JetBeam Backup Series (XP-G R5) BC10 & BA20 Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, and more!

[Kokopelli]

Most probably as it makes a huge difference and a complete technique change in drivers. 2.8-3V (2xAA) needs a booster to rise the supply voltage to 3.5V while 8.4V (2x14500) needs a buck driver to drop the voltage. And they usually don't exist in one package.

[Kokopelli]

I'm curious - has anyone tried using 14500 Li Ion batteries in a BA20? Will it cook the LED? Thanks

Most probably as it makes a huge difference and a complete technique change in drivers. 2.8-3V (2xAA) needs a booster to rise the supply voltage to 3.5V while 8.4V (2x14500) needs a buck driver to drop the voltage. And they usually don't exist in one package.

[Kokopelli]

I'm curious - has anyone tried using 14500 Li Ion batteries in a BA20? Will it cook the LED? Thanks

Most probably as it makes a huge difference and a complete technique change in drivers. 2.8-3V (2xAA) needs a booster to rise the supply voltage to 3.5V while 8.4V (2x14500) needs a buck driver to drop the voltage. And they usually don't exist in one package.

[Kokopelli]

I'm curious - has anyone tried using 14500 Li Ion batteries in a BA20? Will it cook the LED? Thanks

Most probably as it makes a huge difference and a complete technique change in drivers. 2.8-3V (2xAA) needs a booster to rise the supply voltage to 3.5V while 8.4V (2x14500) needs a buck driver to drop the voltage. And they usually don't exist in one package.

[Kokopelli]

I'm curious - has anyone tried using 14500 Li Ion batteries in a BA20? Will it cook the LED? Thanks

Most probably it will cook, as it makes a huge difference and a complete technique change in drivers. 2.8-3V (2xAA) needs a booster to rise the supply voltage to 3.5V while 8.4V (2x14500) needs a buck driver to drop the voltage. And they usually don't exist in one package.

[lautamas]

Most probably it will cook, as it makes a huge difference and a complete technique change in drivers. 2.8-3V (2xAA) needs a booster to rise the supply voltage to 3.5V while 8.4V (2x14500) needs a buck driver to drop the voltage. And they usually don't exist in one package.

you will definetely burn the driver using 2x14500 on BA20

[deklan]

Thanks, Kokopelli and lautamas!

[Danielight]

I just got the Jetbeam BC10, based on many favorable reviews. One question I have, and this is more of a "cosmetic" question, but has anybody had problems with the pocket clip scratching the barrel when twisting to change from low to high mode? My understanding is that you could remove the clip or reverse it to avoid any scratching problems. Anyone notice this issue?

[selfbuilt]

One question I have, and this is more of a "cosmetic" question, but has anybody had problems with the pocket clip scratching the barrel when twisting to change from low to high mode? My understanding is that you could remove the clip or reverse it to avoid any scratching problems. Anyone notice this issue?

That can certainly be an issue on the the smaller 1xAA and 1xCR123A lights with a pocket clip. I remember the initial run of 4Sevens Quarks were particularly prone to this issue. But as you say, you can reverse the clip to avoid scratching the head annodizing. I got into the the habit of pulling the clip out slightly with my index finger, when mode changing on the Quarks.

[Danielight]

Thanks for your response, selfbuilt. I think I will probably just reverse the clip. Actually you would probably have to do that anyway if you wanted to mount it on the bill of a baseball cap like a headlamp. (I'm not really a baseball cap wearer, but you never know.)

[LEDAdd1ct]

For the BA20:

1) How many hours of flat, regulated output do you think we would see off a pair of Duracell, Energizer, etc. alkalines in the BA20 on low mode?

2) Is the low mode on the BA20 enough to navigate a trail in the woods, get around the house at night, and light up a room on ceiling bounce? Or, is it really only bright enough for night adapted eyes, searching in a pack, or using in pitch black conditions?

