# Duracel 500 lumen flashlights at COSTCO



## americo (Oct 3, 2013)

Can anyone tell me if the duracel 500 lumen flashlights at COSTCO are any good? Do they actually put out 500 lumens? I like that they work on C batteries and the fact that they cost $25 for two helps as well. Thanks


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## wedlpine (Oct 6, 2013)

I am curious about this as well. I almost picked up a pair the other day but thought I might look into them first.


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## Vesper (Oct 7, 2013)

Really doubtful the claims are true, but how many C batteries do these run on?


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## wedlpine (Oct 7, 2013)

If I remember correctly it was 3C.


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## mikekoz (Oct 7, 2013)

They sold a 2-pack of 500 lumen lights last year / earlier this this year that were made by Fiet Electric and they were definitely 500 lumens. They are were also very well made. The only bad thing about them was they had a high and low setting, but you could barely tell the two modes apart! Are these two mode?


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## wedlpine (Oct 7, 2013)

The lights are high, low and strobe.


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## mikekoz (Oct 8, 2013)

Does anybody have the Costco part number for these lights?


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## martinaee (Oct 8, 2013)

We're going to start seeing more of these "high output" 500 lumen or more *cheap* lights. The reality probably is general population manufacturers are going to start putting surplus xm-l's and what have you into lights and jamming a poop ton of aa's in them. It will do the trick for a bit on alkalines, but probably aren't regulated, don't have good drivers, and still are crappily built. Honestly don't waste your money on them. I would much rather have a good light from Fenix using an xp-g r5 than a shittier light from walmart with an xm-l slapped into it.


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## mikekoz (Oct 9, 2013)

I picked up a pack of these yesterday and initial impressions are very good! The switch feels like an electronic one as you barely have to push it down to turn the light on and off. You also can turn the light off by holding the switch down a few seconds while on, has a momentary feature by holding it while it is off, and always seems to be on low when you first turn it on. The low is not a super low, maybe 100 lumens, but there is a pretty big difference between it and high. The finish on the light is very good and the body has good, fairly aggressive knurling for a good grip. Like a lot of these focusing lights, when you zoom all the way in, it gives you a square impression of the emitter on the wall. When zoomed out, it lights up an entire room! On high it lit up our entire back yard while I was testing it yesterday eve! I believe the 500 lumen rating on them is accurate, and these lights are more than worth the $25.00 you will pay! I think Costco has another winner!! :thumbsup:


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## zippy2001 (Oct 9, 2013)

I recently purchased the Duracell Durabeam Ultra 250 flashlights and have been very pleased with their performance for such a low price.


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## TheVat26 (Oct 11, 2013)

I just got back from Costco and got the two pack. I second everything mikekoz mentioned. It's surprisingly light. You can hold it like a tac light. Time will te regardig the long term durability of the rear switch. They definitely worth it considering they are only 12.50 each. I wonder if these are prone to draining the batteries while off like the 3aaa Duracell/teklite lumen masters do? 

I got these for my parents that are in their late 60's and don't want them to have a DOA light when they need it. Probably have to look into nimh C's for them.


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## Canuke (Oct 12, 2013)

Electronic switch on cheapie lights? Check for parasitic draw.


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## waltsworld8 (Nov 25, 2013)

post #7 asked for the item number it is: 718963 usually about $25 for the pair.


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## mvyrmnd (Nov 26, 2013)

I bought a set on the weekend, and immediately dismantled one of them 

The switch is electronic, and contains the "modes". If you take the tailcap off and bridge the batteries and the body with a screwdriver, there is only direct drive.

I'm trying to work out how to mod the switch housing to use a normal clicky switch, then run it on 3C NiMH - it will certainly do 500 lumens then


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## Hooked on Fenix (Nov 26, 2013)

These will be $5 cheaper on Black Friday at Costco.


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## mvyrmnd (Nov 26, 2013)

After some mucking about, it would appear that with some minor modifications, a Solarforce clicky switch could be fitted into the housing. Single mode direct drive XM-L zoomy anyone?


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## garpt (Nov 27, 2013)

mvyrmnd said:


> After some mucking about, it would appear that with some minor modifications, a Solarforce clicky switch could be fitted into the housing. Single mode direct drive XM-L zoomy anyone?



Absolutely! 
Well worth the bucks, "fiix them up", very niice lights...

