Aeon vs. Wee vs. LD01 vs. D10: Battle Royale of Small EDC Lights!!

[applevision]

Welcome to the battle arena!

I am addicted to little lights and am now the proud owner of 4 gorgeous EDC lights: The NiteCore D10, the Fenix LD01 (SS and regular; SS tested here today), the Muyshondt Aeon, and the Lummi Wee.

I need to start off buy saying that these are ALL gorgeous lights, a work of art each one, and ANY would make wonderful EDC lights. The D10 is a bit big for a keychain light IMHO, but would be great for a pocket every day while each of the others rotates on my keychain, so torn am I about which is the "best"--a relative statement if ever there were one!

Let's do photos (with beamshots of course!) first, then I'll give some impressions...

First a general pic: D10, LD01, Aeon and the Wee! Aren't they gorgeous?!

Now the beamshots: NiteCore D10 on high

LD01 on High:

Aeon on High:

And the Wee (only 1 level, 100 lumen WARM model; note the floody beam):

Now for the lows...


D10 on lowest low:

LD01 on low:

Aeon on Low:

And the Wee again for comparison:

Now let's look at a painting and some curtains to get a sense of color/texture rather than just the beam patterns.

D10 on high:

LD01 on high:

Aeon on High:

And the Wee:

Finally, some comparison shots...

NiteCore D10 vs. Aeon (both on high):

NightCore low vs. Aeon Low:

LD01 on High (Left) and Aeon on High (Right):

and the LD01 on low vs. the Aeon on low:

Okay, so what do we make of all these beamshots?

•NiteCore D10
Pros:
-Brightest
-Wonderful user interface (UI)
-MANY brightness levels including the lowest low
-Beautiful beam
-Great battery life
-Easy batteries (AA)

Cons:
-Slightly cold beam color
-Biggest of the bunch--too big for a keychain I think
-Some may not like the UI

•Fenix LD01
Pros:
-Good brightness (3rd brightest)
-Small enough for a keychain light
-3 brightness levels
-Pretty beam
-Gorgeous creamy white beam color
-Wonderful UI: twisty but short twists, easy to do with 1 hand
-Easy batteries (AAA)

Cons:
-Maybe a teeny tiny bit long for a keychain light
-The low could be lower...

•Muyshondt Aeon
Pros:
-Great brightness for size (2nd brightest: almost as bright as the D10!)
-Wonderful build quality/fit and finish
-Nice small size for pocket (2nd smallest)
-2 modes
-Simple UI

Cons:
-Expensive
-A little bit of a green tint (not bad, but greener than the LD01's creamy white)
-Not my favorite UI: although simple, to get to high you have to turn it like 1.5 turns which is a bit cumbersome with 1 hand
-More exotic battery (CR2)

•Lummi Wee
Pros:
-Tiny!
-Very bright, especially for its size
-Super simple UI
-Beautiful fit/finish
-Insanely warm/incan-like beam color!
-Floody beam

Cons:
-One level
-Short battery life
-Exotic custom battery (rechargeable but requires special charger)
-Floody beam at the expense of ANY throw (unless you polish it but I'm talking stock lights here)


Conclusions:
-ALL of these torches are magnificent.
-The D10 is a formidable light and is a top-notch EDC but is too big to play with these little guys when it comes to keychain carry
-Of the remaining three, here is how I see it:
1. For the tinest "wow" light that is practically a piece of jewelry, almost as small as a fauxton or Photon, but puts out some SERIOUS light: go Lummi Wee.
2. For a workhorse that is like the Honda Accord of lights and will not fail you: go LD01.
3. For the Mercedes-Benz, consider the Aeon.

I'd really like to throw the Draco and Drake into this mix so if anyone is feeling generous this holiday season... feel free to send me one!

So what will I carry? I've given up carrying the Wee: I love it and it is so cool, but the short battery life and the pure flood (though it is such a gorgeous warm/sunlight color!!) makes me feel like it might not be the right tool for me (but YMMV). So I'm torn between the LD01 (in stainless steel, no less!) which is such a gorgeous light and feels like a true workhorse. It has been there already for me during two times of need (power failed x 2 in our big office building and it was PITCH black where we were--the LD01 was BRILLIANT and saved the day!) so I am very attached to it. I love the feel of it in my hand and I love the UI. The Aeon is the other side pulling at my heartstrings. I love the smaller size (though it is thicker than the LD01) and I love that it is even brighter by about 20 lumens or so--not a ton, but you can tell. It is lighter than the SS version of the LD01 and about the same weight (with battery in) as the aluminum LD01. The things I am not crazy about are the greenish tint, the slightly more cumbersome UI and the fact that I can't easily use Eneloops and must run primaries which are not cheap. I'm also a little spooked about carrying a $165 flashlight on my keychain...

