Lebkuecher said:
I'm just curious about the people on the forum who have bought the Baltic and have used it now for a little time what you now think? What are your overall impressions now?
I got mine about 10 days ago, and have been using it daily ever since.
Output: I got an ultra power unit. Total output is about 50% higher than my high power Pacific. Beam center brightness is a little less than the Pacific, which would be in line with Peak's ratings of 175 cp (vs. 230 cp for the HP Pacific).
Beam shape: The Baltic hotspot is very even and about 1.5x the diameter/more than 2x the area of the Pacific's hotspot. The spill appears brighter. I thought the difference to the Pacific wouldn't be that noticeable. But in actual use, the larger hotspot and less intense contrast between hotspot and spill is very pleasant, and I now like it even better than the Pacific for medium distances up to about 10-15 yards/meters outdoors.
Runtime: I've made tests with 1000 mAh Sanyo HR-4U rechargeables (using my digital camera as I don't have more sophisticated equipment):
- 1 hour 20 minutes about constant brightness
- then drops instantly about 30% in output (total output then equal to a high power pacific in ceiling bounce test)
- thereafter gradually dimming more and more, about 50% of original output at 1:40 h
- total runtime about 2:20 h (to 1.05V battery voltage, still usable in a dark room, but probably not without dark adapted eyes).
Tint: Mine is neutral white with no green or purplish tint. It has a noticeably lower color temperature than my other Peak Luxeons (CCT probably in the 4500-5000K range compared to other light sources). I like that a lot, especially outdoors in a natural environment with typical plant colors.
Form factor: Absolutely perfect for my purposes. I didn't intend to put it on my keychain, and for pocket or bag EDC it's as small as I would like it.
Machining and overall quality: The threads on my HA Baltic are perfectly smooth (as with all my Peak lights), but needed lube (again, as with all my Peaks). While it doesn't turn as easily as my Pacific (probably due to a somehow thicker o-ring), I can easily use it with one hand, and it won't get switched on unintentionally.
Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat. I might think twice about the power level, though. With the same batteries, I get about 4 hours of useful output from my high power Pacific, which doesn't appear so much dimmer in actual use. If you don't need the extra brightness for the first 80 minutes, the high power version might be a good choice. Even better, of course, would be a two-stage switch.
There is, however, a peculiarity with the body and head length of my unit: The body is about 1 mm shorter than the Pacific AAA body (while the negative contact and battery are at the same position). So the head only screws in for about 2 full turns until the light comes on, while it screws in 3-3.5 turns on my Pacific. Also, the bezel's outer aluminum casing is a bit short, exposing a small band of un-anodized aluminum on the inner base of the head. In combination with the shorter battery tube, this leads to a gap of almost 3 mm between head and body, while there's next to no gap on the Pacific. I hope this is just an "early adopter" issue that Peak will eventually fix. Do other people have similar observations, or is my unit the only one with that issue?