Different JetBeams....Please explain!

[Centropolis]

Currently, I own a "serious" flashlight in a one and two CR123As format and two AAs format. I have yet to own a high quality one AA flashlight. I do have a RC-G2 coming from DX but it's not on the top of the one AA flashlight list in terms of high lumens and good regulation.

I have been reading a lot of the threads about one AA lights. And two names (besides Fenix L1D) seems to pop up as high quality one AA light, JetBeam and NiteCore.

I've read that JetBeams seem to have produced different versions of the one AA format light....some I assume is older model and some newer models.....I've also read somewhere that there are models that have issues with regulation.

I am looking for a good quality one AA light and want to look at JetBeams in my possible list. Can someone tell me which model to avoid because of common issues and whcih model is highly recommended?

 

[matrixshaman]

While Jetbeams have been popular and I've had several I've never had one yet I've been very happy with. They have a great exterior - very nice finish and some have great knurling but the electronics and light output on all of mine have had multiple problems. Most of the current Jetbeams look great but have what I consider poor electronics design or other design issues I personally don't like. I'd recommend looking at this light which I call the forgoten and largely missed gem: the Dexlight - and while it's got a P4 that by todays bins might seem low it's brighter than many of my Q binned Cree's.
Sapphire Crystal Lens
16 Mode
Maximum Output: 150 Lumens
Multi-mode Water-tight G-I-T-D Tailcap
Textured aluminum reflector
T6061 aircraft grade aluminum in HA III NAT [TESTED: 45µM (+-5%) Hardness 400HV]
AA or any AA-size battery (including 14500)
voltage: 0.7V-4.2V with reverse-polarity protection (won't burn if battery is incorrectly installed)

I've got 2 of these and recently someone else here picked one up when they saw I had mentioned it and they are thrilled with it too. They shout quality and are very bright on a 14500 Lithium Ion - so if you want only AA batteries it might not be quite as bright but it's still a high quality light for only $45 shipped. These came out about the time everyone was all excited about the first Rexlight and it was having delay after delay. I got tired of waiting after 3 months and when I saw the Dexlight with similar but better features I ordered one and had it long before I ever got the Rexlight. When I finally got the much touted and awaited Rexlight it was total garbage next to the Dexlight IMO. I ended up giving the Rexlight away. The Dexlights OTOH have become a favorite and I won't likely ever sell them. The last one I got as a gift for someone but after seeing that it was just as high of quality and as bright and white as my first one (I thought I had maybe just been lucky on the brightness and bin color) I couldn't give it up and ended up ordering another light for the gift.

 

[matrixshaman]

Not to be totally biased here - I do really like the Dexlight but there are others of quality too you might try looking at the Olight T15 with a Q5 Cree - these are very nice too although I don't own the AA version the T10 in CR123 is very impressive quality and brightness - great thrower.

 

[jake25]

i agree w/ matrix on the dexlight

i rarely see anyone talking about it yet its only light i EDC, perfect w/ 14500's, great all aroudn light i put in the same pocket as keys and coins , its HA III coating is awesome

its not the brightest cree but for AA format its pretty darn nice.

 

[1 what]

Hi Centropolis,
I share your "anxiety" because a couple of weeks back I put a Jet 1 Pro on backorder from Kai and hope it will be delivered in the next 2-3 weeks.
Then the big JetBeam announcement re new models and IBS mode to overcome the driver problems in the original models. Then I started to notice all the talk re problems in the older models .
I've reread the press releases and they seem to say the "new" Jet 1 Pros will also have the new IBS driver board but at this stage I'm unsure of what I will eventually receive.
I'll let you know.

 

[tcc]

What about the new Jetbeam I.B.S.?

 

[Centropolis]

Hi Centropolis,
I share your "anxiety" because a couple of weeks back I put a Jet 1 Pro on backorder from Kai and hope it will be delivered in the next 2-3 weeks.
Then the big JetBeam announcement re new models and IBS mode to overcome the driver problems in the original models. Then I started to notice all the talk re problems in the older models .
I've reread the press releases and they seem to say the "new" Jet 1 Pros will also have the new IBS driver board but at this stage I'm unsure of what I will eventually receive.
I'll let you know.

