Color? Arc? LE? Infinity?

I'm looking for info on how bright the colored Arcs and Infinities are. I've used 2-led 3-AA Trek lights for 2 or 3 years, and an Eternalight for 4 months. I just got a white Infinity and most of the time it will suffice for my needs. The long battery life is very nice, but the "clunkiness" of it is a drawback. So I'm thinking of an Arc with a colored LED for the times I want a brighter light.
So for walking and reading what is the "best" color?
Is the Arc LE still available and is it "brighter" than the colored Arcs?
Or are the colored Infinities bright enough that I might be satisfied?
Or is it better to become a member of the flashlight-of-the-month club, and decide for myself? No I can resist

I won't be back till early AM 12/17. So don't take lack of response as not caring

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by witsend:

So for walking and reading what is the "best" color?
Is the Arc LE still available and is it "brighter" than the colored Arcs?
Or are the colored Infinities bright enough that I might be satisfied?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
- As far as I know the ARC LE is still available. I've got two of them about two weeks ago.
- The ARC LE is definitifly brighter than a standard one except you are a lucky guy which owns an ARC AAA with a B2S or B1S Nichia LED (see more about this at http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=001061 )
- Beside the ARC AAA and the ARC LE I know only the turquoise one. I've one of these which is really brighter than the LE (the brightness varies according Peter Gransee quite a lot).

But the brightness is - at least for me - hard to judge because of the different colors. I've a turquoise and an LE with me and try them out under different conditions. But I can not yet say which one I really prefer. I think it will rather be the white one because you can recognize the different colors with this light. With the turquoise one you cannot do this even it's brighter. I think for general use the white ones are the better choice.

IMHO...

The turqoise or blue-green will always appear brighter because the human eye responds most easily to this wave length.

For a nice discussion of this:

Red or Green for night vision?

or this...

Night vision

So, for brightness or preserving night vision stick with turquoise.

If you need to perceive true color (like distinguishing wire colors) you'll need white.

So...what to get?

IMHO...the only "bright enough" color for the Infinity is the blue-green. I've got that and a yellow one. The yellow one is really too dim, but the blue-green is quite useful; + sturdy, economical (40 hrs on 1 AA) and easy to use and carry.

Get that and a white Photon II for your keychain. If you ever need to see real color, you're set.

A nice walking around camping light is the Eveready LED lantern. It has 2 white LEDs and puts out a broad, smooth light that will last a REALLY long time on 4 AAs. BTW... a white light is a little easier for walking around because somehow the ability to see color helps with 3D perception.

If you can only afford one...get the ARC AAA in white (if you need to see color) or turquoise if you want something really bright.

If you just need something REALLY bright, buy a regular, old fashioned flashlight with a Krypton bulb. It is way cheaper to purchase (but carry your LED light 'cause IT will never let you down). Maybe in a year or two, these old fashioned lights will be totally eclipsed by LED...but it's not quite that way just yet.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ikendu:
IMHO...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Can someone tell me what this IMHO means????
Thanks for helping me to understand you better!

IMHO

In My Honest Opinion

- verge -

Rene'. It is "In my humble opinion".

Sometimes I wish we had an acronym link. I almost ended this with the above.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by phred:
Rene'. It is "In my humble opinion".
above.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yup. No such thing as an "honest oppinion." Who the heck is going to lie about an opinion?

My apologies to remuen.

phred is right...it is In My Humble Opinion.

My mental lapse.

- verge -

ikendu,

Your idea of carrying a turquoise ARC AAA and a white Photon II is great! Maximum brightness and ability to see colors correctly in 2 very small packages.

Thanks to all for your help!

IMHHO (In My Honest Humble Opinion) you are the greatest!

Message Key:

IMHO - Yep ... "In My Humble Opinion"
BTW - By The Way

For my own usage, I carry a Photon II on my keychain 'cause I only use that once in a while and it is light, bright, and just about indestructible.

For reading or walking about at night, I like the blue-green Infinity.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 2d_edge:
IMHO

In My Honest Opinion

- verge -<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I thought it was 'In My Humble Opinion'

FWIW: I have the white, green, and aqua/tourquois Infinity. The aqua/turquois Infinity is the only one I consider to be really useful. Yes, any light is usuable, but the white one is so dim, compared to the
aqua/turquois one.
The green one puts out a decent amount of light, but the color distortion bothers me.
I also have the white and aqua/turquois Arc-AAA's Then I got an Arc-LE, and that's the one I use. The aqua/turquois is brighter than the white Arc-AAA, but it is a much wider beam, so the light falls off quickly with distance. The white Arc-AAA puts out plenty of useful light. The Arc-LE is brighter, but only about 10-15%(?) by my eyes. They are fairly spendy for the relatively small increase in light, and the biggest appeal is to flashaholics who want the 'newest and best', which it is. If you never compared them side by side, you'd be very satisfied with a standard white one; I was, until I bought an Arc-LE. I still use my 'standard' white Arc-AAA quite a lot. it's bright enough that the brighter turquois one with it's wider beam isn't that appealing to me. I orderd them at the same time, as I couldn't make up my mind. If you want maximum light, then the turquoise on is tops.

If you do get the ARC AAA turquoise, expect that the color will be much more green than light blue. In fact, when you get it you will think it is green until you compare it with a regular green then you can notice that it is different. The turquoise Photon is more your traditional blue/green as the LED is overdriven as per Stingmon - see thread http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=001250
But all turquoise apparantly will turn to green as the batteries wear. If you don't mind waiting and paying big bucks, I would get the ARC LS white or Cyan.

Thanks to all!! I think I will stay with white as I have had some white led lights that were "bluer" and they do things to my eyes . I think I will wait on the CPF special Arc as I would want to get that anyhow. Again thanks for your input and any more would be welcome.
Any news on the CPF arc special edition?
Last I heard it was going to be blue but there wasn't a release date. Will it have a brighter LED?

witsend. The CPF ARC is a semi-offical project to be done after the ARC-LS release smoke clears. I for one want a CPF light but I'm not going to hold off buying other toys till it is released.
On another note, I lost/misplaced my LE and NEED to buy another. TTS is out of stock. Know anyone else?

Yes. I just ordered one yesterday from Brightguy.com and their confirmation e-mail said nothing of them being out of stock. They have them for $32. Hope this helps

fivebeans