Any "Proud" Incandescent users out there?

[entoptics]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

I'll not be buying another in the foreseeable future, but I'm proud of the use my incandescents are getting.

1) 3D Maglite recently resurrected with eneloop AA adapters (nice steady 2.7 hour runtime with a rapid drop off). It's red and my wife wants it for her bedside. Eneloops saved the day.

2) 3 two AA minimags in the hands of my two nephews (5 and 7) and a friend's son (4). They friggin love em. Yesterday during a rare visit (camping), the 5 year old brought me his with a depressed look on his face. 3 months since I gave it to him and it was "broken"...he was mesmerized when I showed him how to "magically" make it work by replacing the batteries and bulb.

To be honest though. I'm hoping that in a year or two I'll be discussing the merits of LEDs with them.

:devil:

 

[ebow86]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

Mark, what I've always wanted is a lamp for the surefire M series that offered runtime on primaries longer than the 60 minute lamps avialable from surefire. Something that runs along the lines of 2hrs or so, at the sacrafice of some output of course. I'm sure it's a little late in the game to consider manufacturing something like that but if you ever did I can gurantee you atleast one customer:twothumbs

 

[Dark Laser]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

I'm proud to use, and enjoy using, full-size Maglites in stock form.

Well, I like to use stock MiniMags. But I just cannot stop myself modding the bigger ones :shakehead
Even though it was admittedly a bit hard for me to mod my stock 4D to MC-E - I actually liked the thing as it was before (but now even more)
Yes, flashlights have feelings, too

 

[lctorana]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

Well, I like to use stock MiniMags. But I just cannot stop myself modding the bigger ones :shakehead
Even though it was admittedly a bit hard for me to mod my stock 4D to MC-E - I actually liked the thing as it was before (but now even more)

Yup, I do that.

I get a stock Maglite, and quite happily use it.

Then I get the urge, and start tinkering.

Then I decide I'm missing a stock Maglite in that size in my life, so the cycle continues.

 

[ampdude]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

Maglites in stock form? Ewwww.. Okay now you guys are taking it too far. I used to alternate between a 2D and 2C Mag to spot addresses at night because they have decent throw, but wouldn't light up people's houses.

I actually don't have any Maglites anymore. I gave my last Minimag away awhile back. I still have a 2D plastic Rayovac that I use occasionally though. I might have a non-functional Solitaire laying around here somewhere if I looked for it.. Actually a 4D M@g does put out some decent light with the Magnumstar bulb, but a lantern light is better as it is smaller, lighter and has a bigger reflector for more throw.

Not to mention F cells have more capacity than 4 D's.

 

[alpg88]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

just yesterday finished my latest hotwire, 4c rop high, 6x4\5 sub c, bifocal reflector.
i'm very happy with result, very similar to my mag85.
now for mag's 85 4d dualborred body i tried to build protected holder, i use 6 18650, 3s2p should be enough for 1,5-2 hours.
entire Sunday i spend on it, but it was a bust, i had fundamental flaw in my design that i only found out about after all glue dried, carbon fiber is conductive, has very high resistance, poor conductor, but still, a conductor, i was not even considering it, was absolutely sure it would be an insulator, my pcb was tripping all the time.
well, s..t happens, back to the drawing board.

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

Good post but I have to respectfully disagree with your statement about small incandescents being too weak to be truly useful in a practical way with very short battery light. The 2 cell surefire incans produce a very useful amount of light and usually produce a solid hour of runtime. I really think it unfair to consider small incandescents unuseful because it simply isn't true. I believe that under alot of situations the E1E, which is only rated at 15 lumens, will provide sufficent light for mosk tasks, and in most cases that light will be superior to an small single cell led that's putting out twice the lumens.

Alot of people think the only incan's worth looking at are either the high output 250 lumen+ surefire's or the blazing 2000 lumen hotwire's, but I think small incandescents difinetly have their place and usefulness. Hell, I'll take a 6P with p60 anyday over some 12 mode, blinking, sos, 250lumen OTF 10hr runtime LED anyday, because the quality of light from that glowing filament is so much better.

I can appreciate the first part of your arguement and I think my e-series collection alone demonstrates a love for those little lights.

But, I don't think it fair to stereotype people into "just thinking incans are for 2000lumen jobs". That just shows a bias in opinion. Everyone's likes and dislikes will be somewhat different. I don't get on the LED forums and bash everyone for liking those good awful blueish 5700K and higher LEDs which make everything look like Dawn of the Dead to me.

Personally I started with all LED lights, then went to almost all incan lights big and small, and have slowly come back to smaller LEDs and larger incan lights. The more I progress as a flashaholic the more my tastes refine. Like I stated - the A2 is a great light.

I am proud to have run the E1e and the E2e in every possible configuration from 15 lumens all the way up to the IMR-E2 bulb (haven't run a FM strion and don't plan to) but these little lights are not "practically" useful "for me" with that type of brightness as runs over 2-3 minutes get very hot.

I am also proud to have a few LED lights right now, but only warm ones with higher CRI levels which compares outdoors with equivalent color rendition and depth of field. There are many times when the E1e and the E2e would be great lights to have, but "for me" having a 6P with a 3-level SST-90 (which may be more yellow than most incan and an 18650 battery means that I can run for almost 4 hours on Medium (around 150-200 lum) flash up to >500 lumens for about 45-50 minutes if needed and drop down to ~50 lumens for 8-10 hours. The XP-G 3000K is also a very pleasing LED and very comparable to incan as well. This warm XP-G LED may even have the best spot/flood combo out there. This to me makes the LED options more practical than the incan equivalent - just my opinion.

