TerraLux LightStar 220 EX.

jayden75

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
4
Hi! Newbie here, just wondering if any of you guys had TerraLux LightStar 220 EX TLF3C2AAEX. I'm tjinking of getting this light. Any feedbacks will be gladly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 

DaveG

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 2, 2005
Messages
868
The only thing I know about it is from Brightguys web site.
 

Igor Porto

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
307
Location
Überländ
Hi guys, I've got one, for two weeks now.

It has a Q4 CREE LED. It's got a blue/purple tint, but not too much, you can adapt to it.

It's rated at 220 lumens on max, and 1.5 to 2 hour battery time, and 100 lumens on low, with 6 hours battery life. On my tests, I got about 2:20 hours with 2500mAh NiMHs on high, and then it switched to low mode for another hour.

The body warms up pretty good, which is a good indication of heatsinking.

The finish is not type III anodizing, and can be scratched rather easily, but for the price it costs, you can't expect more. The threads could be better...

I had to change the o'ring, 'cause the original one was floppy. I put a tighter one and it's good now.

The lanyard and holster included is very low quality stuff.

The clip is good, and can be removed without scratching the body, but the finish on the clip comes out easily.

You can also remove the lanyard ring, which I did, and replaced it with a 2mm o'ring. Looks nice.


The reflector is good, deep, with orange peel texture and reflects nicely. It throws a good amount of light, and yet spills another good amount, it's a very good light. It can easily light up an area up to 30 yards in complete darkness.

The switch doesn't feel as rugged as a Fenix, but it does the job. It has a reverse click, so it's not tactical. You have to click it for the flashlight to turn on. Then a light tap on the switch changes to low mode. It always turns on in high mode.

The low mode has a bit less than the rated 100 lumens, it's around 70 or 80.

The LED is slightly off center, but my Fenix lights have this "problem" too, so...


Overall it's a bright light and for the price, I recommend. It's much brighter than the famous Fenix L2D Q5.

Bottomline is if you can find it for around US$35, buy it. It's much more reliable than those dealextreme.com flashlights. And it can be an all around light to have in your car, backpack, backup light, emergencies and around the house. It's cheaper than other lights with same or inferior performance, so you might not bother abusing and scratching it, just use it as a tool, not a collector's precious light.

Here's a beamshot pic, and others for comparison:

terraluxpn7.jpg


l2dturboyu5.jpg


l1tandl2drf0.jpg


magliteid1.jpg



Any questions and doubts, feel free to ask.
 

Igor Porto

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
307
Location
Überländ
The beam is not adjustable.

It throws quite nicely, much better than L2D Q5. It throws a wide spot up to 25 yards in my backyard, but after that distance, the spot becames too large and lights up a big area, kind of a big spill.

The low mode is not low enough, it has around 70 or 80 lumens (the manufacturer says 100, but it's not as bright as my L1T on 98 lumens.
 

Magnus1959

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
134
Got mine in today. Igor is spot on in his review of the light. For the price, it's a very bright light. I like it.
 

Turbo Guy

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
277
Location
Haralson County GA USA
Like the others I agree for the price it is a rather good light. Low is no where near 100 lm and is in fact noticeable less than an Eagle Tac P10A2 which is listed as 60 lm on low. My guess is the 220 is closer to 30 but is still plenty bright enought for many task. Both the ET P10A2 and LightStar 220 are rated 220 on high but the P10A2 seems a bit brighter. One nice thing about the 220 is that it uses approx. 40% less current on high and 50% less on low so run times should be much better but that will depend on regulation ofcource.

Sanyo 2700s setting 4 hours since charged.

P10A2 High 1400mA / Low 220mA
220 high 800 mA / Low 110 mA

FYI Both of these on high enable me to see a power transformer 450 feet away. Not real well but visible and in fact a bit better than a Mag D size with Mag LED drop in and a Mag C with a TerraLux TLE-6EX drop in rated 140 Lumen. Both Mags powered with 2 cell 26650 2500 mAh LiFePO4 cells charged yesterday and not used more than 5 minutes since charge.The TeraLux drop in is a little brighter but in normal useage would never be noticeable.
FYI Dop Mag dropins use 500 mA. Mag version retains spot/flood while TeraLux is spot only.
 

BigBluefish

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 25, 2008
Messages
1,461
I think I saw this Terralux at another dealer's site earlier today, but it's bookmarked on my office computer. :(

Funny thing to me is that the L2T seems, from the pics, to be brighter than the TerraLux and the L2D.
 

DemskeetSkeet

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
22
Awesome reviews!

I picked up my so called black model(It's more matte charcoal grey then anything but I like it much better than a black) at lighthound with a few other things for free priority shipping. Received my items in 2 days.

The only thing I disagree with you guys is the finish on it, I like it better than the fenix finishes. I don't know what it is but it just feels and looks nice, not sure about how durable it is but I've been carrying it clipped inside my waste band on my jeans and there is nothing wrong with the finish from taking it on/off so far.

Awesome light for $30, will buy more if the price goes on sale sometime so I can give them away.
 

Turbo Guy

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 28, 2009
Messages
277
Location
Haralson County GA USA
A follow up post to my post #14 above.

I ordered and received a seond LightStart 220 EX and first thing I noticed was the difference in brightness and color tint on low setting.
First one draws Low 110 mA / High 870 mA
Second one draws Low 250 mA / High 740 mA

In a dark room there is no real noticeable different between them on high other than the tint but very noticeable difference in lumens and tint on low.

I am new to higher output LED flashlights but my guess is that somewhat lower end lights use whatever LEDs and drivers that come of the production line with little reguard to grading and perhaps even use componets that fail certain CQ test.

Both lights are nice and I would be happy with either as a general EDC knock about. Now I will have to decide which one I like the best as one is to be a gift. Hey I purchased both so I get first choice.:)

I need some darkness without pouring down rain to make a logical comparison but all things considered I do like the much lower power consumption of the first one and tint is a bit more neutral also I believe.

There are much better beam shots in earlier post and I now better understand why one poster stated he saw little difference between the modes.


LightStart-Deams0001-low.jpg

LightStart-Deams0003.jpg


Update: Darkness fell and the rain stoped so out to the light range. The second 220 with the higher cuurent drain on the low setting is much brighter on low. I really do not notice that much difference in tint so I guess I will keep the lower ,low power one and yes it does appear a tad brighter on high. I guess that addational 140 mA or approx. 15% addational juce does make a difference.
 
Last edited:

1light

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
7
I was considering getting this light for my first real LED light. I was also considering the Fenix E20 as they are close to the same price. Anyone have any suggestions or opinions on these lights or which one is better? I would be mostly using it outdoors in a rural area, but it would be the only (main) light.
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
The 220 EX is a decent quality light - a good value. I would also consider the Fenix E20 and the ITP C8R or C8T - the ITP lights are ~$10 more but they are also substantially brighter the the 220 EX or E20.
 

1light

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jun 18, 2009
Messages
7
Thanks for your response. Would you say the Terralux is worth spending a little more for than the Fenix E20? They're close in price (about 5 dollars difference) but it sounded like the Lightstar is much brighter, is that right? I'm used to using an old 2D incan. flashlight. Would either of these lights throw as far as a typical old 2D light? I'm basically limited to amazon for shopping right now and they only have a limited selection of flashlights.
 
Last edited:
Top