Perfect work light

Hello,

Complete newbie looking for the perfect work light. Following needs should be met (or at least as many of them as possible):
- Pocket friendly, one cell AA or CR123 (both if possible)
- Adjustable output
- Night vision friendly (optional red or very low low, needs to be used on a bridge during night)
- Water Resistant
- Rugged, must handle though use
- Throw at least 30m
- Good battery time

I am looking for a light that can become a trusted friend for many years to come, not the cheapish crap sold everywhere.

MAX 120$

All suggestions are very welcome.

Check out the JetBeam RRT-0. It takes 1xAA w/ the extender or 1x123. THe control ring chooses the levels with a nice low low. It's $110 w/ AA extender but if you get it from bugoutgearusa.com, there is a 20% off CPF code.

Proton Pro sounds like what you're looking for:

(Picture by Selfbuilt, first one that came up in google image search :twothumbs)


May not be pretty, but quickly became one of my favorites. My brother, who works as a building engineer liked it so much I got one for him, too. The red comes in very handy for his work as well, in areas were bright white lights would be distracting toward the patrons. Its variably adjustable in both red & white beams and has a very low white which lasts a ridiculously long time.

Thanks for good suggestions.

Have checked around and in some posts there is told of a brief pre-flash on the RTT-0, does anyone know if there is a way to ensure this will not occur? (could ruin the night vision of the navigators). And is the ultra low output (1 lumen) low enough in order to not ruin night vision?

I have also found that RA Twisty 85-TR has the ability of low red.

Out of these three I like the RTT-0 the most, but are a bit concerned about the preflash. The Twisty 85-TR seems like a very good light, but it looks a bit chunky to be carried in a pocket. But both of these light has better specs than the Proton Pro, so I am uncertain. :thinking:

So to conclude it now stand between RTT-0, Proton Pro and Twisty 85-TR, if no other suggestions appear.

Which one do you think will satisfy me the most?

jetbeam has fixed the problem with pre-flash on their RRT-0. i think i purchased my RRT-0 in Jan. and never seen any pre-flash. zero wobble too, when tailstanding. that 1 lumen output does seem very bright on the RRT-0. maybe because its designed more throwy. but i think its low low mode will do fine for map reading and navigation purposes.
the adjustable output on the RRT is the best ive used. i know exactly the output before i even turn the light on. and changing outputs is fast and easy. also it makes conserving battery power very easy.

i love my RRT-0, but i dont use it for work. its my edc when not at work. my work enviornment is too filthy for such a beauty.

i would recommend a quark 123-2. at 4.5 inches long its still pocketable. the clip works great, and comes with a very very good holster. its very bright with better runtimes since it uses 2 batteries instead of 1. and 4sevens has a prism kit for red, blue and green tint. the quarks also have a very low low mode at 0.2 lumens. i have abused my quark 123-2 but also feel confident that it will tough it out

or check out 4sevens other quark models. all are great especially for the price.

Quarks are the goods. Just be sure to get the Tactical version of whatever battery type you choose. You will want that momentary on, as well as the programmable modes so you're not fussing around getting to where you want to go.

And for $120 you can have two!

+1 on the Quark and the RRT-0. I now have both and have to say the RRT-0 is my favorite. My Quark is an 2AA Turbo which I got before the RRT-0. The Quark has been relegated to bed-side, general purpose duty loaded with lithium primaries while the RRT-0 is one of my EDC's.

Jonnor said:

Thanks for good suggestions.

Have checked around and in some posts there is told of a brief pre-flash on the RTT-0, does anyone know if there is a way to ensure this will not occur? (could ruin the night vision of the navigators). And is the ultra low output (1 lumen) low enough in order to not ruin night vision?

I have also found that RA Twisty 85-TR has the ability of low red.

