Coleman Max ROCKS!!!

[LedLad]

Just got a Coleman Max light at Wallyworld today at ~$26.
The package says 115 lumens but I gotta say that after testing it out tonight it seems only maybe 10-15% less bright than my Fenix T1 on turbo. The Max has great throw and lights up trees pretty well at 150-200 ft. and a good amount of sidespill and the two colored LEDs make up for no low setting. The main draw for me is that it does this with 3 AAA batteries which I can get cheaply from local sources and don't have to bother with a charger or ordering CR123s off the internet in order to get a decent price. The Max also has 2 colored (red and blue) LEDs mounted to the sides of the central whitey, and the reflector is heavy plastic with OP texture. The controls are a simple turn ring on the head which switches 3 positions, 1 for each of the colored and 1 for the white LED with the tail clicky turning it on and off and also momentary. The clicky is well recessed so the light can easily tailstand and it comes with a lanyard.
Overall build quality is good and it has a nice "hand feel" to it. 2 minor flaws are that the threads need lubed and the lens/window is plastic (which I will be correcting on mine shortly). There are brighter lights out there but this one will be EDCing with me for quite a while I think. Overall a very nice light at a decent price.

 

[VolumeRate]

three AAA batteries? so the flashlight is too long? hehe..

how's the heat thing?

 

[Marduke]

The main draw for me is that it does this with 3 AAA batteries which I can get cheaply from local sources and don't have to bother with a charger or ordering CR123s off the internet in order to get a decent price.

That's a main drawback for most CPF'ers. 3xAAA alkaline in that light will give you less than one hour runtime. The 3xAAA format in general is very poor (usually direct drive).

 

[LedLad]

three AAA batteries? so the flashlight is too long? hehe..

how's the heat thing?

Haven't done a full runtime on it but for the 10 min. or so I played with it last night it only got VERY slightly warm so I don't expect a problem.

 

[LedLad]

That's a main drawback for most CPF'ers. 3xAAA alkaline in that light will give you less than one hour runtime. The 3xAAA format in general is very poor (usually direct drive).

I don't expect major runtime but I haven't tested that yet. It's worth it for the convenience and price to me and AAAs are so small and cheap that I can carry a buttload in a small pouch so I can switch out often if necessary.

 

[darknessemitter]

That's a main drawback for most CPF'ers. 3xAAA alkaline in that light will give you less than one hour runtime. The 3xAAA format in general is very poor (usually direct drive).

You can always break the rules and risk overheating the light by using nimh cells I know this is generally a bad idea with a direct drive light, but some lights may tolerate it better than others. If it's not your primary light and you only use it for brief periods of time, it should be ok. A lot of 3xAAA lights are good throwers due to a larger and deeper reflector.

It would be nice though if they made some 1xC cell lights; roughly the same form factor but not direct drive....

 

[Soltekmike]

Yeah I just bought one of these. It's my first really bright led flashlight I own. I have one of the 3watt minimags but it falls on it's face compared to this thing. I acutally purchased the model that has only has the one cree led. I wanted the brightest one they offer. On the packaging the single led model says the beam will reach 88meters compared to like 55-60 for the three led version. I am assuming it's due to the more efficient reflector design and what looks to be a better focal point. I only wish it had a hi/low setting. I am sure the battery life is going to pretty bad.