Jetbeam BA10 or Fenix E11

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gooseman1991

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
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Hi all, I need some help deciding on a flashlight. I have narrowed down to these two because of the rear clicky, single AA battery, 2 brightness levels, priced reasonable, and sized to where I think I could easily put them on a lanyard, caribiner, keyring (maybe), or pocket. I have pretty much decided to order the Jetbeam in the morning unless I hear otherwise. It has 160 lumens on high compared to the E11's 115, and a 12 lumen low compared to the E11's 38. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Goose
 
I say go with the Jetbeam. I have a BC25 for a weapon light and it's been a very reliable light.
 
The BA10 has two good modes , but the switch on mine is kinda mushy. Klarus has a P1A that is very similar, but the switch feels better. The pocket clip on the Klarus is also positioned better, as the Jetbeam sits almost in the middle of the light .Either will give you good service.
 
While I like the Fenix better as a brand, I'd go with the JB for the lower low and clip. I recently bought the E11 for a friend and found the two modes too closely spaced and the low too bright for dark adjusted eyes. Also, for me at least, the difference in the low mode runtimes will far outweigh the difference in perceived output due our logarithmic brightness perception. BTW, I'd bet the difference in high lumens is much smaller than what the specs say due to different manufacturer conservatism/exaggeration.
 
reppans said:
While I like the Fenix better as a brand, I'd go with the JB for the lower low and clip. I recently bought the E11 for a friend and found the two modes too closely spaced and the low too bright for dark adjusted eyes. Also, for me at least, the difference in the low mode runtimes will far outweigh the difference in perceived output due our logarithmic brightness perception. BTW, I'd bet the difference in high lumens is much smaller than what the specs say due to different manufacturer conservatism/exaggeration.
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That is an important thing to me. In the "doomsday" scenario or something I think I'd be better off with more run time or in a situation where I needed to signal for help with it. Of course my 3D led mag would be better but this is given that all I have is what is on my person at the given time.

Goose
 
Although I'm unable to find a single manufacturer or re-seller in the US that will actually repair a jetbeam (unlike the fenix), I absolutely love my PA10 that fits a very similar description you're looking for.

The jetbeams feel like quality and although some complain about mushy tail caps (which is true about my pa10), I really have had no issues with it both using a 14500 and a AA.

The jetbeam will be bigger than the fenix in terms of profile, but personally I'd prefer a pocket clip over a lanyard.

Did you end up ordering the BA10?
 
gooseman1991 said:
That is an important thing to me. In the "doomsday" scenario or something I think I'd be better off with more run time or in a situation where I needed to signal for help with it. Of course my 3D led mag would be better but this is given that all I have is what is on my person at the given time.

Goose
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If you are interested in longer runtimes than for exactly the same price of a BA10 you can get a Nitecore MT1A: the 5-lumen Low will give you 60h vs 30h with the BA10! IMHO a much better choice as it gives you several brightness levels and it has memory on the secondary mode so once you select the lower output you want basically works as a BA10.

If runtimes are important to you, you also have much better options than the E11/BA10/MT1A but probably not in the same price range.
 
Jigsawed said:
Although I'm unable to find a single manufacturer or re-seller in the US that will actually repair a jetbeam (unlike the fenix), I absolutely love my PA10 that fits a very similar description you're looking for.

The jetbeams feel like quality and although some complain about mushy tail caps (which is true about my pa10), I really have had no issues with it both using a 14500 and a AA.

The jetbeam will be bigger than the fenix in terms of profile, but personally I'd prefer a pocket clip over a lanyard.

Did you end up ordering the BA10?
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Probably gonna do that this morning.

Labrador72 said:
If you are interested in longer runtimes than for exactly the same price of a BA10 you can get a Nitecore MT1A: the 5-lumen Low will give you 60h vs 30h with the BA10! IMHO a much better choice as it gives you several brightness levels and it has memory on the secondary mode so once you select the lower output you want basically works as a BA10.

