Cree drop-ins: BugOutGearUSA versus Wolf Eyes

[asdalton]

The products:

• BugOutGearUSA Premium Plus Cree drop-in
• Wolf Eyes 170 lumen Cree drop-in, 3.7-6 volt version

BOG version summary:

• Deep reflector, which fills up entire width of a P60-sized bezel.
• Ceiling bounce output slightly outperforms my Surefire L5.
• Throw almost matches P60 incan, particularly when the P60 runs on slightly used batteries.
• Sidespill half-angle is about 30 degrees.
• Fit is excellent in a Surefire 6P; leaves gap in Brinkmann Maxfire LX. No springs on this version, so it's likely to fit either perfectly or poorly in a given light. Thermal contact with metal host body is good.
• Designed for 2-3 primary cells, and will not work at all on one Li-ion cell. Narrow clearance at the battery contact is at least part of the problem.

WE version summary:

• Shallow reflector, which is narrower than a P60-sized bezel (likely due to being designed primarily for Wolf Eyes lights).
• Ceiling bounce output slightly outperforms my Surefire L5.
• Throw is much less than BOG version; similar to Pelican 3W 2390.
• Sidespill half-angle is about 40 degrees.
• Fits well in a Maxfire if you center the spring correctly first; I haven't tried it in my 6P. Has inner and outer springs to fit different bezel sizes. Thermal contact is less direct than with BOG drop-in.
• Designed for 2 primary cells or 1 Li-ion; Li-ion runs only slightly dimmer.

Summary:

• Both lights are very bright.
• The BOG version has the advantage in throw and heat conduction.
• The WE version has the advantage in sidespill width, fit, and Li-ion capability (for the 3.7-6 volt style only).

Bezel view: Wolf Eyes on the left; BugOutGear on the right.

Beamshots: Wolf Eyes on the left; BugOutGear on the right.

 

[021411]

Thanks for the brief review. Now we need pictures.

 

[asdalton]

I think that I found one reason why the Li-ion cell wouldn't work in the BOG drop-in. The positive end is too wide. If I try to run in on two R123A cells, it also doesn't work.

If this module had a longer protrusion for the positive battery contact, then we would be able determine if the converter can run on 3.7 volts.

 

[asdalton]

Pictures added!

 

[021411]

Now we're cookin'! Thanks for the pictures. :thumbsup: Can't wait til BOG gets the Plus models back in stock.

 

[Chao]

I just got my wolf eyes Sniper with HO 170 lumen LED lamp from PTS, if compared with BugOutgear premium drop-in module, the total output in WE was brighter than Bugoutgear, however, due to deep reflector, the BugOutgear has more throw than WE (4600 lux vs 3500 lux at 1meter), both are nice drop-in module:twothumbs

 

[Chao]

Just finished wolf-eyes D26 HO runtime, very cool, flat regulation with one 18650 :thumbsup:

...............................................................................
7/1 updated: add BugOutGesr runtime with 2x 3.7V R123A

 

[Kid9P]

Can anyone confirm that the BOG will fit perfectly in a Surefire G2??
I currently have the WE 170 in my G2, perfect match.
But I prefer the throw of the BOG.

Thanks!

 

[Kid9P]

Never mind, I just ordered one for my G2.

 

[Phaserburn]

Just finished wolf-eyes D26 HO runtime, very cool, flat regulation with one 18650 :thumbsup:

...............................................................................
7/1 updated: add BugOutGesr runtime with 2x 3.7V R123A

Wow! The WE setup smokes the BOG on runtime. I realize it's an 18650 vs 2xR123s, but if the WE provides flat regulated and brighter output the whole time, awesome. What does the BOG unit look like on one 18650?

 

[021411]

I thought the HO module needed at least 4.x volts to run in regulation? I did an unscientific runtime test on my AW 18650 and WE HO D26 and it dropped out of regulation (if it was regulated) long before your chart shows yours to. Am I missing something?

 

[Chao]

I thought the HO module needed at least 4.x volts to run in regulation? I did an unscientific runtime test on my AW 18650 and WE HO D26 and it dropped out of regulation (if it was regulated) long before your chart shows yours to. Am I missing something?

Is your HO module the 3.7-13V model, mine is 3.7-6V, I don't know if the regulation has difference between them?

The votage range of BugOut unit is 4.5V-9V, I tried one 18650 cells, but it's not as bright as using primary CR123As, so I just did runtime test with two RCR123As.

 

[021411]

Is your HO module the 3.7-13V model, mine is 3.7-6V, I don't know if the regulation has different between them?

The votage range of BugOut unit is 4.5V-9V, I tried one 18650 cells, but it's not as bright as using primary CR123As, so I just did runtime test with two RCR123As.

Okay, I see the difference now. Mine is the 3.7-13v model.. IIRC the 3.7-13v requires higher voltage (4.x) to run regulated. I put "x" because I can't recall the exact number.

 

[Paul5M]

Just finished wolf-eyes D26 HO runtime, very cool, flat regulation with one 18650 :thumbsup:

...............................................................................
7/1 updated: add BugOutGesr runtime with 2x 3.7V R123A

I have a hard time to believe the BOG is only as efficient as the LF ES-9 incandescent lamp
Based on your data, the BOG draws about 800mA from a pair of RCR123s:thinking:
Are you sure your batteries are fully charged and in good working condition?

 

[Chao]

:wave: hi Paul5M, I think the batteries were well-charged before test, at least the indicator of the charger show me that , my 3.7V no-name batteries were purchased couple years agao, I used one of these cells to power KL4 head (yes, TW4), can get 17 min runtime, may not too good, but still ok, I think maybe the new AW R123A or other higher capacity cells can get the result better, I guess.

 

[BugOutGear_USA]

These results do not look right. Something has to be wrong. Can someone confirm his results? How about running them both with 2 CR123 batteries for a fair comparisson or running the WE with the same R123's?

***UPDATE: I've been running the Premium Module on a fresh set of CR123 batteries(Universal) for 80 minutes so far and it is still in regulation. (I thought those runtimes were a little off...) Will update in a little while...

***UPDATE #2: 120 minute total and still in regulation...

***Update #3: Final numbers...On the conservative side we have approx 110 minutes in regulation and an additional 120+ minutes(ended test early) of useable light(non regulation). The light is still going, but since I only wanted to confirm something was not right(at least for myself), I ended the test after confirming our previous runtime results.

Thanks,
Flavio
BugoutGearUSA.com

 

[asdalton]

Yup, the comparison shown isn't very useful. For one thing, the 18650 cell has about 50% more nominal capacity than the 2 R123A cells in series. The only real comparison is to run each module on the one power source that they can share in common: two primary 123A cells.

 

[Chao]

***UPDATE: I've been running the Premium Module on a fresh set of CR123 batteries(Universal) for 80 minutes so far and it is still in regulation. (I thought those runtimes were a little off...) Will update in a little while...

***UPDATE #2: 120 minute total and still in regulation...

Great news:thumbsup:, thanks for doing that, according to the specifications, the BugOut unit has longer runtime (2h+) than WF unit (80 min) when using primary cells, I actually use primary cells for Bug unit, and 18650 for WF module, yes, I need two lights for different purpose. I just don't have 4 new CR123A cells currently for runtime test, sorry for made the unfair comparison if you think it's not useful :mecry:, yes, 2xR123A and 1x18650 are different, I just want to provide some imformations I have and pull them together, both modules are pretty nice in the market, the advantages were described very clear by asdalton in the first post