BuddTX
Flashlight Enthusiast
ARC LS Second vs. Lambda Illuminator! And the winner is . . .
Well, not so fast! Let's meet the players and discuss their background!
Before I go any further, let's set up abbreviations, and look at a really great product that has no equal (in my opinion!)
Lambda Illuminator (LI)
Arc LS Second (ALS2)
This is not part of the contest; this could be like the opening match or whatever! The really, way cool, light has to be the ALS2 with the 123 battery pack. Holding that light, cupped in your hand, you almost feel like a super hero, emanating light out of your hand, as if you were some superhero with the power of creating light! Either that, or you feel like you are in Star Trek, where you hold this tiny light in your hand, and this incredible amount of light comes out if it!
Ok, that said, let's get on to the MAIN EVENT!
First of all, the question has to be asked, is it "fair" to compare these two products?
In a way it is, and in a way, it isn't. These two lights are probably the only two "2 AA" Luxeon LED flashlights around (If there are others, I don't know about them!). This is why it is a natural to compare these two great lights. They both have DC to DC converters and voltage regulation that allow more power to be sucked out of existing batteries, and allow constant brightness over the life of the battery.
However, there are differences. And these differences almost put these two lights on different playing fields, even though they are similar lights. One is a handmade, hand tweaked, light, modified to fit in the body of an existing light, made at home by a zealous hobbyist, the other is a light made my a perfectionist high end flashlight company, and this light, for whatever reason, does not meet his standards for a "First Quality" light. (I can only imagine what the "firsts' must be like!"
Before I go any further, I want to say that I respect both parties, and I look forward to buying more lights from each person.
OK, Lets meet the contestants!
Arc LS Second (ALS2) – This is the light that I couldn't buy! Every salesperson knows the sales technique of telling a perspective buyer that "he can't buy something". Want to get a buyer mad, tell them that they can't have a particular model. Lots of reasons will work, it is for our biggest customer, it was brought in for one person, it sold so well that it is out of stock, you get the idea. Now the buyer wants something that he cannot have. Well this worked with me, even though I knew what was happening, and I new that the scarcity of the ARC LS was real. Ever since I started reading posts on CPF, I have been reading abut the ARC LS. People were raving about this light, and man, I wanted one. It seemed like there were zillions of posts about ARC products! Who wouldn't want one? However, there was never an opportunity to purchase one. They were always sold out, or filling back orders, or waiting for more high quality Luxeon Star LED's or whatever, but they weren't available, every time I checked.
And Strictly speaking, I STILL do not own an ARC LS. I own an ALS2. A "Second". A product that did not meet the exacting standards of ARC to be considered a FIRST. After ARC started selling "seconds", and other people purchased them, the reviews were very positive. Most of the comments were things like "I can't believe this is a second", and people noticed minor color variations on the beam or color differences on different "pack sizes". The ALS2 comes with 3 different battery compartments, a "123a Lithium pack", a "2 AA pack" and a "1 AA pack". If you are new to this forum, go to the ARC forum, and read the countless number of posts about the ARC lights and the ARC Company for many many more details about ARC and the ARC lights!
Lambda Illuminator (LI)
The light that was brighter than the Arc LS! (As posted on a thread on CPF, anyway).
The light that I could "maybe" buy, if I was one of the lucky ones to get my order in early enough!
I can't find the post now, (I did many searches!) but I believe "The LED Museum" called this light "This Insanely bright light", and it was posted that the measured output of this light was about twice the MCD as the Arc LS, based on mcd measurements, not visual observation. Lambda makes these lights at home, in his spare time, using the existing body of a Brinkmann Legend AA body. Again, reviews on the first batch of lights, got very favorable reviews on CPF. A light twice as bright as the ALS2? I can't believe it!
AND THEIR OFF!!
