I have compiled a shootout of various state-of-the-art high-end LED-lights using 1xCR123 as power setup. The purpose of this exercise is to compare the most important features of those monsters to be able to chose wisely when you’d want to buy one.
This is not a review and I’ll not make any comments on personal preferences.
The contenders from left to right:
McL4:
BB600 with 1W R2H in KL4 head, done by McGizmo. Gives a small and bright hotspot with a very good sidespill in pure white. The hotspot has a decent throw. Consider this one quite similar to the R2H McModules or McLux-PR heads.
TW4:
KL4 head mounted on a E1e body. Introduced by Tactical Warehouse. The KL4 should be direct drive in this setting, the pics below seem to confirm this. Produces a wide flood beam with almost no throw and will be a little bit greener than when mounted on a 2x123 body (L4).
McLux-PR with 5W BB750:
Normally designed for a 6V setup, this one is driven by 1x123 on a E1 body in black. Puts out a flood like beam which is tighter and whiter than the KL4 and runs regulated. Has a throw that almost matches the McL4 and the Baby Pin due to the sheer mass of light put out.
Baby Pin:
1W Q3 LS with a Fraen LP optic driven by an unknown driver, maybe a BB? Produces an incredibly tight beam with no sidespill with a hotspot that is a little bit larger than the hotspot of the McL4. Good throw like the McL4, is outthrown only by the DB750 R2H in a Pelican Reflector in this category.
Arc LSH mod:
This is an Arc LS modded by CM with a R2K HD and draws 363mA which is a little bit more than the standard Arc LS should draw. Otherwise it is an Arc LSH.
All these lights put out a perfect white light (except the underdriven TW4). The color variances perceived in the photos are just nuances of white and can hardly be noticed when viewed alone.
As a reference (seen above the beam shots of the contenders in every pic) an Arc LS1rev2 LD-unit was used, held in place by my old Elliot.
Distance to a dirty white wall was approx. 30 cm for the contenders and 60cm for the reference unit. As my digicam has only an auto-mode, you’ll notice overdriven hotspots and an ever increasing brightness of the reference unit (that’s why it is here). Despite this, the results are still reliable IMHO. Time is measured in hours:minutes.
I used absolutely fresh Varta CR123 cells.
0:00 Go !
The McLux-PR BB740 5W kills the competition with the sheer amount of light put out, followed by the McL4. The Baby Pin has the tightest and hottest hotspot together with the McL4 and the BB750 monster. The TW4 is weaker in every aspect here, whereas the Arc does as we’d expect: it is the weakest unit in the competition.
0:15
no change
0:30
no change
0:32
The McLux-PR BB750 5W is falling out of regulation and will be dimming steadily from now on. Otherwise no change.
0:44
Baby Pin falling out of regulation
0:45
the McLux-PR 5W BB750 is rapidly loosing terrain and you now clearly notice the continuing dimming of the TW4 …
0:51
McL4 falling out of regulation
1:00
McL4 is dimming, no further change otherwise
1:15
all the lights that have previously fallen out of regulation dash quickly towards moon mode, only the Arc is still going strong, and the TW4 continues its slow descent being now the brightest light in the competition.
1:30
going on …
1:45
same situation as above with the TW4 and the Arc taking the lead to even more advantage. Note the ever increasing brightness of the reference, meaning that the other lights are dimming as the reference is always at the same brightness!
2:00
Arc falling out of regulation with an enormous flickering, looks like a strobe for several minutes!
2:15
there’s the TW4 … and where are the others? The high powered regulated units are quite dim by now, the Arc is a tad brighter in its newly obtained moon mode. The TW4 is king now, but notice the comparison with the reference, meaning that it has also significantly dimmed, being about the brightness of the reference now.
3:30
TW4 barely brighter than an Arc AAA, the others are much less bright. Test stopped.
A note: the McL4 and the McLux-PR have the big advantage of a good hotspot paired with a very useable sidespill, but loose this advantage quickly after falling out of regulation, the corona is far too weak than.
Conclusion by Category:
- throw: the winners are the McL4, Baby Pin and McLux-PR BB750 5W; forget the TW4
- flood: TW4 is the winner, followed closely by the McL4 and the McLux-PR BB750 5W. Forget the Baby Pin
- brightness: McLux-PR BB750 5W kills the others hands down. Do not chose the Arc.
- temperature: the McLux-PR BB750 5W got so hot that I had to open the windows and installed a fan because I feared for my precious unit. It survived though. Baby Pin and McL4 are pretty hot, too. The TW4 is cool as ice.
