Just received my BadBoy 500 (initial impressions)

[Chief_Wiggum]

Thanks to dat2zip

http://home.attbi.com/~theledguy/cpf_store/cpf_store.htm

I now have a BadBoy 500 installed in my MiniM*g light. I got hooked after reading about "sandwiches" in this forum (for at least 8 hours) and decided the BB would be just the thing for my worn out Mag.

For those that don't know the BB is a replacement bulb for you MiniM*g light that incorporates a current (not voltage, I think) regulator and a Luxeon LED into a "sandwich" that installs into your MiniM*g.

Since I'm a flashaholic I couldn't just buy the BB 500. Oh, no! I had to get the glass lens, the McFlood reflector, and the Kroll tailcap switch too. And I'm glad I did, thank you very much.

First, let me say the standard Mag light bulb is weak and very inconsistent. The amount of usable light it offers is very low. The BB 500 transforms the light into a very usable tool. The light is just as bright if not brighter than the original, but the big improvment is the smooth even beam pattern. It has a well defined central pattern and just a slight ring near the outer edge. Very bright, very even.

I didn't even bother with the standard optics, I just installed the McFlood right off. This is also a must have addition. Most people will be using this light for close up illumination, and the broad even throw of the McFlood is perfect for this situation. For things like looking under the bed, inside the computer, under the sofa, inside cabinets, and basically anything around the house or in the car, this setup is perfect. Also great for things like setting up camp, cooking while camping, reading at night, etc.

I should also mention the candle mode. The MiniM*g's candle mode was useless. The BB candle mode is awesome. It will actually light up a small room.

Finally, I also like the Kroll "clickie" tailcap switch quite a bit as well. You don't need to focus this light, so twisting the head is kind of a pain. The clickie makes things easy, and it has a very positive substative feel.

Overall, great design. I'm looking forward to getting a lot of use out of this light.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

Here're a couple of photos. I should also mention that all the parts that make up the conversion are of very high quality. I was impressed.

Beam from about 6" away from white door. This actually looks pretty representative of what my eyes see.

Beam from about 12" away

 

[SurefireM6]

Very nice, thanks for the review! I can't wait for mine to show up an my door! Are you using the glass lens from Flashlightlens.com? I don't know if it will make a visible difference but I had to go all out for mine and ordered a couple of the glass lens'.

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

No, I bought the glass lens from the Accessories page on dat2zip's page. It makes a big difference over my scarred plastic mag lens.

 

[SurefireM6]

Cool, glad to hear it makes a difference. Man I can't wait. Thanks again for the review.

I decided to go this route bacause I have a problem using my SF KL1 option. I have many E2e's and KL1s, but since they are about $100 a pop I can't bring myself to really geting use out of them. I tend to want to keep my SF's in new condition. WIth M*gs, I can throw them, drag, kick, drop etc without a second thought. And when the M*g gets too banged up, I can transplant the BB500 into a new one for $7!

 

[Deleted member 684]

For comparism, here's the BB500 I have. Colours are edited to make it true to what the eye sees, ignore the long yellow piece of tape at the bottom, that was used to measure 1 feet from the wall where the light is placed.

Hope you get yours soon M6, it's a great light to have.

 

[Raven]

So this is a conversion, similar to the new beam correct? Since this is basically a very nice belt size led, why not get the stream light 4aa led instead?

The SL 4aa led is cheaper, so I'm guessing this bad boy conversion must be superior to the SL 4aa led in some other way then?

Raven

 

[SurefireM6]

Well, I like the fact that you can beat up the light and just replace the "shell" for dirt cheap. I'm going to be using this in some harsh environment and it will get banged up. Plus the BB500 uses a Luxeon Star LED. My KL1 blows away the X5T in brightness. It would probably take about 14 5mm LED's to equal the brightness of the 1 LS LED.

Also, the BB500 is regulated for 90 minutes of constant brightness instead of tapering off like the SL4aaa. So basically I'm getting it because it's brighter and regulated and "shell replacable"

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

Well, I like the conversion, because the Mag bodies are well built aluminum and I already had one lying around anyway.

I guess my beamshot really doesn't look quite that green, maybe my wall is tinted a bit. It looks more blue than green.

