moldyoldy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sorry for the length of post. Some of the thoughts need to stay together to remain in context. The main point is that these comments are not about what I would like in an LED flashlight. Nevertheless, some of the comments are pertinent to my experiences and preferences. I have inadvertently turned into a purveyor of flashlights for a couple dozen people ranging from school teachers to maintenance men to college students with some engineers tossed in for completeness. This is absolutely not flashaholic territory! Prime requirements are bright and small (pocketable) and simple to operate.
Simple operation: on or off. Most of the usage is high (turbo) or low and very little in-between. Ramping levels mean nothing. The preferred level at turn-on is max output. Some low level is an alternate for run-time enhancement. The Fenix method of two modes, one of which could be turbo at turn-on, is usable. Twisty operation is simpler, a clicky is possible, but some people do not have the strength in a single finger/thumb to push the clicky as far as it needs to go. Fenix seems to have regressed in how far their clicky switches have to be pushed to be "on" – too deep of a push. The L1T/L2T-V2.0 are simple, but the output is too low.
Number of cells: Single cell is the winner by far. The L2D-xx or D20 are simply too long. The TK-xx is almost too fat. The P3D-XX is acceptable, sort of. Any attempt to group cells parallel to each other would result in a fat light – no-go.
Brightness & color: white and bright. 120 lumens to 180+ lumens for the high level. The P1D-Q5 wins the popularity contest, although they use the first level that turns on, rarely do they switch levels. The P3D-Q5 close behind for the really impressive output. The primary problem is the CR123 cells. The L1D-Q5 is Ok, but on the low side for intensity even on turbo. There is a significant difficulty in testing for brightness due to varying spot/spill conditions as well as the battery condition. I am surprised at the strong effect of state of charge and age of the AA cells on intensity. The terminal voltage varies noticeably under load, which directly affects the brightness especially on single AA lights.
Battery type: the AA or AAA cells are by far the most requested, until the people discover the relative intensity increase because of the CR123 cell. Even then they balk. CR123 cells are not routinely available or too expensive when the battery is discharged. AA cells are available almost anywhere. It makes no difference that the school or maintenance office has spare CR123 cells available.
Beam pattern: for those working inside of a building – a beam with an OK spot, but lots of spill is wanted. For those working outside of a building – lots of spot (throw), but some spill is desired. The L1D-Q5 has a rather diffuse spot and is liked for inside work. The LD10 has a tight spot and will be noticeably brighter than the L1D-Q5 at distances beyond 25 meters. The D20 actually has a small tight spot, surrounded by a larger spot, then with spill. Even the D10 and D10-GDP are remarkable in beam pattern differences. It is difficult even for me to pick one - So I have both….
Switch action: twist vs click vs piston. I have had many click switches fail on me, including Maglites. So far I have not had any Fenix click switches fail…yet. I have had the clicky switch pill rotate inside the tube and therefore fail to switch. A needle-nose pliers rotates it back. Twist switching is the simplest, but does require periodic cleaning and lubrication to maintain ease of rotation. The preferred switch is the twist. The piston switching method is the most elegant in design, but flaky in use. The double-click speed is set too fast in the NiteCore examples that I have (D10/D10GDP/D20). Most people, including myself, observe rather a lot of failed attempts to change from one mode to the other. There is also the ramping problem which evidently was solved in the D20. A surprising problem is the battery inside the piston. With a single-cell AA, the problem is not noticed. However with a two AA cells, the piston push can be quite stiff and not springing back as it should. I first noticed the stiffness issue when I tried out the D20 with 4 different battery brands. The2 Maha Imedion cells functioned as I have come to expect from my D10 units. The2 Maha Powerex cells were miserable – almost nothing worked correctly. Upon closer examination, I realized that the cells were slightly fatter, the casing was more abraded and resisted motion, and the base contact had a slight convex shape resulting in the cells kind of jamming themselves against the piston in the middle. The end result was much more friction between the batteries and the piston side-wall. Rubbing the AA cells with some very light electronic lube oil restored the correct operation.
What do I use? I kept one P3D-Q5 from all the 2-cell CR123 lights. I admittedly probably have a P3D-Q5 that is above average in intensity – better than any TK-xx lights that have passed thru my hands. I prefer single cell lights for size, safety, and consistency of use. That also means that if a cell discharges prematurely, I do not have to guess which one. For a variety of reasons, I am also slowly migrating away from CR123 cells. I just wish the AA lights had greater intensity! Most of what I have now are single cell AA lights with the highest intensity available. The two AA lights are too loooong! Last wish - the L0D-xx needs to reach 100 lumens!