-GT


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## notbrite (Nov 29, 2013)

I saw these in Costco yesterday for $19.95 They take 2 C Cells. Are they a true 500 lumen, or are they lying? our thoughts please.


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## mvyrmnd (Nov 29, 2013)

On rechargeables I suspect they would be 500 lumens. On alkalines, maybe not.


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## DaveG (Nov 30, 2013)

I picked up a set for $19.95 on sale,and Cosco return policy, seems like a good deal for holiday gifting.


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## gearhead1972 (Dec 1, 2013)

Not trying to be a wise guy, but you did count the number of batteries, then divide that by the number of flashlights in the package right? lol


notbrite said:


> I saw these in Costco yesterday for $19.95 *They take 2 C Cells*. Are they a true 500 lumen, or are they lying? our thoughts please.


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## RoGuE_StreaK (Dec 1, 2013)

mvyrmnd said:


> I bought a set on the weekend


Out of interest, where/how/how much did you get these? In Aus, or shipped from the US?
Or are you in the US at the moment?


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## mvyrmnd (Dec 1, 2013)

Costco in Canberra. I'm sure the other Australian costco's will have them, too.


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## inetdog (Dec 1, 2013)

Yes it is three C cells but two flashlights that use C cells, therefore "two (C cell flashlights)"
[Order of operations??]

Just picked up a set.
The image of the uniformly lit rectangular die makes for an interesting hard-edged rectangular hot spot at full zoom.
Some color variation to yellow at the edges of the full flood circle, but not too annoying.
No idea of the battery life yet.
The lack of a true momentary switch mode is disappointing.
(You hold the switch in and it comes on after a couple second delay. Then it goes off immediately when you release.)
IMHO the strobe mode is not useful in this light and I would prefer a lower low instead. That would give more than just 45 hours on low from three alkaline C cells.
Too soon to say how well high mode regulates as the batteries go down.

Tapatalk...


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## RoGuE_StreaK (Dec 1, 2013)

mvyrmnd said:


> Costco in Canberra. I'm sure the other Australian costco's will have them, too.


Huh, didn't know they existed here. Looks like one is opening in North Lakes (north of Bris) "soon", might have to keep an eye out on these threads.


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## BryanFlowers (Dec 3, 2013)

Wow, I hadn't seen those at COSTCO but now I see a trip in the near future. Will make great stocking stuffers.


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## eric lovingood (Dec 23, 2013)

I have the Fiet electric ones and they are well worth the money. Very happy and would buy more if they had them. Use it every night.

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk


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## marinemaster (Jan 18, 2014)

I got these around Thanksgiving for about $20 on sales. Plenty bright and very floody. For $10 a piece including batteries awesome deal. Used them plenty around the house. Not sure of batt life but should last a while.


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## mddolson (Jan 22, 2014)

Can anyone tell me if these are still available in USA?
I'm in Canada & they're not listed here in Canada

Thank in advance.

Mike Dolson


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## Aahhyes68 (Jan 22, 2014)

I was at a Costco here in SE, MI yesterday and they still had them on the shelf for $24.99.


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## mddolson (Jan 23, 2014)

Aahhyes68 said:


> I was at a Costco here in SE, MI yesterday and they still had them on the shelf for $24.99.



Thanks, I'll call my buddy across the border.

Mike D


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## Aahhyes68 (Jan 24, 2014)

mddolson said:


> Thanks, I'll call my buddy across the border.
> 
> Mike D



I don't know where you're located but I'm just N of Detroit. Let me know if I can help.

Steve


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## Phaserburn (Jan 24, 2014)

Do these lights have a flat lens over the zoom optic? Also, is it confirmed they always come on in low?


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## mddolson (Jan 24, 2014)

Aahhyes68 said:


> I don't know where you're located but I'm just N of Detroit. Let me know if I can help.
> 
> Steve



Thanks for the offer Steve, but I'm in Belleville, Ontario which is at the opposite end of Lake Ontario.
Sorry I'm new , the last post was 3 so I've added my location to my profile
My brother lives right beside the Ogdensburg, NY bridge on the St Lawrence River.
He and my mother make regular cross border shopping trips.

Mike D


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## Monocrom (Jan 24, 2014)

Aahhyes68 said:


> I was at a Costco here in SE, MI yesterday and they still had them on the shelf for $24.99.



