Jetbeam C-LE Quality?

[IcantC]

Thanks for everyones help on this. I purchased the C-LE from bugoutgearusa.com and can't wait to get it. To date the brightest LED I have is a 2aa minmag LED ($15 clearance from wally world). It will be great to have something brighter in this form factor. I'll write a review when I get it.

Thanks again
Reverend Mark

You will not be disappointed at all!

I have mine and did not have any problems with color mismatch or bad threads or tint color.

I am using the Sanyo Eneloop and is working very well.

 

[gunga]

Yep, I agree. I had a few issues with a couple jetbeams.

THey were all resolved. It may have taken a real long time, and took some prodding on my part, but all issues were eventually resolved.

Anodizing mismatches are not considered real issues, however, I didn't take a close look at f22's pix to see how bad it actually was.

I had some anodizing matching issues with a lumapower a while ago. They resolved it to my satisfaction. Too bad Jetbeam cannot do the same.

In any case, I'd say the CS is maybe a B or B-?

 

[donn_]

I just got mine from BOG (Thanks, Flavio!) about an hour ago, and so far I like it a lot. The threads were dry, and a little dirty, but cleaned up nicely, and with some lubrication, work smoothly. I have no problem with the UI. I have it set to come on to medium, but may change that to low. It cycles through the stages so quickly, it's almost seamless. I get a single flicker when I stop at any stage. I can't judge the beam quality yet because it isn't dark enough. I have mine on a McGizmo titanium clip with a 1" length of SS bead chain, and connected to the light with a loop of 80# composite fishing line, to protect the finish. It'll spend most of its carry time either clipped to my keychain, my bibs or a belt loop.

 

[cheapo]

the quality of the cle is good for the money. it's not at fenix quality quality by any means though. fenix does have better quality and brighter output so you do get more for what you pay.
for ppl on a budget, it's a great deal. can't really comment on the olight because i never owned one.

would i recommend? honestly no. this is the reason. flashlights are going to last a while. i feel that the 15 dollar difference between the l1d and the cle 2.0 is minimal considering how long you would own one. i also like the fact that there is an option to upgrade with the body. so there's a bit of flexibility.
i did have a mix match with my cle in the anodizing coating. it was pretty bad but still acceptable by jetbeam standards so i was pretty unhappy about that.

Report Card
Beam B+ (near l1d)
UI B (memory mode and 5 stage sort of dont mesh, you have to go through strobe/sos)
Build B- (okay, not great not bad..threads ok, bit rough..reported anodizng color mixmatches)
Jetbeam CS C (talk is cheap)
BOG USA CS A (class act)

i disagree. Jetbeam quality is better in many respects in comparison to fenix.

 

[illmatic]

i disagree. Jetbeam quality is better in many respects in comparison to fenix.

+1

 

[defloyd77]

I get a single flicker when I stop at any stage.

I think that flicker is telling you that that mode is now saved for the next time you turn it on.

 

[Kilovolt]

I just got my C-LE V.2 from Hobbyngear.com and I can confirm that there is an improvement in quality over V 1.2 (I have two of them). The threads were bone dry as expected but perfectly clean and with a small amount of silicone grease they work smoothly which was not the case with V 1.2 at least initially. Outer finish is as good as before with matching colors and the presence of a spring in the tailcap is a sure improvement in respect of the sponge of the previous versions.

I'll surely buy more Jetbeam lights. :thumbsup:

 

[ergotelis]

Just add to your list the mte 20 mode rebel flashlight. I have Jetbeam V1.2 and i think MTE is much better. I prefer it over Jetbeam for 24 use, the only thing that might annoy someone is the huge variety of modes. You have to learn how to interchange between modes and groups.

 

[blademan]

I have both Fenix and Jetbeam lights and I think quality is equivalent. Both have there positives over each other but is quality is equal.( at least on my samples)

 

[Duc Nguyen]

I bought 3 of C-LE v 1.2 on July2 for $ 75.0 dirrect from Jetbeam, I put one in my truck, one in my wife and the other in my SUV , the one in my truck went dead after less then 5 minutes used for the first time yesterday , it die when I switching from Hi to Strobe mode , the one is SUV I am using everyday and no problem with it so far , I am using a AA standard battery and very happy with them until yesterday. I am trying to contact Jetbeam through the Jetbeam thread to get it repair , will let you know how it turn out.

Duc

 

[Melven]

Just add to your list the mte 20 mode rebel flashlight. I have Jetbeam V1.2 and i think MTE is much better. I prefer it over Jetbeam for 24 use, the only thing that might annoy someone is the huge variety of modes. You have to learn how to interchange between modes and groups.

How is the beam quality on the MTE? The beam shot on DX looks like it has a donut hole.

