Just got my P3D R100 Premium's in the mail!

[Quickstrike]

I just bought 2 P3D Premium's (one for me and one for my father)...

These are my first "higher quality" lights (just had Maglites prior to this) -- although L600 and 35w HID should be here shortly .

I ordered a dozen or so Panasonic CR123A's online, but just couldn't wait for them to arrive. 4x Energizer e2 lithium's and close to $40 later :sigh:, these things are powered!

I think I got lucky with the tint, as they appear to carry a very white, even color.

What else can I say? I am very impressed by the light these things emit for their size.

Any flashlight newbies that want to buy their first small'ish LED, should seriously look into the P3D!

 

[bluecrow76]

Get yourself some 3.6V or 3.0V RCR123s for day in day out use. I'm running mine on a pair of Ultrafire 3.6V (LC 16340 880mAh 3.6V) batteries. Mine won't run on the large battery (can't remember the number off the top right now... 16760???) although it fits. I just get high mode and nothing else.

But dang is it bright!

 

[Avatar28]

Get yourself some 3.6V or 3.0V RCR132s for day in day out use. I'm running mine on a pair of Ultrafire 3.6V (LC 16340 880mAh 3.6V) batteries. Mine won't run on the large battery (can't remember the number off the top right now... 16760???) although it fits. I just get high mode and nothing else.

But dang is it bright!

Are these the Ultrafires you use? I was thinking about getting these for my new P3D until somebody said they were too long (the page does say they are 1mm longer than normal) and that you would not be able to use the turbo and strobe modes with them. Is that an issue for you? If not, I expect to be buying a couple of pairs of these very soon along with this Ultrafire charger if I can figure out what to do for a spacer.

 

[bluecrow76]

The ones I have are blue and I think I bought them from DealExtreme a while ago, along with the UltraFire WF-139 charger, which came with aluminum spacers. I like the WF-139 MUCH MUCH better than the little DCD charger. I had one act up on me (huge spark when I went to unplug it from the wall... probably just some faulty electronics) but I haven't had any issues with my UltraFire charger. It just looks better to!

The 3.7V batteries gave me trouble (no access to other modes) but not he 3.6V ones. For the sure bet though go with the 3.0V RCR123s.

Another little tip, I use Dupont Teflon Silicone Lubricant (spray bottle) and it really helps the threads glide, and there's no grease.

 

[Quickstrike]

So with the 3.6V RCR123's, all the modes work and the brightness will be the same as my energizer batteries? How do the run times compare?

Thanks for the help.

I just took one of the lights into my 2-car garage this evening. The flood on this thing is amazing! I am so used to very defined beams -- where I have to pin-point the light exactly on the target. This little light fills whole walls/rooms with light. :thumbsup:

 

[Avatar28]

The ones I have are blue and I think I bought them from DealExtreme a while ago, along with the UltraFire WF-139 charger, which came with aluminum spacers. I like the WF-139 MUCH MUCH better than the little DCD charger. I had one act up on me (huge spark when I went to unplug it from the wall... probably just some faulty electronics) but I haven't had any issues with my UltraFire charger. It just looks better to!

The 3.7V batteries gave me trouble (no access to other modes) but not he 3.6V ones. For the sure bet though go with the 3.0V RCR123s.

Another little tip, I use Dupont Teflon Silicone Lubricant (spray bottle) and it really helps the threads glide, and there's no grease.

3.7v and 3.6v batteries should be the same. Which modes could you not access? I would rather have the 3.6v RCRs due to the longer runtime (should be about 20% greater than 3.0v)

 

[Khaytsus]

I just bought 2 P3D Premium's (one for me and one for my father)...

These are my first "higher quality" lights (just had Maglites prior to this) -- although L600 and 35w HID should be here shortly .

I ordered a dozen or so Panasonic CR123A's online, but just couldn't wait for them to arrive. 4x Energizer e2 lithium's and close to $40 later :sigh:, these things are powered!

I think I got lucky with the tint, as they appear to carry a very white, even color.

What else can I say? I am very impressed by the light these things emit for their size.

Any flashlight newbies that want to buy their first small'ish LED, should seriously look into the P3D!

You paid $40 for 4 E2's? Ouch! Fenix-Store has 16 for about $35.

 

[Quickstrike]

You paid $40 for 4 E2's? Ouch! Fenix-Store has 16 for about $35.

I didn't think local stores would overprice the batteries THAT much!

Every major retailer around here seems to sell a 2 piece e2 bundle for just over $16.00.

Just goes to show, you need to really stock up on these batteries from online orders.

Lesson learned .

