Just seen this at ?2.99 as a back up can't be bad
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_18645.htm?WT.mc_id=2011-04-21-19-03

Mike

Look further down the ad'  waterproof 44 L duffel bags for 8 quid,
O. G.

The duffle bags look useful; The head torch looks like it'd be OK for finding stuff in the car boot at night but I wouldn't put my trust in it as a backup light!

My local Aldi never seems to have any of the "special offers" in stock.

I bought one of those Aldi head torches a year or so back. Waste of 4 quid, thing falls apart at a touch.

7dayshop did a single LED one for about a fiver 6 months ago. Far better: more light and it stays together.
Save your money.

The Aldi one is alright for finding your bunk in a full caving hut but very little else. I used mine on a digging trip last year - never again. Not only does the front detatch from the headband at the slightest knock, it spills the batteries on the floor when it does!

Maggot said:

My local Aldi never seems to have any of the "special offers" in stock.

Click to expand...

If Aldi are anything like Lidl then you need to be queuing at the store door on the release days with all the pensioners and ne'er do wells. I went once to get a cheep tent and was astounded to find about 150 people queuing at the door. When they opened up the shop assistant was nearly trampled in the rush as people fought their way to the "specials" aisle. Fist were flying as several people literally fought over the items, I kid you not! 

All the tents were gone when I got to the aisle so I asked an assistant if there were any more "out back". He came back with two, I took one and left to pay. As I left the two guys behind me were squaring up for the other tent. "I was here first" "No, I was here first"...

I don't know if this still goes on but it used to happen every Monday and Thursday at a Lidl near you, if you're looking for some entertainment. 

The tent was quite good and lasted some years if you were interested. 

I used to work for Aldi and it never ceased to amaze me how people fought for specials.The gear they sell is pretty simlar to the food.If you search around there is some good stuff in there but also there is a lot of crap.My advice would be to invest a bit more in a back-up.It is in effect your life support system if your primary fails.I'd rather invest in my survival than save a few quid on a product not designed for the enviroment/task it is to be used in.

droid said:

I bought one of those Aldi head torches a year or so back. Waste of 4 quid, thing falls apart at a touch.

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Absolutely the same as my experience, I quickly took the batteries out of mine and put them in one of the children's toys.

(it's in that 'shattering' plastic too so wouldn't take the knocks)

Just a bit worried by what seems to be the line of thinking in the original post - that you don't need anything very special for a back-up lamp, if a ?3 one from Aldi will do.

Surely, if your main light dies and you have to use your back-up, that then becomes your main light - and so needs to be just as reliable* as your normal main light?

* if not more reliable, as you might not have a back-up back-up light to fall back on if the back-up fails too...

Agree completely: a backup light should be of high quality and reliability*. Why not use the Aldi light for an hour or two until it ceases to function and then fall back to using your expensive pukka caving light to find your way out/home....


* Probably a safe bet that any light costing under ?35 isn't going to meet these two essential prerequisites, imo.

I don't know how shipping is to the UK but you can check http://www.steepandcheap.com which rotates items every 20-30 min or so (or as soon as it is sold out) and there are apps or like I use firefox so it tells me when it switches. I've seen quite a few PT lights come up for $20 (about ?13-14), I saw both the Quads and the EOS come up for that. I almost got the matress pad thing (like backpacking kind) as I don't have any pad or matress yet for camping, that came up for $35 but it was reviewed as not packing as small as what is nice for backpacking so I didn't. Tents come up on it too, sleeping bags, clothes, etc. Most of it is camping/hiking type gear/clothes/shoes.

moorebooks said:

Just seen this at ?2.99 as a back up can't be bad
http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/special_buys3_18645.htm?WT.mc_id=2011-04-21-19-03

Mike

Click to expand...

Not bad at all.. Price is cheap so i will surely purchase it.. Thanks for link

That's if they still have them 2 years later