The first LS that I purchased was the LI. I was one of the "lucky ones" to get my order in for the limited sale of his third batch of lights. It came, via registered mail, on a Wednesday, and as I was at work, I was not able to sign for it, so I had to wait until Saturday to pick up the light. It was like Christmas Eve for two and a half days, waiting to pick up my light. Now the first thing I did (at 1:00 pm on a sunny day in Houston outside of the post office) was turn on the light. WOW WAS IT BRIGHT! OK, it wasn't that bright, it is rather hard to beat the sun for brightness, in Houston, at noon, on a clear day (Duh!) But I was convinced that it was going to be bright. Yes, I went home and tried it in my dark rooms, in the bathroom and in the closet, but the full impact of the light did not hit me until it was dark, and I took my light outside. OK, right now, you are probably saying, "Duh, wait until it is dark, dummy!" So I did. But it really WAS bright. Blows away my other LED lights. My other LED lights, included an Inova X5 and 3 Princeton Tec Attitudes that I have attached to my dog leash, and of course, my ARC AAA. I thought my 3 P/T Attitudes and the Inova X5 combined would have been competition, but it really wasn't! The 4 lights combined put out some light, and was bright, but that is 4 lights, or 14 Nichia LED's. And while bright, it still did not match the light of my LI.
I went hiking one day, and met another person who showed me some new trails, and we hiked for over 2 hours, and it turned out that he was a Police Officer, and as we hiked longer than we planned, it got dark, and I pulled out my LI, and he was impressed with the light.
Now comes the ALS2. What can I say about the ARC LS and the ALS2 that haven't been already said? There must be megabytes of posts written about the ARC products. Receiving my ALS2 was like a milestone for me! All I need now is a SureFire and maybe a Streamlight rechargeable, and my flashlight collection is complete (until someone comes out with a new model!)
What was I expecting with the ALS2? I was fully expecting the ALS2 to be about half as bright as the LI. After all, that was what was posted on CPF. (Again, I wish I could find the post, but I swear I saw this!)
First of all, I tried the 123a pack. (Yes I waited until it was dark!) This was soo cool, to have such a bright light in such a small package. But wait a minute? This little guy seemed pretty bright! It seemed to me to be about as bright as the LI. What's up with that?
To compare the two lights, I thought it only fair to compare 2AA to 2AA, as the LI is only available in the 2AA operation. So, I put some AA batteries in the ALS2, and compared, it to my LI, and the ALS2 was much much brighter. How could that be, the ALS2 is brighter than the LI? But wait, then I realized that I still had the original set of batteries in my LI, and I had used it for a couple of weeks. I was about to put fresh batteries in the LI, and start my comparisons, but then I stopped. I wanted to compare Apples to Apples. That is only fair!
So, I went to the hardware store and purchased a 4 pack of Energizer Lithium AA batteries with a "use before" date of 2011. (I paid 9.99 for the 4 pack in case anyone was interested). This was not the Titanium batteries, but the true Lithium. (As an aside, the Ray-O-vac maximum batteries are a favorite here at CPF. Long lasting, powerful and cheap, go to the battery forum and read about it).
AND THE WINNER IS . . .
I put 2 fresh, completely unused, Lithium batteries (from the same pack) in each light. I turned each on, and was surprised and glad of the results that I saw.
There were differences in the two beams, but both lights put out a nice, high quality light. Either one could be substituted for the other one in any given situation. To me, it appeared that both lights put out ABOUT the same brightness. That was a nice surprise for me, as I didn't want either light to be "superior" to the other. Kind of like when 4 year olds play T-ball. EVERYONE'S A WINNER!
But there are differences.
The two lights are not the same, but they are, in my opinion, equivalent. To borrow an analogy from another hobby of mine, Audio, Stereos, Home Entertainment, whatever you want to call it, when comparing two different speaker systems. If you have done your research, and have your speaker selection narrowed down to 2 or 3 high quality systems, while there are differences, they are all fine quality speakers. Like comparing Polk, B&W and KEF speakers of the same price range. One might prefer one to another, but if you were to buy any the three brands, sight unseen (or unheard), and took them home, you would be happy with the sound of them. Not to say there are not differences, but all three would probably be acceptable.
Light Color.
The LI seemed to be a whiter, and slightly a little blue-er than the ALS2. But not blue as in a Blue LED, Blue as in the slightly blue "super bright white" color that we have come to expect from a high quality LED light. The ALS2 had a slightly green light, compared to the LI. But I keep reading here about the "puke green" color of some Luxeon Star LED's. This was not that color. If I had to give it a name, I would say that there was "HINT OF SPEARMENT BLUSH" color added to a white LED color. If I did not have the two to compare, I think the green would not even be noticeable. Now I have read also that the turquoise is supposed to be the brightest LED color out there, so this might actually be a benefit. So which one is better? I think a tie! Different but equivalent!