Not surprising. Energizer puts in plenty of effort to bring some quality lights to market. Almost without exception, Duracell tends to cheap out and bring out sub-par lights. If that Duracell model is putting out anything near 500 lumens, than I'm the Queen of England.


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## mikekoz (Jan 24, 2014)

I have two and they both come on in low. Low-Hi-Disco!


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## mikekoz (Jan 24, 2014)

Monocrom said:


> Not surprising. Energizer puts in plenty of effort to bring some quality lights to market. Almost without exception, Duracell tends to cheap out and bring out sub-par lights. If that Duracell model is putting out anything near 500 lumens, than I'm the Queen of England.



I have no way of actually measuring their output, but I have several other more expensive lights that are rated about the same, and it looks like to me it is putting about 500 lumens! You do not have to spend a lot of $$$ these days to get a bright light!!


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## mvyrmnd (Jan 24, 2014)

Monocrom said:


> Not surprising. Energizer puts in plenty of effort to bring some quality lights to market. Almost without exception, Duracell tends to cheap out and bring out sub-par lights. If that Duracell model is putting out anything near 500 lumens, than I'm the Queen of England.



With alkaleaks and the stock switch, certainly not.

On NiMh with a modded-in solarforce clicky (removes all the modes - effectively DD) It happily matches lights I know are ~500 Lumens


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## Monocrom (Jan 24, 2014)

Sorry, but the human eye is an extremely poor indicator of output. Plus, if you have a bunch of lights from various companies, all rating output using the common but completely wrong emitter lumens standard instead of using a proper sphere to measure output; no doubt all the lights will appear to be pumping out the same amount of lumens. None of which is going to be close to 500.

Still, no secret that Bright & Cheap is the easiest trick in the flashlight industry to pull off. Problem is the only things you get are bright & cheap. For some reason, folks actually expect quality to be apparently tossed in for free. Never understood the reasoning behind that mentality.


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## mvyrmnd (Jan 24, 2014)

Monocrom said:


> Sorry, but the human eye is an extremely poor indicator of output. Plus, if you have a bunch of lights from various companies, all rating output using the common but completely wrong emitter lumens standard instead of using a proper sphere to measure output; no doubt all the lights will appear to be pumping out the same amount of lumens. None of which is going to be close to 500.
> 
> Still, no secret that Bright & Cheap is the easiest trick in the flashlight industry to pull off. Problem is the only things you get are bright & cheap. For some reason, folks actually expect quality to be apparently tossed in for free. Never understood the reasoning behind that mentality.



I'm talking ballparks here... apart from anything else I've been around here long enough to know all that.

Preaching to the choir, mate.


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## RAM2 (Jan 24, 2014)

Costco had them today with $5 instant savings again.


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## Aahhyes68 (Jan 24, 2014)

mddolson said:


> Thanks for the offer Steve, but I'm in Belleville, Ontario which is at the opposite end of Lake Ontario.
> Sorry I'm new , the last post was 3 so I've added my location to my profile
> My brother lives right beside the Ogdensburg, NY bridge on the St Lawrence River.
> He and my mother make regular cross border shopping trips.
> ...



Sounds like you have it covered...


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## mikekoz (Jan 24, 2014)

Monocrom said:


> Sorry, but the human eye is an extremely poor indicator of output. Plus, if you have a bunch of lights from various companies, all rating output using the common but completely wrong emitter lumens standard instead of using a proper sphere to measure output; no doubt all the lights will appear to be pumping out the same amount of lumens. None of which is going to be close to 500.
> 
> Still, no secret that Bright & Cheap is the easiest trick in the flashlight industry to pull off. Problem is the only things you get are bright & cheap. For some reason, folks actually expect quality to be apparently tossed in for free. Never understood the reasoning behind that mentality.




All true, but my eyes are all I have to go on! As far as differences in brightness, to me, if you cannot see a difference, there is not one regardless of what a measuring device tells you. I realize the quality of these lights is not going to be as good as a Fenix, Nitecore, Jetbeam, etc, but they are more than worth the $12.50 you pay for them. The problem some people have on this forum is there is a mentality that you have to spend $200.00 or more on a light to get a good one, which is far from the truth. A lot of folks do not give these lights a chance, and they criticize them without even owning them.


