chuckhov
Enlightened
:lolsign: lovecpf
-Chuck
-Chuck
1xAA flashlights with side clicky besides Zebralight?
- Thread starter jd_oc
- Start date
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thedoc007
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've only had two Armytek lights...the Wizard Pro headlamp, and the Predator. But based on those two, yes, you really can abuse the heck of of them, and they will keep working. The electronics are encased in a capsule, so vibration, shock, etc. is not likely to hurt anything. The walls are thick, the anodizing is as good or better than Surefire, and most of their models have stainless steel bezels that can take a drop without any problem. They aren't good at everything...the Predator is probably the worst general utility light I own, thanks to the intense hotspot and narrow spill...but I have no qualms about durability at all. An Armytek-built light designed by Zebralight (and with Zebralight's interface) is my holy grail.
timbo114
Enlightened
I personally am quite pleased with the tactile no slip grip of the prime A1 anno.
I think it is one of the best features of the light.
I think it is one of the best features of the light.
wjv
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2012
- Messages
- 963
Spark SF5 & SG5
markr6
Flashaholic
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2012
- Messages
- 9,258
KeepPower WD1A - nice simple light. If you can find where to buy them! Lyktemannen.no is the only thing Google shows. I have no idea what country that is!
KeepingItLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Interesting little light. KeepPower seems to be claiming 23,555cd on turbo, although their web site says 73,555cd. I think the 7 was a typo.
Very impressive for a stock 1x 14500 flashlight. [Edit: If true!]
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The DBS with a +40 mm head and XRE-R2 is just over 20k in lux. This thing's head is less than 1" in diameter and I think it's reflector is no deeper than that of a D26 drop-in. Over 23k lux with a XPG2. Really?
KeepingItLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Right. I should have added, "If true."
Did you check out their web page? It claims a throw of 295m and a max intensity of 73,555cd.
Yeah. Those two don't add up in any way I can see. So the claim is outrageous and even the math is wrong.:shakehead
You'd think manufacturers would have learned by now to establish a reputation for honesty.
I'm gonna stay away from Keeppower cells just for this reason alone.
Treeguy
Enlightened
Yes, I just ordered the Prime A1 as well as the Prime A2... couldn't decide so got both!
Overall, I prefer the 1xAA format, but sometimes need the extra run-time of the 2xAA. 1xAA on max usually doesn't last too long.
Also ordered the ZL SC5w. Not sure whether I'll prefer the Prime A1 (in warm) or the neutral SC5w. But I think I'll use the Prime outdoors more often, as the specs list it as quite a bit more rugged. Never bought an Armytek before, so I hope the specs aren't just marketing. Can you really drop them from 10 meters?
The Armytek is a bit cheaper than the Zebralight, if you find ZL's just a little too expensive. I think the Zebralight's extra cost is for getting things just a little brighter and a little smaller; they're the best for small bright lights.
I"ve got a few dollars for a good light and I'm still mussin' and fussin' about which one to buy, and when I saw the Armytek prime A1 and A2 I just about fell in love. The build quality looks first rate and they are available in Canada from a store in B.C. with same day delivery The problem is that it looks like the max\turbo on the Primes is only accessible with a triple click and there is no momentary.
If the Prime or Prime Pro, 1xAA or 2xAA, had single click max/turbo, whether momentary or not, I'd buy it in the next ten-seconds. Can you confirm that the max output is or is not only via a triple click?
I have a prime pro A1 warm - yes triple click to reach max, but it has mode memory so you can leave it there and a single click will reach it from off. It's a decent light for the price, but I'm not too impressed and will not buy another.
Treeguy
Enlightened
Can I ask what you didn't like about the light?
Could just be my sample, but my batt meter doesn't work right (only changes color after the light has already stepped down) so the blinking is just annoying, it's lockup/frozen a couple of times (but breaking the batt contact brings it back), it's not very efficient (on low, about half the runtime as few of my others), very exaggerated specs (although this worked in my favor, the 1.5 lm mode = 0.4 lms which I love). Bezel a little crooked, emitter a little off, lots "material" so it's heavy/huge, but circuit board - w/no spring- looks vulnerable to battery hammer. And the lonnnggg Chinese "lost-in-mail/customs" delivery feeling made me consider this light as disposable, despite ATs good warranty and CS.
I do like the UI, tint, beam profile, and mode spacing (by chance, not spec) however. BTW, I have a lightbox, and do both tailcap current readings and some side-by-side output/runtime tests.
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more_vampires
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2014
- Messages
- 3,475
73k cd + 1xaa = BS. Just sayin.
Treeguy
Enlightened
Gah! I am distraught.
The Prime Pro 2xAA is about $95 at the B.C, store, which has them in stock, and I didn't mind the price at all as long as the light was well built and solid. Dang. I'll have to read more reviews.
WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Gah! I am distraught.
The Prime Pro 2xAA is about $95 at the B.C, store, which has them in stock, and I didn't mind the price at all as long as the light was well built and solid. Dang. I'll have to read more reviews.
I just got a Prime A2 Warm in the mail. It's the regular version, not the pro. I preferred the regular interface, and don't need the extra stuff on the pro. I can give you my thoughts on it. $95 CND for the 2xAA Pro is a good price, it's what I paid for the regular version ordering from the US (by the time you take on exchange and shipping).