Beam Quality
The LI seemed to have a more intense "hot spot", whereas the ALS2 seemed to have a wider hot spot. This might be where the measured difference between the ALS2 and the LI might have been measured. We all know that, all other things being equal, a narrower beam will measure more CP than a wider beam. To say that a narrow beam with a brighter hot spot is better or worse than a wider beam with a "not as intense" hot spot is not a fair statement. We all know that sometimes a wide beam is preferred; sometimes a tight, narrow beam is preferred. So again, a tie. Different, yet equivalent!
Physical light
This is purely a personal preference. I have read people that prefer tailcaps to twist-on's, and vice versa. I happen to prefer a tailcap to a twist-on. I think that Brightnorm first discovered this, (someone correct me if I am wrong) but there is an "undocumented feature" of the ALS2 where you twist the ALS2 just to the off position, and grab the light as if it had a tailcap with your pinky and maybe your ring finger wrapped around the bezel, and your thumb on the butt of the light. Using your thumb to compress the ALS2, it now operates as a momentary on "mock tail-cap". The ALS2 is also about an inch and a half shorter than the LI. The ALS2 appears to me, in my untrained, and unprofessional opinion as a "military grade" light. That is meant in a positive way. HA3 coating, simple (read less parts to break) twist on operation. The physical Brinkmann Legend AA is a very nice light. Stainless Steel (or at least shiny metal) with rubber cover, with a nice, "hard" tailcap with lockout position.
Which one is better? You decide, as it is your preference. I have a nite-ize flashlight holder that attaches onto a belt and pivots to be vertical or horizontal, and I will put the ALS2 in the holder, and the LI will be in my hand. When walking at night, the ALS2 be turned on and mounted in the belt, the LI in my palm. Lambda went to great lengths to make sure that the heat sinking properties worked well with the LI, and the ALS2 was designed from the ground up to work with the Luxeon Star LED. Again, a tie. Different, but equivalent!
Summary
OK, I am tired of writing! Quite simply, Different, yet equalivent. I think I said it all! Now I do want to remind you, that my observations were based on observation on one light of each. To be totally fair, one would need many different samples of each light, and make sure that the samples of the light equaled each other.
OK, I am going to go see Star Wars now!
(Gosh, does this belong in the ARC forum, the Mod forum, or the LED forum? I'll put it in the LED forum!
Well, not so fast! Let's meet the players and discuss their background!
Before I go any further, let's set up abbreviations, and look at a really great product that has no equal (in my opinion!)
Lambda Illuminator (LI)
Arc LS Second (ALS2)
This is not part of the contest; this could be like the opening match or whatever! The really, way cool, light has to be the ALS2 with the 123 battery pack. Holding that light, cupped in your hand, you almost feel like a super hero, emanating light out of your hand, as if you were some superhero with the power of creating light! Either that, or you feel like you are in Star Trek, where you hold this tiny light in your hand, and this incredible amount of light comes out if it!
Ok, that said, let's get on to the MAIN EVENT!
First of all, the question has to be asked, is it "fair" to compare these two products?
In a way it is, and in a way, it isn't. These two lights are probably the only two "2 AA" Luxeon LED flashlights around (If there are others, I don't know about them!). This is why it is a natural to compare these two great lights. They both have DC to DC converters and voltage regulation that allow more power to be sucked out of existing batteries, and allow constant brightness over the life of the battery.
However, there are differences. And these differences almost put these two lights on different playing fields, even though they are similar lights. One is a handmade, hand tweaked, light, modified to fit in the body of an existing light, made at home by a zealous hobbyist, the other is a light made my a perfectionist high end flashlight company, and this light, for whatever reason, does not meet his standards for a "First Quality" light. (I can only imagine what the "firsts' must be like!"
Before I go any further, I want to say that I respect both parties, and I look forward to buying more lights from each person.
OK, Lets meet the contestants!
Arc LS Second (ALS2) – This is the light that I couldn't buy! Every salesperson knows the sales technique of telling a perspective buyer that "he can't buy something". Want to get a buyer mad, tell them that they can't have a particular model. Lots of reasons will work, it is for our biggest customer, it was brought in for one person, it sold so well that it is out of stock, you get the idea. Now the buyer wants something that he cannot have. Well this worked with me, even though I knew what was happening, and I new that the scarcity of the ARC LS was real. Ever since I started reading posts on CPF, I have been reading abut the ARC LS. People were raving about this light, and man, I wanted one. It seemed like there were zillions of posts about ARC products! Who wouldn't want one? However, there was never an opportunity to purchase one. They were always sold out, or filling back orders, or waiting for more high quality Luxeon Star LED's or whatever, but they weren't available, every time I checked.
