Full circle. Come a long way? Have you?

[yaesumofo]

Hey guys I just wanted to make a posting about some thoughts which have come to mind recently.
Just a few minutes ago I want outside with 2 lights. One was an Aleph 1 head with a beautiful LUX III emitter driven at 917 mA made for me by Mcgizmo.
At the time this light engine was new it represented the state of the art. This light is a thrower. I don't know what the driver is I don't remember maybe a bad boy? it accepts anywhere
from 4 to 12 volts.
This is a very versatile light engine.
OK So the other light was a G2. A G2? Yes not an ordinary one though. this G2 has a Malkoff Surefire M60 (Q5) Mod stuck into it.
The beam color is very similar between these two flashlights. the M60 reminds me of a KL4 in terms of the big beam. The M60 is like a KL4 that throws. Does that make sense?
The Aleph 1 is a true thrower nice tight beam.
The Surefire M60 Mod is a light with a really big area of throw.
I shown the light across the street, with the Aleph all you could see was the hot spot. with the M60 the whole area was lit up. How cool is that? We have come a long way guys.
Another example of how far we have come is illustrated by another pair or flashlights, One the ARC AA . In it's way it represents the state of the art keychain light.. The other light
is the Surefire Titan.
The idea of a variable output in a flashlight was not really well accepted (except by those of us who fell for the Mr bulk Lion Cub and his other variable brightness flashlights.
See we have come so far that a big company like Surefire has adopted a technology (idea) and implemented it into a very nice small flashlight.
OK remember the early days? ARC LS? old school aluminum 6061-T6?
Now we are getting lights made from 7075-T6.
We have grown from aluminum to titanium and now back to aluminum.
My rambling point is this we have come a long way. there are more Fantastic tools and toys for us to play with than ever. The quality of Light is improving as well. Emitter Tints
are so much better.
I am amazed at the efficiency of the current lot of emitters. Talk about major improvements!! Wow.
I am blown away about the fact that not that long ago Lumileds was THE power LED company. Now ....well when was the last time you bought a Luxeon based flashlight?
It has been a while for me. It was a rebel 100 based fenix which I understand was basically a fluke and Luxeon is having a difficult time coming up with the goods.
I would have never imagined this seneriao.
OK I am rambling on.

BTW I stuck the M60 into a 3P and was quite amazed by the beam. I imagine that if the right driver was used a 3 P with an M60 wold be fantastic. In fact I want to make just such a light with
one of my 3P's.
I have come full circle from the 6P to lots and lots of lights small big ti aluminum, plastic... all kinds of emitters and globes. and her I am back where I started.
I am Just amazed today ,at the brightness of the Malkoff part, as
I was with the P61 globe in my 6P so many years ago.
Sorry to keep you.
I am enjoying the fruits of so much labor and innovation in out little hobby
If you guys need to feel this stuff for yourselves I highly recommend that you run out and dig up your old 6P and dust it off. Order one of the new drop in units designed for it and
prepare to be blown away.
I can speak for the Malkoff unit and I can say something about the P60 L by Surefire which is a great replacement for the stock P60..except that it isn't nearly as bright as a
stock p60 globe.
It is a very nice quality of beam though. Once I saw this I was very motivated to order a q5 Surefire M60 Mod made by Malkoff. But There is no comparison.

OK so where do we go from here? I can only imagine. I would have never guessed that we would be where we are at so I will not attempt to predict where we will go except to
say that in the not so distant future
lights will be brighter, smaller (maybe) and will run longer.
How cool will that be.

Yaesumofo

 

[woodrow]

You are right. I remember a poster here...Paul in Maryland I believe who had as his sig line...."small....bright...long running...pick any two." Now it is amzing that you can really have all three.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Very well put,
18 months ago I put my new LuxIII Fire~FlyIII on my keychain and enjoyed the multiple levels. My Peak Mediterranean LuxIII 2AA light was holstered on my belt next to my Leatherman Charge Ti. Life was good although both of the lights were rather large and heavy.
Today I have a L0D Q4 on my keychain running an Eneloop AAA NiMH battery. Close to the same firepower but much smaller and CONSIDERABLY lighter. Added bonus is the ability to run alkaline in low output mode in a pinch. The low self discharge ability of the Eneloop does not cause concern if the battery will be dead if I don't recharge it regularly.
The Mediterranean is still used at work but my EDC tough work light is a Peak Baltic SSC (highest power) single AAA light ! It is tucked in the small side pocket of the multi-tool holster and has the punch I need for working on things. A stout HA-III worklight that uses a single Eneloop AAA cell. It is great to have a spare battery on my keychain if need be.
My 2AA light is a L2D RB100 mounted on my bicycle helmet. It gives me the throw/spill I need for riding in darkness every morning on my way to work. No hotwires with large external packs, funky chargers, spare bulbs and all that jazz. My keychain light has been used by strapping it to the L2D with a rubber band, set on max and it is enough light to get me home.
The batteries for my keychain, work EDC and bicycle lighting all fit in the same charger at the same time. Two AAA and two AA Eneloops sitting quietly in a Maha C9000 charger and the display informs me of the progress.
2007 is the year I went LSD NiMH for batteries, 1xAAA for EDC and 2AA for bicycle lighting. No CR123A/RCR123 spoken here, they are not required anymore.

