Anyone here starting to get bored with cree lights?

Just a question, but is anyone here getting bored with cree lights? I feel dumb even asking the question... because a few months ago I stated that, "If it was not a Cree led - it really did not even matter." I feel foolish for saying that now.

I started buying them at the beginning of the year and now have a LP D-mini and M3, as and a Ultrafire C2. They are decent lights, and very bright, but buying one is kind of like buying any other of them. (not counting McGizmo's and other mods of course)

I saw the post about the new Streamlight siidewinder and got intrigued, The Inova 2AA bolt looks good too. I heard there may be a Brightstar Lighthawk Led lantern that should be pretty cool as well. I looked on Pelican's site and their new glow in the dark flashlights look pretty neat as well.

So keep all the reviews and threads coming about new and cool lights. I even stopped mocking my new Inova T3 and took it out of the drawer and started to use it and admire its fit-finish-toughness that none of my cree lights can match. So I look forward to new great lights with cree leds, but they are not going to be the only ones I am looking at and hopefully buying. Do any of you feel the same way?

Not yet.....you must not have seen the Lumapower MRV yet! There are still some great lights coming out- and it's soon time to start buying ahead for Christmas!!

I am really bored with high-end/high-quality companies like SF, SL, and Inova NOT using Crees/Seouls. Why is it that only the cheapo Chinese companies are using high end emitters?

woodrow said:

Just a question, but is anyone here getting bored with cree lights? I feel dumb even asking the question... because a few months ago I stated that, "If it was not a Cree led - it really did not even matter." I feel foolish for saying that now.

I started buying them at the beginning of the year and now have a LP D-mini and M3, as and a Ultrafire C2. They are decent lights, and very bright, but buying one is kind of like buying any other of them. (not counting McGizmo's and other mods of course)

I saw the post about the new Streamlight siidewinder and got intrigued, The Inova 2AA bolt looks good too. I heard there may be a Brightstar Lighthawk Led lantern that should be pretty cool as well. I looked on Pelican's site and their new glow in the dark flashlights look pretty neat as well.

So keep all the reviews and threads coming about new and cool lights. I even stopped mocking my new Inova T3 and took it out of the drawer and started to use it and admire its fit-finish-toughness that none of my cree lights can match. So I look forward to new great lights with cree leds, but they are not going to be the only ones I am looking at and hopefully buying. Do any of you feel the same way?

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I agree. For every new Cree light reviewed here, there are beamshots. Why? Almost all of them are the same.

A light doesn't need a Cree emitter to work. My Pelican 2020 shines just fine on a Lux I, and I doubt that there are many Cree-based lights with the hazardous area approvals of that light. Plus it runs regulated for 6 hrs.

Supernam said:

I am really bored with high-end/high-quality companies like SF, SL, and Inova NOT using Crees/Seouls. Why is it that only the cheapo Chinese companies are using high end emitters?

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I think those companies you mentioned are locked into contracts for large numbers of lumileds emitters. They couldn't change over to Cree even if they wanted to. Takes a lot of time for testing and R&D... a good year at least. The Chinese companies avoid all that R&D and hassles, so they can rush things to market to make $$$.

Nope. I have just enough of the new generation LEDs to keep me interested. McLux PD-S, Fenix L0D-CE, L1D-CE, L2D-CE, P1D-CE. That's it. And the only ones I regularly use out of those are the PD-S and L1D-CE.

I'll be picking up a couple Cree Surefires eventually, and probably a P1-CE, but even my old "outdated" lights see use. My Surefire E1L, Civictor V1 and MagLED 3AA, not to mention the old incans, still see plenty of usage.

Why throw aside good lights? There are times when insane efficiency and runtime and output are great but as long as you can afford the batteries does it matter? I certainly hope that Crees make their way into older venerable designs but by all means lack of one is no reason for me *not* to buy a light.

You know what you need to do? Buy a flashlight with really old technology. Go pick up an Arc-AAA Premium or a Streamlight Propoly 4AA Lux or a Gerber LX 3.0... and appreciate it for the great design it is.

Hi.

Interesting.

Perhaps SSC instead for a nice wide beam.

Nope.
I'm wishing I'd see more SSC and Edixeon based lights, but I"m still enjoying the crees.

I do hesitate now before I buy any more single-mode single-Cree or SSC light. I don't expect anymore wow! factor from a new purchase of such lights since the lumens is not going to vary much. What I try to look out for now is more value-add or innovations like for eg, multi-modes or creative UIs, adding a flupic or D2Dim, or tri/quad-leds (still not available for the mass market).

I guess I should say I am getting dissapointed with Crees mainly being in 2 cr123a style lights. Don't get me wrong, I am totally happy with my PEU 18650 tubed D-mini that gives me a solid, non dimming 3 hours of bright light and free lumans.

I just would like to see some Cree plastic lights, or some lanterns. Something cool from Lumaray...ect. I think a 3 18650 light with a monster head and 3 emiters would be cool. Something with a tilt head would be neat also. I am not bored with Cree leds at all. I will also most likely pick up a MRV in the beginning of July as well. I just can't wait to see some designs that do not look like a 2 cell flashlight.

Need to see some Cree/SSC headlamps with innovative designs.. another way to get out of the boredom cycle is some multi-LED mods!!

I guess I'm lucky. I've been out of the flashlight loop for over a year now. Last big purchase was a Fire~Fly II.

