Billson
Flashlight Enthusiast
Update: 9-6-06
I finally got around to taking some pictures of light after being attached to my keys for months. As you can see there are some scuff marks around the bezel and tail due to contact with the keys but other than that, it still looks pretty nice. It actually looks a bit more polished now after being rubbed around in my pocket.
Warning: This is a rather long post so read at your own risk.
Disclaimer: This is my own opinion so for other owners/users, your mileage may vary.
I have a titanium and an aluminum bronze cr2 Ion and I'd like to share my thoughts on this light after playing around with them for the past few days. I saw no reason to post any more pictures as they can be found in powernoodle's thread. I also thought of posting this in that thread but I didn't want to risk being accused of hi-jacking his thread so here goes:
IMHO, the design is simple yet classic and elegant. I can't see it going out of style anytime in the near future. Most people know that the design was inspired by the legendary Larry light but that's where the similarity ends. The Ion has a personality all on its own when it comes to the led, electronics, and performance.
Some have commented that the knurling is too aggressive. The appearance may be aggressive but the feel is not aggressive at all. It's quite smooth without any rough or sharp edges. Even the edges on the front and rear of the light have been ground down to avoid catching or getting tangled on anything.
The split ring does not hinder the functions of the light whether it is deployed or not and it does not fall out when you don't need it. I find no problems with the snug fit because it can be taken out easily with a key or something pointed. You either use it or you don't. It's not like it has to be taken out everytime when one has to use the light.
The light has some weight but it's not heavy at all, at least not for me. The aluminum should be lighter but I don't have one to compare.
As shown by Newbie's runtime test on the light, we know what kind of performance to expect from the light instead of wondering if the claims are true or not. Since Newbie already did some tests on it using primary cr2 cells, I thought of doing a runtime test using AW's 350ma protected cells bought specifically for this light. One important thing to note is that these cells are too short to use in the cr2 without modification as it won't engage high even when fully screwed down. I fixed this by using a folded up piece of aluminum foil and dropped it into the bottom of the tube. It's up to the user to determine how far the light can be screwed down by varying the thickness of the foil. I also noticed some rattling laterally with both primaries and rcr2 so I just wrapped the cell in tape until it slipped snugly into the tube.
Using fully charged cells right off my DSD charger, I got 40 minutes on high. I forgot to use a light meter since I was more interested in how long light would run but there didn't seem to be any noticeable dimming until the cell cut out.
Using a second fully charged cell, I did a second runtime on low. It's a known fact that the low using rcr2 is much brighter than when using primaries but the brightness gradually dimmed until it stabilized for the last hour or so at the same brightness at low when using primary cells. The cells cut out at around 4 hours. I missed the actual cut off but it couldn't have been more than 5 or 10 minutes because I was continually comparing the brightness with my aluminum bronze ion using primaries. It may not be as long as the 120 hour runtime (80 hours flat) on primaries but I don't mind since it's free lumens and all throughout the test, I could still engage high which may not be possible with the primaries when they are close to dying.
I like the flood beam of the Ion because even on high, the light is still soft enough without being blinding. It's perfect for all practical uses since I expect to be using this light mostly for close up work. If I wanted a light that throws, I'd definitely be using something with a much bigger reflector and longer runtime. It should be remembered that this is meant to be a keychain light which is not really suitable for outdoor use.
The tint of the led on both my lights falls somewhere between WO and XO. It's a cool white that's a little warm and I like it a lot. I'm very impressed with the Cree led because I can't notice any tint in the beam and no tint shift between low and high. Makes me wonder if just won the led lottery or if this is typical with Cree's binning. I hope it's the latter because Lumileds can't do this even within the same bins and tint shifts very noticeably when running different current levels.
It's difficult to estimate the lumens value of the light because this is my first flood light but side by side with my HDS EDC, low seems to be around 1 lumen but like I said it is still white whereas my HDS shows an obvious yellow tint at this low level. I haven't tried to measure high yet because I don't expect to be using high very much. I'll update this post if/when I get to it.
One thing that got me thinking is that the reflector does not seem to be highly polished as Endeavor stated. Mine seems to be a matte finish. Since it is a known fact that there are always losses due to heat, reflector, and lens, I wonder if any lumens are lost due to the reflector not being coated as heat seems to have been managed as best as could be and we all know what benefits the UCL gives.
I did the runtime test with light submerged in a bowl of water so the light is waterproof. I'd be curious to know the actual depth rating if anyone is willing to do the test since the body (titanium) is virtually indestructible so the o-rings and the lens seem to be the only weak links. This would seem to be a futile exercise though as I doubt a flood beam would be of much use underwater.
In conclusion, this light is not for everybody. For someone looking for a WOW light, you should look elsewhere. The Ion was designed with practicality in mind and it seems to satisfy every criteria I can think of in a task light. It works plain and simple with no frills, bells, and whistles.
PS Moderators, if you think this thread is better to be merged with powernoodle's thread, please fell free to do so.