If it can do 20+ hours on a pair of alkalines (and with the low current draw, I suspect it can), then the only remaining question is whether the low is too low to be useful for general tasks.

[Kokopelli]

I think low mode is enough bright for most of the tasks. I haven't measured the regulation time yet, though.

[LEDAdd1ct]

Okay, cool. I would love to hear from others as well.

[MichaelW]

For the BA20:

1) How many hours of flat, regulated output do you think we would see off a pair of Duracell, Energizer, etc. alkalines?

2) Is the low mode on the BA20 enough to navigate a trail in the woods, get around the house at night, and light up a room on ceiling bounce? Or, is it really only bright enough for night adapted eyes, searching in a pack, or using in pitch black conditions?

If it can do 20+ hours on a pair of alkalines (and with the low current draw, I suspect it can), then the only remaining question is whether the low is too low to be useful for general tasks.

You mean on low mode, right? Because alkalines only provide about 35 minutes before the precipice.
If you count the initial time before the output 'settles down' [see the first 2 hours of the Eneloop graph] as part of the flat regulated, I'd expect 30 hours before declining output, and maybe 40 hours overall.
A 15 on the ROLO graph is plenty bright. Enough to navigate a known trail, and get around your own house just fine.

[LEDAdd1ct]

Oops, forgot that key word in my initial post! I'll edit it in.

Yes, the concern here is low mode. My brother's Pelican 2440 light was dismembered, and though Pelican honored their warranty, the 2440 has been discontinued, and the replacement light's LED is focused through an optic, making it way too throwy. The battery life is horrible as well. The BA20 looks close to his ideal light:

-easily available cells
-broader beam profile than XR-E or XP-E with the BA20's XP-G
-orange peel reflector (assists the XP-G)


And his number one concern:

-very long battery life

His primary uses are walking around the house at night, going to the bathroom, searching through his backpack, and navigating a trail at night, although he doesn't share my love for night hikes—his would be more a "just in case" light in an outdoors situation. He does, however, enjoy camping, and would use it frequently when setting up camp at night. The cluster of five 5mm LEDs in his now battered Pelican 2440 excelled in that regard.

The other lights I have considered share one or more of the following:

-too expensive (greater than the going rate of $40 for the BA20)
-too focused
-don't share the BA20's very long runtime
-involve operating a complicated or serialized UI

On the runtime front, my brother's number one request/requirement, nothing even comes close to touching the BA20.

If the consensus is that the BA20's low/general use beam is sufficient for household navigation and navigating a trail in the woods and setting up a tent, then its price and exceedingly efficient circuit will probably make this the light for him.

Mr. selfbuilt, any thoughts?

[jondotcom]

I just got the Jetbeam BC10, based on many favorable reviews. One question I have, and this is more of a "cosmetic" question, but has anybody had problems with the pocket clip scratching the barrel when twisting to change from low to high mode? My understanding is that you could remove the clip or reverse it to avoid any scratching problems. Anyone notice this issue?

I have the klarus P1C which seems to be a close relative to the BC10. I ditched the stock clip and went with a nitecore d11 clip. It allows for deeper pocket carry and seemed better suited to the light IMO. You can see it mounts through the lanyard whole with a backing plate the same way it would on the D11.

[selfbuilt]

If the consensus is that the BA20's low/general use beam is sufficient for household navigation and navigating a trail in the woods and setting up a tent, then its price and exceedingly efficient circuit will probably make this the light for him. Mr. selfbuilt, any thoughts?

The runtime on alkalines would likely be similar to the eneloop results posted (for Lo). But my runtimes are based on letting the light run continuously. If you were to stop and start a lot, for a couple of mins each time, itis possible it wouldn't last as long in total. This is due to the considerably brighter initial output (i.e. over 50 estimated lumens), which takes some time to drop down to the regulated ~20 lumens or so. I didn't test partially drained batteries though, so it's possible that it may jump right into the regulated level once some charge has been drained from the cells.

