LED Light Recommendation?

[Ginseng]

Folks,

I've been out of the loop for a long time but spent a few hours trying to get caught up. I'm looking for a companion light for my SF L4 EDC and would like something that delivers the following specs. Can you help an old timer out?

1. uses 18650 protected Li-Ion cells (what's the current state of the art 18650 cell?)
2. currently highest output LED (Cree Q5, etc?) for 200+ advertised lumens
3. rear switch, clicky (tailstanding not required)
4. around $100 or less

Not too picky about the beam pattern as long as it has a good, well formed hotspot and quality spill light. Neither ultimate throw nor a luscious flood are required. Multiple levels are nice but not critical. A giant turbo head is undesirable so the Lumapower MRV is out.

I'm thinking the Dereelight CL1H V3.0 DI but am not sure if there are other options. Maybe the Lumapower M1 SE but what the heck is a reverse clickie? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Wilkey

 

[Gunner12]

Reverse clickie according to the Welcome Mat

The "reverse clickie" is very commonly available in inexpensive and general use household and outdoor flashlights. It has a button which must be fully pressed until it clicks and then fully released in order to get light. Once the light is on, a soft press will momentarily turn the light off, and once the button is released, the light will reactivate. This is a very inexpensive (and hence popular) switch type, but it is not suited for signaling or momentary operation.

The Dereelight would be great for this application.

Most would say AW's batteries are good.

 

[ntalbot]

Reverse clickie according to the Welcome Mat



The Dereelight would be great for this application.

Most would say AW's batteries are good.

+1 to what Gunner said on all counts.

 

[marc123]

+ 2 That is the exact setup I have and I could not be happier. I have the 1 stage pill in it. On - Off. That is it.

 

[Ginseng]

Thank you for the replies, guys. On the reverse clickie topic, do you think the single-stage that comes with the M1 Q5 is a viable option? Output and handling-wise, would the M1 and CL1H be pretty comparable?

Wilkey

 

[marc123]

I don't have an M1 so I cannot really compare output. I would consider the CL1H over it though because of the ease of upgrading it. $30 will see you with the brightest emitter on the market soon after they are available. Replacement parts are no problem either. Also from what I have read I believe the CL1H to be one of the brightest 18650 lights out there. Dereelight just released some R2 pills for it as well (now sold out) but I suspect there will be more coming soon.

 

[Ginseng]

You guys sold me. Just ordered a CL1H V3.0 DI.

Now what is an R2 and is that "better" than the Q5?

Sorry for all the questions...will the light come with an 18650 or will I need to order one from AW?

Wilkey

 

[Gunner12]

From what I've heard, the Dereelight CL1H with the smooth reflector is one of the best throwing lights in it's category.

Output should be higher with the Dereelight because it drives the LED harder then the M1(from what I know). Throw should be similar(from the numbers I've read).

The Dereelight would be cheaper to buy and easier to upgrade.

The R2 is slightly more efficient(and brighter then the Q5) but there aren't many R2s about. I'd wait at least till the R4s come out before upgrading.

You would have to buy the batteries and charger separately. They are two different companies.

 

[SilverFox]

Hello Wilkey,

How are you doing?

Tom

 

[Ginseng]

Hi Tom,

Been busy with my doctoral research. Also had a new daughter last March so the two girls keep me hopping. But I'm feeling the lightbug itch again. I've been out of lights for just a short time but so much is new to me. It's all so much more diverse and of course technology has advanced. Amazing.

I see you'be been very productive. I tip my hat to you for maintaining such high quality of work for so long.

Wilkey

 

[Ginseng]

I'd like to thank Marc, ntalbot, and gunner for their friendly and helpful advice. You should know that it is greatly appreciated. I may have a 2003 join date and a ton of posts but in this area, I am a rank newbie and a bit of a prodigal son. Thank you for not wagging the finger and admonishing me for looking harder before I asked. In my prior time here, I always made it a point to provide the benefit of my experience to anyone who needed it and this time, the tables were turned and you were there for me. That is one of the things I liked most about CPF.