That's kind of the issues I am having with deciding on a one AA light. It seems like there still isn't a one AA (or 14500) flashlight that puts out above 120 lumens, that has no issues. The Fenix L1D may be the only one. But is there any other one?

 

[matrixshaman]

Over the years it seems Jetbeam has had so many 'issues' with the electronics and other things. The Jetbeam Mk I's and II's I believe were supposed to come out with a CR123 tube but it seems it never really got made for some and for others it didn't fit right - they just can't seem to get the details quite right for a lot of things. My C-LE was nice until it fried on a 14500 which was rumored to work okay - later found some worked with it and some didn't. I'd actually still buy a Jetbeam if they could get everything working right - but just when it sounds like they have something really nice (and they always look nice) then I find there is some other totally bad issue or stupid choice for a feature that just makes it unacceptable for my own personal preferences. I think this is a sad deal since they have produced a number of incredibly nice looking bodies on their lights. I am mostly okay with the C-LE V2 tail switcher except it's dimmer on high than nearly all other Cree lights I have and has very noticeable PWM flicker.

 

[merlocka]

The Dexlight X.1 is a copy of the Jetbeam MKIIx. The primary differences that I'm aware of are a slightly different basic mode on the X.1 (one additional level, and the levels are preset to a higher output than the MKIIx).

The finish on both the X.1 and the MKIIx is excellent. I happen to prefer the MKIIx, because the X.1 is a bit tight for protected 14500's (mine indents the top in order to tighten the tailcap to close the circuit).

Regarding the Jetbeam tail-clicky AA lights, there are 5 that I'm aware of.

The original MKI, which was a single mode Luxeon light. It would accept from 1.5V to 4.2V, so it was interesting that it could run from a single AA, 2xAA, 14500, or CR123/RCR123.

The MKII updated the design, and added a 4-mode circuit.

The MKIIx is the CREE version, using a P4 bin. This also added the Basic/Advanced mode circuit, with it's 15 different output modes. I believe there were 2 versions of this light, the latter version added a spring to the +node of the head. Mine is the older version, I believe. This light also runs from 1.2V to 4.2V. With a 14500, the battery current drain is 1.2A on a fresh cell, and the runtime on 100% is about 30 minutes. Output is pretty amazing for 28 of those minutes . On a 1.5V cell, output is modest, but runtimes can be decent for this timeframe of light. I can get 24 hours of light on low mode from an alkaline battery on mine. Dealextreme started selling the MKIIx for a very low price, and Jetbeam soon prevented them from selling the light. Soon after, Dealextreme began exclusively selling the X.1, which as I mentioned above, is a very similar design.

The MKIIR was originally planned to be a Rebel light, but they switched to a Q4 bin CREE claiming better performance. The circuit efficiency is questionable, and performance isn't better than the MKIIx (in my opinion).

Now there is the MKII IBS, which adds a new Q5 bin, and an updated programmable circuit. The jury is still out on performance.

There are also other Jetbeam models, such as the Jet I Pro, Jet II and a new Jet III. There was also a AAA Jet-u "micro" which didn't live long. There are also the CE models.

Here are some links:

Jetbeam MKI:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/jetbeam_jet-1.htm

Jetbeam MKII:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/jetbeam_jet-1mk2.htm

Jetbeam MKIIx:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=166448

Jetbeam MKIIR:

http://www.lightreviews.info/jetbeam_jet-1_mkii_r/review.html

Jetbeam MKII IBS:

http://www.lightreviews.info/jetbeam_jet-1_mk_ibs/review.html

 

[Rzr800]

Very timely info and thanks for posting it (thanks also to the OP for bringing this up and all who contributed).

 

[LEDcandle]

At the time I bought my AA light, I wanted a no frills 5-mode light (vs those with "Advanced Mode") that had the 'latest' LED in it (Cree or SSC P4 at that time), so I went with this light :-

Fighter Candlepower 14500 (from Dealextreme)
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=173613
(link to my review)

I have used Fenix L1P, Jetbeam Jet I, Jetbeam MkIIx and Rexlight but I still prefer the fighter. Even though its not true HA, a knife test didn't leave any scratches.

