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The Dorcy Super 3 Watt LED lantern takes the use of
Luxeon LEDs to a new area: that of lantern-battery powered
lights. Made almost entirely of plastic, the 3 Watt
side-emitting Luxeon LED and large, smooth reflector
produce a very tight beam of white light. The lantern
has a ratcheting base to stand on and can be powered
by either a standard lantern cell or by 4 D-cells with
the included adapter.
Body: The body of the lantern is almost all
plastic except for a few screws and the battery contacts.
There is some rubberized plastic on the handle for grip,
around the head for protection, and on the switch. The
ratcheting base allows the lantern to stand at various
angles, but the first one or two adjustment notches
are not quite strong enough to overcome gravity when
the lantern is loaded with batteries and it snaps back
down to 0 deg elevation when placed on the ground. All
the other notches hold just fine.
Bezel/Head: The head contains a large polycarbonate
lens, a large smooth silvered plastic reflector, and
a single side-emitting Luxeon 3 Watt LED. The side emitter
sends almost all of the light from the LED out to the
reflector where it is gathered and projected forward
in a tight beam. To access the inside of the light,
unscrew the large bezel ring and the entire head, reflector,
LEDs and contacts come off all at once.
Output: The white light produced by the LED
is a high color temperature and produces good color
rendition. No significant tinting was seen in the beam.
Although it only has the overall output of about a 1
Watt Luxeon LED, the throw is around that of very well
focused incandescent bulbs as a result of the large
reflector and tight focus permitted by using a smooth
reflector surface. The smooth reflector does result
in a downside to the beam; it is ringy and irregular.
This is normal for smooth reflector lights.
Beam at one meter at target center
Runtime Plot: Almost 34 hours continuous runtime
until 50% starting output is reached using 4 new D-cell
batteries. A lantern battery should result in even longer
runtimes. This is a real marathon light. A close look
at the chart does reveal, however, that the light output
drops to less than 75% of starting output in the first
hour and most of the battery life is spent producing
light between 75% and 50% starting output.
Runtime
completed with Rayovac brand batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch: The switch is a simple click switch
on the top of the light. Click for on, then press gently
for blinking if needed. Click again for off. The switch
is easy to use with your thumb when holding the light
by the handle.
Seals / Water Resistance: Well... there really
aren't any seals. It is protected from the entry of
water (if you can call it that) by the tight fit of
the components. I'd give it a splashable rating at best.
Definitely not for dunking or underwater use.
If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible
without tools and let it dry before using again.
Ergonomics: It's big and it's heavy, which is
why it comes with a stand. It is, however, not uncomfortable
to carry by the handle.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: The light is powered by either 4
D cells placed in the included carrier or by a single
Lantern Cell battery. The carrier can be inserted in
any orientation provided the spring contacts on top
point toward the front of the light.
To change out the batteries: unscrew the head, drop
out the old cells, place in new cells observing proper
polarity. Reattach the tailcap and you're ready to go.
Accessories: None, except for the 4-D cell adapter.
What I Liked: Long battery life,
Great light projection, Easy battery change, Stands
up
What I Didn't Like: Not really
water resistant.
Picky Little Things: Nothing significant.
Conclusions: The Dorcy Super 3
Watt LED lantern is a pretty good light. It really can
send its light out a long distance even though it's
not that bright overall. Runtime is surprisingly long,
and it should easily replace other similar form-factor
incandescent lantern lights. Plus it has the added advantage
of a bulb that should never blow or need changing.
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