 

[revmarktx]

I received my C-LE 2.0 today, just in time to take it out trick or treating. My 6 year old had his River Rock 2aaa (perfect light for a six year old, fairly bright est 10-15 lumens and fairly white tint and easy to carry)

To summarize how I feel about my C-LE is...I love it.
The threads are perfect, the light is very white. I detect no tint either green or blue. My minimag led 2aa looks a little green next to it and the River Rock 2aaa looks a little blue next to it. The finish is great and the anodized finish matches perfectly. I do not notice the PWM at all in either low or med. The levels are very useful. On high it is about twice as bright as my minimag led 2aa and on med it is just a little dimmer than the minimag led 2aa, but not much and on low it is perfect for reading, a little dimmer than a nite ize 3 led module on a minimag. It is probably not as bright as a Fenix L1D or the new MTE C3 Rebel 20 mode, but it is plenty bright and has great modes for an EDC. It has alot more useful spill than the minimag led 2aa on full flood. It is a great size and all of my NiMH batteries fit in it, even my Koadak pre-charged that don't fit in hardly anything.

Thanks for everyone's help
Reverend Mark

 

[swxb12]

Happy to hear that you are enjoying the JetBeam, Reverend Mark. Selfbuilt's review shows that the low mode runs for 32+ hours until it finally hits 50% brightness, and that's on a Duracell Alkaline! Great light.

 

[onthebeam]

I found the 2.0 beam to be ringy, which surprised me since it had a textured reflector. They've got the led too far back behind the reflector IMO. That also caused a sharp differentiation between spot and spill, which less spill than I prefer. Still, there are positive attributes and I wrote about them in an earlier post in this thread.

 

[Luminescent]

I found the 2.0 beam to be ringy, which surprised me since it had a textured reflector. They've got the led too far back behind the reflector IMO. That also caused a sharp differentiation between spot and spill, which less spill than I prefer. Still, there are positive attributes and I wrote about them in an earlier post in this thread.

I couldn't disagree more. I find the C-LE to have a nearly PERFECT beam pattern. In fact I have literally NEVER seen a cleaner more uniform beam pattern than my C-LE on ANY light at any price - period.

I have three C-LE's (both old and new versions) and ALL have MUCH nicer more uniform and artifact free beam patterns than any of my Fenix lights (which where the previous champs compared to 'department store' LED lights and incandescent lights).

What do I mean by PERFECT? What would be the IDEAL spot/spill pattern anyway?

For my money, the SPOT part of the beam should be a nice EVENLY ILLUMINATED perfect circle of brighter light with soft edges, while the SPILL part of the beam should also be a nice perfectly circle of evenly illuminated light without inconsistencies or artifacts.

The above is EXACTLY what the CL-E provides. You get a generous center spot that is VERY uniformly illuminated (like a perfect theatrical spotlight with soft edges) and this is surrounded by an equally PERFECT uniformly illuminated spill area with NO artifacts.

It is true that there is a very very very slight CREE 'dark ring' effect if you are very close (say 0.5 meter) but on all three of my C-LE's it's so well controlled that you really have to be looking for it to even notice that it's there.

I can see your point about wanting a slightly softer transition between the spot and spill, but please be careful when you toss around phrases like 'ringy' because that implies that there are pretty nasty beam artifacts, when in point of fact the C-LE has one of the cleanest most uniform and artifact free beam patterns of any light available.

 

[ChrisA]

I really like the C-LE ver 1.2 (bought three and none has given me problems so far) because it's noticably smaller than any of the Fenix AA lights and because of the very usable low mode. Basically the only grief I have with it, is the fear of ruining the led by using it on high for an extended amount of time, due to the less than optimal heatsinking of the emitter. Even if used on high for 15 minutes the light get's only mildly warm, although it pulls about 1 amp from a freshly charged NiMH. That can't be too good...

Has anybody taken apart the head of the ver 2.0, or noticed a faster heatup on high than on previous versions ? If Jetbeam improved the heatsinking I might be in for some more of the ver 2.0 lights.

Chris

 

[ViReN]

Before rushing up and jumping to conclusion to post review, I have been using JETBeam C-LE since almost a month and I found that it is very good quality light especially for it's price. I haven't had any experience with earlier versions so cannot compare it with previous versions. But comparing to uber reliable Fenix Civictor V1, I think, JETBeam C-LE stands up very well.

I feel that reverse Clicky suites more for lights that have to be switched off momentarily to change modes as compared to forward clickys.

 

[Gaffle]

Basically the only grief I have with it, is the fear of ruining the led by using it on high for an extended amount of time, due to the less than optimal heatsinking of the emitter. Even if used on high for 15 minutes the light get's only mildly warm, although it pulls about 1 amp from a freshly charged NiMH. That can't be too good...

Has anybody taken apart the head of the ver 2.0, or noticed a faster heatup on high than on previous versions ? If Jetbeam improved the heatsinking I might be in for some more of the ver 2.0 lights.

First time I have heard of a possible heat problem with the C-LE. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[ChrisA]

@Gaffle - take a look at these pictures... seems like jetbeam put no thermal paste under emitter - no good, if you want to use the light for a long time on high. does your c-le gets warm after a couple of minutes on high ?

chris

 

[ViReN]

@Gaffle - take a look at these pictures... seems like jetbeam put no thermal paste under emitter - no good, if you want to use the light for a long time on high. does your c-le gets warm after a couple of minutes on high ?

chris

These are old version pictures aren't they? the new LED has 4 bond wires...