Why are LED torches so expensive?

[daved]

OK, perhaps I am in a bit of a grumpy mood today (must be the weather) but why are torches so expensive these days? Looking around, I am regularly seeing prices for LED torches at £25 upwards and often much much more.

Is this really warranted? Are they really that expensive to make?

I just bought an Alpkit Gamma headtorch. Not perfect perhaps, but impressively bright, flexible and robust. If they can do it for £12.50, why is everybody else charging so much?

Now that is off my chest, which torches do you think offer the best price/performance ratios?

[Bodge]

Alpkit Gamma imo.

[Graham_S]

you can get a decent 3w LED torch from Tesco for not too much cash.

[bothyman]

I have several led torches all bought off ebay .
All very cheap with no problems.

MickT

[Walks with dogs]

LED torches can be had for as little as a quid or upwards of £100. I used to be a bit of a torch freak always looking for the brightest literally shiniest kit. Nowadays I go for relatively cheap , solid and reliable- which is how my missus describes me.

[Scots_Charles_River]

You can wire your own, a few pounds for the stuff from maplin. Keep an eye out in Lidl/Aldi for ones for a few pounds.

Nick

[rik_uk3]

The price includes postage

10 button torches

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1253

Two for under a fiver

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1255

5W for under £8

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3405

The Tesco torches are also great value, work well

Bargains can be had, you just don't alway have to buy from an 'Outdoor' site

[Walks with dogs]

I actually bought the button torches mentioned in Rik's post. They work at least as well as many expensive ones I've owned and because they are so small , fit on a key ring, I can guarantee I always have one with me when out and about.

[Rebel]

LED torches range vastly in price from less than a tenner to hundreds of pounds.

Pricing depends on many factors but generally speaking the more robust the construction of the light and the more advanced the LED the more expensive it will be. After a certain price point you get into the realms of snobbery, custom builds, exotic materials, exclusivity, etc. Just like you do with knives.

Some of the deals on the Deal Extreme Website are excellent value for money. The lights are cheaply manufactured in China and badged with various names but are usually decent quality and use some of the latest LED technology.

The Tesco ones that have been mentioned are Chinese productions and are a good for the price, I seem to recall there are about three different models.

[JDO330]

Ive got the AA & C cell Tesco LED torches that have been discussed on here before (£10 & £12 respectively) and to be honest they are absolutely brilliant. The Tesco AA is miles better than my AA Maglite with LED upgrade too.

Well worth the money IMHO, go check em' out...

ATB, Jon.

[demographic]

LED torches can be had for as little as a quid or upwards of £100. I used to be a bit of a torch freak always looking for the brightest literally shiniest kit. Nowadays I go for relatively cheap , solid and reliable- which is how my missus describes me.

What, not the brightest but solid and reliable?
Sorry, I'll get my coat

[stonyman]

I've bought one of the AA led torches from Tesco and gave it to my Mum as her need was greater than mine, then realised later on that I actually needed a brigh robust cheap torch so had a look in B&Q and got an identical one for about the same price as Tesco. Both of these are great value for money and are extremely bright, the only I will saya bout some LED torches is they don't offer a long beam of light like some of the conventional bulb torches do.

[rik_uk3]

There is a review off a member on British Blades about torches from dealextreme, they came out top and a lot cheaper than some of the (often just rebaged) lights sold in the UK

The CR123 was very good

[Squidders]

I have a tikka XP... When I want a head torch I want one that's as bright as can be, waterproof and one with construction beyond any kind of doubt in terms of quality because it's going to be the only one I have on me.

Basically, while loads of cheaper ones are very good and probably offer better value for money I give more priority to factors other than cost.

[Melonfish]

Just got that 3w AA LED torch from tesco's and i'm rather impressed. seems good and sturdy and should do me well.

i have in the past also had that energiser 2 in 1 torch, the one that changes into a lantern. was fantastic for a couple of months but then the contacts corrode and it just stops working, had to strip it, lightly sand the contacts to get the oxidisation off and get it working again.
this tesco's one is flippin bright tho
pete

[Wilderbeast]

I got a double AA 15 LED head torch for 4.95 off ebay............hasn't failed me yet!!

[rik_uk3]

I got a double AA 15 LED head torch for 4.95 off ebay............hasn't failed me yet!!

£2.50 delivered back in 2005

I only use a head torch for reading, toilet patrol or cooking so I don't need anything powerful to be honest

These are good, 2 torches £4 delivered
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1255
used these since the 2006 bushmoot, very well made all metal body, firm tail switch

I've ordered one of these after reading a review on this(or another forum)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2545

[MartiniDave]

I've had an "led divers torch" by Tracpac? for about 5 years, bought for a tenner, used regularly during the winters. Its still only on the second set of batteries (4AA's) and has proven to be pretty bomb proof. To test it I've throw it as high and far as I could manage along a concrete road and barely even marked it. Excellent.
Also good is the led conversion for the AA maglite, gives an old friend a new lease of life.
But, most incredible is the 3AAA led torch I found in the local pound shop. £1 including bateries, as bright ast the maglite conversion, and cheap enough to have a few spares!

I'm amazed such gear can be had for the prices!

