Perfectionist said:
What the funk !!
LRI aren't bringing out a Cree based Proton !!
What the funk !!
They can't be that stupid ??
I don't know if "stupid" is the word I'd use but they sure are stubborn. The president has a high output LED phobia- he doesn't want to deal with hand picked binning issues. Whether this is still a significant problem with the Crees, I'm not sure, but it sure scared them off of luxeons. I figure they really should give it another go, since even with less bright Cree bins, you are still getting the efficiency you need for good brightness (probably better than the Nichia CS's, without being overdriven, and with better beam characteristics and tint) and decent runtime on a single AA. I know everyone already loves the UI, so why not put a little R&D into a new reflector and give it a try.
I'm sure that LRI has a million Nichia CS's laying around and there are many reasons for them to be "lazy" but its looking like they will soon be eclipsed by better and brighter things if they don't start changing their act.
Back to the Shot report: is it just me, or were the only exciting lights at that show from HDS and Surefire? It seems like most everything else covered is some rebranding of a Chinese light or an overhaul of an existing product. The knives and multitools captured my interest far more this year- that Kershaw NRG looks awesome, as does the new lightweight multitool that Leatherman was showing.