Boxer 24W vs. Microfire Warrior 2 and 3

[Wolf-Eyes fan]

Hi,

How would the big Boxer compare to the Microfire Warrior 2 and 3?
Which one has the longest throw?
What about the quality of the light?

 

[Patriot]

This is a pretty tuff comparison because they're so close.

I prefer the machining and finish a little bit better on the Microfires. The cuts are sharper and the finish is smoother making it hard to hide imperfections. The Microfire's seem to have a slightly more reflective orange peel reflectors whereas the Boxer's texture is more frosty. If everything else is equal the Mircrofire should throw a little bit farther. There is also the issue of the reflector lottery with the Mircrofire with three unique styles that have been noted, Frosty OP, Shiny OP and Relative smooth. It's not truly "smooth" it's just been finely machined and then had the reflective coating applied. Up close or with a magnifying you can see that it slightly rough yet much smoother than the other two options. This difference is mainly noted among the K3500 which will out throw either 24W light. Here is a poor quality picture of mine but you can still see the machining markes:

I don't mind that it's not super smooth because the spill light is more blended and useful for more tasks.

There were more initial problems associated with the Microfire lights than the Boxer at its release. Last time I spoke to Mike at PTS the Boxer had a return rate of 2 per 100 but it's probably even less than that now. If I remember correctly there were many more Microfire failures and that's why I went with the Boxer24 at the time.

I've since sold the Boxer but it was a very nice light. I currently own the K3500 and it's also very nice. My use time with the K3500 has long surpassed the time that I ran the Boxer and it's still going strong on the original battery. My personal feeling, from ownership and info from other K3500 owners is that Microfire has probably closed the quality gap to Wolf-Eyes some over the past 8 months.

I think either light is good in the 24w class but the Boxer uses conventional 168 / 18650 batteries which is a nice feature. The Boxer also doesn't have holes going around the head and will probably stay more clean.

If you need outright throw and performance the K3500 will out perform the 24W lights at the sacrifice of length and a little more weight. If that's not a big deal to you, possibly consider it. I get a lot of use from mine.

I can't comment on color temperature for the K2000 but the Boxer24W seems ever so slightly warmer than the very blue K3500. From looking at past pictures, the K2000 and Boxer24W appear to have the same bulb but I'm not positive if that's really the case.

In short, get the one that appeals to you the most or is the best price. The lights are close to equal in my experience.

 

[Patriot]

Did you rule out the Xenide discussed in this thread?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=193675

The reason I ask is that I still like it better than either Microfire or Boxer.

 

[Wolf-Eyes fan]

Hi Patriot,

No i haven´t ruled it out completely. I just think that the 25W is too big. I have a really tough time to choose between the 20W Xenide, the 24W Boxer and the Microfire k3500.
I will both use it for throw and just to walk with.
What about the kelvin rating? Which one are lowest? What are the colors compared to a Dereelight?
Which one will have the best throw of these lights?
What about the overall output? Which one are measured in bulb lumens and which one are measured in torch lumens?
What about the spill? Are the Xenide 20W only suitable for long distances?
What about the overall quality?

Thanks in advance
Marcus

 

[Wolf-Eyes fan]

Hi again,

My choice now stands between the Boxer 24w and the Microfire Warrior 35w. I have now ruled out the 20w Xenide because it´s too big, and i can´t have it in a pocket.
I still haven´t got all my questions answered:
Does Wolf-eyes and Microfire measure their lights in bulb or torch lumens?
Would you be able to see a big difference in color from these lights? (What if you compared the DBS with these lights?)
Which light would have the biggest hotspot at example 200 yards away.
Which light would have the biggest spill beam?
How much longer would the Microfire throw?
What about the overall quality?

 

[Patriot]

Hi again,

My choice now stands between the Boxer 24w and the Microfire Warrior 35w. I have now ruled out the 20w Xenide because it´s too big, and i can´t have it in a pocket.
I still haven´t got all my questions answered:
Does Wolf-eyes and Microfire measure their lights in bulb or torch lumens?
Would you be able to see a big difference in color from these lights? (What if you compared the DBS with these lights?)
Which light would have the biggest hotspot at example 200 yards away.
Which light would have the biggest spill beam?
How much longer would the Microfire throw?
What about the overall quality?

1) they measure in bulb lumens

2) Not really, they are close but the Boxer might be slightly warmer to an experienced eye. It depends on the DBS emitter the newest emitters Q5, and R2 are warmer than these two lights. Some of the early emitters were very purple.

3) K3500 will because it's more powerful, but larger in size too.

4) the K3500 for the same reasons

5) the K3500 will throw farther given the same reflector. The Boxer never came with a smooth reflector while some of the K3500s did. Since there is no exact cut off point where the light stops traveling it's difficult to say. A rough estimate would be 10-20% farther with similar reflectors...

6) It used to be that WE seemed to have a quality advantage in every area. Within the past 4-6 months it seems like Microfire closed the gap some. In the area of machining, and finish the Microfire might be a little bit better. The black looks smoother and more uniform to me. Mike at PTS said that the return rate for the Boxer was very low...probably less than 2%. It might have a slight edge with switch and ballast quality. Additionally it takes standard 168 / 18650 batteries. That's a nice feature for someone interested in swapping out batteries in the field. The K3500's battery is large, heavy, expensive and must be charged on their charger stand for all practical purposes. 168s & 18650's charge on anything designed for them.

 

[Wolf-Eyes fan]

Thanks for all the answers patriot:twothumbs,

Can you charge both lights without screwing out the tailcap?
Can someone with both lights please take a picture to show the difference or just link to a picture comparison?
If you type microfire warrior at google on page 2 or 3, you will se a microfire comparison between the warrrior 2 (24w) and 3 (35w). Will the difference be like that?

Thanks in advance Marcus

 

[Patriot]

Marcus, both lights have to be unscrewed in order to charge them. It's no big deal although a plug in like the AE lights would be preferred.

You'll have to copy and past the link with the comparison between the two lights. I wasn't able to find it quickly.

 

[Wolf-Eyes fan]

Ok,

Kere is the the links:
3500:
http://file.shinta3.blog.shinobi.jp/IMG_3144_R.jpg
2000:
http://file.shinta3.blog.shinobi.jp/IMG_3142_R.jpg

Will the difference between the big boxer and the warrior 3500 be like this?

 

[Patriot]

Yeah, I'd say those shots are very representative of the actual difference. They appear to be taking from a tripod so I'm going to assume whoever took them used the same F-stop, shutter speed and white balance. The 3500 is 700-800 lumens more than the 2000 so it looks correct to me.

One thing that I am noticing is that the 3500 seems to have a slightly warmer beam than the 2000. I'm not sure if that's always the case though. I might just be sample variation. I always remembered my Boxer being not quite as blue as my 3500.