I went back about a year and a half, looking for flashlight threads, but didn't see any. I'm sure there has been one or more at some point.
Anyway, I'm sure many here have some fairly "high performance" flashlights. There are many types, and many levels of cost. In the last few years, the LED has "come of age" so to speak, and flashlights have been changing rapidly. Now, the switches have really "come of age" as well, and where the high performance flashlight was only a blinding light that lasted a couple hours is now a multi-setting light than can land planes of a couple hours, or help you see your way about for a week.

To get more to the point, in an effort several years ago to get more than a few good performing flashlights without spending a huge amount of cash (I'm a gear whore), I had purchased several lights made by Coleman company. These offered pretty good light (from 80 to 150 lumens) with good run times and were fairly inexpensive, about $15 to $25 each, depending on the specific model. Instead of using CR123s, which may not be quite as common post-shtf, they use AAA batteries. Three of them are mounted into a cartridge, which then goes into the light body.

Theoretically, this was just as durable as any other light, using any other battery system.

Now, 2-3 yrs later, I see this is not the case. For one, the batteries just don't seem to store. I have multiple packages of AAA, AA, and CR123, as well as CR2032s in storage, all stored together, with the AAA and AA both being the same brand. The AAAs are rotting away, with corrosion showing up in several packages. None of the other sizes are doing this. Maybe it is related to the small size, I don't know. I did find lithium AAAs, but of course, these are more expensive. All of the corroded packages have from 1 to 3 yrs left of storage time, as printed on the package.
Secondly, the lights aren't holding up. The cartridges that hold the 3 batteries a all cracking, as they are 3 pieces held together with small screws. Mostly, they seem to break around the screw holes in the end pieces. Also, some of the batteries have corroded, eroding the contacts. These are the batteries from the above mentioned packages, still plenty inside their "expiration" date. The lights have not seen particularly hard use. One has been carried a lot, and seen good use, but the others are simply laying in drawers, waiting to be needed.

Therefore, now I will be getting away from these AAA lights that use cartridges. Getting lithium batteries will end the corrosion issue, or should, but the lights themselves just don't hold up.


Just thought the colony might want the heads up.