It seems like a very well built light. I'll compare it to another 2xAA light, the 4sevens Quarks. Overall, it seems better built than the Quarks, and it's slightly thicker and heavier to show for it. With Eneloops in it, it's 146g, compared to a Quark at 112g.
Oh, to answer your earlier question, yes, it has full mode memory, including maximum. It will turn back on to whatever you had it on last time, using a single click. Long-press to override, and start cycling from moonlight.
The tail cap screws on very tight, with the 2 large o-rings, so I believe it will stand up to the water and dust claims, as long as the switch is equally water-tight. Grip is excellent. The anodizing almost feels like rubber it's so thick.
It's not a particularly pretty light. It lacks the nice look of the Quarks, so it looks like a work light, not a shelf queen.
I really like the tint, but I like warmish tints. It's quite a bit warmer than any of my neutral white lights. Very little green is noticeable in the corona, but all Cree LEDs have some green.
It's noticeably brighter than 4seven's brightest AA Quark (the QP2A-X with XML2 cool white). About 25% brighter, when I use a light meter with ceiling bounce to compare. I estimate about 460 lumens. Pretty good for a warm white.
Based on my tailcap current measurements, it also seems like an efficient light, especially for a warm white. (So good on max, I suspect my current measurements for that mode might be off.)
I'll respond to some of Reppans concerns:
I have the regular version, not the pro, so I can't comment on those issues. I'll check what happens when I run my batteries down. The regular version is supposed to flash once a minute when batteries are low.
I haven't done run-time tests on mine, but based on current measurements, it seems like lows should be on par with something like the Zebralight SC52. (About double the run-time, because there's double the batteries.) The high and max mode seem very efficient, at least compared to the Quarks.
You're right about the moonlight modes. They are dimmer than spec'd. 0.4 lumens for low2 seems about right. low1 is somewhere between the brightest two moonlight modes on a Zebralight SC52, I'll guess about 0.05 lumens.
I thought that too when I first looked at mine. But, the optic distorts the image, so as I rotated it the "crooked" part didn't move. When I looked straight down at it, mine does appear centered. Try looking at yours again from different angles, or maybe you just got unlucky.
None of my other AA lights have a double-spring, either. And, the tailcap spring on the Armytek is very big, so should absorb quite a bit of hammer. It looks much tougher than my 2xAA Quarks. The internals are supposed to be encased in aluminum to protect them from shock. I don't want to try the 10 meter drop-test they claim, but I'm sure it will get plenty of 1-2 meter drops this year. The most vulnerable part to drops, the lens, is well protected by an extended bezel.
Well, if you live in Canada, mailing it back to the US is not much easier/cheaper than mailing it back to China. This is what I get for living in the tundra. So, yes, if any of my lights break, I'm not sure it's worth the hassle to get them repaired, no matter where I have to send it. I have a lot of Chinese made lights, like Sunwayman, Zebralight, that fall into this category. Even 4sevens are Chinese-made, but at least for those in the US you can mail your lights domestically.
I'd like to compare your tailcap and output measurements, with the ones I did. Maybe we can start a new thread for that.
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WalkIntoTheLight
Flashlight Enthusiast
Just a couple of updates:
Yes, the one place it seems to exceed, compared to my other 2xAA Quark lights, is efficiency on maximum. I partially confirmed this last night with some run-time tests on partially depleted batteries. (I'll do another test with full batteries when I have more time.)
Current measurements on max is 1.35A, compared to 2.45A for my XML2-based Quark. So, 45% less power consumption, but puts out 25% more lumens (and warm white lumens to boot)! The other modes seem on par with the Quark efficiency, or slightly less.
That said, the Quarks are not very efficient on maximum. So, at least Armytek seems to be using an efficient boost driver. By my rough calculations, I'm getting about 135 lumens/watt efficiency OTF on maximum, which is pretty good IMO.
Yes, the regular Prime A2 isn't very good with the battery indicator either. It flashes a minute or two before stepping down, which isn't much warning, certainly not the 25% that Armytek claims. But then, annoyingly, it doesn't just step down and stay there. It will step-up again when the battery voltage recovers a little. So, you get this alternating brightness, until you get fed up and just step it down yourself so it stays there. Armytek should have stepped down, and stayed there, light every other light manufacturer does.
Then again, none of my AA lights with built-in battery indication are any good at it, so YYMV.
Yes, the one place it seems to exceed, compared to my other 2xAA Quark lights, is efficiency on maximum. I partially confirmed this last night with some run-time tests on partially depleted batteries. (I'll do another test with full batteries when I have more time.)
Current measurements on max is 1.35A, compared to 2.45A for my XML2-based Quark. So, 45% less power consumption, but puts out 25% more lumens (and warm white lumens to boot)! The other modes seem on par with the Quark efficiency, or slightly less.
That said, the Quarks are not very efficient on maximum. So, at least Armytek seems to be using an efficient boost driver. By my rough calculations, I'm getting about 135 lumens/watt efficiency OTF on maximum, which is pretty good IMO.
Yes, the regular Prime A2 isn't very good with the battery indicator either. It flashes a minute or two before stepping down, which isn't much warning, certainly not the 25% that Armytek claims. But then, annoyingly, it doesn't just step down and stay there. It will step-up again when the battery voltage recovers a little. So, you get this alternating brightness, until you get fed up and just step it down yourself so it stays there. Armytek should have stepped down, and stayed there, light every other light manufacturer does.
Then again, none of my AA lights with built-in battery indication are any good at it, so YYMV.
