# TechLite?



## ubetit (Jul 3, 2009)

I was in Costco today looking for some Life+Gear lights and they had a huge stack of these Techlite blister packs. I did a search and couldn't find another thread about this brand.


The body is all aluminum
Cree Xre LED - 160 lumens
Half power = 80 lumens 
Strobe on high power.
Water resitant- 30 minutes at 1 meter.
Spotlight to floodlight focus ring.
Red LED in the tailcap glows when the batteries are low. 

There's no memory though so you always cycle through the three stages. The momentary switch goes to full brightness by holding it down for 1 second.


Although not built quite like my Surefire C2, it's really not that bad. The best part is that this pack of 2 was only $19.99.




ftp://ftp.hutchisonmedia.com/temp/IMG_5272.JPG

ftp://ftp.hutchisonmedia.com/temp/IMG_5274.JPG


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## recDNA (Jul 21, 2009)

What is the item number? I want to call Costco to see if they are in stock.


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## Beamhead (Jul 21, 2009)

recDNA said:


> What is the item number? I want to call Costco to see if they are in stock.


406343, its in the first pic.


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## Eldendor (Feb 19, 2010)

Saw this today in my Costco. Just for future forum-searchers it runs off of 3 AAA cells.


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## PeterN (Feb 19, 2010)

Just bought a pair to test. 20 dollars for the pair, can't beat that.

I just tried them out. They are bright, but they have some draw backs.
1 – The switch is a smart switch that switches from dim (25%) to full (100%) to flashing (emergency use) to off. However, to turn the flashlight on to get to a certain mode, you have to cycle through each one, also to turn it off, you have to cycle through the cycles. This means, if you want to turn it off to full bright, you’ll have to press it twice, then, to turn it off, press it twice.
2 – the light’s beam is very focused, it says it’s adjustable, but it isn’t really adjustable by much. As in, instead of most of the light on 3 - 5 degrees (estimated), you can make it 10 - 15 degrees (estimated). It’s much more of a spot light than a flood light no matter how much you change the focus. Although, there is some light outside of the focus spot, it isn’t much. They really shouldn't advertise "adjustable focus" because it really doesn't change much.

It’s really bright in that 3 -15 degrees, but for use while walking, you may want something that has more of a spread light. And, that switch is annoying; It doesn’t know how to just turn off from whatever mode, you HAVE to switch through the modes to turn it off.
Pros: The build is good, the focused beam is bright, it comes with batteries, and has a low and high mode.

If you’re looking for a very bright light for very little money (10 dollars each), then these may be ok if you’re willing to overlook the downsides.


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## gimmejr (Feb 24, 2010)

I just bought a set and its pretty much as described by everyone. One thing is you can turn it off without cycling through the settings. You have to hold the button in for about 2 seconds and it switches off.


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## worldedit (Feb 24, 2010)

Maybe you can put 18650 cells in them. Would give 3x runtime.


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## kimgkimg (Mar 1, 2010)

What's the runtime on 3AAA?


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## Moonshadow (Mar 1, 2010)

Wow, this must be one helluva deal, to have _four_ threads on the go at the same time. . . . 

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/263308

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/262363

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=216181


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## ubetit (Mar 1, 2010)

Moonshadow said:


> Wow, this must be one helluva deal, to have _four_ threads on the go at the same time. . . .


 
This is my thread and it was started last July. Anyway, i wouldn't by these lights. They eat batteries even when off.


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## tvset (Mar 11, 2010)

ubetit said:


> This is my thread and it was started last July. Anyway, i wouldn't by these lights. They eat batteries even when off.


True. I have the same problem with the set I purchased in July-09. I returned the set already. Too bad, they were pretty bright. May be they fixed the problem with the new lights?


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## opskmallory (Mar 11, 2010)

I just bought a pair. Same as above. They are on sale this week for $14.99 for the pair. For the price, it's reasonable. I'll probably leave the batteries out. Oh, and you can hold the switch down to have them turn off without cycling.