 

[RonM]

The SL 4aa led is cheaper, so I'm guessing this bad boy conversion must be superior to the SL 4aa led in some other way then?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">The BB500 is going to be considerably brighter than the SL 4AA, and since it is regulated the brightness is constant. The Minimag form factor is also smaller. The downside to the BB is the short runtime. That baby is pulling 500mA and only goes about 90 minutes. 90 beautiful minutes.

 

[Icebreak]

Originally posted by SurefireM6:
I'm getting it because it's brighter and regulated and "shell replacable"

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I had not thought of that. Simple concept, but I haven't even heard any references to it either. Since the good stuff is on the inside I guess I can quit worrying about scratches. Side note: I dropped My BB500 Mini-M*g from waist high unto a tile floor. It didn't sound good but nothing broke.

 

[carl]

Nice pics! Whats the difference between the BB and the Madmax?

 

[LongThrow]

Drop testing the BB500,
I handed my BB500 M*g to a drunk friend to play with, figured if it could handle a drunk, it should do well with me.

Yes, he dropped it from about 4 to 5 feet onto cement and it had no problems. I will not do that one again but, it has been "drunk tested".

 

[Chief_Wiggum]

I'm pretty sure the MadMax is not regulated, or is regulated differently. I've heard it starts out brighter, but doesn't maintain that level. Where the BB starts out dimmer, but maintains it's brightness over a longer period.

 

[Icebreak]

Originally posted by LongThrow:
Drop testing the BB500...
...it has been "drunk tested".

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">

 

[Raven]

About this Bad Boy conversion - would you say that for it's size it is the most powerful led flashlight besides surefire models?

Raven

 

[SurefireM6]

Originally posted by carl:
Nice pics! Whats the difference between the BB and the Madmax?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I think the Madmax has a step up converter to get the most output from the batteries at any given time. So the brightness tapers accordingly and you can run down the batteries til its bone dry.

The BB500 would start out dimmer but maintains the same brightness for 90 minutes. Eventually, somewhere on the brightness curve, the Madmax would meet and fall below the BB500.

 

[Eric S]

I have a BB500, Madmax and a SL4AA led!

The BB draws a constant 500ma. The MM is voltage regulated, not current regulated. It will maintain a more constant brightnest on nimh or lithiums.

My BB is only slighty brighter than my SL. But don`t think that brighter (in this case) is superior. The SL on fresh batts. puts out a whole lot more light in a flood that throws just as far. My LGI is much brighter than both but, the SL is still a force to be reckon with for 7 leds.

Eric

 

[RonM]

My BB is only slighty brighter than my SL. But don`t think that brighter (in this case) is superior. The SL on fresh batts. puts out a whole lot more light in a flood that throws just as far. My LGI is much brighter than both but, the SL is still a force to be reckon with for 7 leds.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Hmm. The SL must be seriously overdriven. I don't have one, but I do have the 10 LED Technology Associates Versalux Utility Light Module .

The ULM is bright, but still not as bright as my BB500. Judging brightness is a difficult task because different lights have different amounts of focus.

For example: Two lights with equally bright hot spots, but the second light's hot spot is twice the radius. Since area goes up with the square of the radius, the second light is covering 4 times the area, so is putting out 4 times the light. But many a casual observer might say it's only twice as bright.

 

[Entropy]

Originally posted by Raven:
About this Bad Boy conversion - would you say that for it's size it is the most powerful led flashlight besides surefire models?

Raven

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yes.

(Note: The Surefire LED heads use the same LEDs that the BadBoy does. So the BB would be comparable or even brighter since the BadBoys are somewhat overdriven, OTOH Surefire probably uses better bin Luxeons, i.e. more consistent color and higher output.)

One exception: McGizmo put a 5W Luxeon driven by a 700 mA BadBoy converter board in a 2x123 version of the McLux. About the same size as a MM and about 5x as bright. But so far 2x123 battery holders look like they will NOT be available as part of the McLux production run.

I have a BB400, I love it. Mine has much better color than Wiggum's, looks like he got one of the pee green Luxeons.

I have the following accessories:
McFlood
Kroll tailswitch
Acrylic half-ball (retired for now)
22.5x25.5 DCX lens from Anchor Optical Surplus for a "narrow flood". Beamshots to come when I get around to it...
MiniMag accessory kit (to hold the half-ball or DCX lens)