Just 'remembered' about CPF a week ago now, and I've already bought a Draco (waiting to hear from modamag when that'll be shipped) and I've got a Fenix L2D-CE incomming this week.

So no, I'm definitely not bored yet. I haven't even started!

Coleman should have cree lanterns out soon from what backlight is telling us. As for cree/ SSC headlamps I agree that they are long overdue.

I've got enough cheap chinese cree/seoul lights to keep me bored of them for awhile...The fenix P1D CE was my 1st cree light and i was like WOW!!! when i got it cause it was the smallest,brightest and most expensive light i ever bought...after that it's kinda dulled down after getting all my lights come in the mail after 1-2months of waiting...just been buyin to upgrade my outdated lights and put my batteries to better use:

Golston 7w to Ultrafire C2(although its got brighter spill the throw didn't appeared to be much better because it had a cooler tint and which wasnt as good for outdoor)

Fenix L1P to MTE SSC P4 AA(wasnt too happy with quality and needed some modding to work properly and also it has a cut-off voltage when it's still shining bright)
...so to Ultrafire C3(looked and felt nice with nice clicky my NiMH AA's "originally" didnt fit though but that wasnt hard to fix)

...and as a cheaper P1D alternative (so i won't cry if i loose it) and since i only use protected 3.7v rcr123 in it so the multi lvl output isnt used (although the different lvl outputs is a good battery indicator to show when the battery's getting low) i bought the cheap P1 cree clone from DX...by the time it was shipped it had changed to a tail twisty which i fort wasnt such a great idea...and it turned out i was right(for my hands anyway) it didnt work so well with my rcr123's because they're a lil longer than primary cr123's so it turns on with 1 turn of the threads and it also flickers when you shake it, which seemed kinda stupid cause i would pretty much have to take the cap off to keep it off...so i spent a day playing around with it sanding/grinding and sticking in rings of plastic into the tube before i could get it turn on at about half a turn before the cap was fully screwed on and also battery rattle free...but i ended up denting the -ve side of a battery. all in all it kinda feels cheap and light in my hands and also the output is a lil dimmer than the P1D CE.

so here ends my story of cree lights.

woodrow said:

Just a question, but is anyone here getting bored with cree lights?....So keep all the reviews and threads coming about new and cool lights.

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When Cree emitters were first discussed on CPF, I was thrilled to read about their greater efficiency with less heat, more potential output, etc. I carefully read all the way through Newbie's technical threads on the Cree XRE and SSC P4.

But, since Crees actually began showing up in lights, I've become quite bored with them. So far, too many of the lights with Crees are cheap Chinese lights that I'm just not interested in buying.

Even Fenix has yet to make any Cree lights that I want to buy. I was really hoping to see Fenix Creeify their basic lineup (LxP-CE, LxT-CE, E1-CE) while concentrating on maintaining quality and manufacturing consistency. Instead, Fenix rushed out a series of gimmicky models of problematic quality that really hold no interest for me to purchase.

Since I'm not into modding I'll just have to wait for the Crees to filter down to my preferred U.S. manufacturers: Streamlight, Underwater Kinetics, Pelican, Princeton Tec, Mag.

I am excited by a few upcoming Cree lights: the soon to be released Pelican LAPD model and the Coleman headlamps.


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Yes I'm getting bored with em.

Has anyone seen a production multi-cree light?

doesnt matter what emitter it has. the inova t1 wowed me for its build and attitude/design, the d-mini wowed me because of its size/throw ratio, the l2t was the first light i had owned for six months after losing my last AAA minimag, so that wowed me too. I like cree, but half the lights that have "wowed" me, haven't even been cree based. (hmm, sounds like free base, addicted anyone ?)

I think if a light has been designed from scratch and it's design has purpose, you can feel it within the light, like It has a soul. The P3dce wowed me because on paper it said it would run for 60+ hours on low mode, I didnt care to test that, but it was nice to know that unit 'could' do it (or at least near it) once i put fresh cells in, and that was a nice feeling. The problem with having a massive jump in efficiency within a certain technology, is that the people become thirsty for more. I just wish i was back with the unwise, accidentally buying an "UlTRrA COoL FuTuRE LED flAshLIGht!", taking it home and realising it throws 3000lux or 130 lumens or something and having a jaw drop moment.

I missed the jaw drop moment's just glad the d-mini got me good.

I'm still waiting for a CR2 powered Cree or SSC. Lots of luxeons around, but I'm hanging out for a Cree/SSC version. With such a little battery, every bit of help in efficiency and runtime matters.

not bored of crees. but I can only have so many lights taht do the same thing. I have a p1dce and p3dce...love both...buts thats enough of that type. I have a couple of aspheric cree mags on the way...cree but different beasts....I am also waitng for the quad star phaser....multi emitter different beast again. If I buy another "conventional" torch with a cree, it will be one that drives a high brighntess bin LED to 1 amp or more.

I want to build a 9 or 10 cree/seoul light...another different beast.

Saying that even, I can't wait for even better leds to come out though

Stu

I am not bored with them, because while they use the same emitter, they are different lights. Some have good throw, some are a flood. Some are big, some are small. The experience of testing different devices that i enjoy is nice. And when the wow factor has gone, i keep the really nice ones, and over time, i give away the others. My only regret was giving away my Inova XO, i would love it back for testing and comparing. That was my best light previously.