DORCY COOL BLUE #1

DORCY COOL BLUE #1, retail $10-$15 (Found in Pennsylvania store)
Manufactured by Dorcy (http://www.dorcy.com)
Last updated 09-20-02

Dorcy Cool Blue


Look familiar?
If you've ever used an original Turtlelite, then you've used a Dorcy Cool Blue. The two lights are functionally and optically identical; differing only in case color, labelling, and price.

Website fan Don Klipstein found this particular one at a Philadelphia PA. Sears store for $12.99. They are also said to have been spotted in Wall-Mart.

The flashlight features a single Nichia LED that has been specially-ground to work with the Dorcy's large reflector. This provides a tight, spotlight-type beam that can reach close to 100 feet out, maybe even a bit more in total darkness. The light has rubber armour fore and aft, so it just kind of bounces around when you chuck it at something.


SIZE:



The light comes with Dorcy brand batteries, which will need to be loaded first.

To use the light, point it at something and press the rubber button on the barrel until it clicks. Press it again to turn it off. The light comes with a built-in hanging ring that swings out from a hinge on the tailcap.



To change the batteries in the Cool Blue, unscrew & remove the bezel & reflector assembly, and set it aside. Drop in four AA cells as follows: the first two go in tail-first in the two compartments that have springs in the bottom. The remaining two go in head-first. Now, hold the light so the switch is facing your right. Pick up the reflector assembly, and look for the flat side on the lamp holder. That flat side mates with the flat side where the switch is.

Still don't get it?
Then look for a dot of white on the lamp holder, and align that with a recessed dot embossed in the plastic barrel above the switch. Lower the reflector assembly straight down onto the barrel, and screw it in snugly.

Battery life is stated at 100 hours; however the brightest portion of that will probably be the first 20 hours or so, then dimming slowly after that. I'll have to run this through my battery destroying robot death machine as soon as it's finished with the Lightwave 2100.



Remember how tough the Turtlelite was? Remember how I threw it, kicked it, and tried to drown it in my toilet? Well, the Dorcy Cool Blue is just as tough. The rubber armour around the head and tail cushion the light from impacts, so it just kind of bounces around when you drop or throw it.

The Cool Blue features the same LED design pioneered by John Mize of LEDCORP. In fact, the physical design of the LED was licensed to Dorcy for use in this flashlight. So please, don't pick up the phone and call your favorite patent lawyer. :) The LED design allows the entire reflector to be used, and makes it possible for the flashlight to project a very tight, narrow beam to 30 feet in subdued light, and up to 100 feet away under good (very dark) conditions. No other single 5mm LED flashlight except for the original Turtlelite (which this is a version of) can throw a beam this far.



Beam photo.
Measures 69,900mcd. Narrow beam artifically inflates the reading.

The Cool Blue is a tough little light, but there are some brighter ones available. The LED technology is several years old; if this were to use one of the new Luxeon Star parts, it might well be in contention with the best multi-LED lights and single-LS lights now being sold. While I would have highly recommended this a year or two ago, it simply hasn't stayed caught up with current technology, so I simply can't lavish all my praise upon it like I did with the original Turtlelite when this modified LED technology first appeared. This doesn't mean it's an awful, horrible flashlight - it isn't. If you need an energy-thrifty LED flashlight that can still project a beam many dozens of feet out, then you'll like the Cool Blue, and you won't go wrong buying one. There's enough of a spill beam that you can navigate a dark house at night with it, so you can put one of these in your emergency kit. Plus the narrow beam makes it a candidate for signalling for help from a distance; this light might be seen where an unfocused LED might not. It's also durable enough to survive in a toolbox or a car trunk; though if stored anywhere in a vehicle, check (and change, if needed) the batteries at least every six months.

The Cool Blue is water resistant, and it floats. So if you're boating and it goes overboard, just fish it out of the water. Use a fishing net or a coffee can on a stick, not the gaff hook. :)

The light also features a metal ring affixed to a hinge on the tail of the light. It can be swung out to hang it from a hook or a rusty nail somewhere, and it folds back down out of the way when not needed. The light also has a small anti-roll fin, but it is ineffective. The light just rolls in tight little circles, making a sound like a car with a slashed tire. But because the head is significantly larger in diameter than the tail, the light can't roll very far away from you before it rolls back around your way.



Fired at a wall near the ceiling from ~15 feet away.
Exposure represents the most accurate image I could obtain to show beam intensity and configuration at that distance; this is pretty close to how the eye would see it.



TEST NOTES:
Sample was provided by Don Klipstein, who bought it in a Philly Sears store and mailed it to me.
I received it on 08-23-02 but have been too swamped with other work to add it to my website until 09-20-02.
The "#1" suffix is to distinguish it from Dorcy Cool Blue #2, an adjustable METAL flashlight. Don't ask me why they gave two different flashlights the exact same name, because I don't know.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
Tough and durable construction.
Never change the bulb - or add an incandescent for extra versatility.
Waterproof, and it floats in the toilet. :)
Able to project a tight & narrow beam.
The price is right.


CONS:
Beam may be too narrow for some uses.
A lot of currently-produced LED lights are brighter.


    MANUFACTURER: Dorcy
    PRODUCT TYPE: Handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Very narrow with only minor side-spill
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off
    BEZEL: Rubberized bezel, clear window, smooth reflector
    BATTERY: 4x AA cell
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 85mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes (floats)
    SUBMERSIBLE: Not yet known
    ACCESSORIES: Batteries
    WARRANTY:

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating









Dorcy Cool Blue #1 * WWW.DORCY.COM






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