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## inetdog (Jan 25, 2014)

Phaserburn said:


> Do these lights have a flat lens over the zoom optic? Also, is it confirmed they always come on in low?



Click and release and they come on in low. Each successive click cycles to high/strobe(it is "tactical")/off.
But if you press and hold it will stay off for several seconds and then go straight to high, then turn off immediately when you release.
If it is on in low and you want to get to off without cycling through strobe, you can press and hold till it jumps to high and then release to turn it off immediately. 
There is no way to do a true momentary on, so it is not ideal for signalling.
There is a flat (plastic?) cover on the front, over the aspheric. The whole front unit moves to zoom and the ring and groove structure on the head makes it fairly easy to do that. Not really good for zooming back out with one hand, but it can be done.


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## Monocrom (Jan 25, 2014)

mvyrmnd said:


> I'm talking ballparks here... apart from anything else I've been around here long enough to know all that.
> 
> Preaching to the choir, mate.



How am I supposed to recognize you without your old avatar?


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## Monocrom (Jan 25, 2014)

mikekoz said:


> All true, but my eyes are all I have to go on! As far as differences in brightness, to me, if you cannot see a difference, there is not one regardless of what a measuring device tells you. I realize the quality of these lights is not going to be as good as a Fenix, Nitecore, Jetbeam, etc, but they are more than worth the $12.50 you pay for them. The problem some people have on this forum is there is a mentality that you have to spend $200.00 or more on a light to get a good one, which is far from the truth. A lot of folks do not give these lights a chance, and they criticize them without even owning them.



I've got a few cheap lights I can definitely recommend.


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## mikekoz (Jan 25, 2014)

Monocrom said:


> I've got a few cheap lights I can definitely recommend.



Me too! Actually more than a few. I even have / had some not so cheap lights that I would NOT recommend!


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## mikekoz (Jan 25, 2014)

mvyrmnd said:


> With alkaleaks and the stock switch, certainly not.
> 
> On NiMh with a modded-in solarforce clicky (removes all the modes - effectively DD) It happily matches lights I know are ~500 Lumens



I tried this by putting another switch on this light from another one I have. There was no difference in brightness. What is special about the Solarforce switch? I actually like the low/high feature though.


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## mvyrmnd (Jan 25, 2014)

mikekoz said:


> I tried this by putting another switch on this light from another one I have. There was no difference in brightness. What is special about the Solarforce switch? I actually like the low/high feature though.



Nothing special about the Solarforce switch, just what I had handy. I noticed a significant increase in brightness, and hate the strobe so much that I'm happy to sacrifice low mode.


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## timpost35 (Jan 29, 2014)

I had three of the 250 lumen Fiet Electric AA's. It appears maybe duracell bout fiet or something. I gave away two of them to buddies and they are working for them but the switch fried on the one I had left. Seemed like a decent cheapie till it busted. Luck of the draw I guess.. Maybe Duracell can put a little more into QC...


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## Phaserburn (Jan 30, 2014)

Bought the two lights and 6 Duracell C package for $20. I have to say, the quality is higher than I expected. Tint on both is excellent, cool white but almost neutral. Very nice, totally acceptable in my book. On one light, the beam is perfect. No rings, no artifacts, period. The other is close, but has faint rings outside the main beam when white wall hunting.


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## Aahhyes68 (Jan 30, 2014)

I just picked up two today myself for $20.... I haven't brought them in from the truck yet...If I get caught with any more flashlights anytime soon she's gonna' shoot me... 

Someone mentioned something about changing/modding the switch to eliminate the disco mode... Can anyone shed some _light_ on this for me ?


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## jojocat (Feb 4, 2014)

Has anyone figured out how/if these lights can be disassembled to get at the pill?

I think the feit branded light that preceded this at costco and seems to share some lineage had a retainer at lens that could be removed.

This one has no retainer, though. I'm thinking the plastic lens cover is a pressed fit, possible glued in additionally.

Just hate mangling a light if anyone has already done it.


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## mvyrmnd (Feb 4, 2014)

yep. I busted one open

The outer flat plastic window is press fit in. The lens and yellow bit fall out after that. The pill unscrews form the black shell, but after that I couldn't work out how to get the pill out - but I was bored, in hotel room using only my pocket knife...


