Legion II SST-50 Review

[russthetoolman]

I have for review, the Legion II with the SST-50 LED. Neo sent it to me to show some beam shots, so here is my attempt
I asked about driver specs and this was his reply "This driver can provide a 4.5A current, while standard version is 2.8A.
And the efficiency is as good as the original one. That's the main difference."
These are in my backyard, 42 feet from the container and the center of the beams were centered on the yellow wheels of the lawnmower, so some of the spot is on the ground and some on the wall of the container. The tint is very white to me though it shows blue on the pictures, not sure why?
The exposure was the same for all shots at 1/2 second and 2.8 f-stop.
Adding 2-1-10...I am running it at level one (lowest) starting when I went to bed and 9 hours later, using the battery capacity indicator it has, shows it used two out of 6 levels, in other words when I went to bed it had 6 blinks showing full and now it has 4 blinks. That is all for now...
Adding 2-4-2010
I took amp readings at the tailcap. Took some time to figure out to do it only having two hands. Big tweezers, test leads and a rubber band and both hands!!

level 5 is 1.9 amps
level 4 is .94 amps
level 3 is .47 amps
level 2 is .25 amps
level 1 is .15 amps

Added 2-4-2010... I measured the voltage at the led as follows: Level 5 measured 4.0 volts and Level 1 measured 3.3 volts
Ok....
I haven't learned how to get the driver out of the head and the led is too deep to reach to unsoldier and attach amp leads. I believe the great heat dissipation is due to the head is also the heatsink, as in, it is machined as one chunk with the led sitting behind the reflector and what it sits on is a bulkhead of aluminum and the led leads are passed through the two holes to attach to the driver behind it. My guess, could be missing seeing something

Here is how it arrived, not sure how they are shipped from production. This was packaged very tight and secure.

Against a ruler for proportion on size

Control shot 1/2 second. Yup, pitch black

Legion II SST-50 on Level 1 of 5

Legion II SST-50 on Level 2 of 5

Legion II SST-50 on Level 3 of 5

Legion II SST-50 on Level 4 of 5

Legion II SST-50 on Level 5 of 5

Surefire LX2 on high

Tiablo A9 w XP-G mod

Mag with P7 driven at 2.8 amps, OP reflector

Sunlite 16WFP with Smooth reflector on high, yes, it is a yellowish tint and 580 lumens, very bright in actual use

Legion II SST-50 on Level 5 of 5 (2nd shot)

Legion II SST-50 on Level 5 of 5 at top of tree 215 feet away, zoomed in

Sunlite 16WFP with Smooth reflector on high at top of tree 215 feet away, zoomed in

This is the Legion II SST-50 on level 5 at 575 feet to the shed, zoomed in, using a different camera for the shot, again, not sure why it shows blue?

I really like the light and its UI. There are other posts and threads about the Legion II, I have read them and I see my sample as a good one. The fit and finish is great. The spot has not donut or cross, it is a flawless beam, I like it. It is like a very bright Novatac beam.
The ability to tailstand is excellent as it has a very stable stance. I am using it on level one right now as I type this.
Thanks for looking
Russ

 

[csshih]

ooo, cool light! nice to see neoseikan upgrading the legion II

 

[Vesper]

Nice review and comparisons - thanks. That hotspot is BRIGHT on your high shots. Looks like it's going to burn a hole in your lawnmower.

 

[Dioni]

Nice review!

 

[StandardBattery]

Really Great Comparison Photos!!

I think I need one of these.

 

[toby_pra]

Hello!

Very nice shots. :thumbsup:

But one thing makes no sense, why is your LX2 much brighter than
your Mag P7 driven at 2.8Amps????

 

[HKJ]

Hello!

Very nice shots. :thumbsup:

But one thing makes no sense, why is your LX2 much brighter than
your Mag P7 driven at 2.8Amps????

Probably because the P7 is lightning a larger area, but to weak for the camera to pickup. On the P7 picture try looking at the right side, there is something there, that you can not see with the other lights.

 

[toby_pra]

Probably because the P7 is lightning a larger area, but to weak for the camera to pickup. On the P7 picture try looking at the right side, there is something there, that you can not see with the other lights.

Sorry but after all, there is no noticeable sidespill with the P7...

The P7 should be as least as bright as the Legion II on high! :thinking:

 

[HKJ]

Sorry but after all, there is no noticeable sidespill with the P7...