- size: Arc is smallest, the other ones are about the same size, think of an E1e with a few milimeters more in length and bulk
- beam quality: McL4 is king, followed by TW4. The McLux-PR BB750 5W has the well known artifacts in the hotspot, those disappear at distances greater than 1m though. The lights with optix do not strand a chance against the reflectored units
- quality: all are exceptional, only the Baby Pin suffers from a host that, while being good, cannot match the others
- beam color: perfect in every light, no shade of non-white light. only the TW4 is a tad greener than the others, it is underdriven.
- regulated runtime: Arc wins hands down (2h), the high powered devices have obviously less: McLux-PR BB750 5W (32min), Baby Pin (44min), McL4 (51min)
- useable output over time: TW4 is the winner, followed by the Arc. The others cannot compare.
Conclusion by light:
- McL4: you are a man of compromises, you want a decent hotspot with throw, a good flood too, an acceptable runtime, all that paired with the most perfect beam you can imagine in a reasonably small package … go harass McGizmo for a McL4 head. You won’t regret it.
- TW4: Throw? What’s that? Why would you need throw? You prefer looking around and would like to see all your surroundings clearly without being blinded by some annoying hotspot? And most important, you’d like to be sure that your light will not leave you in the dark suddenly and you don’t mind it dimming constantly from the beginning? Then the TW4 is your ticket.
- McLux-PR BB750 5W: You are power-hungry and would always have the brightest possible in the smallest package? Runtime? Bah! Spare batteries is the key to victory! And a little hand warmer is nice too? Then you are the kind of guy that is needed to master a McLux-PR BB750 5W in your pocket.
- Baby Pin: Sidespill and flood beams are made for weenies only. Hotspot and throw make a real guy! Some beam artifacts only add to the “rugged handsomeness” of the bearer of the light. Go ask Charlie about a Baby Pin, he’ll find some parts and make one for you!
- Arc LS: You want it small. Your pants have already enough bulk in them as is, and your keychain cannot support more gadgets? You may need your light a longer time without worrying for batteries? A mix of throw and sidespill with a little compromise in beam quality is what you like? Then buy the Arc.
bernhard
P.S.: all these lights are state-of-the-art top notch creations worth buying. they are just different. I did not regret buying a single one of them.
This is not a review and I’ll not make any comments on personal preferences.
The contenders from left to right:
McL4:
BB600 with 1W R2H in KL4 head, done by McGizmo. Gives a small and bright hotspot with a very good sidespill in pure white. The hotspot has a decent throw. Consider this one quite similar to the R2H McModules or McLux-PR heads.
TW4:
KL4 head mounted on a E1e body. Introduced by Tactical Warehouse. The KL4 should be direct drive in this setting, the pics below seem to confirm this. Produces a wide flood beam with almost no throw and will be a little bit greener than when mounted on a 2x123 body (L4).
McLux-PR with 5W BB750:
Normally designed for a 6V setup, this one is driven by 1x123 on a E1 body in black. Puts out a flood like beam which is tighter and whiter than the KL4 and runs regulated. Has a throw that almost matches the McL4 and the Baby Pin due to the sheer mass of light put out.
Baby Pin:
1W Q3 LS with a Fraen LP optic driven by an unknown driver, maybe a BB? Produces an incredibly tight beam with no sidespill with a hotspot that is a little bit larger than the hotspot of the McL4. Good throw like the McL4, is outthrown only by the DB750 R2H in a Pelican Reflector in this category.
Arc LSH mod:
This is an Arc LS modded by CM with a R2K HD and draws 363mA which is a little bit more than the standard Arc LS should draw. Otherwise it is an Arc LSH.
All these lights put out a perfect white light (except the underdriven TW4). The color variances perceived in the photos are just nuances of white and can hardly be noticed when viewed alone.
As a reference (seen above the beam shots of the contenders in every pic) an Arc LS1rev2 LD-unit was used, held in place by my old Elliot.
Distance to a dirty white wall was approx. 30 cm for the contenders and 60cm for the reference unit. As my digicam has only an auto-mode, you’ll notice overdriven hotspots and an ever increasing brightness of the reference unit (that’s why it is here). Despite this, the results are still reliable IMHO. Time is measured in hours:minutes.
I used absolutely fresh Varta CR123 cells.
0:00 Go !
