I love the flashlight. It's really bright and I'm getting good battery life. So far I haven't had too much trouble getting the white light to come on when I push the button for white light, but the red light button doesn't work most of the time (you can see in the photo that there are two buttons, the one closest to the light is the white light button and the one under that is for the red light). The flash light is about the size of my small mag lights, in length, but considerably wider. It feels good and solid. I'd love the flashlight if the switches weren't so difficult to use. I push them in, but nothing happens, no light. I have to keep pushing until I get it just exactly right, which is fine when I'm not panicked or in a hurry.
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Update:
WOW, when the manufacture learned about the problems I've been having with the switches on this (otherwise) beautiful flashlight, they told me; the LED lights are warranted for life, as are the switches. They offered to send me a brand new flashlight, no charge, no questions. Now talk about service!!!
When a company is willing to go to such lengths to stand behind their product, then I say it's money well spent. How can you go wrong?
I've also read some reviews that the light isn't very bright. I think this flash light is quite bright, though not as bright as some. This is a lot more comfortable to carry around and hold than most of my other flashlights, because it is more solid feeling and has the tectured grip. The case comes with a place to store an extra set of batteries, which I've not seen on any other flashlight. A nice feature, especially if you want to carry this in a car or emergancy kit.
I GOT MY NEW FLASH LIGHT!!! The switches work perfectly.
There are flashlights and then there are FLASHLIGHTS. The S&W Galaxy is a real must have!Powered by 3 AAA Batteries it beams a bright white light out that can be seen for hundrets of yards and the red light function is perfect at night. The price is hardly beatable, unless someone wants to spend 300 bucks for a flashlight (vortex luxeon).
I hve been a fan of Mag Lights for years, which cost the same as this one but I had to alter my opinion. After I bought one for myself and tested it I gave one to my wife, have one at work and tell everybody who's looking for a Flashlight about this one.
If Amazon would allow more than five stars to give, I would always give the max!
I bought this to replace the 2 D Cell mag light flashlight that I keep bedside. This light is nice and bright, plus much more compact than my old mag light. The red lights are much brighter than I expected, and you can easily navigate your house or a hiking trail with the red lights. LED flashlights are well worth the extra money, and this one is a good one.
I've owned this product since 01/25/09. So for basically a month I've been kicking it around and comparing it to my others. Of course, I cannot yet speak to its longevity.
I have a few flashlights, including Maglite incandescent and LED models of various sizes, Streamlight 68244, 66118 Stylus Pro, and Nano, Gerber 22-80012 Infinity, Nitecore Defender Infinity, Fenix LD20 Q5, TK20, and E01, Petzl Tikka Plus headlamp, as well as a couple of kinetics.
That said, I'm always fishing around for the best overall "bang for the buck" for my purposes. I have five basic areas of need when it comes to flashlights:
1) In the house for power outages, attic crawls, and so on.
2) In the backyard with my telescope.
3) In the computer case adding/replacing/cleaning components.
4) On the trail for hiking/camping.
5) In the car.
Of course, each of these areas has a particular set of requirements. When stargazing, I want a red LED to help me maintain night vision. On the trail I'm more concerned about size/weight and beam throw. In the computer...well, nothing really beats a headlamp for this task.
The Smith & Wesson Galaxy 13 is a nice combo light, in that it brings to the table both a capable batch of ten white LEDs for short distances and three red LEDs for night vision. These two sets are wired to their own switches and tactile response is good. There's no momentary on when the switch is disengaged, but you can temporarily shut the light off while the switch is on. There's also a lock out feature to prevent the light from switching on accidentally. You need only spin the end cap counter-clockwise a bit and both switches are "locked". The casing is metal, with a nice knurled grip and good sizing.
This light seems fairly tough, similar in weight and feel to a comparably sized Mag. But admittedly, I've not really abused it yet. The rubber rings and overall tight fit of the components leads me to believe it would do alright if dropped in the water. The sheath is well designed, with a pouch for 3 backup AAA batteries and a velcro strap that fits belts, MOLLE webbing, etc...
For indoor use, it performs well. The light is somewhat diffuse due to the design constraint of multiple LEDs spread across a flat base reflector. There's no way to focus the beam. This is roughly the same as my older Streamlight 68244, but the Galaxy wins the match up on account of its more rugged casing. I also prefer it over my LED Maglites. I'd feel quite comfortable recommending the Galaxy to friends as a Maglite alternative. The three red LEDs are an added plus that work well for reading star charts or maps in the dark.
On the downside, the outdoor capabilities of this light are limited in my opinion. Due to the design, beam throw is minimal. If you want to spot something particular at a distance, good luck.
There are certainly better lights out there, such as those produced by Nitecore and Fenix. These will cost you between $50 and $100, depending on options and lumens ratings. If I had to pick the best overall bang for the buck out of my current stable, it would be the Fenix LD20 without a doubt. That light is tough, has a small form factor, four brightness levels (from 9 to 180 lumens) and a strobe, nice beam profile and throw, 70+ hours runtime on the lowest setting (with 2 AA batteries), and it has a couple of handy accessories (a diffuser wand and a red filter). At about $60 it is not a cheap light. But even at that price, it rocks. There are models by Surefire, Olight, and so on that cost much, much more without delivering that much more in the way of features and quality.
All things considered, I'd still say that the Galaxy 13 is a good general purpose, relatively inexpensive light to have in the house. To sum up...
Pros:
+ Good performance for the price.
+ White and red LEDs.
+ Nice runtime for three AAA batteries.
+ Fairly rugged and yet compact.
+ Smart sheath design.
Cons:
- No lanyard loop. I've almost dropped it twice already. In the absence of a loop, at least give users a clip.
- Battery cartridge can delay changeouts.
- Loses effectiveness at longer distances/no ability to focus the beam.
- Only two options: on or off - basic intensity level controls would be nice. - Smith And Wesson - Led Light - Led - Flashlight'
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