CPF'ers, pick my next light!!

[kramer5150]

OK... I posted a thread a while back and you all directed me to a Shiningbeam RC-N3. THANKS!! I am very happy with your recommendation!! But now I need something at the opposite end of the spectrum, to replace my sickly-blue/purple nite-ize minimag.

Criteria in order of importance:
-LONG running, 10++ hours at ~10 Lumens would be ideal.
-WHITE, floody tint... No blues or purples please. This is my biggest complaint about my nite-ize minimag, and most of the Nichia keychain lights I have owned/tried.
-$20 max limit.
-Small/EDC-able, no bigger than a minimag.
-Standard alkaline or NiMH AAA or AA, single cell.
-Water/splash proof

This is for night-time use when my eyes are dilated for darkness. So, multi-modes are an option but it MUST start out in LOW mode or have last-mode memory. I dont want to get blasted/blinded with 50+ lumens when my eyes are dilated already. The low mode needs to be floody, white and in the 10L ballpark with 10++ hours of run time.

The problem is I cant make up my mind!!... So... do me a favor and make up my mind for me!! Here are my contenders:

-Fenix-E01
-Gerber Infinity Ultra
-Gerber Tempo

Please feel free to recommend others as well, given the above criteria. I am not opposed to modding either... so a Solitaire + drop-in could also be a possibility, so long as its under $20. I prefer a mail order purchase over the www. Gas prices and local sales tax in my state could easily equal half the price of the light

Thanks!!

 

[RWT1405]

Fenix EO-1. That's all I have to say about that.

 

[HoopleHead]

E01 is a cheap, solid choice

 

[Flintstone]

E01 is a no-brainer for most people (even most non-CPF'ers should have one). I have like 7 or 8 E01's here now I give them away as gifts - and use several of them myself. Perfect and cheap.

 

[Saranic]

E01

Uses a Nichia white GS LED with a life of 100,000 hours
Constant brightness: 10 Lumens
Uses one 1.5V AAA ( Alkaline, Ni-MH, Lithium ) battery, inexpensive and widely available
7.1cm (Length) x 1.4cm (Diameter)
21-hour working time ( 11-hour sun mode plus 10-hour moon mode)
Made of aircraft-grade aluminum
Durable Type III hard anodized finish
14-gram weight (excluding batteries)
Waterproof to IPX-8 Standard
Reliable twist switch
Capable of standing up securely on a flat surface to serve as a candle

 

[konfusius]

The E01 is a quality light, but unfortunately the Nichia LED has a noticable violet tint, which imho disqualifies it in this case ...

 

[Flintstone]

In this pricerange the KD Buckle v4 could be a contender - but it's probably to bright for you (and certanly not long-lasting).

 

[Blindasabat]

My Nite-ize has a very nice warm tint and is nicely floody (which for me means not too wide, but without a harsh hot spot) so maybe try another one since they are soo cheap?

Other than that, I would say to buy one of the above lights of CPFMP that you can already see (seller tells you or send pictures) has a decent tint. You are still playing with the tint lottery on a lot of lights - even of a given "bin."

 

[Jarl]

If you flatten the dome of the E01, the beam becomes more even and white.

 

[kramer5150]

I was kind of afraid of this...
Anyone else feel the E01 and all Nichia based lights suffer from a blue-ish tint? Am I asking for the impossible?

How do you flatten an LED dome? just grind it with a dremel?

??????????

 

[Jarl]

Yes, Yes and Yes.

A 5mm will have blue in the tint unless it's a special "snow" model (I believe arc did a run of these). As for the impossible, no, but it is certainly tricky. To flatten the dome you just grind until it's flat, then give it a polish if you want.This spreads the blue into the rest of the beam, which isn't as bad as it sounds!!

 

[glockboy]

Add more $$ and get the Zebralight, worth it.

 

[1dash1]

Kramer5150:

I have a Gerber Infinity Ultra. In my opinion, it has a buttery-soft, floody light. It's built like a tank. (I honestly believe that I could run it over with my car, but I wouldn't want to try it.) The on-off mechanism feels "solid", I have no doubt that it would do very well even after several thousand cycles. It seems to run forever on a single NiMH AA cell.

Personally, I find the tint neither bothersome nor noticeable in my daily use of this flashlight. However, if you do a side-by-side comparison with other lights (such as the D10), the difference in tint is appreciable.

The only thing that I'd caution you about is that this is a rather hefty AA light. There are other smaller and lighter lights available if you plan on carrying this around in your pocket.

How much do I like this light? If I could take only one light with me to war, this would be it. It's rock solid.

For further info:
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/gerber_infinityultra.htm

 

[Warp]

Funny, that's almost exactly what I was looking for to supplement the Fenix P1D Q5 I just ordered to replace my original P1 as my keychain light.

I picked a Fenix E01.

*Edit: Type fixed. Obviously I ordered an E01, not an L01

 

[mikekoz]

I have four Gerber Ultra Infinity's (Well, actually three..one is the older model made by CMG) and they are great! They are just bright enough to get the job done and they give you a good amount of light. I do not know if this is too large for you, but you may also consider the Gerber Trio. It is pretty much a 2 AA version of the Infinity with three LED's on the head. It is bright (maybe a bit more than 10 lumens), very floody, and claims an 80 hour runtime on a set of alkalines. Should do even better with NIMH or AA lithiums. They are about the size of the 2 AA Mag. I got two of them off Ebay a while back for $25.00!!:twothumbs. They are also built rock solid and should give you years of service!

Mike

 

[portezbie]

the e0 had a bluish tint that I dont see in my e01. I think you just have to decide how small you want to go, they are both great little lights with lots of runtime, but if you really want something keychain sized the fenix is the way to go. If you don't mind it a little bigger then the gerber may be what you need.