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## scottman (Mar 12, 2010)

you people are all *retards.*
it goes from like 80% to 100% then to strobe
idk where 50% and 25% came from but its stupid.
its clearly visible that its shiney or really shiney but if the first setting was 50% or 25 the 100% setting would b way less bright.
its a sicklight quit complaning.
a lite is a lite and this one happens to be cool
and who the hell actually has an acount on a website to talk about flash lites?
i made this acc just to reply to this post


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## sheppie62 (Mar 13, 2010)

*Welcome newest Dork "Scottman"*

[QUOTEwho the hell actually has an acount on a website to talk about flash lites?][/QUOTE] You do! :welcome:


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## mcnair55 (Mar 13, 2010)

:welcome: indeed and suggest less of the beer makes your spelling terrible to read but at least you spell retard correctly but suppose that comes quite easy as plenty around you seem to think.


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## wuchak (Mar 13, 2010)

PeterN said:


> Just bought a pair to test. 20 dollars for the pair, can't beat that.
> 
> I just tried them out. They are bright, but they have some draw backs.
> 1 – The switch is a smart switch that switches from dim (25%) to full (100%) to flashing (emergency use) to off. However, to turn the flashlight on to get to a certain mode, you have to cycle through each one, also to turn it off, you have to cycle through the cycles. This means, if you want to turn it off to full bright, you’ll have to press it twice, then, to turn it off, press it twice.
> ...




You don't have to cycle through to turn it off. When the light is on any of the settings just push in the switch and hold it. It will jump to high after 1 second and turn off when released. It basically activates the reverse clicky mode. If the light is off and you push and hold the switch it will come on high after 2 seconds and then turn off when released.


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## userix (Mar 13, 2010)

Anyone notice that upon initial battery install, the red tailcap lights up red and stays lit until you turn it on at least once? Is it suppose to do this? I can imagine that since this happens, the tailcap is capable of parasitic drain, since the led activates itself when the flashlight is not even on.


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## wuchak (Mar 28, 2010)

userix said:


> Anyone notice that upon initial battery install, the red tailcap lights up red and stays lit until you turn it on at least once? Is it suppose to do this? I can imagine that since this happens, the tailcap is capable of parasitic drain, since the led activates itself when the flashlight is not even on.



The red tailcap light also comes on with mine when I put the batteries in it.


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## wuchak (Mar 28, 2010)

I bought a two pack of these for $14.95 a couple of weeks ago as an impulse buy at Costco. When I got home I read the threads on here and was concerned about the reports of the batteries draining when not in use. I put the batteries in each of the lights and set one aside. The other I put in my "out with the dogs" jacket. I've been using it a little each night for a total of about 2 hours over two weeks. I also used it for about an hour when installing a new dishwasher. It lights up under the sink nicely. Last week I got another two of the two packs for $14.95 while they were still in stock. I left them unopened until today. I opened one up, put batteries in it, and compared the beam of that one with the unit that has just been sitting with the batteries in it for a little over two weeks. There was no visible difference in brightness between them. Then I compared the new one to the one I've been using and the one that has been used is at about 80% brightness. This doesn't seem to be out of line with a normal discharge curve for alkalines in an LED light. When the alkalines die I'll replace them with lithiums.

For $7.50 each I think these are nice little lights. They are solidly constructed and have some nice features. They are a huge step up in quality from the typical LED lights I see at this price point at Home Depot, Walmart, etc. They are just the right size to be comfortable in the hand and the brightness and wide spill makes them excellent dog walking, roadside under the hood repair, tire changing, project lights. I scattered mine around the house including adding one to the tool bucket.

All 6 of mine stand on the tail with no interference from the switch. What does interfere is the wrist lanyard if you let it run over the end of the bevel. If you loosen it up just a bit and pull the loop over to rest in the low part of the bevel instead of going over the end the light stands solidly on the tail.

The brightness is definately not the 160 lumens claimed on the package. I'd put it somewhere in the middle of a 2D and 3D maglight with a regular bulb. I think these would make good, but not ideal, self defense lights. The LED is bright enough but it's not concentrated enough to get that brightness into someone's eyes at 20 feet with enough intensity to be blinding. The body is well designed for self defense with its hand fulling size and bevels at base and top. I'd like to find an aftermarket reflector that would give a better beam concentration. 

