Well, I walked through the light section at Wal Mart today and noticed that the Brinkmann 1 Watt for $19.97 is now using a Cree with a lightly textured reflector, not quite orange peel, but what I would call "diffused smooth". it's the one with a rubber and metal type construction, with the rubber being dark grayish, and it takes 3xAAA cells. I would think it would be a forward clicky since a lot Brinkmann's are, but wouldn't know since I didn't buy one. The emitter is DEFINITELY a Cree though, with the "US-mounted" dies (non silver-core), and there were a TON of them.
First Cree ever at Wal Mart, I think?
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Marduke
Flashaholic
Good find, but the Coleman Lanterns were probably the first Cree's at WalMart. Sams Club however has been carrying a 2xAA Cree Energizer light with a forward clicky for months.
kramer5150
Flashaholic
Cool I think I'll stop by and check it out. I'm looking for something in the ~65L range. I don't mind the 3AAA format (flame suit on..LOL) since I have a bunch of NiMH cells already. A lot of those 3AAA lights can easily take an 18650.
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discoverEDC
Enlightened
I saw this. I'm wondering if it's a cree xr-c, it doesn't quite look like any of my xr-e's. The xr-c is a lower output lower price product line for cree. Not 65 lumens if it's a c.
The version before this one I saw used those SSC Z-Power LED's, the old ones before the P4's even, but I think the Cree in this one is an XRE, it looks exactly like the one in the Fenix L2D. Darn, they haven't gotten the Cree lanterns at my Wal Mart yet, I really want one for an extremely bright LED lantern, despite its uneven pattern. The 4AA Exponent may be a better choice, though..
kramer5150
Flashaholic
XR-E emitters are the only ones with 4 lead-wires into the emitter surface... right? How can you tell the difference between XR-E and XR-C ?
thanks
thanks
Here's my thread from last month. http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=191615
marinemaster
Flashlight Enthusiast
I am a bit confused, which of the 3AAA model Brinkmann ha s Cree. I may get one if I can see a picture of it or which has the latest Cree bin or similar. thanks Chris
Marduke
Flashaholic
See post #7, but it's not XR-E.
Gunner12
Flashaholic
They all look the same from the outside. You'll have to look at the LED to see which version you have in your hands.
Some of the lower bins/older XR-E LEDs have less the 4 bond wires. So my guess would be the Brinkmann uses lower bin LEDs or older LEDs.
Some of the lower bins/older XR-E LEDs have less the 4 bond wires. So my guess would be the Brinkmann uses lower bin LEDs or older LEDs.
Marduke
Flashaholic
It kinda looks smaller though, like it's XR-C. Either way, is it really that desirable?
kramer5150
Flashaholic
Spent some time at wal-mart today playing around with this light. They had an open package there so I took advantage of it and gave it a good close look.
I think there are 2 versions of this 3AAA light, the fore-mentioned Cree unit and the sample I looked at today which had a direct-driven Seoul.
The light is very cheap feeling and "plastic-ey" feeling. www pics dont really do it justice... perhaps I was expecting too much from it, hearing how the Maxfire LX compares favorably to the SF G2. It just didn't really "feel" like a $20 light. That sounds funny, but IMHO you can get a really well made light for your $20 now days. Granted, its plastic and rubber... but then again so is a Surefie G2, but that certainly doesn't really feel "cheap". To draw a more fair apples/apples comparison... the Energizer 1AA, 2AA and River-Rock 1AA lights at Target all feel much more durable and robust in the hand by comparison. I really wanted to walk out the door today with this light.. but I just couldn't.:sigh:
I think there are 2 versions of this 3AAA light, the fore-mentioned Cree unit and the sample I looked at today which had a direct-driven Seoul.
The light is very cheap feeling and "plastic-ey" feeling. www pics dont really do it justice... perhaps I was expecting too much from it, hearing how the Maxfire LX compares favorably to the SF G2. It just didn't really "feel" like a $20 light. That sounds funny, but IMHO you can get a really well made light for your $20 now days. Granted, its plastic and rubber... but then again so is a Surefie G2, but that certainly doesn't really feel "cheap". To draw a more fair apples/apples comparison... the Energizer 1AA, 2AA and River-Rock 1AA lights at Target all feel much more durable and robust in the hand by comparison. I really wanted to walk out the door today with this light.. but I just couldn't.:sigh:
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TORCH_BOY
Flashlight Enthusiast
Cool
generic808
Enlightened
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- Jan 19, 2008
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Oh, this newer Brinkmann doesn't compare to the Maxfire LX. It's a shame that Brinkmann decided to discontinue the MF model because they were great beater lights. I actually have 3 lying around, and a brand new 4th one I'm selling on ebay right now. The MF is probably the closest light in comparison to the G2. I own both, and of course the SF is better, but for the price of the MF, you really can't go wrong. This newer light just seems cheap in all aspects compared to the Maxfire build quality.
