I hope you didn't pay (or swap) too much for that. The Coast/LED Lenser lights are not held in very high regard around here. Most people regard them as overpriced for the quality, and usefulness of the lights.
I consider myself to be in the group that dislikes Coast.
Here's Why:
- Coast lights use odd battery arrangements (3 and 4 AA/AAA), and they are only meant to use alkaline batteries. Reason being that most of the Coast/LL lineup are "direct driven," meaning that there is not a regulator/driver board in between the power source and the LED.
- The lack of regulation means that the light will diminish in output rather quickly, compared to a comparable regulated light, and become too dim to use. Many like unregulated lights because they "don't leave you in the dark all of a sudden," as the batteries discharge. This is nice in a situation where a long running light that dims gradually over time is needed; say, if you were caving. Unfortunately, it means that you don't pull most of the energy out of a battery, meaning that you waste power, and create a larger "eco footprint," if you will.
- Coast/LL lights are meant to only use combination's of alkaline batteries for power. This is, again, because the lights are direct driven. Because there is no boost/buck driver board to regulate current and voltage to the LED, the LED's are at the mercy of the voltage of the power source. LED's tend to have a forward voltage (voltage it takes to light them) of around 3.5-3.7 volts, depending upon the current being pushed through them. Most Coast light use 3x 1.5v alkaline cells, meaning that the LED is being over-volted, thus reducing it's lifespan. Coast/LL gets around this problem by, again, relying solely upon alkaline cells. You see, alkaline batteries have a high internal resistance, so when you pull a current of more than 1-200 milliAmps from them, the internal resistance goes up, causing the voltage of the cell to drop to 1-1.2volts, and also reduce current output. Thus the only thing that keeps the LED from frying is the odd battery choice. Ni-MH batteries are ver-boten because they have a lower voltage, but a greatly reduced internal resistance, allowing high current draws, which could fry the LED.
- Most Coast/LL lights are poorly heatsinked. They have very bad thermal pathways between the LED and the body of the light. Thus, with the direct drive nature of the battery arrangement, the LED can over heat and reduce its lifespan.
- While the machining is good, anodizing is not, and is only anodizing level II, which is soft and easily scratched. Coast/LL lights tend to show their abuse quickly.
- The focusing system is, in my opinion, a hold-over from the Mag-lite competition days. In other words, it's a gimmick. I personally don't find it usefull, most often the opposite, but others' opinions' differ from mine. Also, the holes in the heads are necessary for the focusing mechanism to work, but completely compromise water-resistance.
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But this is just some of my opinion, if yours differs, I care not. Enjoy your lights, and hold on to your wallet.
:welcome:
