Looking for Advice for Light

[egroeg555]

I'm looking for a flashlight to use camping/backpacking, but I'd also use it at home. It would be nice to be able to spot things at a distance, though I don't need anything super excessive. From what I've read, Fenix seems to be a good brand and the the Fenix PD20 and PD30 look really nice, but they cost a bit more then I'd like to spend right now.

Just today, I ran across shiningbeam.com and Romisen lights. This site seems to have upgraded versions of Romisen lights. They have a lot of different models of Romisen lights that are somewhat difficult to decide between. From what I can tell from their descriptions, I'm leaning toward either the RC-F4 Q5, RC-M4 II Q5 2-Mode, or RC-N3 II Q5 2-Mode. Can anyone comment on the relative brightness or beam distance? Also, some claim to use a warm white Q3-C5 emitter or a bright Q5 emitter. How significant of a difference is this? For example, how would RC-N3 CREE Q5 compare to RC-N3 II NW?

Also, can anyone comment on these models or similar models in terms of convenience of button operation especially for the models that have multiple modes. How are the different modes selected? Also, how does the brightness of these Romisen lights compare to the Fenix PD20 or PD30?

Feel free to mention other models that you have found to be good that are in a similar price range.

 

[LEDninja]

Also, some claim to use a warm white Q3-C5 emitter or a bright Q5 emitter. How significant of a difference is this? For example, how would RC-N3 CREE Q5 compare to RC-N3 II NW?

Take a look at the backyard beamshots by WadeF here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=201112
The neutral (warm) white LEDs provide the same tint as the 'CL1H V4 3SD Warm White Q2 5A textured reflector'. Notice how the colours of the grass, dead grass (bottom right) and tree branch (top right) are more pleasing, less of the blue white cast the other LEDs put on everything.
So for a 'walk in the woods' the neutral (warm) white LED is preferred while for most indoor/downtown use a regular LED is preferred.
The neutral (warm) white LEDs are 15-20% less bright than the regular LEDs.

 

[pwatcher]

for an inexpensive but versatile light, maybe the Akoray k-109a would be interesting?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2951560&postcount=2

 

[carrot]

Whatever you do, pick something you know you can trust. When you need a light when you're camping or backpacking, you really need a light.

 

[curiousone1]

for an inexpensive but versatile light, maybe the Akoray k-109a would be interesting?

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2951560&postcount=2

+1 for the Akoray k-109a........<$20.00, 3 mode, programmable light that won't hurt if you lose it.....

 

[egroeg555]

Great, thanks for the information. Regarding the Akoray k-109a, what is it that you like about it more than other similar lights? On shiningbeam.com, at similar size and price to the K-109a, I saw the Romisen RC-29 II Q5 and Romisen RC-A4 X Cree Q5. How do these compare?

Also, I do like the idea of have a small EDC light, but what if I were to get a somewhat better thrower with a little more battery life? On shiningbeam I saw the Romisen RC-F4 CREE Q5 and ITP E50 Tactical Cree Q5. How would these fit that criteria? The E50 is a little more expensive, but looks pretty nice. I'd be willing to spend the extra cash if it is a better light though. Any other suggestions for what could work here?

 

[curiousone1]

I had a bad experience :mecry:with the one Romisen that I bought from DX.......the spring in the tailcap snapped off a couple of months after I had it....inspecting it, the spring was made VERY thin. I was reluctant to try another <$20.00 light, but the reviews on the various Akoray models that folks here on CPF had were usually quite favorable, so I took a chance. I first bought the K109 - a 5 mode (L,M,H,Strobe,SOS) light with memory. It was good. Build quality was at least what I expected from a $20.00 light. Then I saw KD had the K-109a - a 3 mode programmable....and that was all she wrote.....had to have it. It has been my EDC until just recently when I delved into the $100-range and bought the RRT-0. Both my K-109 and my K-109a are still working great. I ocasionally still use the K-109a when size is a concern (like in dress pants pockets ).

 

[gcbryan]

For camping, hiking in the wood, etc. I would prefer to have two relatively inexpensive one's rather than just one light regardless of the type.

That way you're sure one will work. One could break, you could lose it, battery issues whatever. Also, for longer battery life rather than going for a larger light I'd prefer to just be able to reduce the brightness. If you do that most any light will last for quite a while. You don't need or usually want super bright lights when you're camping. You want to preserve your night vision somewhat.

I have 3 small lights that I got for every day use. One uses 1 CR123 (Alkoray K-109), one is very small and uses 1 AAA (Ultrafire 602c or something like that) and one I really like uses 1 AA (Proton Pro).

The Proton Pro is infinitely variable from 115 lumens down to 1 lumen and also has a second smaller red led for preserving night vision when that's really an issue. It also has all of the strobe modes that most lights now have.

If size is no problem I suppose you can carry bigger lights with bigger batteries but it's usually not necessary. Excessive throw is not necessary for most applications either. Any light has adequate throw for most situations.

If you are hunting, tracking fleeing criminals, or some other specialized activity you might need exceptional throw. Otherwise, you just end up with a light that's good for throw but isn't so good the rest of the time.

Being able to reduce the brightness of a light is useful more often than needing a brighter light.

I've had lights by Fenix as well as Romisen. Ultimately regarding features it's just personal preference. They're both well made. I did have a bad clicky switch on the Romisen but that can happen to any light I suppose. It was well made otherwise.

 

[egroeg555]

OK thanks for the info about the k-109a. I'll definitely consider it.

About having multiple flashlights for camping, this is atucally what I had in mind. I have a Princton Tec headlamp from about 7 years ago. I've used this light a lot for camping and other things. I'm not sure of the model, but it looks very similar to the Yukon HL listed on the Princton Tec website. However, I think mine is an older model. The reflector I see on the website picture looks much nicer, and I suspect the led technology is better also. My light has a fairly dim flood mode and a brighter focused mode, and I can run it for a long time without needing to change the batteries.

Anyway, I thought it would be nice to have a bright, hand held light in addition. I have had a number of situations where it would have helped to have a longer throw light. One situation is when I'm hiking at night. I figure I'd have the head lamp always on and click the hand held when I need to see a bit farther or if the trail isn't marked clearly. I had one particularly unfortunate experience nite hiking in the rain, in the woods, on a poorly blazed trail for about 4 miles. In dark woods, especially in the rain, my light does not penetrate as far as I'd like.

Also, since my headlamp has pretty decent run time, battery life isn't as big of a deal because I'd use my headlamp most, and turn on the hand held when I need something brighter or to see farther. I'm also not trying to be strictly practical. Having a decently bright light sounds useful and nifty.

 

[egroeg555]

Actually, after looking a bit more this evening, I'm really starting to like the Romisen RC-M4 II Q5. It has 2 modes. So, I should be able to bring the brightness down if I'm lighting up closer objects.

I haven't ruled out the others, but I'm leaning this direction.