Maratac AAA Q5 (Part 2)

[djshiner]

This is a very, very nice and inexpensive AAA light. Three cheers for member StandardBattery for getting this light to me.
The clip reverses nicely for ball cap mounting.

 

[d1337]

This is a very, very nice and inexpensive AAA light. Three cheers for member StandardBattery for getting this light to me.
The clip reverses nicely for ball cap mounting.

Thanks for this picture. It's good to see that the clip reverses. This will be great for clipping to the bill of hat as a make-shift headlamp.

 

[Robocop]

It seems like every year we are presented with a very good bang for the buck item and this may be one of those lights we will talk about for some time.

I remember the original Ultra-G was something like 15 dollars and it was an incredible deal. Then came the QIII and many others that you really could not pass up for the cost. This Maratac could easily be one of the great lights to come along if for nothing more than a beater light. If this exact light were presented 6 years ago we would have gladly spent much more to have it.

Really amazing how far small lights have developed and County Comm is simply one of those places I like to shop at. Many here will remember when they had the original Arc AAA as a free gift with certain amounts of purchases and through the years they are still a very good dealer. I now have a 3rd Maratac coming my way as a gift for a friend who runs the animal shelter I volunteer at on weekends....she asked for something she could keep in her pants pocket while sleeping at night as she often has to quickly run outside and check on her animals.

She asked me for something small for her to get around inside the house and also for a larger light to use once outside. The low is perfect for her and with a decent battery the high would work outside for her. One light will fit both her needs and this is the perfect light for just that.

Maybe we could get one to UnknownVT or someone else who could do some in depth tests on runtime and other features. I am curious about the circuit in this light and also plan on giving my friend a pack of rechargeable cells for her light. I have had good luck using rechargeables in my two lights and still have no idea as to total runtime or regulation (if any)

 

[sabre7]

She asked me for something small for her to get around inside the house and also for a larger light to use once outside. The low is perfect for her and with a decent battery the high would work outside for her. One light will fit both her needs and this is the perfect light for just that.

I tested mine in the house and in the dark backyard last night. This light is more than adequate for this purpose, even on medium it lit up a very large area outside and could be easily be used on medium or high for outdoor tasks or even hiking.

 

[AFAustin]

Maybe we could get one to UnknownVT or someone else who could do some in depth tests on runtime and other features. I am curious about the circuit in this light and also plan on giving my friend a pack of rechargeable cells for her light. I have had good luck using rechargeables in my two lights and still have no idea as to total runtime or regulation (if any)

I quite agree on the bang-for-the-buck aspect---the Maratac appears to be this year's EO1, and then some.

Good news on the testing front---selfbuilt has one en route: http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=197795 (Post #10)

 

[paintballdad]

I have to say that it's probably the best $25 i've ever spent on a flashlight. The light seems fairly well made with what feels like a very tough finish. And with time we will find out how reliable it will be.

The keychain attachment point seems rather weak though and i probably won't be using this on a keychain. I guess the lug body Matterhorn will stay on the keychain for a bit longer. The ITP version looks to be better made for keychain carry and will try it out when the "Upgrade" version becomes available. The Maratac does have the advantage of being able to tailstand. The choice of which light to get will largely depend on how you plan to carry it.

Maratac - pocket carry and tailstanding ability.
ITP Eos - keychain carry

Just my 2 cents.

 

[gbelleh]

After a little over a week with my natural finish Maratac on my keychain, it has been a great keychain light. The keychain attachment seems to be holding up fine. This light is perfect for walking the dog at night. The medium mode is perfect for lighting the path, and the high is great when a brighter beam is desired. Using a 10440 makes it even better (I've been using only Energizer lithiums in the natural finish (keychain duty), and 10440s in my black finish light. I use the high mode sparingly with the 10440, but it's impressively bright!). I'm very pleased with these lights so far.

 

[AFAustin]

I did an informal runtime test just now on my Maratac natural---on high, running on a freshly charged eneloop. It started out noticeably brighter (per ceiling bounce) than my LF2XT R2 on max. At around 40 minutes, it had dimmed just a tad, to about equal the LF2XT. At one hr., it was just a tiny bit dimmer than the LF2XT, but still very bright.

Thereafter, it began to dim much more rapidly, till I stopped the test at 1 hr. 10 min. But even at the end, it was still putting out a decent amount of light, about equal to my Matterhorn 3 LED HP, which I'm estimating at roughly 13 lumens.