Wilkey

 

[Hallis]

Well in fairness. the search function on the forum is hit or miss whether or not it gives you an error message upon searching So Most times one cant help but ask questions especially as it pertains to LED advancement. As far as the cells go i'd go with AW's protected cells. Ive heard nothing but good about them.

Shane

 

[Draven451]

Wilkey,


I know you already ordered your light and your selection of the Dereelight seems like a great choice. I recently received a Regalight WT1 - I had to order it from Lighthound since I missed the sales special. I'm fairly new to this forum and to this level of lights but I can say the WT1 is a very well made light and incredibly bright with its Cree Q5 LED. I'm currently using two CR123's primaries and it is quite a thrower with a nice white beam. The light can also use one 18650 which I have ordered along with some rcr123's and a charger from AW but since those are shipping out of Hong Kong I may not see them for awhile.

If the bug bites you a little more you may want to consider adding the WT1 to your collection - I know you would not be disappointed!

 

[san~man]

The light can also use one 18650 which I have ordered along with some rcr123's and a charger from AW but since those are shipping out of Hong Kong I may not see them for awhile.

You'll get AW's batteries in a week or so

 

[Ginseng]

Draven,

Thanks! I checked out StefanFS's review of the WT1. What a nice looking and performing light. In the interest of full disclosure, my LED collection consists of only two lights. I know, pretty weak. One is my custom built and the other is the latest in a line of SF L4 EDC reaching back to around 2003. The former only gets taken out to be occasionally fondled. The latter gets hard use every day and I'm on my 8th or 9th Pila Li-Ion.

I think my next purchase would be something different. Maybe a replacement for the Arc AAA that fell off my keychain and got lost somewhere. I see that AAA lights are producing considerably more than 9 lumens these days.

Wilkey

 

[js]

Wilkey!

How are you my friend?

Welcome back!

I wanted to mention that the latest premium Arc AAA with the highest binned emitter is FREAKING BRIGHT compared to what fell off your keychain. Like crazy bright compared to that. I bought my brother one of these for his birthday and gave it to him when he came to visit and we were playing with it. Very impressive for a single Nichia. Of course, there are a lot of AAA powered small lights now, and many use Crees or Seouls or whatever and are more fully featured and can use Li-ion or Ni-MH and so on, so consider them as well, I suppose. But if it were me, I'd buy one of the new Arc AAA's. However, my original, first-run Arc AAA LE is still going strong so no need.

Anyway, really great to see a post from you, Wilkey!

 

[I came to the light...]

I think buying a CL1H v3 was a great choice - my favorite light too. If I'd come in earlier I would have recommended that you look at the 3SD pill too, since they have such a good switching mechanism that it doesnt really get it the way. But no worries - DI is a great 1-stage light. There's a review coming up on light-reviews.com, if you want to see runtimes and lux numbers. (don't pay attention to the previous CL1H v3 review - faulty pill)

the Regalight has some of the best throw out there for its reflector size, and some of the best build quality overall. However, it's pretty long - only 4mm less than the giant throwers. Sadly, it has also stopped production - available while supplies last.

One last note - I'm not much into keychain lights, but I could say a few words. Arc's quality is the same as it's always been, but now you can get stuff quite a bit brighter. I don't know if it wasn't around when you left, or if you decided that you preffered an ARC for your keychain - if it's the former, be sure to ask around before buying one

 

[Ginseng]

Hi Jim,

It's good to be back, even if only at a much lower level of involvement. I just might go after one of the new Arcs. For my keychain, I want a set and forget light that will go months without attention or use. On-off only. Sounds like an Arc AAA with lithium primary is still the standard.

It's cool to see you as moderator. About time CPF officially recognized your dedication and fervor.

I came TTL,

I think I'll be happy with the CL1H and as flexible as the platform is, I think I'll probably run out of interest before I run out of options. Thanks for your advice on the Arcs. I'll do a little searching and poking around before I pull the trigger.

Wilkey