Introducing: The AEON!!! A New Light from Endeavour!!

[sorgun]

Will the Aeon take RCR2 3,7 li-ion's like the Ion?

Gunnar

 

[bf1]

Count me in.....

 

[Russki]

I am in for Ti one.
Love my Ti and Al Nautilus.:thumbsup:

 

[DM51]

I thought members would like to see this first batch of beamshots, before I comment in more depth on the light itself.

I have compared 4 lights here – all made by Endeavour, and as mentioned in MSaxtilus’s excellent review. In order of age (oldest first) they are:

1. CR2 Ion original. Renowned for its beautiful soft, floody beam. It is not very bright by today’s standards, but it still has a place in the CPFer’s arsenal. It is an outstanding light for camping, providing excellent even illumination in a tent and wherever a floody beam is needed.

2. CR2 Ion XT. A newer, Ti version of the original Ion, with a Cree XR-E emitter. Mine has been with me for about 16 months. It is such a great light that I have carried it on my keychain throughout that time without a break. It still looks and works like new, despite being constantly jangled around with other hard metal objects (keys etc).

3. Nautilus. Enrique’s most recent masterpiece. About as small and neat as a CR123A light can get. A powerhouse in a tiny, beautifully-made package.

4. Aeon. It looks almost identical to the Ion, and in performance I expected it to come somewhere between the Ion XT and the Nautilus. The beamshots below show quite dramatically where it belongs.

See post #1 above for more details and MSaxtilus’s excellent pics of these lights.

All these lights have 2 settings, high and low, but this first batch of beamshots are all taken on the HIGH setting.

The same light is in each column, i.e. the Aeon is 2nd from the left in each case. The 4 rows were taken with progressively shorter exposures – each row of shots was stopped down 2 stops from the row above it. The bottom row is 8 stops less than the top row.

I said above that it would become clear from the beamshots where the Aeon belongs. As can be seen, the beam is almost identical to the Nautilus beam. It is right up there with its big brother. As the camera is stopped down, the Aeon matches the Nautilus almost exactly at each setting. The two lights are almost indistinguishable.

The CR2 Ion XT is much more blue in tone, compared to the warmer Aeon and Nautilus. It is also visibly less bright, as can be seen - I would estimate approximately half the brightness of the Aeon.

The original Ion is weaker still, as expected, and fades quickly with the shorter exposures. It is almost invisible in the bottom row, when the camera is stopped right down.

This is a sensational result for the Aeon. Bear in mind that the Nautilus is using a CR123A cell, and the Aeon is far smaller and uses a CR2 cell. The quality of the beam is outstanding.

And here’s the knockout punch: It runs for 90 minutes on one CR2 cell on the high setting!

More later.

 

[ViReN]

And here’s the knockout punch: It runs for 90 minutes on one CR2 cell on the high setting!

More later.

:faint:

 

[toby_pra]

WOW nice beamshots!

Thank you ver much....

The CR2 ION XT is very very bright!:D what emitter does it have?

 

[MSaxatilus]

Obviously I need to take some lesssons from DM51 about how to take beamshots!!! Awesome job. I'm very glad that I did not post my beamshots. DM51's truly represent what I found while experimenting with the light as well.

Thanks again for the beamshots! Great review. :thumbsup:

MSax

 

[HoopleHead]

thanks for the beamshots

i want one even more now!

 

[Endeavour]

Hey Folks,

Toby_pra: The CR2 Ion XT is no where near as bright as the Nautilus and Aeon; it used a P4 Bin XR-E which produces 80 lumens, coupled with a conical reflector. The Aeon uses an R2 bin XR-E, which produces 114 Lumens, and is using a parabolic reflector; the differences here are fairly well illustrated in the beamshots in the second row from the top in DM51's image.

