in it. lol I’ve had some hit and misses with Harbor Freight versions but I’ve picked up some at Tractor Supply Co and other hardware stores like that and some were a bit more better quality for the same price. But you’re right…you can’t beat free at Harbor Freight. lol