Simple operation: on or off. Most of the usage is high (turbo) or low and very little in-between. Ramping levels mean nothing. The preferred level at turn-on is max output. Some low level is an alternate for run-time enhancement. The Fenix method of two modes, one of which could be turbo at turn-on, is usable. Twisty operation is simpler, a clicky is possible, but some people do not have the strength in a single finger/thumb to push the clicky as far as it needs to go. Fenix seems to have regressed in how far their clicky switches have to be pushed to be "on" – too deep of a push. The L1T/L2T-V2.0 are simple, but the output is too low.
Number of cells: Single cell is the winner by far. The L2D-xx or D20 are simply too long. The TK-xx is almost too fat. The P3D-XX is acceptable, sort of. Any attempt to group cells parallel to each other would result in a fat light – no-go.
Brightness & color: white and bright. 120 lumens to 180+ lumens for the high level. The P1D-Q5 wins the popularity contest, although they use the first level that turns on, rarely do they switch levels. The P3D-Q5 close behind for the really impressive output. The primary problem is the CR123 cells. The L1D-Q5 is Ok, but on the low side for intensity even on turbo. There is a significant difficulty in testing for brightness due to varying spot/spill conditions as well as the battery condition. I am surprised at the strong effect of state of charge and age of the AA cells on intensity. The terminal voltage varies noticeably under load, which directly affects the brightness especially on single AA lights.
Battery type: the AA or AAA cells are by far the most requested, until the people discover the relative intensity increase because of the CR123 cell. Even then they balk. CR123 cells are not routinely available or too expensive when the battery is discharged. AA cells are available almost anywhere. It makes no difference that the school or maintenance office has spare CR123 cells available.
Beam pattern: for those working inside of a building – a beam with an OK spot, but lots of spill is wanted. For those working outside of a building – lots of spot (throw), but some spill is desired. The L1D-Q5 has a rather diffuse spot and is liked for inside work. The LD10 has a tight spot and will be noticeably brighter than the L1D-Q5 at distances beyond 25 meters. The D20 actually has a small tight spot, surrounded by a larger spot, then with spill. Even the D10 and D10-GDP are remarkable in beam pattern differences. It is difficult even for me to pick one - So I have both….
Switch action: twist vs click vs piston. I have had many click switches fail on me, including Maglites. So far I have not had any Fenix click switches fail…yet. I have had the clicky switch pill rotate inside the tube and therefore fail to switch. A needle-nose pliers rotates it back. Twist switching is the simplest, but does require periodic cleaning and lubrication to maintain ease of rotation. The preferred switch is the twist. The piston switching method is the most elegant in design, but flaky in use. The double-click speed is set too fast in the NiteCore examples that I have (D10/D10GDP/D20). Most people, including myself, observe rather a lot of failed attempts to change from one mode to the other. There is also the ramping problem which evidently was solved in the D20. A surprising problem is the battery inside the piston. With a single-cell AA, the problem is not noticed. However with a two AA cells, the piston push can be quite stiff and not springing back as it should. I first noticed the stiffness issue when I tried out the D20 with 4 different battery brands. The2 Maha Imedion cells functioned as I have come to expect from my D10 units. The2 Maha Powerex cells were miserable – almost nothing worked correctly. Upon closer examination, I realized that the cells were slightly fatter, the casing was more abraded and resisted motion, and the base contact had a slight convex shape resulting in the cells kind of jamming themselves against the piston in the middle. The end result was much more friction between the batteries and the piston side-wall. Rubbing the AA cells with some very light electronic lube oil restored the correct operation.
What do I use? I kept one P3D-Q5 from all the 2-cell CR123 lights. I admittedly probably have a P3D-Q5 that is above average in intensity – better than any TK-xx lights that have passed thru my hands. I prefer single cell lights for size, safety, and consistency of use. That also means that if a cell discharges prematurely, I do not have to guess which one. For a variety of reasons, I am also slowly migrating away from CR123 cells. I just wish the AA lights had greater intensity! Most of what I have now are single cell AA lights with the highest intensity available. The two AA lights are too loooong! Last wish - the L0D-xx needs to reach 100 lumens!