The adjustment on the reflector is more of a fine tuning control than a real adjustment. It's always a wide spill, the adjustment just lets you focus the center hot spot to remove the donut hole. 

For $7.50 each I'm extremely pleased with these lights.

Update: I just did a side by side comparison of the Techlite and my Cabela's XPG 3 Watt Luxeon 2xAA rated at 65 Lumens. Both lights with fresh batteries. The center spot on the Cabela's light is smoother and comparable in brightness to the Techlite on the 50% setting. At 100% the Techlite is quite a bit brighter in the center spot and the rest of the beam. The beam size on the Techlite is larger than the Cabela's by about 20%.

Build quality of the Cabela's light and the Techlite seem the same, very good in both cases. The new version of the Cabela's light uses a Cree LED and claims 80 Lumens. It runs $29.99. I think the Techlite, at 1/4 the price is a stellar buy. I prefer the feel of the larger diameter Techlite but I like that the Cabela's light uses AA instead of AAA. With rechargables that's not much of a concern in the long run.

Edit 2: My Cabela's XPG mentioned above has a beam that matches the brightness of the Surefire G2 nitrolon 65 lumen model.


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## wuchak (Mar 28, 2010)

The Techlites from Costco appear to be identical to the Serengeti lights that were sold at Sam's Club for $30 a two pack and are now going for $39 a two pack on Amazon.


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## Techlite Dude (Mar 28, 2010)

I was able to put a McClicky switch into one of my new Techlites for a fun modification. It was easy. All you need is a razor, a dremel tool (You can replace the dremel with a cylindical file and a drill), pliers, and something to unscrew the clear plastic switch retainer that is screwed into the battery cap. For this I used a snap ring remover but some small screwdrivers would work too.

The McClicky switch has 2 methods for powering on. Push it lightly and it comes on and off for a quick on-off or push it further to click it on until you click it off again. That is simple and I like it much more than the factory switch because I can turn it on and off quickly without looking at the beam. With the stock switch, I feel like I have to look at it as I toggle through the modes to make sure its off. This isn't cool if I'm trying to work on a car or something. The McClicky is a little too sensitive for my taste with the momentary on. However, it is much less of a hassle than what I go through with the factory switch. The McClicky's spring is pretty stiff compared to the factory one but it works OK. It makes it more difficult to screw the cap on. 

-The McClicky is small and fits into the battery cap without using the McClicky's threading. It gets sandwiched by the clear switch retainer.
-There is a black retainer for the rubber button whose hole needs to be slightly bigger in order for a snug fit of the McClicky. 
-The rubber button has a long post on the inside that needs to be cut short with the razor. Care needs to be taken here so its not too long or too short. 
-The spring is removed from the clear switch retainer and a hole is drilled to fit the other in of the McClicky snugly. Bend the spring to the shape shown or something similar so that it touches the sidewall.







You can barely make out the spring through the clear retainer. I looks like the shape I drew and needs to wrap around the shaft of the McClicky so that it is sandwiched between the contact point and the retainer. The straight part of the spring needs to touch the side wall of the battery cap to complete the circuit.

After the mcclicky mod , my flashlight stayed on no matter what. This was because the rubber button post was too long and was pushing on the switch. After trial and error, I got the button post length correct. Use a sharp razor and take your time.

I got 2 mcclicky's for $16 shipped to my door from lighthound.com.
So I got 2 nice flashlights for about $16 each...and some fun modding action which is worth the extra money


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## Techlite Dude (Mar 29, 2010)

I found a spring to put between the rubber button and the switch to make it less sensitive. Now I won't worry as much about it accidentally getting turned on while sitting in a bag or something. Its a spring from an automatic sprinkler valve solenoid. The smaller diameter side of the spring goes around the button post. It needs to be cut shorter that I have it in the pic.

Here are some better pics:


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## batvette (Mar 29, 2010)

I think the "red led in tailcap begins to glow when batteries are low" is a really stupid feature. I guess one school of thought would be "let's alert the user the batteries are low so he can replace them right away!" but as I see it (and I'd rather not have my flashlights managing my schedule for me anyway!) it's just a self fulfilling prophecy. "haha, we TOLD you the batteries were going bad- now look, they are!"

