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These 2AA cell, Luxeon I LED, boost circuit regulated flashlights are available from Costco Warehouse store. Membership is required in order to enter and purchase at Costco, so if you are not a member you will either have to pay for a membership or find someone who is a member to purchase these lights for you. The lights come from an unknown maker, come in a two pack with batteries, and are darn good lights if you ask me! Read on and you'll see why I feel this way.
The body of the Costco Luxeon is anodized aluminum. The entire body from head to tail has a granular texture which helps with grip. The body itself is quite thick and should be able to take a rather serious beating. The head of the light has a notched ring which helps serve as an anti-roll device. Just below the head are several rings machined into the body to assist with grip. The tailcap has several notches machined around its circumference to assist with grip when unscrewing the tailcap to change the batteries.
Close-up of texture - color is silver, not gold.
The large internal reflection collimator lens is recessed in the bezel to protect it from impacts. Out of the package each light has a plastic protector on the front of the lens which is easily removed. The entire head can be easily removed which exposes the lens, Luxeon LED, and the capsule that contains the driver circuit. This level of disassembly is generally unnecessary and is not recommended. However, upon disassembly I found an O-ring is protecting the contents of the light and the general quality seems quite good with no serious design flaws.
Output is in the form of a medium spot with a good surround beam. Plenty of light is provided by the sidespill for seeing your feet while walking around. Some slight artifacts, in the form of a swirly pattern, can be seen in the center of the spot upon close inspection. These artifacts will have no impact in practical application. Color temperature was very good with one sample slightly bluish and the other pure white.
 
Beam profile at one meter centered on target and on
target edge to show spillbeam
No runtime for the light is stated in the packaging. The runtime graph revealed slightly less than 5 hours of output before the light had dropped to 50% of its starting brightness. Although not spectacular, the boost circuit inside the unit does a rather good job of regulating the light output as indicated by the slightly declining plateau for the first 4 3/4 hours. After the circuit drops out of regulation the output dropped quickly to a low level which should be maintained for several hours.
Runtime
completed with included Duracell batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
The switch is a rubber covered clickie switch. The cover has a slight texture and is recessed enough to prevent most accidental activations.
Overall the light has good water resistance and is sealed with lubricated o-rings throughout.
The light is a bit larger than a common 2AA aluminum
light and as a result it may be a touch large for everyday
carrying. If slips well into the back pocket and fits
well in the hand. The surface, although textured, is
a little slick. Use the wrist lanyard in cases where
the light would be lost if dropped.
UPDATE: One of our readers, John F. mentions a simple
solution to the slippery surface. He used friction tape
from Home Depot and wrapped it in two bands around the
body of the light. John states, "I actually used
a 3M product which is called Safety Walk Outdoor Tread.
It is 3M part number 7634NA, UPC 0-51131-59436-4 and
the package contains 5-yards of 1-inch wide tape for
$8.37." "I used about 6-inches on my light,
so 5 yards would allow me to de-slippery-fy 15x12/6
or about 30 units." Thanks John!
One of the best features of these lights is that they're
cheap to feed. They run on two common AA cells available
almost anywhere. Rechargeables and lithium AA's may
be tried at your own risk. I do not know how well the
light will perform with these types of cells. To change
the batteries simply unscrew the tailcap, drop out the
old cells and drop in 2 new cells, positive first. Reattach
the tailcap and you are ready to go.
Included with both lights are attached wrist lanyards and 2 AA cells for each.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Tough/impact resistant, Semi-Regulated, Long battery life,
Good Output, Easy battery change
What I Didn't Like: Textured surface slightly slippery.
Other Things I Noticed: Seems well built.
Conclusions: Get them while they're
hot! Great value, great price.
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