And Strictly speaking, I STILL do not own an ARC LS. I own an ALS2. A "Second". A product that did not meet the exacting standards of ARC to be considered a FIRST. After ARC started selling "seconds", and other people purchased them, the reviews were very positive. Most of the comments were things like "I can't believe this is a second", and people noticed minor color variations on the beam or color differences on different "pack sizes". The ALS2 comes with 3 different battery compartments, a "123a Lithium pack", a "2 AA pack" and a "1 AA pack". If you are new to this forum, go to the ARC forum, and read the countless number of posts about the ARC lights and the ARC Company for many many more details about ARC and the ARC lights!
Lambda Illuminator (LI)
The light that was brighter than the Arc LS! (As posted on a thread on CPF, anyway).
The light that I could "maybe" buy, if I was one of the lucky ones to get my order in early enough!
I can't find the post now, (I did many searches!) but I believe "The LED Museum" called this light "This Insanely bright light", and it was posted that the measured output of this light was about twice the MCD as the Arc LS, based on mcd measurements, not visual observation. Lambda makes these lights at home, in his spare time, using the existing body of a Brinkmann Legend AA body. Again, reviews on the first batch of lights, got very favorable reviews on CPF. A light twice as bright as the ALS2? I can't believe it!
AND THEIR OFF!!
The first LS that I purchased was the LI. I was one of the "lucky ones" to get my order in for the limited sale of his third batch of lights. It came, via registered mail, on a Wednesday, and as I was at work, I was not able to sign for it, so I had to wait until Saturday to pick up the light. It was like Christmas Eve for two and a half days, waiting to pick up my light. Now the first thing I did (at 1:00 pm on a sunny day in Houston outside of the post office) was turn on the light. WOW WAS IT BRIGHT! OK, it wasn't that bright, it is rather hard to beat the sun for brightness, in Houston, at noon, on a clear day (Duh!) But I was convinced that it was going to be bright. Yes, I went home and tried it in my dark rooms, in the bathroom and in the closet, but the full impact of the light did not hit me until it was dark, and I took my light outside. OK, right now, you are probably saying, "Duh, wait until it is dark, dummy!" So I did. But it really WAS bright. Blows away my other LED lights. My other LED lights, included an Inova X5 and 3 Princeton Tec Attitudes that I have attached to my dog leash, and of course, my ARC AAA. I thought my 3 P/T Attitudes and the Inova X5 combined would have been competition, but it really wasn't! The 4 lights combined put out some light, and was bright, but that is 4 lights, or 14 Nichia LED's. And while bright, it still did not match the light of my LI.
I went hiking one day, and met another person who showed me some new trails, and we hiked for over 2 hours, and it turned out that he was a Police Officer, and as we hiked longer than we planned, it got dark, and I pulled out my LI, and he was impressed with the light.
Now comes the ALS2. What can I say about the ARC LS and the ALS2 that haven't been already said? There must be megabytes of posts written about the ARC products. Receiving my ALS2 was like a milestone for me! All I need now is a SureFire and maybe a Streamlight rechargeable, and my flashlight collection is complete (until someone comes out with a new model!)
What was I expecting with the ALS2? I was fully expecting the ALS2 to be about half as bright as the LI. After all, that was what was posted on CPF. (Again, I wish I could find the post, but I swear I saw this!)
First of all, I tried the 123a pack. (Yes I waited until it was dark!) This was soo cool, to have such a bright light in such a small package. But wait a minute? This little guy seemed pretty bright! It seemed to me to be about as bright as the LI. What's up with that?
To compare the two lights, I thought it only fair to compare 2AA to 2AA, as the LI is only available in the 2AA operation. So, I put some AA batteries in the ALS2, and compared, it to my LI, and the ALS2 was much much brighter. How could that be, the ALS2 is brighter than the LI? But wait, then I realized that I still had the original set of batteries in my LI, and I had used it for a couple of weeks. I was about to put fresh batteries in the LI, and start my comparisons, but then I stopped. I wanted to compare Apples to Apples. That is only fair!