Another forum identified these as Dorcy lights. I'm not a big fan of Dorcy, memory tells me most every Dorcy light I've encountered died but quick and was a year or two behind current technology when introduced.

(between Dorcy and Garrity they comprise most of my "broken lights" drawer. A Garrity with the magnifier lens being the only non li-ion light I've seen CATCH FIRE) 

Still $15 for two or even $20 regular price is real cheap. I don't have a costco card so hopefully my friend who does is going before the sale ends.


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## batvette (Mar 29, 2010)

scottman said:


> its a sicklight quit complaning.
> a lite is a lite ....


 
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/92396

Haha! Fourth photo pwns you like buying a puppy, tying a rope to it and kicking it home one step at a time.

(no animals were abused in the production of this post)


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## Therrin (Jul 7, 2010)

Techlite Dude, 

Funny enough, I modified my Costco "TechLite" tonight while talking to another CPF friend on a chat we're both on. I did one of the same things you mentioned on here. 

The clicky on the TechLite is the most annoying thing I've ever come across in a flashlight. You'd just think about it and it'd turn on. Completely wastes the batteries if you tried throwing it in a glove box or a backpack.

I took out the opaque rubber cup with the post inside and cut about 1/4" off of it. Which fixed it pretty nicely. Since it takes a real PUSH to make it operate now, it doesn't just come on when it bumps into anything. 

The light is still pretty darn cheap (in both price and build) but now its useable too.

Good call on the rest of those mods. Maybe if I get really bored someday I'll try to use them as well. For now I think it's good though.

Cheers =D


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## Jerrycobra (Jul 9, 2010)

i have these, i got a pack back from the end of march, they had no drain problems what so ever, no red light problem either


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## aka (Jul 16, 2010)

Maybe someone can confirm this:
I observed that desoldering microcontroller pin 2 (next to pin one, which is marked by a dimple) accomplishes the following:

-reduces parasitic loss to .07mA from ~.13mA (it spikes to .2 briefly when standby is first entered then settles to .07)
-eliminates low-voltage cut off entirely (emitter will stay lit until batteries are completely exhausted)
-preserves blinking red light function when light is powered on

Can someone tell me for sure that the red light comes on if the battery voltage is low and the light is off? I haven't seen this happen yet (but it does stay on blinking after the light cuts out) and am beginning to wonder if people have been turning the light on in drawers/ glove boxes/ etc.

Alternatively, it might just not trigger past a certain point. I've noticed that if I put really dead batteries in with an un-modified driver, it will dimly light the emitter and not trigger the cut-off. But on the other hand, blinking light and cut off are independent so....?


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## Locoboy5150 (Jul 16, 2010)

This is just a side note, but I went to Costco last night and they had a three pack of these lights. Previously they were only sold in a two pack.


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## Kevinm78 (Feb 19, 2012)

Today I found these lights in three packs of 200 lumen lights. The clickly tailcap is different - using the standard black material as on high end lights. Quite bright, with an impressive throw and more focused beam. They are not adjustable.

They are not finished well, with some rough edges. But for $20 at Costco for three lights they are pretty nice.


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## ryukin2000 (Apr 19, 2012)

Kevinm78 said:


> Today I found these lights in three packs of 200 lumen lights. The clickly tailcap is different - using the standard black material as on high end lights. Quite bright, with an impressive throw and more focused beam. They are not adjustable.
> 
> They are not finished well, with some rough edges. But for $20 at Costco for three lights they are pretty nice.



i just picked this up as well. Black cap. the click isn't really defined. the feel of the switch sucks when i turn it on. All three had a different tint, warm/cool and the other one was a little purple. I ran the alkaline's in one of them and the runtime was about 4.5 hours on the low setting. Smooth reflector. the beam itself was nice. i am pleased with them as its good bang for the buck. i bought 3 pack litemates a few years back and these are better than those even though they look the same. litemates had poorer beam pattern.


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