These results are better than I expected---as to output, runtime, and regulation. Well regulated output on high for a solid hour is great. I am even more impressed with this little Maratac. :thumbsup:

 

[DM51]

This is a very, very nice and inexpensive AAA light. Three cheers for member StandardBattery for getting this light to me.
The clip reverses nicely for ball cap mounting.

That's an excellent photo. Maybe Patriot could copy/quote it into post #1? It would be good to have a pic there for the record, and for people new to the thread.

 

[richardcpf]

Looks good, still waiting for mine. I hope it can replace my RAW Al.

 

[Patriot]

Will do DM51, good idea. It's the best photo we have of this light for sure! Thanks djshiner.




Richardcpf, funny you mentioned the Raw Al, I left the house tonight with that in my right pocket and the Maratac AAA in the left. The Maratac is much more pocket friendly.

 

[djshiner]

Will do DM51, good idea. It's the best photo we have of this light for sure! Thanks djshiner.

🙂

 

[flatline]

Richardcpf, funny you mentioned the Raw Al, I left the house tonight with that in my right pocket and the Maratac AAA in the left. The Maratac is much more pocket friendly.

If you were looking for pocket friendly, why didn't you get the Wee instead of the raw?

Just curious...

 

[Yucca Patrol]

Looks good, still waiting for mine. I hope it can replace my RAW Al.

Let me know if you are intending to sell that Raw Al. I've got a titanium Wee and would love to match it with a Raw. . .

And as for the keychain clip. My assessment is that it appears to be much stronger than one might guess. The little bent tabs seem to hold it on very securely and it is not going to fall off unless some significant force were exerted. I wouldn't worry about it on a keychain at all.

 

[d1337]

I did an informal runtime test just now on my Maratac natural---on high, running on a freshly charged eneloop. It started out noticeably brighter (per ceiling bounce) than my LF2XT R2 on max. At around 40 minutes, it had dimmed just a tad, to about equal the LF2XT. At one hr., it was just a tiny bit dimmer than the LF2XT, but still very bright.

Thereafter, it began to dim much more rapidly, till I stopped the test at 1 hr. 10 min. But even at the end, it was still putting out a decent amount of light, about equal to my Matterhorn 3 LED HP, which I'm estimating at roughly 13 lumens.

These results are better than I expected---as to output, runtime, and regulation. Well regulated output on high for a solid hour is great. I am even more impressed with this little Maratac. :thumbsup:

Do you mean that you were running both of these lights for the full hour or were you comparing the Maratac to a fresh LF2XT each time? I have both on the way. I'm kind of hoping that the Maratac doesn't make me unhappy with my LF2XT R2. I could have gotten 3 Maratacs for the price of one LF2XT R2.

 

[AFAustin]

Do you mean that you were running both of these lights for the full hour or were you comparing the Maratac to a fresh LF2XT each time? I have both on the way. I'm kind of hoping that the Maratac doesn't make me unhappy with my LF2XT R2. I could have gotten 3 Maratacs for the price of one LF2XT R2.

The latter. The LF2XT stayed fresh---only the Maratac was going through the runtime test.

But, don't feel bad, the LF2XT has some advantages: being able to calibrate the output; a smoother transition from spot to spill, and hence a prettier beam IMO (although the Maratac is no slouch in that dept.); a lower low; all the clever features such as checking voltage under load and low battery cut-off; and the whole world of the FUI if you are into that, etc., etc.

Two great lights. The Maratac is definitely the bang-for-the-buck champ, and its simplicity is appealing. The LF2XT is a very sophisticated and versatile light---a cutting edge AAA, and also a lot of light for the $.

And, you upheld the noble CPF tradition---you BOUGHT BOTH! 😀

 

[d1337]

Thanks AFAustin. The more that I think about it I do really like the idea of the tail switch on the LF2XT as well. If the Maratac is as good as it seems it might make a good bang for the buck light that I can recommend to my non Flashaholic friends.

 

[adirondackdestroyer]

This does look like a great light, I just wish it had a lanyard hole on the actual body of the light (not a clip with a hole).

 

[gorn]

I couldn't stand it anymore. Since my wife could feel a weight difference between the black and natural I got a real nice scale. She was right that the lights were different weights. But the natural was .1 gram heavier. I took the duraloops out of them and they both weighed 11grams. One of my duraloops was .1gram heavier so I put it in the black one so she could feel better about it.

I have to be nice to her not only because she deserves it, but also because she has never complained no matter how many new lights show up each month.

 

[sabre7]

This does look like a great light, I just wish it had a lanyard hole on the actual body of the light (not a clip with a hole).

Waiting for the EOS natural version for keychain light, the keychain attachment is built into the tail.