So, I went to the hardware store and purchased a 4 pack of Energizer Lithium AA batteries with a "use before" date of 2011. (I paid 9.99 for the 4 pack in case anyone was interested). This was not the Titanium batteries, but the true Lithium. (As an aside, the Ray-O-vac maximum batteries are a favorite here at CPF. Long lasting, powerful and cheap, go to the battery forum and read about it).
AND THE WINNER IS . . .
I put 2 fresh, completely unused, Lithium batteries (from the same pack) in each light. I turned each on, and was surprised and glad of the results that I saw.
There were differences in the two beams, but both lights put out a nice, high quality light. Either one could be substituted for the other one in any given situation. To me, it appeared that both lights put out ABOUT the same brightness. That was a nice surprise for me, as I didn't want either light to be "superior" to the other. Kind of like when 4 year olds play T-ball. EVERYONE'S A WINNER!
But there are differences.
The two lights are not the same, but they are, in my opinion, equivalent. To borrow an analogy from another hobby of mine, Audio, Stereos, Home Entertainment, whatever you want to call it, when comparing two different speaker systems. If you have done your research, and have your speaker selection narrowed down to 2 or 3 high quality systems, while there are differences, they are all fine quality speakers. Like comparing Polk, B&W and KEF speakers of the same price range. One might prefer one to another, but if you were to buy any the three brands, sight unseen (or unheard), and took them home, you would be happy with the sound of them. Not to say there are not differences, but all three would probably be acceptable.
Light Color.
The LI seemed to be a whiter, and slightly a little blue-er than the ALS2. But not blue as in a Blue LED, Blue as in the slightly blue "super bright white" color that we have come to expect from a high quality LED light. The ALS2 had a slightly green light, compared to the LI. But I keep reading here about the "puke green" color of some Luxeon Star LED's. This was not that color. If I had to give it a name, I would say that there was "HINT OF SPEARMENT BLUSH" color added to a white LED color. If I did not have the two to compare, I think the green would not even be noticeable. Now I have read also that the turquoise is supposed to be the brightest LED color out there, so this might actually be a benefit. So which one is better? I think a tie! Different but equivalent!
Beam Quality
The LI seemed to have a more intense "hot spot", whereas the ALS2 seemed to have a wider hot spot. This might be where the measured difference between the ALS2 and the LI might have been measured. We all know that, all other things being equal, a narrower beam will measure more CP than a wider beam. To say that a narrow beam with a brighter hot spot is better or worse than a wider beam with a "not as intense" hot spot is not a fair statement. We all know that sometimes a wide beam is preferred; sometimes a tight, narrow beam is preferred. So again, a tie. Different, yet equivalent!
Physical light
This is purely a personal preference. I have read people that prefer tailcaps to twist-on's, and vice versa. I happen to prefer a tailcap to a twist-on. I think that Brightnorm first discovered this, (someone correct me if I am wrong) but there is an "undocumented feature" of the ALS2 where you twist the ALS2 just to the off position, and grab the light as if it had a tailcap with your pinky and maybe your ring finger wrapped around the bezel, and your thumb on the butt of the light. Using your thumb to compress the ALS2, it now operates as a momentary on "mock tail-cap". The ALS2 is also about an inch and a half shorter than the LI. The ALS2 appears to me, in my untrained, and unprofessional opinion as a "military grade" light. That is meant in a positive way. HA3 coating, simple (read less parts to break) twist on operation. The physical Brinkmann Legend AA is a very nice light. Stainless Steel (or at least shiny metal) with rubber cover, with a nice, "hard" tailcap with lockout position.
Which one is better? You decide, as it is your preference. I have a nite-ize flashlight holder that attaches onto a belt and pivots to be vertical or horizontal, and I will put the ALS2 in the holder, and the LI will be in my hand. When walking at night, the ALS2 be turned on and mounted in the belt, the LI in my palm. Lambda went to great lengths to make sure that the heat sinking properties worked well with the LI, and the ALS2 was designed from the ground up to work with the Luxeon Star LED. Again, a tie. Different, but equivalent!
Summary
OK, I am tired of writing! Quite simply, Different, yet equalivent. I think I said it all! Now I do want to remind you, that my observations were based on observation on one light of each. To be totally fair, one would need many different samples of each light, and make sure that the samples of the light equaled each other.
OK, I am going to go see Star Wars now!
(Gosh, does this belong in the ARC forum, the Mod forum, or the LED forum? I'll put it in the LED forum!