So when I go outdoors for walks I always bring a big incan, with a multi-level Softstart as my primary. But I also have a very viable LED as a backup.

Neither my personal preference towards big or small incans nor my desire to use a LED light, changes in anyway my pride in appreciating what a hot wire can do and owning some great incan lights.

 

[Icebreak]

Re: Any "Proud" Incandescent user's out there?

Some people like two.

I'll take two also please.

island tree

45 50 yds

I don't know where you flashlight guys might find a spare tube laying around but find the hottest spot and
place the tube over it and watch the show. The lux on these light is almost identical. My apologies if my
tires are wider on the incan but that's how I roll.

Don't know how Monika the Tornado got in here. Apologies for the OT.

All incan. The blues are gel incan.

Give a girl a hand. They love incand.

 

[bouncer]

I started out as an incan guy then moved on to led for reliability and not having to replace bulbs. I soon realized something was missing. While I'll never get rid of the led lights I have I love my incandescent and as far as new lights it's incan all the way.

 

[325addict]

I read this thread with an ever increasing grin on my face

It all started with an orange Sonca 2C incan flashlight for me when I was a little boy, and it will end the incan way for me too... incans for life

The same feeling I had during my holidays in France: when it was pitch dark on the campsite, I took my M6 with 2X 18650 and WA1274 in it, and I lit all the road, just till the end!
When back in my tent, I swapped the M6 for the E1E with LF 50 Lumen bulb and AW protected 16340, and voila, an ideal tent illumination.

I use incans all the time. I just LOVE the light they provide, I just can't stand that pale blueish LED-light. Yeah, I know that warm whites are available now, and I bought a few actually. They are fine, but they are just not as satisfying as a real incan!

I use the E1E with LF 50 Lumen lamp as an EDC regularly,

I use the C2 Centurion with P90 and 2X AW protected 16340s nearly everyday at work, the short runtime of just 30 minutes I can overcome with regular top-off charges. Sometimes I put in the special D26 module LF made for me (8V / 500mA).

I have been a firm user of the C3 Centurion with P90 since more than a year. I like it very, very much due to the excellent combination of acceptable size and acceptable run time. Oh, yes and it gives wonderful light

I also use Mags in standard- and in modded form. A 2D with 6X AA adapter and Mag Num star 5D lamp in it is a real pleasure to work with, but a 3D with 3-cell Mag Num star lamp is not bad too! Add three 8Ah LSD D cells and you have a long, long running (9 hours!) fine incan.
BUT, the finest Mag I have comes - you can guess - from FiveMega! I bought one of his "2.5D" Mags, I just put a 6D Mag Num Star in it and a MOP reflector from Litho123, I loaded four AW 18650-2600s and see how this one really shines - no bat wing effects, no beam artifacts - just a smooth, bright, VERY long lasting (6 hours!) beam...
To complete the Mag collection, I have 3 MagChargers and a lot of 2AA incans, 2AAA incans and even Solitaires.

I always have the SF M6 at hand, with a very, very large selection of bulbs, ranging from a 6V / 0,64A lamp (WA1336) to WA1185. I mainly use 2-cell lamps in this one, and...

I also have the 3X 18650 Megalennium, in which I use all other (3-cell) lamps, including the very hot FM1909 :devil:

@ Mark: as you see, I'm not the only crazy one who asks for LESS output
I use the M6 regularly with a Fivemega MN-bi pin adapter with a WA1336 lamp in it. Overdriven to 7.4V it will draw around 0.72 Amps, and will live for 40 hours. It will provide over 100 bulb-lumens. Runtime is in excess of 3 hours with two of those fine AW 18650-2600 batteries!
Unfortunately, WA discontinued the WA1336. I was just able to lay my hands on 20 of them - coming all the way from Australia!

I also have several Wolf Eyes incans. These cannot be recommended enough, as they are just plain excellent! No matter if you look at the Eagle-3 (with adjustable focus like a Mag!) or the M90 Rattlesnake - preferably with LED-tailcap - or the M300 Lion (again, with adjustable focus...), I just like them very much! I personally think, WE incans are much underrated. They don't get the attention they deserve. Designed from the ground up for use with the larger Li-ion batteries (18500 and 18650) they have decent output AND decent runtimes! Especially the 3X 18650 holder in the M300 Lion, that is interchangeable with numerous LED- and HID light from WE, makes this system a winner. Have some holders with fresh batteries at hand, and change them in no-time.

I modded a Surefire A2 Aviator with REAL warm white LEDs that very, very good match the color of the incan. Now, even with only the LEDs turned on, it's a pleasure to use, it will keep on shining for up to 9 hours on 2X AW IMR 16340 as I also changed the resistors.

Concerning LED flashlights: I have about 10 serious LED flashlights. Some see more use than others, but not ANY of them is even remotely used as much as any of the incans mentioned above.
ONE thing must be said: I really ALWAYS carry a Fenix LD01 with me. This one has become my true EDC, just due to the size. Except for the Solitaire, I didn't find an incan flashlight of this size. But... a little more output than the Solitaire delivers would be welcome

I could go on and on and on, but... this is enough I think :wave:

Timmo.

 

[LuxLuthor]

Some great posts and pix.