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Product review - Duracell Daylite LED Flashlight

by Scott Carmichael on Sep 8th 2008 at 10:30AM

My product review for today may be slightly less high tech than some of the other stuff I have reviewed on Gadling, but that does not make it less interesting. The Duracell Daylite LED flashlight is one of the first in a new lineup of Duracell flashlights and is part of a large expansion by Duracell into products other than their usual batteries.

I'm a bit of a flashlight junkie, and for some reason I'm always on the lookout for new sources of bright light. Despite not being much of an outdoors person, or living anywhere where the power could be considered unreliable, I've put together a small arsenal of lights.

The Duracell Daylite flashlight comes in 3 versions; a AA or AAA battery version with a 3 Watt LED, and a CR123 battery version with a 4 Watt LED. In keeping with the manly tradition of "more power is better", I'll be reviewing the 4 Watt version.

The flashlight itself comes in a plastic blister package, but Duracell have been thoughtful enough to perforate the back of the package, making it easy to open. Included with the flashlight is a small user guide and 2 Duracell CR123 Lithium batteries.

The flashlight is made from black aluminum, with the traditional Duracell copper colored top near the end. At the rear of the flashlight is the on/off switch, and near the top is a rotating focus ring, for changing the width of the light output.

The flashlight uses what Duracell calls TrueBeam technology, which involves capturing and focusing more light, to produce a beam without losing any brightness or creating any dark spots. What this means to us regular people, is that the flashlight produces one heck of a beam.

The 4 Watt Daylite flashlight is rated at 160 Lumens of light output, which means it is very, very bright. I don't have a light meter in my collection of gadgets, so I was unable to verify this. When I compared the Daylite flashlight with my other lights, it was the second brightest of the collection, right behind the Pelican 7060 LED (which costs $140). It was much brighter than my Element K2 flashlight, was until now was my brightest pocket flashlight, and at least several times brighter than my Streamlight 3C flashlight, which uses a regular bulb instead of an LED bulb.

All in all, I'm very impressed with the build quality and the light output of the Duracell Daylite LED flashlight. This is the perfect size flashlight if you are often on the road, as it is light, and small enough to fit in your luggage. The version I tested uses CR123 batteries, which are slightly more expensive than regular AA or AAA batteries, plus they can be harder to find, but you may find the increase in brightness worth it.

If you have ever been stuck in a hotel room during a power outage, you'll learn to appreciate the importance of carrying your own flashlight. There are some brighter flashlights out there, but at this price point you are getting a very good balance of price and brightness for your hard earned cash.

The Duracell Daylite LED Flashlight is on store shelves right now, and costs $24.99 for the 3 Watt AA or AAA battery version, or $34.99 for the 4 Watt CR123 battery version.

Filed under: Gadling Gear Review