I finally got around to taking some pictures of light after being attached to my keys for months. As you can see there are some scuff marks around the bezel and tail due to contact with the keys but other than that, it still looks pretty nice. It actually looks a bit more polished now after being rubbed around in my pocket.
Warning: This is a rather long post so read at your own risk.
Disclaimer: This is my own opinion so for other owners/users, your mileage may vary.
I have a titanium and an aluminum bronze cr2 Ion and I'd like to share my thoughts on this light after playing around with them for the past few days. I saw no reason to post any more pictures as they can be found in powernoodle's thread. I also thought of posting this in that thread but I didn't want to risk being accused of hi-jacking his thread so here goes:
IMHO, the design is simple yet classic and elegant. I can't see it going out of style anytime in the near future. Most people know that the design was inspired by the legendary Larry light but that's where the similarity ends. The Ion has a personality all on its own when it comes to the led, electronics, and performance.
Some have commented that the knurling is too aggressive. The appearance may be aggressive but the feel is not aggressive at all. It's quite smooth without any rough or sharp edges. Even the edges on the front and rear of the light have been ground down to avoid catching or getting tangled on anything.
The split ring does not hinder the functions of the light whether it is deployed or not and it does not fall out when you don't need it. I find no problems with the snug fit because it can be taken out easily with a key or something pointed. You either use it or you don't. It's not like it has to be taken out everytime when one has to use the light.
The light has some weight but it's not heavy at all, at least not for me. The aluminum should be lighter but I don't have one to compare.
As shown by Newbie's runtime test on the light, we know what kind of performance to expect from the light instead of wondering if the claims are true or not. Since Newbie already did some tests on it using primary cr2 cells, I thought of doing a runtime test using AW's 350ma protected cells bought specifically for this light. One important thing to note is that these cells are too short to use in the cr2 without modification as it won't engage high even when fully screwed down. I fixed this by using a folded up piece of aluminum foil and dropped it into the bottom of the tube. It's up to the user to determine how far the light can be screwed down by varying the thickness of the foil. I also noticed some rattling laterally with both primaries and rcr2 so I just wrapped the cell in tape until it slipped snugly into the tube.
Using fully charged cells right off my DSD charger, I got 40 minutes on high. I forgot to use a light meter since I was more interested in how long light would run but there didn't seem to be any noticeable dimming until the cell cut out.
Using a second fully charged cell, I did a second runtime on low. It's a known fact that the low using rcr2 is much brighter than when using primaries but the brightness gradually dimmed until it stabilized for the last hour or so at the same brightness at low when using primary cells. The cells cut out at around 4 hours. I missed the actual cut off but it couldn't have been more than 5 or 10 minutes because I was continually comparing the brightness with my aluminum bronze ion using primaries. It may not be as long as the 120 hour runtime (80 hours flat) on primaries but I don't mind since it's free lumens and all throughout the test, I could still engage high which may not be possible with the primaries when they are close to dying.
I like the flood beam of the Ion because even on high, the light is still soft enough without being blinding. It's perfect for all practical uses since I expect to be using this light mostly for close up work. If I wanted a light that throws, I'd definitely be using something with a much bigger reflector and longer runtime. It should be remembered that this is meant to be a keychain light which is not really suitable for outdoor use.
The tint of the led on both my lights falls somewhere between WO and XO. It's a cool white that's a little warm and I like it a lot. I'm very impressed with the Cree led because I can't notice any tint in the beam and no tint shift between low and high. Makes me wonder if just won the led lottery or if this is typical with Cree's binning. I hope it's the latter because Lumileds can't do this even within the same bins and tint shifts very noticeably when running different current levels.
It's difficult to estimate the lumens value of the light because this is my first flood light but side by side with my HDS EDC, low seems to be around 1 lumen but like I said it is still white whereas my HDS shows an obvious yellow tint at this low level. I haven't tried to measure high yet because I don't expect to be using high very much. I'll update this post if/when I get to it.
One thing that got me thinking is that the reflector does not seem to be highly polished as Endeavor stated. Mine seems to be a matte finish. Since it is a known fact that there are always losses due to heat, reflector, and lens, I wonder if any lumens are lost due to the reflector not being coated as heat seems to have been managed as best as could be and we all know what benefits the UCL gives.
I did the runtime test with light submerged in a bowl of water so the light is waterproof. I'd be curious to know the actual depth rating if anyone is willing to do the test since the body (titanium) is virtually indestructible so the o-rings and the lens seem to be the only weak links. This would seem to be a futile exercise though as I doubt a flood beam would be of much use underwater.
In conclusion, this light is not for everybody. For someone looking for a WOW light, you should look elsewhere. The Ion was designed with practicality in mind and it seems to satisfy every criteria I can think of in a task light. It works plain and simple with no frills, bells, and whistles.
PS Moderators, if you think this thread is better to be merged with powernoodle's thread, please fell free to do so.
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