 

[flashlite]

Is anyone still selling the JetBeam C-LE v 1.2 model?

 

[Centropolis]

In the general sense, is the NiteCore a more reliable flashlight then?

 

[merlocka]

In the general sense, is the NiteCore a more reliable flashlight then?

It's very difficult to make general statements about Nitecore and Jetbeam reliability.

Regarding the Nitecore Defender Infinity... This is a great light, no doubt. There have been a few issues reported in the CPFMP thread, mainly failures with the switch. Also some reports of radial slop in the threads causing problems switching modes or programming. It seems that the second batch of lights improves on this, and I believe they also include an extra switch just in case.

Jetbeams are hit-or-miss on reliability. Fundamentally, since the Jetbeam MK lights are controlled only by the tailcap, they will have one less thing to fail. Unfortunately, JB doesn't use (from my opinion) the best quality switches and housing for the tailcap. That said, I've not had one fail, but I've also replaced my MKIIx tail switch with the parts from a Rexlight. I'm sure if there was a new Jetbeam model (such as the IBS) with as much interest as the NCDI, issues would surface as people start using and abusing them.


So, in summary, if you are looking at the best AA format lights, I would suggest first reading all of Selfbuilt's amazing review threads:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=186665

You should also check the Part I, and Part II, and the supplemental individual reviews where applicable.

Then, in typical CPF fashion, buy em all and sell the ones you don't like on CPFMP!

 

[tcc]

The JB MKII IBS puts out 225 lumens?? WOW!! That's way brighter than the NDI.

 

[merlocka]

The JB MKII IBS puts out 225 lumens?? WOW!! That's way brighter than the NDI.

Not sure if this was sarcastic or not. In case it wasn't, recall that manufacturer stated lumen outputs are all spec'd differently. From Surefire's ultra-conservative numbers, to Jetbeam's "aggressive" numbers on the other end.

For example,

SureFire L1 Cree is spec'd at 65 lumens
Fenix L2D is spec'd at 180 lumens
Nitecore DI was originally spec'd at 190 lumens, then re-spec'd to 130 "torch lumens".
The Jetbeam Jet1 Pro was originally spec'd at 280 lumen, then re-spec'd to 210 when no one believed it.

Out of all of these lights, there is probably only +/- 10% output difference, which isn't very noticeable to the eye.


Why? Well, Surefire tends to spec a worst case output from the front of the light, considering that temperature and battery droop will also affect output. Jetbeam seems to spec an absolute maximum possible output by looking at the datasheet of the LED they are using. The other guys are in-between.

 

[n4zov]

I have the JetBeam CL-E versions 1.2 and 2.0 and have been totally satisfied with both lights. The switch on the 2.0 is much more convenient and easier to operate than the 1.2, but both lights have been 100% reliable.

 

[tcc]

Not sure if this was sarcastic or not. In case it wasn't, recall that manufacturer stated lumen outputs are all spec'd differently. From Surefire's ultra-conservative numbers, to Jetbeam's "aggressive" numbers on the other end.

For example,

SureFire L1 Cree is spec'd at 65 lumens
Fenix L2D is spec'd at 180 lumens
Nitecore DI was originally spec'd at 190 lumens, then re-spec'd to 130 "torch lumens".
The Jetbeam Jet1 Pro was originally spec'd at 280 lumen, then re-spec'd to 210 when no one believed it.

Out of all of these lights, there is probably only +/- 10% output difference, which isn't very noticeable to the eye.


Why? Well, Surefire tends to spec a worst case output from the front of the light, considering that temperature and battery droop will also affect output. Jetbeam seems to spec an absolute maximum possible output by looking at the datasheet of the LED they are using. The other guys are in-between.

Not being sarcastic at all. Just stating the info what jetbeam listed. It's more of a, "HOLY COW!!" expression

If it's truly 225 torch lumens (max) then I might have went for the MKII IBS instead of the NDI (130).