 

[regulator]

It is really great. The lights that really stand out with the improvememnt in LED efficiency are the small ones. I have a Peak Pacific with SCC (Photonfanatic sourced LED) with the pocket tube and it is one of the smallest AA cell lights around. It is the Ultrapower version. It still suprises me how much light this tiny flashlight can put out along with a decent runtime. It is as bright as an older modded Luxion 2AA Maglight using a Badboy converter - and it runs probably twice as long!

And of course the LED's are allowing for some powerful handheld lights with good runtime.

 

[Chronos]

Great post yaesumofo. It is amazing to see where we've been and where we are today. To think about what is coming in the next 12-24 months... hmmm.

A year or two ago a friend here on CPF donated an high power LEDTronics flashlight to a buddy of mine. When my friend moved a few months ago he presented me with the light. It is funny to think how just a few years ago we were wowed with how advanced this little light was (http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/ledtronics_flashled.htm)

Now when I turn it on I smile at the dim, blue glow of the LEDs. :sick2:

 

[divine]

It's going to be a great year.

 

[light_emitting_dude]

I remember about this time last year CPF was buzzing about the Cree P4!

 

[UncleFester]

I just built a 2AA MiniM@g with Sandwich Shoppe SOB917 Driving a Cree Q5, Two 14500 LiIons from AW, and a modified IMS20. This thing makes an AMAZING amount of light and has over an hour of runtime. As little as a year ago I wouldn't have thought it possible. With the LED companies trying to outgun each other, it's a great time to be a Flashaholic.

 

[Omega Man]

The first time I went backpacking/camping I had a shake-light that I thought was going to be SO cool. I ended up clipping a stock military anglehead to my pocket the whole trip for wood runs because the shake-light was less than useless.
The second time I brought a Quake II 21 LED light. http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/amart_quake2.htm
It was the brightest light we'd ever seen, we called it "The Sun". Man, that makes me think.

 

[V8TOYTRUCK]

I was going to do a post like in the Cafe but being a member since 2001. I have seen so much happen to the technology it is amazing. Unless you spend a good amount of time on CPF, you get left in the dust.

The technology has advanced so quickly...for kicks I bumped up on old thread on the CMG Reactor just to show how good we have it now. The peagreen color. Im talking seriously pea green. The low output. A few months later the KL1 came out and it was like a miracle!

Can't wait to see what comes in the next few years. 500 lumens, hours of runtime, infintely variable output from a CR2, adjustable super wide area light to pencil beam spot, all in a keychain light. Yes please!

 

[Oddjob]

Good points! It's always good to see where we came from to appreciate where we are and where we are going. When I buy lights now I fully expect them to eventually be replaced. Even high-end lights that would last a lifetime will probably be nudged from EDC duty by something smaller more effiient and brighter. I'll probably become more selective with my light purchases in the future but continually buying new lights is what's fun for me. Pretty much any light out there satisfies my day to day lighting needs so for me it becomes a matter of want over need.

 

[Omega Man]

Look at the lovefest going on for the ARC AAA at the moment on the board. That should say something about how somethings aren't being left in the dust.

 

[Echo63]

Look at the lovefest going on for the ARC AAA at the moment on the board. That should say something about how somethings aren't being left in the dust.

but the ARC aaa is a very well built light. that is light enough to always be carried
people still love them because they are nearly bulletproof, always seem to work when they are needed, and throw enough light for a long time.
and people dont think about replacing them, simply because they still work
the CMG infinity ultra would be doing the same, if Gerber hadnt have mucked it up

 

[waterboiler]

My first 'decent' light was a SF G2 - man I loved that thing about 3 years ago. Then I discovered this forum and bought a whole wack of lights. Now with a collection too large to really discuss with my better half, what do I find myself 'playing' with most of late - you got it my G2, this time with a P60L.

That poor P60L module has played musical chairs for the last 6 weeks. It came in a 6PL, but has spend time in a G3 and 9P. I think at the moment it is back in the G2 - talk about full circle, my 'oldest' SF light is getting the most use.

 

[garence]

I love that quote "small, bright, long running -- pick any two".

As I see it, if a light is very well made, it will always be useful. Maybe it won't stay as the daily EDC or first grab, but it'll always have a use. By "well made", meaning it's very rugged, well finished, good size/weight ratio, and has a very usable design (aesthetic being a plus). The resale value of the older AAA lights is a testament to that.

Anyway, been doing a lot of reading on the past posts--it's amazing what you guys have been witnessing and participating in. And also influencing! I haven't been around for long, but I do plan on keeping an eye around here. Lots of interesting things in the works.