Does anybody remember dollar stores 10+ years ago because they seem to be having a come back? The once limited selection of cheap plastic junk from China has ballooned into a mini grocery, hardware, party, card, household item, and toy store. They still sell junk from China but with the better selection it doesn't seem as bad and everything is just a buck so you really don't expect much. They now have freezers for their small frozen food section and an aisle or two for grocery items. I've found a guilty pleasure in their Bakers Best 6-pack Soft Pretzels and Lay's Stacks Potato Chips. Some products don't even have a brand or it's one you've never heard of, but there are select name brand products on the shelves. With the economy never where we want it to be and goods constantly increasing in price, having a haven to get low cost items that are actually a decent deal is a breath of fresh air. Not even Wal-Mart can compete with some of the deals you can find, but obviously just keep expectations low as these are not high quality items generally.

 

So I walked into my local Dollar Tree one day to just browse their selection and before I knew it I had 5 or so items in my hands. It's surprisingly fun to browse a dollar store since you'll walk out the door with a wallet not much lighter than when you went in, and with these prices you'll feel like you're getting a deal every time. So in my browsing I was surprised to find a small LED flashlight which looked like a decent Maglite clone. I was surprised to see an LED flashlight at a dollar store (well bigger than keychain size) because while LED technology has come a long way and is starting to become more affordable, I didn't think it had come that far. Now the burning question in your mind, is an LED flashlight that costs only $1 any good? I was actually pretty surprised by it's brightness and quality. The body is both plastic and metal. The center part of the flashlight is metal and everything else is plastic. It has 3 LEDs in a kind of three leaf clover pattern, takes 3 AAA batteries (not included), and bundles a small strap you can install.

 

The only other LED flashlight I have to compare it to is my Maglite XL50 which starts around $25 on Amazon. Aside from the absurdity of comparing a $25 flashlight to one that only costs a $1, let's continue for giggles. The Maglite has three modes: 100% (one click), 25% (two clicks), and strobe (3 clicks). The DS flashlight has only an on and off setting via the click button. Both flashlights take 3 AAA batteries and have been tested with freshly charged Sanyo eneloops. The DS flashlight lasted around 10 hours before the brightness was too low to be useable. That's not bad at all for only $1. Maglite says the XL50 will last 6.5 hours on low and 33 hours on high. I tested the high setting and got around 5 hours of run-time. The Maglite's beam is slightly adjustable from spot to flood, and when in focused mode the beam can illuminate very far distances of up to 145 meters (475.7 feet, about an 11th of a mile). The DS flashlight can't compete with that distance as the beam is not adjustable or focused all that much.

 

In-store the DS LED flashlights looked decent and that impression continued in using them. Calling them high quality is probably a stretch but I'd say they are built good for their price. All colors show some out-of-box scratches or manufacturing irregularities (mainly where the battery cap screws on, due to its color the silver one doesn't really show it). The middle metal section gives the flashlight a decent quality feel and the outside plastic pieces look enough like metal that they could easily fool onlookers. I'm not sure how well it will hold up over time but in all reality if it breaks just buy another one. Maglites are known to be tanks and with all the plastic you definitely should not use this flashlight as a hammer as some people use their Maglites. Nothing can really compare to the amazing quality of a Maglite but for the intended purchase and price the DS flashlight is not bad at all and looks pretty slick (especially in the blue and red colors). It would make a great flashlight to distribute around the house for power outages, put in your car glove box, or give to the kids as stocking stuffers. For the price, I'd definitely recommended picking some up.

 

As a side note, I'd highly recommend using low self-discharge rechargeable batteries in these flashlights. Overall they offer longer run-time and save you money in the long run compared to disposable alkalines. See my LSD Batteries section for tips on what batteries and chargers I recommend. 

 

DS LED Flashlight Specifications

• Bulbs: 3 LEDs

• Batteries Required: 3 AAA (not included)

• Brightness: Unknown

• Beam Distance: Unknown

• Colors: Black, Silver, Red, Blue, & Purple (selection will vary depending on location, but black and silver seem to be the most common)

• Extras: Strap

• Weight:

  • 23g with No Batteries or Strap

  • 58g with 3 AAA eneloop Batteries but No Strap

  • 59g with 3 AAA eneloop Batteries and Strap

• Purchased from: Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (in-store)

 

Maglite XL50-S3016* LED Flashlight Specifications

• Bulbs: 1 LED

• Batteries Required: 3 AAA (included)

• Brightness: 104 Lumens (presumably on high)

• Beam Distance: 145m (475.7ft)

• Colors: Black, Gray, Silver, Red, & Blue

• Extras: 3 Duracell AAA Alkaline Batteries

• Weight:

  • 78g with No Batteries

  • 113g with 3 AAA eneloop Batteries

• Purchased from: Amazon.com

 

*There is a newer version of the XL50, model S3106, which has slightly better specs. The version I had on hand was model S3016.