maglite

[Ralph E. Powers]

I find by twisting and grunting til I lose it and throwing it against a brick wall, concrete patio, large rock sometimes does the trick.

[NZcaver]

I wish I could. BJ's doesn't seem to have an online catalog, and nobody else seems to carry it. I did a Web hunt for it a while back and came up empty, but then BJ's started selling it again. It really is a good light, though.

Are these them?

That flashlight in Scott's link looks similar to one I got from Wal Mart last year for about $20.
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/review ... algear.htm

I find this useful around the house, but I don't take it caving. Having 3 x AAAs feeding a 1-watt LED isn't a good recipe for long battery life. If you just want it for spotting - fine. Otherwise the 2 x AA Maglite (preferably with a 3-LED upgrade) is probably more practical as a backup caving light - especially if you strap it to your helmet.

Or you can get one of these tiny 1 x AA Gerber flashlights -
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/review ... yultra.htm
Waterproof to 10 feet, 25 hours peak brightness, 22 Lux beam from single LED, similar pattern to the Maglite, and only about $15 if you shop around. Plus you screw the cap tight to turn it on, so the thread probably won't bind up when you store it for a while!

[Steven Johnson]

Or you can get one of these tiny 1 x AA Gerber flashlights

+1 vote for the Infinity Ultra; I've kept one in my cave pack for years now to be my Ultimate Last Resort light.

They redesigned it a couple of years ago and I liked the old one slightly better, but the new one is good too.

It's not a stupendous amount of light, but the size and durability (and common-type-of-battery) are nice.

[paul]

I had a similar thing happen to a Maglite several years ago. It turned out to be counterfeit "Duracell" batteries which leaked like a sieve.

Of course the problem is that if the batteries have expanded thus making it difficult to get the end cap off - getting the batteries out of the Maglite is an even bigger problem...

I gave up and threw it away!

[potholer]

It may be possible to force slightly swollen batteries out by pushing from the other end - with the bulb and 'pusher plate' removed, a thin screwdriver can be pushed down the gap and onto the top of the top battery. Probably best with a 'blunt' screwdriver (such as a crosspoint/philips one), to reduce the chances of piercing straight through the battery, and maybe better with a couple of screwdrivers, if available and/or applying pressure close to the edge of the battery. Due to the possibility of piercing, this would probably not work for heavily-wedged batteries.

Alternatively, one technique that worked for me to get a friend's Maglite emptied was to punch a small hole in the base of the battery with a slender awl, and then screw in a sharp woodscrew of appropriate length. The screw then enabled the battery to be pulled out of the tube with a pair of pliers.

[erebus]

Are these them?

Nope. The one I'm talking about looks like a mini-mag, except it hold 3 AAs, it's silver, the end-cap is slightly larger diameter than the body, and the head is not knurled - it has grooves parallel to the body for grip. The end- cap and body are knurled. Oh, and it says "tasco" in white on the body.

[NZcaver]

The one I'm talking about looks like a mini-mag, except it hold 3 AAs, it's silver, the end-cap is slightly larger diameter than the body, and the head is not knurled - it has grooves parallel to the body for grip. The end- cap and body are knurled. Oh, and it says "tasco" in white on the body.

Just guessing here - anything like this? http://tinyurl.com/jtv5h

After web-searching for a while, I finally realized "Tasco" brand flashlights have no relation to the Tasco company that make binoculars and scopes. Doh!

[erebus]

Nope, again, but that one is closer. I will give more description below, but I don't think it is on the Web. If there is a BJ's where you are, you could go and look at them. Otherwise, we're probably going to go around in circles to no useful end. It may not be the absolute best hand-light available, but I like it, and prefer it to the Maglight.

Actually, the tasco label on the light is in exactly the same font as the optics company's at this site. The distinctive T and unique A are the same. So either the optics company makes the light, or somebody in Taiwan is disrespecting their trademark.

===============================================

The one I'm on about is not so shiny a silver as the one in your link. It's not actually a matte finish, but it's not bright, either. The body of the light between the head and end-cap is a straight tube, with checkered knurling in its middle section. The "tasco" label (lowercase) is in the knurled area.

The end-cap is also evenly tubular, with straight knurling in two rows. There is a black plastic button that fills a hole at the back end of the end-cap and serves as a mount for the wire lanyard-ring. (There is no lanyard supplied.) The button is sealed against the inside of the end-cap by a thin O-ring. O-rings also seal the end-cap and head on the body.

The head is a larger diameter than the body, like a Maglight, but has a peaked boss around it. A series of V-bottom grooves are cut into this boss to a constant depth. Because the boss's diameter is larger at its middle and tapers away at front and back, the grooves have an elongated diamond aspect.

The machining on these lights is first-rate - at least as good as Maglight's.

[Teresa]

I've trashed two mag-lights this way. Both had Energizer batteries purchased in mega-packs at big box stores go bad. I talked with someone from the new IMO, and they said Energizers had a slightly larger OD than other batteries, and were usually the ones to get stuck.

I got another mag-light (like 'em--they come in purple, and pink and other gaudy colors) but won't store them with batteries in them anymore.