Out of these three I like the RTT-0 the most, but are a bit concerned about the preflash. The Twisty 85-TR seems like a very good light, but it looks a bit chunky to be carried in a pocket. But both of these light has better specs than the Proton Pro, so I am uncertain. :thinking:

So to conclude it now stand between RTT-0, Proton Pro and Twisty 85-TR, if no other suggestions appear.

Which one do you think will satisfy me the most?

Click to expand...

My RRT-0 is only a few weeks old and I have no pre-flash issues with it. The control ring action is light with positive detents for the levels. You should have no problems operating one-handed but it shouldn't inadvertently switch levels either. Being able to choose your level before turning it on is a definite plus for me. I like the low low. In actual use, it is low enough for me to not mess up my night adapted vision. It is about the brightness of my ITP A3 EOS and Maratac AAA on low (~1.5 lumen) but with a smaller and tighter beam so it will appear a little brighter in the hotspot. I think 1-2 lumens is a good low level if there is at least some other faint ambient light source like a streetlight through closed-draped windows, a nightlight somewhere in the house or a digital clock. Less than 1 lumen is great for absolute pitch black darkness in my use.

I've ordered the RRT-0 this night, can't wait to test it out. I still have som doubts about the low-low level, but if it's not low enough I will use my Gerber Recon M as a substitute. And who knows, maybe I can find some arguments for my wife to buy another light...

Congrats, i own an RRT-0 and it's one of my favorites, you are gonna love this light.

Jonnor said:

I've ordered the RRT-0 this night, can't wait to test it out. I still have som doubts about the low-low level, but if it's not low enough I will use my Gerber Recon M as a substitute. And who knows, maybe I can find some arguments for my wife to buy another light...

Click to expand...

Looks like a great light! But I'd still get the Proton Pro if you want a very very low, low. Its cheap enough just to add to a collection compared to the other AA choices out there, and the versatility is hard to beat for the price, imo.

I took some beam shots for you: The top is my Maratac AA (XP-E Q5) on 1.5lm, very floody. The left is my Maratac 9290 AA (XR-E Q5) on the lowest 6lm setting, and the far right is the Proton Pro (XR-E) on its lowest. I had to increase the contrast just to show the PPro's beam since my camera is actually a HD minicam that does pictures also, its low light ability isn't that great.



And some full beam shots (same order as above), just for the hell of it. The Proton may be old, but still holds it own.


Sorry if I sound like I'm promoting my suggestion too much, I'm just enamored with my recent acquisition!!

Jonnor said:

I've ordered the RRT-0 this night, can't wait to test it out. I still have some doubts about the low-low level, but if it's not low enough I will use my Gerber Recon M as a substitute. And who knows, maybe I can find some arguments for my wife to buy another light...

Click to expand...

I hope it works out for you and have no doubt that you'll love the UI and feel of the light, but I was completely disappointed at it's lack of a real low setting. Hopefully you'll get the chance to try out a Quark AA which has a very, very low setting, is quite robust and has some of the best customer support available.

I've had my RRT-0 for a week now and I just have to say: WOW! What a light!!

My last light was a Maglite (2AA), and even thoug it's not fair to compare them, the RRT-0 gives me a total new experience. The light is magnificent with it's easy UI, variable modes, compact size, though look and excellent performance. A true winner IMO.

However, the light is not the perfect light I am looking for. It has not wide enough beam for close work, the low is not low enough and the runtime is to low (due to the fact that I use it on max all the time to light up wide in front of me). So the quest goes on...

I've been reading ALOT of posts on this forum and it may seem like my requirements are to high for a single light. But so far I've narrowed it down to the following lights:
-LF3XT (excellent low-low and excellent UI but I'm not sure of the flooding capability)
-Quark 123 (1 or 2 cell, Tactical or Regular, excellent low-low, quite wide beam, uncertain about pre-flash and would like tactical UI with tailstand = more expensive)
-Streamlight Nite Com (RED option for night use, unable to find good review, normally not a good sign)
-Proton Pro (RED option for night, uncertain about ability to give wide beam)
-Eagletac T20C2 w/RGB kit (RED light, good flood, demands extra filter, expensive, not really low option)
-Surefire A2L-RD (RED light, old technology, expensive, not perfect beam)
-LedLenser T7 (very good flood (focusable) but no real low)
-RA Twisty 85-TR (if still sold somewhere, can't find it anywhere)

I am now hoping that someone is able to give me some further advise, and maybe a little comparison review if you have some of the lights above?

