Peli Versabrite 2250 clip-on Flashlight
Fitted with the red night vision filter
Price: £6 (used)
Vendor: UK private seller via ebay
Description: Pelican Versabrite 2250 deluxe Flashlight. Anti-Corrosion, Anti-Chemical and waterproof. Certified product.
What's in the Packet?: 1x 2250 Versabrite, 1x red night vision filter. Didn't include the head band or blue filter to complete the package. (These will be sourced at a later date)
To save time here are the specs below lifted from pelican's page..
- BODY: Xenoy
- O-RING: Ethylene Propylene
- LENS: Polycarbonate (PC)
- SHROUD: Xenoy
- CONTACT SPRING RETAINER: Stainless Steel / Phosphore Bronze
- LENGTH: 3.87" (9.8 cm)
- WEIGHT WITH BATTERIES: 3.0 oz (85 gr)
- WEIGHT WITHOUT BATTERIES: 1.3 oz (37 gr)
- LAMP TYPE: Incandescent (Xenon)
- BATTERY SIZE: AA
- BATTERY TYPE: Alkaline
- BATTERY QUANTITY: 2
- BATTERIES INCLUDED: yes
- VOLTS: 3.0 v
- SWITCH TYPE: Twisting Lens Shroud
- LIGHT MODES: On / Off
- CERTIFICATIONS: Class I, Division 2 / Class II, Division 2
Interesting battery compartment
First Impressions
What the hell is this? I haven't really seen these for sale before? Not in any UK shops or online? If I lived in the states it would be a different story. These Peli Versabrite torches have been knocking around for years. These days the latest Versabrite is all LED powered and not the old fashioned incandescent bulb found in this model. The Versabrite 2250 isn't discontinued. It's still for sale in lots of American stores for around $25 . So not a cheap pocket Flashlight by any means.
I bought this particular model second hand from a guy 30miles away. He said it had been used a couple of times but only had a few scratches on it. For the price he was asking I wasn't too bothered.
He also explained that the head band and blue filter were missing but that didn't put me off, I can always pick these up again.
The package arrived and immediately I started scrutinising the torch for scratches. The fella reckoned it was scratched. I couldn't find a single blemish?! God knows what he was putting in his cigarettes that day but the torch was immaculate. No cause for concern.
The body made from a tough poly plastic which is impervious to chemicals, corrosion and water. It feels really tough in the hand.
The business end is a narrow diameter lens with an incandescent Xenon bulb giving the power. It's old technology but it's tried and tested. The only problem might be the acquisition of spare bulbs should this one fail. There appears to be no UK bulb sellers. Perhaps directly ordering from the states is the only option.
The torch features a Velcro style clip which allows you to attach this to belts, shirts, hats and goodness knows what. It has a swivelling head for flexibility. A great feature.
The battery compartment splits for easy access. It's an interesting design but simple.
When it comes to turning the Peli on there are no buttons or clicky tail caps to deal with, simple twisting the head switches the power on or off. Neat
Overall then Im really impressed with this product. It's a little weird but totally practical.
Clip it to your Baseball Cap!
Testing
The Peli was tested with and without the little red contact lens, a blue filter test would have been nice but the geezer never sent it!
Non-Filtered White Light
Standard beam is warm white
With the standard non filtered beam the light given off is a nice warm white, this colour temp is more than likely due to the incandescent xenon bulb. I'm much used to seeing brilliant white LED bulbs these days. This is my only old school bulb torch.
Used without the filters this torch seems a little crap.
It's rated at 7 lumens with a burn time of around 5-6 hours.
I almost choked when I read that the estimated life span of the bulb was a poxy 20 hours! Good grief! So after your 4th set of Batteries it will be time to change the bulb as well.?!
I guess I have been spoiled by the longer lasting LED lights that fill my house. I hope I won't be replacing them after 20 hours work.
It's rated at 7 lumens with a burn time of around 5-6 hours.
I almost choked when I read that the estimated life span of the bulb was a poxy 20 hours! Good grief! So after your 4th set of Batteries it will be time to change the bulb as well.?!
I guess I have been spoiled by the longer lasting LED lights that fill my house. I hope I won't be replacing them after 20 hours work.
Red Night Vision Filter
Red filter works the best at night
Placing the small red filter in the end makes this flashlight much more useful in my opinion. the standard white beam seems pretty pathetic on its own even during close up work. Slip in the strange little lens thing and it seems so much better. Red filters preserve your night vision and appear brighter to the eye. This filter is really good for close work and is virtually undetectable from a distance. Handy for covert work perhaps? I like it anyway.
Certified for methane and goodness knows what else
Rating: ✅✅✅✅ 4 out of 5
This little light is bizarre. It's fantastic too. The High grade plastics, quality design and unmatched lifetime guarantee makes this a stunning little lot to bid for on ebay. Unfortunately they don't come round often. This review gets 4 ticks due to the fact that the Xenon bulb module only has a life span of 20 hours. That does not sound long to me. Long lasting LED's are what's happening now, not old incandescent shit. Couple that with the lack of bulb availability in the UK and you realise that this brilliant little flashlight could cost you a small fortune when you end up having to source spares from the states. Not a deal breaker for me though. A bizarre addition to the collection.