Tesco 3W Cree LED Torches - first ride!

dirk_van_gently

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-8191.aspx
12quid

Not sure about P&P

cougie

Oh thats a D cell ? And the ones we're using are AAs ?

wgwarburton

Hi,
It's more complicated than that, even!

The website shows a 4W, 2xD cell "large" at £18 and a 3W "small" at £12. The website says the small uses Ds, too but the one I got in store runs on Cs...
I think the website is wrong- the C-based one I have is definitely labelled as 3W and warrants being described as "small".

I havn't seen the AA versions.

Cheers,
W.

BoardinBob

There's a large 4 Watt D Cell torch for £18 that contains a SSC LED

There's a smaller 3 Watt C Cell torch for £12 that contains a Cree LED

There's an even smaller 3 Watt AA Cell torch for £10 that contains a Cree LED

sb2901

I bought a 3w one 2months ago from salisbury tesco, it is super-bright and am v happy with it. However, after loosing a dog one evening in the new forrest i rushed to get 2 more - this time in southampton tesco. Now these two look identical however they DO NOT have a Cree LED! Total output is close to half of the Cree one and the spot is around 1/3rd less bright.

So watch out for this non-Cree development. If u look v closely at the reflector the Cree one has white body which u will see round the edges of the lens - however it's difficult through the packaging to see this clearly. The poorer ones have a clear lens and no white plastic is visable. Another check is to take out plastic disc breaking battery circuit ans switch one. The Cree torch has a warm colour while the cheap ones are a cool blue. Withh all the packaging round the lens it's not clear one is less bright than another.

Having said that the non-Cree one is still very good value but shame on tesco for this little trick - which it may be.

vorsprung

I bought one of these in Taunton as my light was playing up and I had 15 miles left to get home.
The batteries as supplied didn't last for 15 miles
Don't depend on the freebie batteries in these torches

paulwakefield

Thought i'd resurrect this topic, as I've just bought 2 Tesco CREE LED torches priced at £12, however they take C batteries, man they're bright, my 2 lock blocks have just arrived this morning aswell, I will be going for a night cycle tonight to see how they fare !

redvee

Used mine last night in Weston and had a car give way to me, might have had the aim of the torch a little high TBH.

paulwakefield

Just tried them out, very impressed with them.
On the completely unlit trail I was more than happy as I could see seriously far infront, as redvee said on the lit road I may need to only use 1 and angle it down more as they do dazzle a bit.

mud-dodger

I got a 2xAA last year and found it excellent as a helmet light, if a tad heavy,
So, have just bought 2 x C cell torches, does anyone know if I can run them both from a 7.5v lupine battery or would it be better just to buy a 6v battery + charger...
I'm just having them shortened at the moment, so hopefully I'll have them running by the weekend

Wallace1492

Anyone tried these recently? I see they are in store in my local.... worth a go?

mudcow007

Wallace1492 wrote:

Anyone tried these recently? I see they are in store in my local.... worth a go?

blimey this is a blast from the past isnt it?!

suzyb

Think they might be the same/similar as the ones from Deal Extreme which I had on that night ride.

Pufftmw

I always check my local Tescos for them when there, hoping to see them again. Great torch.

ince

Think they changed the spec of these from Cree to another type of LED. Not as good as the original.

If you have access to a Costco you can pick up x3 150 lum torches for £12 atm. I picked some up on Saturday. Brighter than the Tesco, high and low setting and a strobe. Run on 3AAA so not sure about the run time.

bails87

suzyb
The DX torches will be much brighter as they run off better batteries. (18650 cells vs AA/AAA)

Wallace1492

suzyb wrote:

Think they might be the same/similar as the ones from Deal Extreme which I had on that night ride.

As Bails87 said.... yours will be brighter.

However saw them in Tesco's last night and was thinking about it, hence finding this thread!! Think I will buy one and see.

bails87

I've got one in the car as an emergency torch. It's a hell of a lot better than a Maglite. But obviously not a patch on the magicshine stuff. Don't know if I've got the 'better' LED or not.

Runoutofgears

I used two tesco 3w torches for one season operating on rechargeable Ni Mh batteries, the main advantage being the resiliance of having two main lights, i had no over heating problems and I thought them to be quite adequate. I did consider modifying a pair of the bigger Tesco torches but then discovered the magicshine. Although more expensive the Magicshine puts the Tesco solution/s in the shade and with much less fuss fixing it on the bike, changing and charging the batteries.

I still use my tesco's as hand held torches and very good at this they are too.

Wallace1492

bails87 wrote:

suzyb
The DX torches will be much brighter as they run off better batteries. (18650 cells vs AA/AAA)

What if you stick in 18650 into the torch? it takes 2 AA.....

And I must say it is a very decent light for a £10. Might bring out tonight to see how it copes in the dark, wet woods.

Twostage

I got one of these to mount the torch to my bike. It's a uk seller and came in a couple of days.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-CYCLE-BIK ... 1013wt_929

prawny

I bought some after this thread the first time round, all in all they are toss. Ok for a quick 10-15 min commute but over that they get hot and dim. If we move house over the winter I might bust them out again but that will be because my commute has extended from 1 mile to 2.5 miles. And I can't be bothered to set up/strip down my magicshine twice a day.
Anything over that, get something from DX. Actually I might get something from DX anyway,

bails87

Wallace1492 wrote:

What if you stick in 18650 into the torch? it takes 2 AA.....

You might need a hammer to encourage it to fit