Calling all WEEnies!

I've been hemming and hawing for a long time now, trying to decide on the 50 lumen or the 80 lumen Wee. "Brighter is better" is my usual norm, but I'm a little concerned about the relatively short, 15-minute runtime of the 80 lumen version.

I know that everybody's use and needs are different, but for those of you that have already received or purchased either version, can you shed some light (sorry, pun intended) on the reason for your choice?

If anyone has both, is there a preference of one over the other? Thanks for any feedback...and no, getting both is not an option.

Ok, I got the 25lm for the standpoint of I look at it as an EDC light now. Figured as much as the power goes out around my building, hurricanes, etc, it may be good to have that 1-1.5 hr run time. That said, when I get some extra funds, and if it's still being made or available in the next 3 months, I'll get a 50 lm and split the diff. I figure 80lm for 15 minutes is just for show....but it's be a good one.

The 25 lm is pretty warm color, so some won't like it, but I can light most of my small back yard with it enough to see any critters I want to avoid and get to the big bad boy lights.

I've been wondering the same thing as flashfan.

flashfan said:

I've been hemming and hawing for a long time now, trying to decide on the 50 lumen or the 80 lumen Wee. "Brighter is better" is my usual norm, but I'm a little concerned about the relatively short, 15-minute runtime of the 80 lumen version.

I know that everybody's use and needs are different, but for those of you that have already received or purchased either version, can you shed some light (sorry, pun intended) on the reason for your choice?

If anyone has both, is there a preference of one over the other? Thanks for any feedback...and no, getting both is not an option.

Click to expand...

buy an emitter and swap to your hearts content-$20 us

Package I`m picking up at the Post Office.......

1 WEE NS 25
1 WEE NS 50
1 WEE NS 80

I`ll let you know what I think after I play a WEE bit. Bought the 80 lumen for fun showing off and not planning on it being a user.

I got the 80 lumen version (in both Ns and Ti). My reason: I will never use the Wee for anything but showing off

I always EDC a couple of McGizmo's and an Arc AAA-P as backup, so the Wee is purely for doing the old "look how much light this little thing puts out"-routine to impress other geeks

I actually wish the Wee had an even brighter option. I don't really need more than say 5 minutes of runtime in a pure showoff light, but I can never have enough brightness :devil:

I hadn't heard the Wee was shipping in Ti yet. Since you have both, would you mind doing a comparison? (-> pics encouraged!)

The thing that concerns me is the heat! We know how warm (hot) the Raw NS can get on high after just 60s, so I wonder how the 80-lumen WEE would feel after a minute or two? That's the one thing that caused me to shy away from the 80-lumen WEE. And of course, in that teeny-tiny package, there's no room for a 2-stage, hence no lower option when the going gets HOT.

wee?

Thanks for all the replies! Some good information here.

gnubee, swapping out emitters sounds great, but I just do not have any technical skills, and would hate to ruin/damage the light.

Kentucky Mike, good point about heat--the thought never occurred to me. Makes BytorJr's selection of the 25 lumen model attractive, but I wouldn't be happy with a warm color beam.

So...it's looking more and more like the 50 lumen will win out.

Waiting for kenster to check back in with his review of all three models! Any other wee owners, buyers, and wannabes, thanks for your opinions also.

flashfan said:

gnubee, swapping out emitters sounds great, but I just do not have any technical skills, and would hate to ruin/damage the light.

Click to expand...

It's as easy as plucking your eyebrows. Just get some thin tweesers down there and pull out the 'light engine' ( Cree on a cut down board with copper slug and tiny resister soldered on the back.) There isn't much to ruin.

Jay R said:

It's as easy as plucking your eyebrows. Just get some thin tweesers down there and pull out the 'light engine' ( Cree on a cut down board with copper slug and tiny resister soldered on the back.) There isn't much to ruin.

Click to expand...

You can also tap the body on like a cutting board or wooden table and the LE will pop right out (you don't need to tap it that hard) you can always put a thin towel or handkerchief under it so it wont get scratched...its super easy
My 50lm only gets slightly warm after 5 min constant on...the 80 would probably be hotter but by how much?
I'll probably order a 80LE module as well just to have the variety...but the 25lm works GREAT if your going to neck carry.

Oh and just for fun my newest EDC's :twothumbs

Nice EDC Gizzy :thumbsup:
Your Atwood Crawdaddy is very smart.

Jay R said:

It's as easy as plucking your eyebrows. Just get some thin tweesers down there and pull out the 'light engine' ( Cree on a cut down board with copper slug and tiny resister soldered on the back.) There isn't much to ruin.

Click to expand...

You pluck your eyebrows? Huuumm

flashfan said:

gnubee, swapping out emitters sounds great, but I just do not have any technical skills, and would hate to ruin/damage the light.

Click to expand...

I still don't see what change swapping out emitters would make. Don't all three models have the same emitter? I'd think it'd be a resistor swap that would be what you'd want to do.

Trashman said:

I still don't see what change swapping out emitters would make. Don't all three models have the same emitter? I'd think it'd be a resistor swap that would be what you'd want to do.

Click to expand...

The Wee is so small that the standard Cree emitter has to be cut down to a square section to fit. The resistor along with the positive copper slug contact is soldered to the rear of the emitter board.

Ergo: Changing the emitter changes all the electronics.

You can buy seperate 'Light Engines' as Rob calls them for a tenner each and swap to suit.

As they say a photo speaks many words.
Below are the LE for the Wee, How simply can it get....


Also a couple of mini films showing LE Removal & Replacement.

And O ring removal & replacement.

I'm surprised no one has posted beam shots showing a comparision of the Wee 25, 50 and 80 with a reference lite (eg. Fenix LOD). I think that will be very, very useful.

I have the Wee 50 with Q4 and it's a very well constructed lite. However, i have to say that the light output is no where near 50 lumens. Using the Fenix LOD CE (at 20lum mode) and Sure 6p (60lumens) as my references, i would put the Wee 50 at about 10-20 lumens. The light is very useful for illumination to about 3 metres (about 9ft).

My suggestion is to get the Wee 50 and 80 if you can afford the extra 10 pounds.

orb said:

As they say a photo speaks many words.
Below are the LE for the Wee, How simply can it get....

Click to expand...

interesting, thats exactly what I'm looking for, so the entire driver circuit is sandwiched in that?

Illum_the_nation said:

interesting, thats exactly what I'm looking for, so the entire driver circuit is sandwiched in that?

Click to expand...

Driver Circuit maybe a little elaborate!!
The Wee LE contains a XR-E , SMD Resistor , & Copper disc.
Small Simple & reliable...

The Resistor values to go with the Current/Lumen values:
10 Ohm 80Ma 25 Lumen
3.3 Ohm 200Ma 50 Lumen
1 Ohm 300Ma 80 Lumen
:thanks: