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I've a bunch of LED flashlights, powered by 18650 cells. I've one charger, and one extra 18650 cell; the unused cell is always sitting in the charger; when I ne

I've a bunch of LED flashlights, powered by 18650 cells. I've one charger, and one extra 18650 cell; the unused cell is always sitting in the charger; when I need a fresh battery in any flashlight, I just swap cells. The flashlights are cheap stuff from China, $10 or thereabouts. The cells are about half that price. The charger is about same price as a flashlight. The damn things are blindingly bright. The whole family has a 18650 flashlight on their bikes, and I always get comments from people when I'm biking through the neighborhood. Oh, and the devices are tiny, the barrel is just big enough to contain the Lithium cell. In terms of amount of light, I'm not even sure I want something better. Seriously, they beat the pants off the antiquated Maglite candles in every way. The current regulator inside is not resistive, it's a switched regulator with a frequency in the audible range. If it's very quiet in the room and you press the barrel to your cheekbone, you can hear a very faint whine from the regulator.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 10y ago
> The whole family has a 18650 flashlight on their bikes Please make sure the beam is directed if you do this. I've seen many people riding around with lights that are quite blinding to oncoming traffic, especially on dark roads. Sometimes just pointing regular flashlights down can solve this, but not always. The US hasn't caught on yet, but countries like Germany have mercifully begun to regulate this.
- hx87 10y ago
  The whole "everybody drives jacked up SUVs" thing we have here makes it worse.
- monocasa 10y ago
  And sometimes they'll have their super bright light on strobe. Bikers out there, if you want to make sure I can't tell your distance or heading, put your ultra bright light on strobe.
  - Florin_Andrei 10y ago
    Strobe is fine during the day. At night it's a stupid idea. Nobody can see anything anymore, including you.
- rconti 10y ago
  Most bike lights I've shopped don't have a cutoff. And you HAVE to aim them at the horizon because otherwise the hotspot will destroy your night vision and make it impossible to ride at more than a few mph.
- sliken 10y ago
  What's 100x worse is folks that take a 300-500 lumen flashlight then put it in flash mode to save the battery. Practically blinding everyone else on the road. As part of my public duty I switch my 1000 lumen flashlight into flash mode which often causes audible complaints. It does seem to get my point across.

Obi_Juan_Kenobi 10y ago

> The whole family has a 18650 flashlight on their bikes Please make sure the beam is directed if you do this. I've seen many people riding around with lights that are quite blinding to oncoming traffic, especially on dark roads. Sometimes just pointing regular flashlights down can solve this, but not always. The US hasn't caught on yet, but countries like Germany have mercifully begun to regulate this.

hx87 10y ago
The whole "everybody drives jacked up SUVs" thing we have here makes it worse.
monocasa 10y ago
And sometimes they'll have their super bright light on strobe. Bikers out there, if you want to make sure I can't tell your distance or heading, put your ultra bright light on strobe.
- Florin_Andrei 10y ago
  Strobe is fine during the day. At night it's a stupid idea. Nobody can see anything anymore, including you.
rconti 10y ago
Most bike lights I've shopped don't have a cutoff. And you HAVE to aim them at the horizon because otherwise the hotspot will destroy your night vision and make it impossible to ride at more than a few mph.
sliken 10y ago
What's 100x worse is folks that take a 300-500 lumen flashlight then put it in flash mode to save the battery. Practically blinding everyone else on the road. As part of my public duty I switch my 1000 lumen flashlight into flash mode which often causes audible complaints. It does seem to get my point across.