I will carry it this week and let you guys know!

Thanks for reading!

 

[davidt1]

Thanks for the information. You have a nice collection of small lights. Perhaps you might want to add the Mako to the mix.

 

[applevision]

Reserved!

 

[bmstrong]

Good post. But what one do you like best?

 

[applevision]

Good post. But what one do you like best?

A hard question... I love them all like my children!

If I could only have one light, I'd take the D10. It can pretty much do anything you'd ever need and is my main "around the house" EDC. If we exclude that and say which of the little guys would I keychain EDC? I think that there is something about that little SS LD01 that I just can't let go of! It's my favorite. I need to spend more time with my beautiful Muyshondt though so my answer could change...

 

[aussiebob]

Nice lights, great pics.


_____________________________________________________________

 

[underconstruction]

I wish you could put the LF2X in here as well. Should give some of them a run for their money.

 

[applevision]

Nice lights, great pics.


_____________________________________________________________

I wish you could put the LF2X in here as well. Should give some of them a run for their money.

Thanks Aussiebob!

Underconstruction: Me too! I'm addicted to keychain-size lights! I'm interested in the LF2X and the Mako and the Drake... The only thing I didn't like so much about the Mako is that it has a fairly low output/long runtime. I think that this is great for some folks who use these as backup lights, but for me my keychain light is the whole enchilada, so I need some brightness capability. This is why I'm less interested in the Fenix E01 (which I had but gave to my brother since it was too dim for me), the Mako and the Arc AAA. :thumbsup:

 

[underconstruction]

Applevision-

Yah i have an E01 and it makes a great back up light except for the fact that its simply not bright enough nor does it have a nice enough tint to be my primary EDC. And having 2 lights on my keychain is too much bulk. I could see using it as a backup in my camping pack though.

Do the Mako and the Drake have very low lows?

 

[applevision]

Applevision-

Yah i have an E01 and it makes a great back up light except for the fact that its simply not bright enough nor does it have a nice enough tint to be my primary EDC. And having 2 lights on my keychain is too much bulk. I could see using it as a backup in my camping pack though.

Do the Mako and the Drake have very low lows?

From what I gather (and I find the Drake to be sort of mysterious--it has this crazy complex page where you have to pick the features to order), the Drake has lots of different levels including a pretty low low--fellas, can someone verify that?

The Mako has 2 modes, and a very long runtime on AA (21 Hours on High Mode, and 60 Hours on Low Mode--and that's for Alkies!). This means (and no one wants to seem to actually say the number of lumens here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/204949) that it is probably pretty darn low (my guess is around 10 lumens or so). When we compare this to a Fenix E01 (which, by the way, I agree 100% about the color of the beam as well), we are talking almost 10 x the price for a functionally very similar light. Of course, Endeavor's craftmanship and circuitry and, apparently, the amazing color of his LEDs can and DOES make it worth it for a lot of people. For me, though, it's not the right tool for the job. Sometimes at night when I am walking, I want to be able to blast some light a ways down outside and be sure I am okay... the Wee puts out a LOT of light for a little bugger, but it cannot throw it very far. The LD01 really does a great job at this and I think that the Aeon also will--if not even better.

 

[kaichu dento]

I took some quick measurements with an Extech light meter (model #401025). For reference, the test were done in a fairly dark room. After zeroing the meter, it showed a value of 2 in the ambient light. The lights were placed bezel down directly on the meter and read as follows...

• NiteCore D10 (XR-E): > 2000
• Night-Ops Gladius w/SSC P4: 1602
• Photon Proton Pro (XR-E/White): 747
• ARCmania Extreme III (Rebel): 731
• Insight H2X Typhoon (Lux III): 726
• Ra-100-T: 602
• Ra-85-Tr: 458
• NovaTac 120P: 431
• Draco (XR-E): 297
• HDS U60GT: 196
• Surefire Titan: 14

And, no, that last one isn't an error. The lowest output from the Titan really is that dim.

I'll make no claims about the accuracy of the meter. It hasn't been used much in the last few years, and to my knowledge has never been calibrated. However, multiple tests of the same lights showed consistent results, so it's probably good enough for this evaluation.

No idea how the Drake and Draco compare, but it would seem that they both are capable of going very low.
Up until I saw this list my D10 and 120P were equal on low, but then I re-programmed the 120P and it's very noticeable lower than the D10, as are my ARCmania lights. It's hard to believe how bright the low on the D10 looks when comparing to a couple of these other lights!

I'd really like to see you put a couple of these into your collection so that you can do comparisons with them too!