In any case, runtime will be good. And I personally consider 20-50 lumens more than enough to do most tasks at night. Even without dark adapted eyes, that is enough to see what is going on around you.

[CDCJON551]

so for the BC-10 can you use the ultrafire 3.6v cr123a? or should i just stick with the icr123a 3.0v to be safe.

[selfbuilt]

so for the BC-10 can you use the ultrafire 3.6v cr123a? or should i just stick with the icr123a 3.0v to be safe.

Just to clarify, "3.6V" LI-ion batteries are the same as "3.7V" Li-ion - that is the reported nominal voltage, with fully-charged capacity at 4.2V regardless. They can be from a number of chemistries, but ICR and IMR are the most common.

There are some brands of "3.0V" Li-ion cells (typically, I think most of these are either 3.4V or 3.6V fully charged), and are often LiFePO4 chemistry (although ICR is also possible).

These lower "3.0V" rechargeable cells should give output performance closer to regular primary 3V CR123A. Non-rechargeable CR123As are actually 3.0V nominal (3.2V brand new). So, typically, "3.0V" Li-ion (nominal) will be comparable or only slightly brighter than primary CR123A initially. They are a good idea if you want to maintain proper output modes of the primary CR123A cells, in cases like this where 3.6/3.7V nominal Li-ion produce higher unregulated output.

Oh, and

[CDCJON551]

Just to clarify, "3.6V" LI-ion batteries are the same as "3.7V" Li-ion - that is the reported nominal voltage, with fully-charged capacity at 4.2V regardless. They can be from a number of chemistries, but ICR and IMR are the most common.

There are some brands of "3.0V" Li-ion cells (typically, I think most of these are either 3.4V or 3.6V fully charged), and are often LiFePO4 chemistry (although ICR is also possible).

These lower "3.0V" rechargeable cells should give output performance closer to regular primary 3V CR123A. Non-rechargeable CR123As are actually 3.0V nominal (3.2V brand new). So, typically, "3.0V" Li-ion (nominal) will be comparable or only slightly brighter than primary CR123A initially. They are a good idea if you want to maintain proper output modes of the primary CR123A cells, in cases like this where 3.6/3.7V nominal Li-ion produce higher unregulated output.

Oh, and

Thanks, all these batteries to choose from are getting confusing. But I feel like the BC10 is very limited in choices far rechargeables. I have a set of ICR123a 3v 1200mah and recently just bought a Nextorch NTR123a for the light too but it seems like the stated 270lm doesnt throw or flood as bright as my Hugsby P2 with ultrafire cr123a 3.6v which is suppose to be only a 190lm light.

[spydie fanatic]

Thanks for the reviews; I donated to your battery fund

Best Regards,

sf

[selfbuilt]

Thanks for the donation. It is appreciated.

[jh333233]

BC10 with 7k lux thats impressive for the price and size!
What is the MSRP for the light? Below $30?
Thanks

[Up All Night]

BC10 with 7k lux thats impressive for the price and size!
What is the MSRP for the light? Below $30?
Thanks

More like $39! If you use a vendor that offers a CPF discount it will be less.

[MichaelW]

BC10 with 7k lux thats impressive for the price and size!
What is the MSRP for the light? Below $30?
Thanks

I think that 7000 is incorrect. 5000 is more like it, and then that is for the first 30 seconds.

[weaver]

For the BA20:
2) Is the low mode on the BA20 enough to navigate a trail in the woods, get around the house at night, and light up a room on ceiling bounce? Or, is it really only bright enough for night adapted eyes, searching in a pack, or using in pitch black conditions .

I recently bought the BA10, which has a low mode of 12 lumens, and that was perfectly fine for navigating a 4-mile (largely known) mountain trail in darkness. On low, I could see the trail fine out to about 25 yards in the front, and I could see general features around in the forest out to about 50 yards. I'm very impressed with this light's output on high, plus the runtime on low. I also like the warm color temperature of the LED, which lends itself well to the outdoors.