Do I need an incan?

LEDBE
HeadCSO

HeadCSO

Enlightened
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Oct 16, 2006
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Apart from an old 3 cell maglite, all my current flashlights are LED based, comprising Surefire L1 & L4, 2 x Fenix L1D-CE & L2D-CE.

Do I need a modern incan or will current LED's suffice. My lights are mainly used indoors, occassionally oudoors hiking etc.

If so, any recommendations. Living in the UK, choice is probably limited to Surefires as I don't want a product where I cannot readily get spares.
 
Given your current arsenal, I'd think that what the incan world has to offer you is a VERY bright light. Most average incans will do little to enhance your collection. You might want to consider modding your current maglite...others are much more adept at that so I'll let them chime in...
 
You definately need to experience a high quality incandescent if your only experience is a 3 cell Mag. Consider starting with something that is 9volts since it can run on rechargeables and primaries.
 
NelsonFlashlites said:
...what the incan world has to offer you is a VERY bright light.
Click to expand...

Hardly. While it is true that the truly bright incandescents easily offer two, five, or ten times the output of a typical "bright" led, I think the real virtue of an incandescent is the quality of the light it makes. I'm not talking about a smooth spot, or rings or artifacts. I'm thinking about frequency distribution, and color rendition.

While I own many LEDs (at least five for every incandescent), I'll be one of the first to say that LED still can't hold a candle to an incandescent for "proper" illumination of an object. It doesn't matter if it's indoors or out, nearby or far away. Incandescents offer true full spectrum lighting. LEDs always have some kind of unpleasant color cast, whether it be blue or green or what-have-you.

You don't need an uber-incan to appreciate this quality of light. While a Mag 85 (or 100 watt Osram) is a lot of fun for annoying the neighbors, even a simple Surefire E1e gives a nice, warm, comforting glow that you'll never see in any LED.

I think I need to go burn some tungsten now.
 
leukos said:
You definately need to experience a high quality incandescent if your only experience is a 3 cell Mag. Consider starting with something that is 9volts since it can run on rechargeables and primaries.
Click to expand...

+1 for the above, and add some of the Lumen Factory lamps and you will be hooked. :)
 
Ty_Bower said:
Hardly. While it is true that the truly bright incandescents easily offer two, five, or ten times the output of a typical "bright" led, I think the real virtue of an incandescent is the quality of the light it makes. I'm not talking about a smooth spot, or rings or artifacts. I'm thinking about frequency distribution, and color rendition.

While I own many LEDs (at least five for every incandescent), I'll be one of the first to say that LED still can't hold a candle to an incandescent for "proper" illumination of an object. It doesn't matter if it's indoors or out, nearby or far away. Incandescents offer true full spectrum lighting. LEDs always have some kind of unpleasant color cast, whether it be blue or green or what-have-you.

You don't need an uber-incan to appreciate this quality of light. While a Mag 85 (or 100 watt Osram) is a lot of fun for annoying the neighbors, even a simple Surefire E1e gives a nice, warm, comforting glow that you'll never see in any LED.

I think I need to go burn some tungsten now.
Click to expand...

Very well said. However, despite being an "Incan Jockey" myself, if most of your use is inside, that is where I almost exclusively use my LED's. 90% of my 30+ incands are really too bright for practical indoor use. So it pains me to hear myself say this, but in your circumstances I'm not all that sure that you need the brighter, full spectrum incands. :sssh:
 
Oh, ****, I just have to say, "It depends."

I mostly use LEDs for their regulation (flat performance to the end of their battery life), but there are two situations in which I find incandescents TRULY INDESPENSIBLE:

1) Massive light required: exploring/scoping out way-off-road situations in the dark (crossing streams/rivers, determining safe camping sites) and exploring caves and old mines just scream out for massive light, which only a really powerful incandescent can provide (along with better subtle cues about color and depth). I have a Mag85 running on a WA1185 with 9xAA rechargeables, which I would not part with for almost anything. It is GREAT!!

2) Critical color assessment: We do field medical work in some of the most remote places left on the globe, like Rwanda and the jungles of Guyana. Assessing tissue pathology in examinations, biopsies, and surgery requires accurate (similar to day light) color rendition, and LEDs just wash out much of the color information in this context.

Other than this, I think it's a matter of personal taste, but at the very least it's interesting to get acquainted with the differences between LED and incandescent lights. A very inexpensive investment in a good Xenon light would be the the $18 US UnderwaterKinetics 4AA Xenon light. (It's very bright and it runs on lithium AA to produce a relatively flat discharge curve that extends to 5-7hrs in my experience.)

have fun, John
 
In a misty environment, an incan fares much better than leds. I too have many leds but my latest light which is a Z46-CB bezel + Leef 2x18650 + SW01 with MN11 bulbs which I find liking more each time I use it. Although the output is yellowish and oblong in appearance but I can see better at distance with this incan. Also it can be used with rechargeable thus giving it a +1 in my books.
 
HeadCSO

You really need to modify that old 3 cell mag-lite and get hooked on "the brighter is better" trip. :candle:
 
If my uses were as you describe yours(they aren't), I would feel no need for an incandescent flashlight at all.
'Course there's more to life than just having what you need!
 
My answer is definately YES, specially outdoors in misty circumstances.
The throw from a incan and HID is so much better than a led flashlight.
I have test it myself and come with this conlusion and that was clear !
The only cons is the bulblifetime, but with quality lights, like Wolf-Eye, Pentagonlight, Surefire etc. it is no problem.
:wave:
 
Last edited:
You already have an L4, you can simply buy an E2e bezel and MN03 bulb to convert it into one of the nicest incans money can buy.

Shouldnt cost you more than 20 - 30 quid.
 
I can not really add much to what the others have said.

If you are looking to round out your flashlight/torch experience/collection, then a high powered incandescent is a must. Trust me when I say there's nothing quite like flicking the switch on a high powered incan and seeing it come alive. It is quite a thrill.

Whether that is practical or not, however, is another question altogether.
 
Yes, definately! My trusty old 6P never let me down and whilst bulbs are fragile they are easier to replace than a damaged LED in the field. As everyone recognises thay also have a totally different beam quality that any flasaholic would be mad to miss out on.

I disagree with the school of thought which states that LEDs are for indoors only - I have a S27C which is always with me on hikes and it has a perfect, great throwing beam and some useable spill if needed. The colour rendition is different, but nothing my eyes don't adapt to.

My 0.02
 
kakster said:
You already have an L4, you can simply buy an E2e bezel and MN03 bulb to convert it into one of the nicest incans money can buy.

Shouldnt cost you more than 20 - 30 quid.
Click to expand...

Agreed! It is certainly no barn burner, but it will give you nice warm incan light for a solid 2 hours+. It is a very useful light, especially outdoors.
 
It would be interesting to see the different responses if this same question were posted in the LED forum. ;)

I have a suggestion, I'm not sure it helps you in the UK. Is the Brinkmann Maxfire LX available there? If it is, buy one, you'll have a low cost, good quality incan you can compare to your LED lights, and decide for yourself if you want anything bigger/brighter.

If the Brinkmann is not available, then any of the suggestions for Surfire lego, Lumens Factory Bulbs, or Wolf Eyes lights are good ones to consider.

EssLight
 
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