Wassernaut
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
- Messages
- 195
This is a report of DX's 3W Cree Projection light SKU 4081), this one: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4081 According to DX it has a Cree XR-E P4 LED emitter, a glass lens and a smooth (deep) plastic reflector. It has a two mode tail-cap clickie (low and high, no momentary) and takes either 2xCR123A or 1x18650 to power it. It has a 3.6V-9.0V input, giving liberal options to power it. DX claims 100 Lux @1M. The battery tube is roomy, protected batteries fit easy.
This review will be a little different because: I'm a noob, and no expert on flashlights; this is my first report/review, and my reason for buying the light was different from most. Please be gentle, I have little knowledge and brief experience with flashlights.
I was looking for a powerful thrower, actually not for how far it would throw, but for its power. I wanted a light I could use along with my handgun in the event of an intruder in our home. I wanted one for the light to help me find the intruder, and hopefully one which would partially blind the intruder, giving me an edge to deal with the threat if neccesary.
I had an Ultrafire C2 3W (DX SKU 1446), which is a great little light, but not as powerful as I wanted for this purpose. I wanted more power, and I got it. I had my wife use it on me, and in our darkened house it immediately completely blinded me, and made it impossible to see the person behind the light. All I could see was searing white spots in my eyes, and it was impossible not to turn away.
The first click is "high", so you don't have to deal with stepping through modes. Click the tail clickie once and you're there. And it's the perfect size and weight for this use. With the strike bezel, along with its heft and large head, real damage could be done to an intruder's face if it had to be used like a kubaton, instead of resorting to lethal force.
It's a very well made light for this price range ($27.95). With batteries loaded it feels very substantial in your hand. The fit and finish is good, although not a Type IIII finish. I found the wall thickness, machining and threads to be quite good, and the battery tube gives plenty of room for protected RCR123A's and 18650's. I've seen smoother tail clickies, but this one works well enough and is recessed to allow a good tail stand. The low mode should be much dimmer, it's fairly useless as there's little difference between low and high. Experts probably wouldn't be happy with the beam as my emitter wasn't perfectly centered, but I find it fine for my use. It's a good size light (6.57 in x 2.17 in x 2.17 in and 6.84 oz) with a large head, certainly not for EDC, but a nice handful if you have to use it for a last resort defense. It would certainly increase the effectiveness of a backhanded punch.
The tail cap has a steel rod plunger with the spring enclosed inside a compartment instead of just an exposed spring. The tail has double o-rings. Although the head is large, the light is amazingly well balanced at almost the exact centerpoint, making it very comfortable to use. On my outside throw tests it really impressed me - this is an amazingly bright light for an LED. Using 2xRCR123A's I could light up trees a block away, and the spill was just about perfect for closer work. The spot is so bright you find yourself using the spill for anything close, and ignoring the low mode.
Totally by accident I gave it a drop test the first day. It was knocked off a high table onto a hardwood floor, bouncing and smacking so hard you could hear it all over the house. It came up with no damage and working perfectly.
Overall I am very pleased with this light. It's a very good value for the low purchase price. It's the brightest LED I've seen, bright enough to make one think it's an incandecent. I'm sorry for the lack of beamshots or technical information - I simply don't have the knowledge or experience to evaluate or supply such info.
This review will be a little different because: I'm a noob, and no expert on flashlights; this is my first report/review, and my reason for buying the light was different from most. Please be gentle, I have little knowledge and brief experience with flashlights.
I was looking for a powerful thrower, actually not for how far it would throw, but for its power. I wanted a light I could use along with my handgun in the event of an intruder in our home. I wanted one for the light to help me find the intruder, and hopefully one which would partially blind the intruder, giving me an edge to deal with the threat if neccesary.
I had an Ultrafire C2 3W (DX SKU 1446), which is a great little light, but not as powerful as I wanted for this purpose. I wanted more power, and I got it. I had my wife use it on me, and in our darkened house it immediately completely blinded me, and made it impossible to see the person behind the light. All I could see was searing white spots in my eyes, and it was impossible not to turn away.
The first click is "high", so you don't have to deal with stepping through modes. Click the tail clickie once and you're there. And it's the perfect size and weight for this use. With the strike bezel, along with its heft and large head, real damage could be done to an intruder's face if it had to be used like a kubaton, instead of resorting to lethal force.
It's a very well made light for this price range ($27.95). With batteries loaded it feels very substantial in your hand. The fit and finish is good, although not a Type IIII finish. I found the wall thickness, machining and threads to be quite good, and the battery tube gives plenty of room for protected RCR123A's and 18650's. I've seen smoother tail clickies, but this one works well enough and is recessed to allow a good tail stand. The low mode should be much dimmer, it's fairly useless as there's little difference between low and high. Experts probably wouldn't be happy with the beam as my emitter wasn't perfectly centered, but I find it fine for my use. It's a good size light (6.57 in x 2.17 in x 2.17 in and 6.84 oz) with a large head, certainly not for EDC, but a nice handful if you have to use it for a last resort defense. It would certainly increase the effectiveness of a backhanded punch.
The tail cap has a steel rod plunger with the spring enclosed inside a compartment instead of just an exposed spring. The tail has double o-rings. Although the head is large, the light is amazingly well balanced at almost the exact centerpoint, making it very comfortable to use. On my outside throw tests it really impressed me - this is an amazingly bright light for an LED. Using 2xRCR123A's I could light up trees a block away, and the spill was just about perfect for closer work. The spot is so bright you find yourself using the spill for anything close, and ignoring the low mode.
Totally by accident I gave it a drop test the first day. It was knocked off a high table onto a hardwood floor, bouncing and smacking so hard you could hear it all over the house. It came up with no damage and working perfectly.
Overall I am very pleased with this light. It's a very good value for the low purchase price. It's the brightest LED I've seen, bright enough to make one think it's an incandecent. I'm sorry for the lack of beamshots or technical information - I simply don't have the knowledge or experience to evaluate or supply such info.
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if what you said is true then your has better throw. Is it OP or smooth? mine is smooth hence ringed beam typical of Cree without OP reflector.