I'll be starting a primary Aeon thread in the Custom BST in the coming weeks, but until that time, I do have one relevant picture to this thread. The prototype is made of aluminum, but here's a picture I received from the shop showing some titanium, which is more representative of what the run will look like (better quality photos are forthcoming when I receive the parts and take some pictures of my own):

Take care folks.

-Enrique

 

[mspeterson]

:eek::ooo::drool::faint:

Absolutely fantastic Enrique!!!!!

I'll take it!!!

Now quit teasing and hurry up!:nana::party::laughing:

 

[tnuckels]

Not to stray the thread, but have you considered putting the “Enrique” on a design for a single cell AA or AAA light?

 

[Thujone]

Absolutely wonderful looking. Here is to hoping for an ha run with Aeon around the bezel similar to the ION.

 

[karlthev]

:thinking: Well, I really HAVE been eating too much...guess I can save some there....and maybe I can drive less and walk more...there's a another few bucks...could use more flashlights in the house to cut down on the electricity costs...:crazy:...yeah, I guess I can get one!:kiss:


Karl

 

[Ned-L]

Will the Aeon take RCR2 3,7 li-ion's like the Ion?

Gunnar

Any chance it will handle an RCR2?

 

[Endeavour]

tnuckels: No, I'm not particularly interested in doing a AA or AAA based light because the market is over-saturated with some very cheap and inexpensive lights that would preclude there being much interest in a higher quality and comparatively more expensive product that would match the features of my other offerings. That said, this is something better discussed outside of a review thread of the Aeon.

Ned-L and Sorgun: None of my lights are specifically designed to run off rechargeable cells and I don't recommend their use. Some folks have chosen to use them in their lights, any if you choose to you assume all risks for their safe operation. With the runtimes my lights provide most people seem to only replace the batteries a handful of times per year anyway; the fact that rechargeable cells in this size provide such a low capacity, plus their inclination to explode make them fall well into the realm of impracticality, in my opinion.

-Enrique

 

[Ned-L]

Ned-L and Sorgun: None of my lights are specifically designed to run off rechargeable cells and I don't recommend their use. Some folks have chosen to use them in their lights, any if you choose to you assume all risks for their safe operation. With the runtimes my lights provide most people seem to only replace the batteries a handful of times per year anyway; the fact that rechargeable cells in this size provide such a low capacity, plus their inclination to explode make them fall well into the realm of impracticality, in my opinion.

-Enrique

Enrique, Thanks for the prompt reply. So it sounds like it can handle the voltage, although I understand that you don't recommend the rechargeable cells. I agree with you that the long runtimes support the case for sticking with primaries. The light looks and sounds great!

 

[DM51]

I would like to reinforce what I said in post #24, and Endeavour also mentions in post #29. The CR2 Ion XT is nowhere near as bright as the Aeon.

The top row of my beamshots in post #24 are really only of use in giving an idea of the shape of the beam. The centre (hotspot) is in each case completely burned out photographically, i.e. it appears white, so this part looks equally bright in all the lights. The camera can’t show degrees of brightness of white. This is still the case with the second row – in the centre, white is white, although the Ion XT’s hotspot has shrunk a little.

The difference is seen more clearly in the 3rd row. The Aeon is still white in the centre, but the Ion XT is now blue. In the 4th row, the effect is more dramatic. The Aeon’s light is still good, but the Ion XT is now only a very faint glow. If there was a 5th row, I think you would see the Ion XT completely disappear. If it was visible at all, it would be like the Ion original in the 4th row.

That is where the real difference lies, and you can begin to tell relative brightness – when you stop down the camera. By my visual estimation, the Aeon is at least 2x as bright as the Ion XT – maybe more than that.

I’m going to try and put together some more information for this review, and I hope to post again later today or tomorrow. I am very excited indeed about this light.

 

[toby_pra]

Hello Enrique!

Thank you very much for the informations...:D

 

[fnmag]

High level of interest. :thumbsup:

 

[fleegs]

How warm does the AEON get while running on high?


Rob