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## AWGD8 (Feb 6, 2014)

I am worried about these cheap flashlight from Costco or Sams Club. From my experience, i bought 2 LED flashlights from Sams club for $16. These are the AAA x3 powersource. I went home and tried both and holy cow! It is brighter than my Lego Surefire Z2 with original Malkoff M60 drop in. So I sold my Surefire and kept the cheapo. =) I week later, this darn cheapo light drains my 3xAAA batteries on standby. It does not have an electronic switch, but there seems to be parasitic discharge happening when I'm not using the light. At first I thougth I grabbed an old AAA batteries, so I installed a fresh ones and a week later the same thing happened. I did it again and $&@:&;&;$!


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## bullcanyon (Feb 11, 2014)

A buddy has been raving about his new costco lights. He loves them for the price point. I'm not really into non rechargeable lights so I didn't pick the 2 pack up. They seem like a great value though.

Kris


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## Afroderp (Feb 14, 2014)

For $20, I have to take the dive.

There's no losing in this situation. Would be great for handing out as stocking stuffers or keeping them around the house for power outages.


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## Phaserburn (Feb 14, 2014)

True. Thing is, it's really only like a 15 dollar dive, as you're getting 6 Duracell C cells. 7.50/light!


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## sicko (Feb 14, 2014)

I've looked at these lights every time I've gone to Costco, but every time I put them down because I don't need any more flashlights and I question if it's just a gimmick flashlight. But for $20-$25, I might pick them up now that I've read these reviews. Only thing making me think twice about it now, is that I have no other devices that take C size batteries. I'll probably still pick them up though.


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## Luke01 (Mar 3, 2014)

They have them for sale over here in MD (Beltsville). Sorry I didnt get the price. But did take notice at the 500 lumens. I might have to go back and pick them up. As stated earlier, these would be good cheep gifts for Christmas.


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## inetdog (Mar 3, 2014)

The lumen and other ratings use the new symbols which should mean that they are tested with a standard integrating sphere and are comparable to the same rating from another brand that uses the same symbols.
However since these are zoom lights using a lens and no reflector, the lumen figure can only be valid at full zoom. Any other setting will intercept less light from the LED and therefore will have fewer lumens in the beam.


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## Canuke (Mar 6, 2014)

inetdog said:


> However since these are zoom lights using a lens and no reflector, the lumen figure can only be valid at full zoom. Any other setting will intercept less light from the LED and therefore will have fewer lumens in the beam.



Correct, if by "full zoom" you mean maximum WIDE setting. I have the Feit predecessors to these lights, and their design results in significant light loss when zooming into the narrow end (square beam).

The one anomalous exception to this rule are the Coast TIR optics, like my HP550 (the 9AA Costco special); since the optic functions partly as a reflector, it actually intercepts more total light when zoomed in than when wide.


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## Skimo (Mar 7, 2014)

Broke down and bought a pair, not too bad, would prefer a lower mode instead of strobe, but not too bad.


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## darkemp (Mar 22, 2014)

I own this flashlight, durabeam 500 lum. and my goodness, i turned on the headlights on my 2001 7.3 ford f350 and compared them to the durabeam flashlight, and honestly they were identical, distance and brightness... 

Great flashlight for 25$ 

only problem i have with it is, battery life, and the size. very impractical for my application.


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## grayrock (Jun 27, 2014)

Just became aware of this light. Buddy knows I have an affinity for light :naughty: and texted me a pic from Costco. They were $19.99; then I waited a week or so and when I got there they were $24.99. Still was worth the $. This is my new brightest light. Hope it lasts. I'll have to break out the Q-Beam and see how it compares.


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## weez82 (Jun 27, 2014)

My friend has these. I doubt theyre 500 lumens but who really cares? For a low cost light they look to be solid. They sure do beat the cheap plastic lights he use to get. Anyone looking for a low cost light for around the house, these would be great. Considering the price point the only cons I would give them is theyre heavy and use alkaline. But whatever, not bad for a low cost light. And notice I'm calling them a low cost light and not a cheap light. These are well built


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## inetdog (Jun 27, 2014)

I have been using one for about four months now (15 minutes per night walking the dogs) and am getting intermittent operation of the tail switch and the light going out and having to be shaken. Tailcap is screwed on tight, but it might be related to the contacts on my old alkaleaks....


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