The P7 should be as least as bright as the Legion II on high! :thinking:

When I look at the picture the P7 is lightning things, that none of the other lights does. I do not believe that a P7 can match a SST-50 on 4.5 amp and the L2 also has a very good focus making the center even brighter (At least the MC-E version did).
But with all that said, the P7 does not look bright enough.

 

[Dioni]

But one thing makes no sense, why is your LX2 much brighter than
your Mag P7 driven at 2.8Amps????

Yep, really! :thinking:

 

[toby_pra]

When I look at the picture the P7 is lightning things, that none of the other lights does. I do not believe that a P7 can match a SST-50 on 4.5 amp and the L2 also has a very good focus making the center even brighter (At least the MC-E version did).
But with all that said, the P7 does not look bright enough.

The SSC P7 should match the SST-50 nearly, at least with the currents
you told...you are right, the LX2 has a good focus. IMO the sidespill
of the P7 Mag should be nearly the same like the Legion II. But it is much
less brighter...

 

[droeun]

This is the Legion II SST-50 on level 5 at 575 feet to the shed, zoomed in, using a different camera for the shot, again, not sure why it shows blue?

Russ

The cool tint is throwing off the camera's auto white balance, try adjusting it manually. Fluorescent seems to work pretty well. How do you like it compared to the old MC-E version?

 

[russthetoolman]

I never got the one with the MCE due to the "cross/ donut" issues. I did use a JetBeam M1X and I did not like the beam. As far as my P7...It is still putting out the lumens, just in a wider pattern, it is with a textured reflector, so the beam and spill is very smooth and flawless, if I put in a smooth reflector, then the spot would have artifacts and be brighter. It shows how nice the Legion's beam is concentrating the hotspot and spill much like the optics in the Surefire LX2. The camera is not able to pick up the subtle spill patterns. I tried to use lights that others may be familiar with or have seen beamshots on here. My overall impression and my like for very smooth beams from hotspot to spill makes me like this SST-50 version very much.
And my lawnmower survived the bright beams because of the lack of infrared energy put out by LED's :thinking: My hotwires may cause some melting though :sick2:
Thanks for the kind words. Doing my pictures and the hours it takes me to figure out how to host and write the post makes me really appreciate the nice work everyone does on this forum lovecpf
Russ

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

Thanks for sharing. I'm a big fan of the 1st Legion-II.

 

[toby_pra]

Thanks for the info Russ!

 

[Captain Dave]

Good review. Now if you could only get your hands on a standard L2, then you could compare them.

Cheers

 

[andromeda.73]

good test, I know where you bought? :devil:

 

[russthetoolman]

2-4-2010
I took amp readings at the tailcap. Took some time to figure out to do it only having two hands. Big tweezers, test leads and a rubber band and both hands!! The batteries measure 12.33 volts sitting in the light without it on, not enough hands to measure with the light on.
Ok....
level 5 is 1.9 amps
level 4 is .94 amps
level 3 is .47 amps
level 2 is .25 amps
level 1 is .15 amps

I haven't learned how to get the driver out of the head and the led is too deep to reach to unsoldier and attach amp leads. I believe the great heat dissipation is due to the head is also the heatsink, as in, it is machined as one chunk with the led sitting behind the reflector and what it sits on is a bulkhead of aluminum and the led leads are passed through the two holes to attach to the driver behind it. My guess, could be missing seeing something.

 

[recDNA]

Wow this light sounds right up my alley. I love pocket rockets and UI's with rings are so much better than clicky UI's that for the life of me I cannot understand why anybody would prefer them. (Not looking for off topic argument)

Anyway I went to the Marketplace thread and read about people who could not get in touch with manufacturer. That's ruins it for me. If a manufacturer is too busy to keep up with customer requests I just don't have the patience to deal with it. I know I'm missing out on a lot of great home-made lights but I know waiting and waiting for replies or delayed deliveries isn't for me. Too bad. Sounds like a great flashlight but every time I pre-order anything I end up regretting it.

I'm not knocking Neofab. I'm sure he does his best to keep up. If he ever has a surplus built maybe I'll give him a try.

 

[Patriot]

Wow, that's really a nice beam from this light. I like the Legion II but was annoyed by the donut hole. The new light does away with that problem.

Thanks for the review!