Do you guys know how the Panasonic CR123A's compare to the Energizer E2's? Much difference?
I have 16 of them arriving, that I bought for around ~$20.




TIA,
-Quickstrike

 

[d123]

The ones I have are blue and I think I bought them from DealExtreme

Probably the same ones I have used, I've had 4 sets from dealextreme, some for over a year. Work perfectly in my LED lights including P3D and P3D Reb100.

Though I get all the modes on the P3D's, it's only on the P2D that I lose the low modes.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.722

Dave

 

[bluecrow76]

I didn't think local stores would overprice the batteries THAT much!

Every major retailer around here seems to sell a 2 piece e2 bundle for just over $16.00.

That's because they're selling them to camera users... not flashlight users! Check your local law enforcement shops (police supply) next time... they usually sell them for $1.25-1.75 as the police seem to be our only other brothers in lumens.

Evidently I was posting to late last night... I have no 3.7V RCR123s! It was a single 17670 that I tried and I only got turbo. No more posting for me past 11:30pm!

 

[DanielG]

I'm just waiting on mine to show up :sigh:

Now that I've read all the threads on it, I'm seriously considering a Cree version to go along with this one so I can use the turbo mode constantly on that one and use this one for general "really bright flashlight" use.

Quickstrike, I used to have that callsign when I was in the 4/2 ACR :thumbsup:

 

[KingGlamis]

Now you got me all excited since I will be ordering one tomorrow. How about some beam shots?

 

[Quickstrike]

I'm just waiting on mine to show up :sigh:

Now that I've read all the threads on it, I'm seriously considering a Cree version to go along with this one so I can use the turbo mode constantly on that one and use this one for general "really bright flashlight" use.

Quickstrike, I used to have that callsign when I was in the 4/2 ACR :thumbsup:

So you can run the Cree models in turbo mode until the batteries run out of juice?

Just has to do with the Rebels running @ hotter temps?

Might want to wait for the Q5 Cree's in P3D form -- seems likely that they will arrive sometime shortly.

 

[Quickstrike]

Now you got me all excited since I will be ordering one tomorrow. How about some beam shots?

I don't think that you will be disappointed!

My digicam is currently being lent out to a friend.. should be able to get some pics later this week.

Hopefully by then it will be comparison shots vs. the L600 and Sam's 35W HID .

 

[Gunner12]

I'm just waiting on mine to show up :sigh:

Now that I've read all the threads on it, I'm seriously considering a Cree version to go along with this one so I can use the turbo mode constantly on that one and use this one for general "really bright flashlight" use.

Quickstrike, I used to have that callsign when I was in the 4/2 ACR :thumbsup:

I don't think there should be a problem with heat unless you leave you light on in a oven or very well heat isolated pocket or small place. When you are holding the light, you hand acts acts as a secondary heat-sink and removes the excess heat form the light.

The 10 minute rating is to prevent the company from getting sued if some idiot decides to place his light in turbo mode in a thick down blanket and burns himself trying to pick up the light.

Congrats on the new light!

 

[DanielG]

So you can run the Cree models in turbo mode until the batteries run out of juice?

Just has to do with the Rebels running @ hotter temps?

Might want to wait for the Q5 Cree's in P3D form -- seems likely that they will arrive sometime shortly.

Dunno. I've just been reading thread after thread about the cree running regularly in turbo without problem and the "do not run over 10 minutes in turbo mode" on the R100 note that's not on the cree version.

I'm sure it's heat related. People on this board are probably a lot more knowledgeable about this stuff than I probably ever will be.

I may just wait on the Q5 Cree, that's for the head's up. I'm just getting into this and it seems like a really exciting time to be getting into it. Seems I'm going to need to keep my eyes peeled for a lot of the new stuff

 

[moses]

Cree is better and more durable with heat by design. Much more apparently. However, I prever the Rebel's color and lower Vf. So my solution is to pair Rebel with AA, and maybe Cree for higher voltages such as lithiums.

 

[Avatar28]

I didn't think local stores would overprice the batteries THAT much!

Every major retailer around here seems to sell a 2 piece e2 bundle for just over $16.00.

That's still ouch! They're about $10-11 for a 2pk around here.

 

[Quickstrike]

That's still ouch! They're about $10-11 for a 2pk around here.

It doesn't help that the Canadian dollar is now worth more than the American :mecry:.

Oh well, I can make use of the lights a week sooner than I could've if I waited. That makes it all worth it.. right?

 

[Spence]

Why not keep the costly e2 Energizers as your back-up spares and traveling/emergency AA's since they have such a long shelf life. That's what I do, then run the RCR123 rechargeables day to day. Hope you guys are as happy with your P1D Cree Q5 SMO & OP as I am.