METAL GEAR LED FLASHLIGHT

Metal Gear LED Flashlight, retail $TBA (www.dorcy.com)
Manufactured by Dorcy (www.dorcy.com)
Last updated 01-07-08






The Dorcy Metal Gear is a small handheld LED flashlight that uses a 1.2 watt Luxeon LED at the bottom of a smooth reflector, feeds on three AAA cells contained in a side-by-side carriage in the barrel, and comes in an almost all-aluminum body.


SIZE



To use the Metal Gear, feed it the included batteries first (see directly below), and then you'll be ready to roll.

Press the button on the tailcap until it clicks and then release it to turn the light on.
Do the same thing to turn the unit back off.

There is no momentary or signalling mode available when the Metal Gear is off, however you can blink it while it's on by partially depressing the button and holding it that way for as long as you need the flashlight off. If you don't mind the backward or reverse feeling of this, you can blink the Metal Gear this way if desired.

There is a spring steel clip on the side of the Metal Gear; this clip can be used to affix the flashlight, bezel (head)-up, to pants pockets, coat pockets, and similar locations.



To change the batteries in your Metal Gear, unscrew and remove the tailcap, and set it aside.

Tip the black plastic battery carriage out of the barrel and into your hand. If necessary, remove and dispose of or recycle the used cells if they are present in this carriage.

Insert three new AAA cells into the carriage, one in each compartment. Orient each cell so the flat-end (-) negative faces a spring for it in its compartment.

Once the carriage is full, insert it into the flashlight's barrel, aiming it so the little metal spring on one end goes in first. Screw the tailcap back on, and be done with it.

Notice I did not advise you to stomp on, dispose of, kick, or flush anything away here.

Current usage measures 354mA on my DMM's 4A scale.




Photograph of the Metal Gear's "business end", showing the reflector and the LED.

The flashlight appears to be reasonably sturdy. Ordinary flashlight accidents should not be enough to do it in. I administered the smack test on it (ten whacks against a steel rod - yes, a steel rod this time; five whacks against the side of the tailcap and five whacks against the side of the bezel), and found the expected damage. There is some very light denting on the sides of the tailcap and bezel where it was struck. No optical or electrical malfunctions were detected.

The flashlight appears to be weather- and water-resistant at the very least. When I removed the tailcap, relieved the barrel of its battery carriage, and then performed that dreadful suction test, no leakage was detected. So if it fell into shallow water, just shake it off and keep going. And you need not be concerned about using it in rain or snow. And if it fell next to the mailbox and the dog pissed on it, just take the garden hose to it or douche it off under the faucet...good as new! Being water- and pee-resistant is new for a Dorcy product, and makes an already good product even better.

Grip is aided by a wide band of knurling (cross-hatch texturising) on barrel, and some hexagonal (six-sided shapes) machined into the bezel, barrel, and tailcap.

The window (or "lens") on the end of the flashlight is made of polycarbonate plastic.

Light output is a pure white, with no pink, yellow, blue, purple, or "rotten salmon urine green" tint to it.



Beam photograph at ~12".
Measures 942,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight.
Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.



Beam photograph at ~15'.
That red thing in this photograph is from an American DJ Laser Widow.




TEST NOTES:
Product was purchased from a website fan and was received late on the morning of 08-12-05.

Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 01-07-08
I let my sister use the Metal Gear flashlight last night, and it performed to her expectations.


PROS:
Decent intensity
Durable construction
Water-resistant - even submersible to shallow depths


CONS:
Uses a battery carriage - one more thing to break or lose


    MANUFACTURER: Dorcy
    PRODUCT TYPE: Handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 1.2 watt white Luxeon LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Medium-narrow spot with slightly ringy corona
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off on tailcap
    BEZEL: Metal; LED and reflector protected by plastic window
    BATTERY: 3xAAA cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 354mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Yes
    SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to shallow depths anyway
    ACCESSORIES: 3xAAA cells
    WARRANTY: 1 year

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star Rating





Metal Gear LED Flashlight * www.dorcy.com






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