 

[AA6TZ]

For a workhorse that is like the Honda Accord of lights and will not fail you: go LD01.

So I'm torn between the LD01 (in stainless steel, no less!) which is such a gorgeous light and feels like a true workhorse. It has been there already for me during two times of need (power failed x 2 in our big office building and it was PITCH black where we were--the LD01 was BRILLIANT and saved the day!) so I am very attached to it. I love the feel of it in my hand and I love the UI.

Thanks for reading!

+1 Fenix LD01 Stainless_Steel :twothumbs

Applevision -- I couldn't agree with you more. The LD01's a great light and has come in handy so many times now that it's virtually indispensable IMHO.

-Clive

 

[applevision]

No idea how the Drake and Draco compare, but it would seem that they both are capable of going very low.
Up until I saw this list my D10 and 120P were equal on low, but then I re-programmed the 120P and it's very noticeable lower than the D10, as are my ARCmania lights. It's hard to believe how bright the low on the D10 looks when comparing to a couple of these other lights!

I'd really like to see you put a couple of these into your collection so that you can do comparisons with them too!

Hey kaichu, of the lights I showed here, the D10 was by far the lowest low... so I imagine that even things like the NovaTac 120P on low would be essentially unphotographable compared to my lights!! Hee hee!

 

[StandardBattery]

Nice comparison. :candle::candle::candle::candle::candle:

I just started using the Aeon, and I like the UI better than the Fenix UI for a keychain light. I too wish is was just a little shorter distance between low and high. Mine is about 180deg from low, or 200deg from off. 90deg from low would be perfect, I have not looked to see if one could adjust that easily. Not a bug deal I don't think I'll use high too much.

Still the LD01-SS is a great light, and I don't know if I'll be able to part with my spares on B/S/T, I know I have to keep 1 for sure. The Fenix UI works well when the light twists easily, but unless I'm using my winterized coating that's not usually the case when operated 1 handed. I'm think about taking the dremel to it... (to make it easier to grip)

 

[Magnus1959]

Nice little lights. Just ordered the LD01SS.

 

[applevision]

Nice comparison. :candle::candle::candle::candle::candle:

I just started using the Aeon, and I like the UI better than the Fenix UI for a keychain light. I too wish is was just a little shorter distance between low and high. Mine is about 90deg from low, or 110deg from off. 45deg from low would be perfect, I have not looked to see if one could adjust that easily. Not a bug deal I don't think I'll use high too much.

Still the LD01-SS is a great light, and I don't know if I'll be able to part with my spares on B/S/T, I know I have to keep 1 for sure. The Fenix UI works well when the light twists easily, but unless I'm using my winterized coating that's not usually the case when operated 1 handed. I'm think about taking the dremel to it...

StandardBattery, your LD01-SS is tough to turn? What would you dremel? The threads? Could it be a lube issue? I find that my SS version actually has a smoother action than my aluminum LD01. Hmm...

 

[AA6TZ]

Nice little lights. Just ordered the LD01SS.

Magnus 1959 -- Great move! You're gonna love it. Congratulations! :thumbsup:

-Clive

 

[StandardBattery]

StandardBattery, your LD01-SS is tough to turn? What would you dremel? The threads? Could it be a lube issue? I find that my SS version actually has a smoother action than my aluminum LD01. Hmm...

I edited my message and fixed my deg measurements for High... I guess I was way too tired.

As far as LD01-SS, I guess I may not have worded it right. the LD01 is smooth (the Aeon is a little tighter, but smoother or maybe that is not the right word). The problem with the LD01 is it can be slippery and hard to grip as the knurling is very fine and shallow. But if you can get a grip it is easy (same with L0D or better). Because of the diameter and the knurling on the Aeon I find it easier, nicer to twist than stock LD01-SS. I can see others may not have the grip issue.

The mod that was done by someone here on CPF, should be easy to find in the main LD01-SS threads, was to use a file to make the knurling more aggressive. I'd maybe like to do the same with the dremel (they tried that and decided file was better). Right now I have latex free grippers on the light that reduce the jingle noise on the key chain, make it cold weather friendly and provide such good grip that it rotates easier. The down side it is looks pretty ugly in many ways.

 

[applevision]

Nice, StandardBattery now I got it. The latex is a really good idea--I've seen folks use a bit of clear soft plastic tubing as well for other lights. Improves the grip and the jingling.

Can you post a pic?

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

I'm still in search of the best AA light FOR MY USES.

My Fenix can be 1xAA or 1x123 and I carry it 1x123 because it gets much brighter. Particulalry in Turbo.

My LOD Q4 isn't what I'd call "creamy white" and has a hole right in the middle.

Would a LD01 fix this?