magic79
Enlightened
This is a very, very quick review...I got my M10 Narrow Beam this afternoon.
Let me begin by saying that this is one of the few lights that has been an impulse buy. I had no "need" for the light...it's just been a long time since I've bought a new light! Most lights I buy have a specific requirement that the light fulfills.
The first thing you notice is that this is one TINY light. It's hard to believe that this uses a CR123 since it is so small. The picture below shows the Pierce compared to two other very popular single CR123 lights, the SureFire L1 and the UDS EDC U60XR.
The finish is quite nice. The first thing I noticed were the heatsink fins. These clearly will dissipate more heat than a solid body.
The light comes with two lanyards: one black (attached) and one yellow. They recommend that you use one when setting the light for low mode (400 mA) and the other when you have it set for high (1000 mA). This is a good idea I think. However, these lanyards are very cheesy. They appear to be a simple thin nylon string. This is probably adequate, but it appears quite cheap.
I opened the light by unscrewing the front bezel and was surprised to see it's shipped with a Surefire CR123 battery. For $150 I expected a Duracel, like came with my UDS. It's a bit trivial, but perception is important and if you're charging top dollar, it should come with the best available battery.
I turned on the light and there is no complaint about Pierce's claims about brightness. It is very bright and useful at the factory default 400 mA setting.
As an aside: For Pete's sake, how many more disjoint methods of comparing brightness do we need? Most today use Lumens. Some (Streamlight for example) use Candlepower. Pierce uses LED current.
Frankly, LED current isn't a bad measure. But, in marketing, perception is reality. So, LED current means absolutely nothing to most people. Why not spend some money to have the light measured in either Lumens or Candlepower?
Having said that, the light is BRIGHT! I chose the same two other single CR123 lights for beam comparison. I have two "ranges" (haha) that I use. The first is my back yard. It has approximately 17 yards (15m) from the light to the fence. The second is a 1m distance to a white wall in one of my bedrooms. Here are the pictures of each. For the outdoor shots, I used manual on my Canon 20D set at 5 seconds and f4.5. For the indoor shots, the camera was set at 1/5 second and f 8. Sorry that the 'throw' shots are out of focus, but I don't think it affects the data.
HDS U60XR set at full power (60 Lumens)
Surefire L1 on High
Pierce at 400 mA
Pierce at 1000 mA
U60 beam
L1 Beam
Pierce at 400 mA
Pierce at 1000 mA
It doesn't appear so in the photos, but the Pierce's beam is somewhat square (the L1 is VERY square). Frankly, I can't see how beam shape makes any difference whatsoever, so the square vs. round is immaterial to me.
To me, subjectively, the Pierce at low power is perhaps 20 Lumens. At high power, it appears to be about 50 Lumens. Those estimates are about as unscientific as you can get...eyeballing it. The L1 TIROS optics makes a real difference in throw brightness. I know a lot of people don't like it, but it really does work.
For it's size, I'm not sure anything compares with the output of the Pierce. Again, this is the narrow beam model; I have no idea how the wide beam compares.
If I were concerned about the size of the U60XR (my EDC), the Pierce would be "IT". However, the fact that it is a single stage light disqualifies it as my EDC. I think two stages are essential.
The U60XR will remain my EDC, and I literally do carry it in my pocket every day.
The Pierce will probably reside in my other pocket most days as my backup light. There is no other light (including the Orb Raw) that seems as bright in this small of a package in my opinion. If your wardrobe precludes even the U60, this is your light if you can tolerate a single stage. If not, the Orb Raw with two-stage switch is better.
I would like to see this light with a two stage switch. This would be a really useful light if it had a two stage switch.
I did not perform a runtime experiment.
That's it! There you have it!
Let me begin by saying that this is one of the few lights that has been an impulse buy. I had no "need" for the light...it's just been a long time since I've bought a new light! Most lights I buy have a specific requirement that the light fulfills.
The first thing you notice is that this is one TINY light. It's hard to believe that this uses a CR123 since it is so small. The picture below shows the Pierce compared to two other very popular single CR123 lights, the SureFire L1 and the UDS EDC U60XR.
The finish is quite nice. The first thing I noticed were the heatsink fins. These clearly will dissipate more heat than a solid body.
The light comes with two lanyards: one black (attached) and one yellow. They recommend that you use one when setting the light for low mode (400 mA) and the other when you have it set for high (1000 mA). This is a good idea I think. However, these lanyards are very cheesy. They appear to be a simple thin nylon string. This is probably adequate, but it appears quite cheap.
I opened the light by unscrewing the front bezel and was surprised to see it's shipped with a Surefire CR123 battery. For $150 I expected a Duracel, like came with my UDS. It's a bit trivial, but perception is important and if you're charging top dollar, it should come with the best available battery.
I turned on the light and there is no complaint about Pierce's claims about brightness. It is very bright and useful at the factory default 400 mA setting.
As an aside: For Pete's sake, how many more disjoint methods of comparing brightness do we need? Most today use Lumens. Some (Streamlight for example) use Candlepower. Pierce uses LED current.
Frankly, LED current isn't a bad measure. But, in marketing, perception is reality. So, LED current means absolutely nothing to most people. Why not spend some money to have the light measured in either Lumens or Candlepower?
Having said that, the light is BRIGHT! I chose the same two other single CR123 lights for beam comparison. I have two "ranges" (haha) that I use. The first is my back yard. It has approximately 17 yards (15m) from the light to the fence. The second is a 1m distance to a white wall in one of my bedrooms. Here are the pictures of each. For the outdoor shots, I used manual on my Canon 20D set at 5 seconds and f4.5. For the indoor shots, the camera was set at 1/5 second and f 8. Sorry that the 'throw' shots are out of focus, but I don't think it affects the data.
HDS U60XR set at full power (60 Lumens)
Surefire L1 on High
Pierce at 400 mA
Pierce at 1000 mA
U60 beam
L1 Beam
Pierce at 400 mA
Pierce at 1000 mA
It doesn't appear so in the photos, but the Pierce's beam is somewhat square (the L1 is VERY square). Frankly, I can't see how beam shape makes any difference whatsoever, so the square vs. round is immaterial to me.
To me, subjectively, the Pierce at low power is perhaps 20 Lumens. At high power, it appears to be about 50 Lumens. Those estimates are about as unscientific as you can get...eyeballing it. The L1 TIROS optics makes a real difference in throw brightness. I know a lot of people don't like it, but it really does work.
For it's size, I'm not sure anything compares with the output of the Pierce. Again, this is the narrow beam model; I have no idea how the wide beam compares.
If I were concerned about the size of the U60XR (my EDC), the Pierce would be "IT". However, the fact that it is a single stage light disqualifies it as my EDC. I think two stages are essential.
The U60XR will remain my EDC, and I literally do carry it in my pocket every day.
The Pierce will probably reside in my other pocket most days as my backup light. There is no other light (including the Orb Raw) that seems as bright in this small of a package in my opinion. If your wardrobe precludes even the U60, this is your light if you can tolerate a single stage. If not, the Orb Raw with two-stage switch is better.
I would like to see this light with a two stage switch. This would be a really useful light if it had a two stage switch.
I did not perform a runtime experiment.
That's it! There you have it!
Last edited:
) This problem was due to a HA defect from the company that does the HAing for Pierce. Its not Pierces fault, I was just a little upset and may have posted prematurely...Sorry Sam!