That said, for hill walking and other serious stuff, I ALWAYS take my Tikka+ with the LED Minimaglite as backup. I guess there are times to cut cost, and times not to!

Dave

[Jedadiah]

I've had a few cheap or reasonably priced torches in the past and found them to be good torches. However, when in my experience, some of them have not been 'robust' enough to be considered reliable. When i say that, i mean there have been times when i've not need them for a while and when i've need them and dug them out of the bottom of a bergan, they have not worked. I wanted the build quality to ensure they are 'squaddy-proof'.

In the last few years i've had many torches/flashlights and always seem to come down to Surefire who, while expensive, are just what i need. I've recently been trying out a couple of Nitecore torches which seem to provide the same as Surefire but at a lower cost.

I had a look at one of the larger Tesco's LED torches and, whilst the performance (brightness) is on a par with Surefire/Nitecore, i'd hold judgement until the robustness and reliability is proven.

I've no problem with budget torches at all, but i like to be confident that when i pick a torch up, it will work.

[MartiniDave]

Jedadiah

I can't fault what you say. I usually use the Petzl, Maglite/LED conversion for the more "serious" stuff - or at the very least have them with me, and keep the cheapies for around the house at night, loo breaks, fetching firewood, short dog walks etc.

Dave

[Jedadiah]

Jedadiah

I can't fault what you say. I usually use the Petzl, Maglite/LED conversion for the more "serious" stuff - or at the very least have them with me, and keep the cheapies for around the house at night, loo breaks, fetching firewood, short dog walks etc.

Dave

I know what you mean Dave but i can't have cheapies in the house. The main reason for that is, i've spent so much money on torches, i've got to justify the expense by using them as much as i can! That's why i use my Surefire M2 with Malkoff LED drop in (230 lumens) for dogwalking, my Surefire E2e with KX2 LED head for an emergency car torch and my Nitecore Extreme for EDC and pulling spare change out from underneath the settee cushions!

Admittedly, i used the Surefires extensively for various activities whilst in the Military (27 days to go, no-one has THAT long left) but, now i'm training to be a social worker, there is'nt much call for interrogation techniques to be used! By the way, has Jungle RE told you the Gestapo joke?

Sorry, wandering a bit there.

[calibanzwei]

The CR123 was very good

Isn't that a type/size of battery?

[Karl5]

Isn't that a type/size of battery?

Yup, it is.

[rik_uk3]

Isn't that a type/size of battery?

My mistake, I'll find the torch link and post it

[bigbear]

I have a six quid divers torch from Lidl, just the job for most things. OK, I wouldn't use it when I need a hands free head torch, but that is not often the case.
Incidentally, there are some cave divers who use these Lidl dive torches- if it is OK for them......

[traderran]

In the land of LED Lights you get what you pay for.
Just got a new Surefire A2 to keep in my plane.
A little over 200.00 US but worth every Pennie
this is a hi tec incandescent and LED

A good place to check on led lights is candlepowerforums.

[ZDP-189]

If it should be easy, make a small run of 50 top quality torches for under twenty quid and we'll all buy one. You'll find it difficult to make anything but a low powered unit.

Lots of good LED torches are below GBP20. The technology on these 3W emitters is fully amortised and they are generic.

If you want something special like a SSC P7D, the emitter pill alone will cost more than that at factory wholesale prices. Hard anodising can cost a tenner for a single torch. Then you have to add a DC voltage stabiliser and a control circuit, a decent reflector and lens, a reliable switch and CNC machine a body.

[Dougster]

Last February my father and I were walking in the Cairngorms, he had a cheap torch, I had a Petzl.

It was cold, it went dark fast and we were a mile from the Bothy over boulder fields. There was ice in between all the boulders and I was a little anxious as we had five days kit on our backs and Dad had already gone down hard on his hip.

He dug in the top of the bergan to find his had pegged it.

I lent him mine and struggled with a handtorch.

Quality pays

[bigmul]

What you want will ultimately decide on how much it costs. I have the Tesco AA 3w cree light and it;s a fab bit of kit, but it doesn't do multiple levels and takes 2 batteries. If I wanted those features with only 1 AA cell and a higher output to boot then I can have it, but it'll cost me more. It would also be more robust too.

I suppose this is very similar to people asking why someone would pay over £100 for a ventile smock - it's just cotton right? :-)

[Minotaur]

I have a tikka XP... When I want a head torch I want one that's as bright as can be, waterproof and one with construction beyond any kind of doubt in terms of quality because it's going to be the only one I have on me.

Basically, while loads of cheaper ones are very good and probably offer better value for money I give more priority to factors other than cost.

I have three Aldi head torches, not had a problem with any of them. The problem is at the price of the expensive ones, if they break, for whatever reason, you would not have a back up. At Aldi's I do not care that I have not seen one of mine for a while.

My plan was to Led my maglite, and go down to three torches. My solitire, my aa mag(inc headband), and my Aldi head torch. i prefer the sol for edc, just need to get a pouch for it, and my huntsman. It fits in my Leatherman pouch perfectly.

The big thing against LED's for you is you have to have a spare of some kind, because if it does not work, you cannot just replace the bulb. If you want to carry one torch, I think you have to stay bulbed so you can replace the one moving part, as it were.