If runtimes are important to you, you also have much better options than the E11/BA10/MT1A but probably not in the same price range.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestions. It seems great and I looked up some youtube videos but I am not crazy about the mode switching. Also I may purchase I nicer light down the road, the is mostly a starter light. I recently got my CCW permit and wish to add a light to my EDC.
 
gooseman1991 said:
Probably gonna do that this morning.



Thank you for the suggestions. It seems great and I looked up some youtube videos but I am not crazy about the mode switching. Also I may purchase I nicer light down the road, the is mostly a starter light. I recently got my CCW permit and wish to add a light to my EDC.
Click to expand...

If you recently got your CCW then you might want to add the Klarus XT1A to your EDC: you are probably going to love the mode switch. I think it's priced at over $50 though.
 
Labrador72 said:
If you recently got your CCW then you might want to add the Klarus XT1A to your EDC: you are probably going to love the mode switch. I think it's priced at over $50 though.
Click to expand...

Now that is a flashlight my friend! Does the mode button get hit easily in the pocket?
 
I rarely carry my XT1A in the pocket but I do occasionally have the XT2C which has exactly the same UI with a bigger form factor and the mode button never got activated accidentally. When the light is off the mode button only activates the strobe while when the light is on the mode button either activates the strobe (I think if pressed for over 1 sec) or it switches mode. Changing modes is super-easy and this light really allows for one-hand operation, that's why I thought I'd mention it when you said you got your CCW permit. The XT1A always comes on on high. The only downside of XT1A is that on max runtimes aren't impressive. On the other modes they are okaish. I find it to be a reasonable tradeoff for such a good UI.

The clip isn't great but neither is the one on the JB BA10 or Klarus P1A: in fact I think they all use a similar pocket clips. If you buy it, just check with the retailer first that they have XT lights with clips, the first ones were shipped without it. You might want to check if any retailers have the version with the newer XP-G2 LED as it would probably offer slightlybetter runtimes. I read GoingGear already have the XT2A with XP-G2 so you might want to check with them if they also have the XT1A XP-G2 in stock.

Another thing: though Klarus recommend not using 14500 li-ions batteries because it might fry the light, I have been using 14500 with mine no problem for some time: on 14500 it is very bright on max and retains all output modes. In my opinion this is a plus if later you decide to buy lights using Li-on batteries.
 
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Labrador72 said:
I rarely carry my XT1A in the pocket but I do occasionally have the XT2C which has exactly the same UI with a bigger form factor and the mode button never got activated accidentally. When the light is off the mode button only activates the strobe while when the light is on the mode button either activates the strobe (I think if pressed for over 1 sec) or it switches mode. Changing modes is super-easy and this light really allows for one-hand operation, that's why I thought I'd mention it when you said you got your CCW permit. The XT1A always comes on on high. The only downside of XT1A is that on max runtimes aren't impressive. On the other modes they are okaish. I find it to be a reasonable tradeoff for such a good UI.

The clip isn't great but neither is the one on the JB BA10 or Klarus P1A: in fact I think they all use a similar pocket clips. If you buy it, just check with the retailer first that they have XT lights with clips, the first ones were shipped without it. You might want to check if any retailers have the version with the newer XP-G2 LED as it would probably offer slightlybetter runtimes. I read GoingGear already have the XT2A with XP-G2 so you might want to check with them if they also have the XT1A XP-G2 in stock.

Another thing: though Klarus recommend not using 14500 li-ions batteries because it might fry the light, I have been using 14500 with mine no problem for some time: on 14500 it is very bright on max and retains all output modes. In my opinion this is a plus if later you decide to buy lights using Li-on batteries.
Click to expand...

From what I found on the website it looks like the G2 is only offered in the 2A version for now.
 
Well the Klaurus seems to fit my needs so I just ordered it off Amazon...and some orange paracord lol
 
To those who were interested I received the Klaurus along with 100 feet of paracord today. I am impressed. Easy one hand operation, 3 brightnesses levels, and a sheath that rides pretty well.
 
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