My most important criteria is good flood for close work, very good low (or red-ability), good runtime, good UI and great looks.

Hope someone can help...

i have just managed to get my hands on a Novatac 120P, the minimum level is incredibly low and you can program it to suit your needs e.g. you can enable the simple momentary, enable forced settings to primary and set the primary mode to minimum so if you need just a wee bit of light for a short bit, just press and hold the button and when you release the button, the light will go off.

click once and it will come on in minimum, press and hold while it is on and it will enter Maximum mode (which you can also program to a slightly brighter level or whatever level you like), release and it will go back to primary.

double click and the light goes to secondary mode (also fully programmable) double click again and it goes back to primary mode.

Triple click and it goes to minimum mode (also programmable), double click from minimum and it goes back to primary mode. To enter maximum mode from any of the other modes do a click then hold and it will enter maximum mode and stay there when you release the button.

I was initially very daunted by the instruction manual but after a while, it has become very easy to program the light. There are other modes too, i set it on locator at night before i sleep (one very dim flash every few seconds) so i can find the light, also enabled the auto-lock and auto-turn off features so that my light won't accidentally go on and if i happen to leave it on, it will turn itself off after 5 minutes, very nifty features indeed.

I understand that Novatac doesn't show these on their site but you can email them and see if they have it in stock. Take a look, it's a great light!

EDIT: throwing 30m should not be a problem for this little light but is there going to be a lot of ambient lighting?

The RRT0 is a very nice light but still my favorite 1xcr123 is the Surefire E1B. You say you want rugged and must handle use or abuse this is it. I have had the RRT0 for a few months so ruggedness is still to be determined but the Surefire is sure to handle whatever you throw at it. If you can handle the 2xcr123 size check out the E2L also, it has six hours of regulated output and throws well with it's TIR optic's.

http://www.tacticalsupply.com/product/3701/1_8_25/surefire-e1b-backup-led-flashlight.php

There is also a good discount at spydertactical if interested.

Jonnor said:

My most important criteria is good flood for close work, very good low (or red-ability), good runtime, good UI and great looks.

Hope someone can help...

Click to expand...

The Ra/Novatac/HDS lights all have very good low as well as a beautiful balance between flood/throw for all around usage and they have a great programmable UI.

hyperloop said:

i have just managed to get my hands on a Novatac 120P, the minimum level is incredibly low

EDIT: throwing 30m should not be a problem for this little light but is there going to be a lot of ambient lighting?

Click to expand...

The minimum level is low, but the Surefire Titan/T1A goes much lower and is in turn eclipsed by the 007/Tri-V, which goes so low you can hardly tell it's on!

Jonnor said:

... not wide enough beam for close work, the low is not low enough ...

... [want] good flood for close work, very good low ...

Click to expand...

Have you considered a Zebralight? Clip to your shirt, jacket, belt, or use on the included headband, and everything in front of you is evenly illuminated. I have an H501w, great task light. Simple, easy UI, good low (some models have an even lower low). I know you wanted One-Light-To-Rule-Them-All, but sometimes a specialist is better than a jack-of-all-trades.

Also - have you consider simply putting a diffuser on your RRT-0 for the close floody work and to reduce the low level? If Jetbeam doesn't have one for it, there are many ingenious homemade solutions, see for instance https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/261301

The Coast P5 would be a great choice. It works off one AA cell and has a three cycle switch, and it puts out 90 plus lumens.