Coleman max vs. Pelican 2360

[jdmagic]

Hello, i am new to cpf, and fairly new to flashlights. I am trying to make a decision on which flashlight to buy. My budget is $30-$40. I have actually narrowed it down to two, and was wondering if someone can tell which is better. The first is the coleman max 3xAAA. It is aluminum, has a forward clicky tail switch, rated at 115 lumens, and a supposed runtime of six hours. Another feature that i like is the red and blue output modes. The other is the pelican 2360. Also aluminum, with the same type switch, rated at 95 lumens, with an average run time of 2.5 hours on 2xAA. I like that it is slightly thinner, but in turn is a little longer. It will probably be a lot more durable which is a plus. I actually purchased the coleman light and have been very pleased with it, but am wondering if the pelican light would be a better investment.

 

[RedForest UK]

I cant comment personally on either of those lights, although i generally advise to stay away from any 3x AAA lights as it is a very bad battery combination for size to power ratio and also they are normally run unregulated.

I advise you check out this: http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-53/Romisen-RC-dsh-N3-CREE-Q5/Detail

It runs on 2x AA's, offers 210lumen output, and should run for a couple of hours or so, all for under $25 from a very reputable seller, it really is the best way to go in my opinion :twothumbs

 

[jdmagic]

thanks for the recommendation. How can you get 210 lumens out of a 2xaa light? and for under 30 bucks? seems too good to be true, but i will pick one up

 

[joe1512]

Lumens can be a bit misleading. Sometimes they are rated as OTF (out the front), and other times its the max output of the emitter. This ASSUMES the emitter is driven at maximum, which isnt always the case.

Some simply lie like crazy. Many of the multi-5mm led lights have high lumen ratings but are crap compared to a 'real' lioght.


The key is that the lights discussed here use much more efficient emitters. That means that with 2 AA batteries (3 volts in series), at 1 amp = 3 watts of power. A bit less due to driver efficiency loss, but with emitters able to produce close to 80 lumens per watt or more, you can see that even a small battery can provide decent illumination.


My recommendation is to look at Romisen and itp lights at goinggear.com. His site makes it very easy to browse lights by manufacturer. You can likely find something for 20-30 bucks that you will like a lot more than anything you could get at walmart.


As an example, my 25 buck itp A1 uses ONE RCR123 (half the size of an AA), fits on my keychain and can crank out 200 lumens! Crazy. A light that uses CR123s is probably your best bet, since they have the highest energy density and voltage. You can get a good sized pack of them online for fairly cheap.

An alternative is to invest in rechargables, which is more of a pain.



You might even consider one of Romisen's flood-to-throw lights. Didnt see it on shiningbeam, but check out...
http://goinggear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_48&products_id=426

Romisen RC-C6 Focusable Q5 LED Flashlight. It says 180 lumens, but this is likely exaggerated. More like 120 for real. That said, the ability to go from a wide flood beam to almost pure throw (narrow beam) is really cool and makes the light a lot more useful.

 

[jdmagic]

thanks again for the help. I just ordered an rc-n3 q5. I also ordered some different colored tailcap switch covers, and was wondering if there is a trick to changing these, or do they just kinda pop out?

 

[Benson]

As an example, my 25 buck itp A1 uses ONE RCR123 (half the size of an AA),

Please. :shakehead
At best, you can claim it's 2/3 the size, by looking at length (35mm vs. 50mm) and claiming the larger diameter (16mm vs 14mm) doesn't matter. Volumetrically, it's over 90% of the size -- or even a hair larger if you allow the 17mm diameter commonly required for protected rechargeables, which you pay for in light size even if you use primaries.

A light that uses CR123s is probably your best bet, since they have the highest energy density and voltage.

Again with the misinformation.
Lithium CR123A primaries have essentially the same energy density as lithium AA primaries. Lithium-ion rechargeables have essentially the same volume energy density as LSD NiMH AAs, and obviously the same volume and mass energy density as Li-ion 14500s.

Provided alkalines are disregarded in favor of high-performance batteries (rechargeable or primary), the decision between AA and CR123A is entirely one of personal preference, with no practically no objective benefit to either side; it's as simple as whether you like short fat lights or long skinny ones. And if you do include alkalines, I have a hard time seeing "AA lights will have poor performance on cheap low-performance batteries, but CR123A lights won't accept low performance cells at all!" as an argument for CR123A.

There is the voltage difference, which is crucial for incans, but we're talking LEDs and boost converters in both cases. It's not like we're moving to Li-ion or multi-cell configs allowing buck drivers -- 2xCR123 vs. 2xAA has a legitimate advantage here, but 1-cell lights much less so. The efficiency penalty for boosting from 1.5V (more or less) vs. 3V is just not that much, provided the battery can handle the higher current well.

 

[joe1512]

Geez. 2/3rds of the size then.


From what I have seen,

ALL CR123 lights are 3.0 volt and can pull an amp. Some CR123 lights can use RCR123s which are up to 4.2 volts at 1 amp draw. (up to 1.5 amp safely with no IMR).

As such, most 1xCR123 lights Ive seen can produce up to 200 lumens and provide the emitter with 3 watts. More with a RCR123 max charged.


A few AA lights CAN use the 14500 AA sized battery which is also a 4.2Volt battery. Therefore it will be just as good as the RCR123 below.

However, most people that use AA lights are using Eneloops which are 1.2 volt. Since boosting their voltage to similar levels would mean increased current draw of 2 or 3 amps , they won't be getting 3 Watts.
If using L91 primary lithiums, they DO have the energy density, but they are 1.7 volt batteries. Once again, this means they cant support 3 or 4 Watt outputs since it would strain the amp output too much.


To a certain degree, it is a stylistic choice. However, if you want an 1xAA that matches a CR123 brightness, you need to make sure the light supports a 14500 battery.

 

[alpg88]

i have coleman maxx 2xcr2. i like the light, beam is great, almost surefire quality, it is pbly very close to claimed lm number, it is bright. and size is right, thou i doubt it will run 6 hours, 1-2 more like it. and $25 is great price for a light like that.
i,m pretty sure 3xaaa version uses the same led, the same regulator, but i too don't like aaa cells, and try to avoid them.

 

[papajoe]

Just picked up a Coleman Max 2XCR2 - $25. For that price, I'm more than satisfied, in fact, I'm impressed. Advertised run time is 2 hours, and that is almost right on.

 

[trav54]

I have one of the Coleman Max AAA's...it's solid feeling, and I keep it on my desk at work, for when people need to borrow a flashlight. I don't have to feel like if it's lost that it will be that bad a loss, and the light for $20 at Wal-Mart was an impulse buy.

 

[shipwreck]

I bought a Coleman Max Spot/Flood rated at 110 lumens. I really like it, and would probably buy another - but they seem to have discontinued it. The flood is actually pretty useful indoors. It's AAA powered, and I have some rechargable Ray-o-vacs that I used in it. I'm very satisfied with the light, for the price I paid.

I then bought a 115 lumen AAA COleman Max. I did do a review/comparison of the two lights on this forum. I was going to keep it, but as a couple more weeks went by, I really wasn't satisfied with it. It was actually dimmer than the spot/flood rated at 110 lumens. I picked up an Inova T2-MP (for $56 or so on Amazon), and decided to use the T2 as my nighstand light. So, I returned this Coleman Max - and I wouldn't recommend it now.

If you can find the spot/flood model rated at 110 lumens - I'd buy it. Even if you don't use the flood feature, on spot it is still brighter than the 115 lumen model.