The McLux-PR BB740 5W kills the competition with the sheer amount of light put out, followed by the McL4. The Baby Pin has the tightest and hottest hotspot together with the McL4 and the BB750 monster. The TW4 is weaker in every aspect here, whereas the Arc does as we’d expect: it is the weakest unit in the competition.
0:15
no change
0:30
no change
0:32
The McLux-PR BB750 5W is falling out of regulation and will be dimming steadily from now on. Otherwise no change.
0:44
Baby Pin falling out of regulation
0:45
the McLux-PR 5W BB750 is rapidly loosing terrain and you now clearly notice the continuing dimming of the TW4 …
0:51
McL4 falling out of regulation
1:00
McL4 is dimming, no further change otherwise
1:15
all the lights that have previously fallen out of regulation dash quickly towards moon mode, only the Arc is still going strong, and the TW4 continues its slow descent being now the brightest light in the competition.
1:30
going on …
1:45
same situation as above with the TW4 and the Arc taking the lead to even more advantage. Note the ever increasing brightness of the reference, meaning that the other lights are dimming as the reference is always at the same brightness!
2:00
Arc falling out of regulation with an enormous flickering, looks like a strobe for several minutes!
2:15
there’s the TW4 … and where are the others? The high powered regulated units are quite dim by now, the Arc is a tad brighter in its newly obtained moon mode. The TW4 is king now, but notice the comparison with the reference, meaning that it has also significantly dimmed, being about the brightness of the reference now.
3:30
TW4 barely brighter than an Arc AAA, the others are much less bright. Test stopped.
A note: the McL4 and the McLux-PR have the big advantage of a good hotspot paired with a very useable sidespill, but loose this advantage quickly after falling out of regulation, the corona is far too weak than.
Conclusion by Category:
- throw: the winners are the McL4, Baby Pin and McLux-PR BB750 5W; forget the TW4
- flood: TW4 is the winner, followed closely by the McL4 and the McLux-PR BB750 5W. Forget the Baby Pin
- brightness: McLux-PR BB750 5W kills the others hands down. Do not chose the Arc.
- temperature: the McLux-PR BB750 5W got so hot that I had to open the windows and installed a fan because I feared for my precious unit. It survived though. Baby Pin and McL4 are pretty hot, too. The TW4 is cool as ice.
- size: Arc is smallest, the other ones are about the same size, think of an E1e with a few milimeters more in length and bulk
- beam quality: McL4 is king, followed by TW4. The McLux-PR BB750 5W has the well known artifacts in the hotspot, those disappear at distances greater than 1m though. The lights with optix do not strand a chance against the reflectored units
- quality: all are exceptional, only the Baby Pin suffers from a host that, while being good, cannot match the others
- beam color: perfect in every light, no shade of non-white light. only the TW4 is a tad greener than the others, it is underdriven.
- regulated runtime: Arc wins hands down (2h), the high powered devices have obviously less: McLux-PR BB750 5W (32min), Baby Pin (44min), McL4 (51min)
- useable output over time: TW4 is the winner, followed by the Arc. The others cannot compare.
Conclusion by light:
- McL4: you are a man of compromises, you want a decent hotspot with throw, a good flood too, an acceptable runtime, all that paired with the most perfect beam you can imagine in a reasonably small package … go harass McGizmo for a McL4 head. You won’t regret it.
- TW4: Throw? What’s that? Why would you need throw? You prefer looking around and would like to see all your surroundings clearly without being blinded by some annoying hotspot? And most important, you’d like to be sure that your light will not leave you in the dark suddenly and you don’t mind it dimming constantly from the beginning? Then the TW4 is your ticket.
- McLux-PR BB750 5W: You are power-hungry and would always have the brightest possible in the smallest package? Runtime? Bah! Spare batteries is the key to victory! And a little hand warmer is nice too? Then you are the kind of guy that is needed to master a McLux-PR BB750 5W in your pocket.
- Baby Pin: Sidespill and flood beams are made for weenies only. Hotspot and throw make a real guy! Some beam artifacts only add to the “rugged handsomeness” of the bearer of the light. Go ask Charlie about a Baby Pin, he’ll find some parts and make one for you!
- Arc LS: You want it small. Your pants have already enough bulk in them as is, and your keychain cannot support more gadgets? You may need your light a longer time without worrying for batteries? A mix of throw and sidespill with a little compromise in beam quality is what you like? Then buy the Arc.
bernhard
P.S.: all these lights are state-of-the-art top notch creations worth buying. they are just different. I did not regret buying a single one of them.
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