BuddTX
Flashlight Enthusiast
mini-review Inretech 2AA Luxeon Star drop in, & Kroll tailcap comments & comparisons
Well, this light has been reviewed on Craig's site too, but his site is "blocked out" at work (no kidding!) soe I do not have access to it at work. I will post it this evening.
Almost everyone here knows what this is, a drop in replacement for the incandescent bulb in the Maglight mini-mag 2AA flashlight.
Now if this were the only Luxeon Star (LS)flashlight that I had, and I had never seen any other LS lights, I would be very happy, as comparing it to my stock mini mag with the standard mini-mag bulb is a no brainer!
As others have said, the light that this guy puts out, is right in line with the other LS lights that I own.
If I had to rate the brightness of this item, compared to my other LS's, it would be in this order:
Brightest
LGI 3AA
Lambda Illuminator
ARC LS Second (2AA pack)
Inretech 2AA
CMG Reactor
Dimmest
I have a Elektrolumens 3AA LS light also, but as it has different optics, that give me a more pronunced, and focused beam, but do not difuse the light as much, I did not include the light here.
Now, the ARC LS Second, and the Inretech were almost a tie, the ARC having a slighter wider and slightly "more intense" light, but slightly green. wereas the Inretech had more of a white, very slight blue color.
Since I bought a huge amount of AA batteries, tonight I am going to do an experiment. I am going to put fresh Energizer MAX AA batteries in all the above mentioned lights, and let them run constantly for several hours. I am betting that the Inretech will be brighter than the others, after several hours, because it wasn't as bright to begin with. I will do this tonight, and will post the results tomorrow. I think Roy's graphs have already proven the outcome of this test.
So, I think that if you want something dramatic, get a Mr. bulk LGI, or dat2zip MadMax or BadBoy, or and ElektroLumens, or a Lambda Ill Pill or Illuminator. BUT, if you want a bright, white, inexpensive, readily available, replacement for that incandescent bulb in you mini-mag, for that non-flashoholic friend or family member of yours, this is the product to get.
And I think that is the market that Inretech is going after also. Replacing that mini-mag standard bulb.
I have been waiting to show an Electrician co-worker (non-flashoholic, but uses flashlights every single day) my Opalec Newbeam mini-mag conversion. I really like (and still do like!) my opalec Newbeam. It's is just the right amount of light to walk around the house in the middle of the night with, without hurting your eyes, and it is regulated, so you get constant output, and you have a red LED indicator that turns itself on, when the battery level is low. Actually, all my "used" AA lights go into a box, waiting to be used by the Opalec Newbeam, as I know when I am getting full light, and when the batteries are not able to supply full power anymore.
However, now that I have seen the Inretech, I much would rather show him the Inrtech product over the Newbeam. Much brighter, and stronger, and with a very acceptable run time. For shining around in electrical boxes, and looking at wiring in the ceiling and other places, the Inretech would be much prefered over the Newbeam. OK, so it's not regulated, but at 3.00 (on sale at Fry's) for 8 AA Rayovac Maximum Plus batteries, you can afford to spend 75 cents once every two weeks to put fresh batteries in you flashlight, for a tool that you will use every day.
And for the glove box, the lithium run time is impressive, as well as the long term storage that Lithiums can provide. Check out their graph:
Now something that I did try, was putting the Inretech into a Brinkmann, Legend AA. To me, it should have worked, but it did not. After all, the bulbs are interchangable, why not the Inretech. It was very dim, and sometimes would turn itself on and off. Switching it to a Mini-mag, all of a sudden, everything worked fine.
Also,I tried using a Kroll Tailcap. I noticed that the Light was weaker when I had the tailcap installed. Has anyone else noticed this with the Kroll tailcap?
So, a summary would be that the Inretech LS 2AA is a GREAT replacement for the standard mini-mag bulb. Brighter, longer run life per set of batteries, won't burn out, won't get black deposits on the bulb like the Mini-mag does and commercially available (not made by hobbiests). A great gift to all your non-flashoholic friends.
If you want the "sizzle" get a light or drop in replacement by one of the guys here, as listed above, but remember, that the "sizzle" comes at the expense of a shorter battery life.
If you have untold numbers of mini-mags floating around your house, the inretech along with lithium batteries would be an inexpensive way to place emergency lights in glove boxes, tool chests, etc.
And, as much as I like the Opalec newbeam, for a brighter mini-mag replacement, go with the Inretech.
Well, this light has been reviewed on Craig's site too, but his site is "blocked out" at work (no kidding!) soe I do not have access to it at work. I will post it this evening.
Almost everyone here knows what this is, a drop in replacement for the incandescent bulb in the Maglight mini-mag 2AA flashlight.
Now if this were the only Luxeon Star (LS)flashlight that I had, and I had never seen any other LS lights, I would be very happy, as comparing it to my stock mini mag with the standard mini-mag bulb is a no brainer!
As others have said, the light that this guy puts out, is right in line with the other LS lights that I own.
If I had to rate the brightness of this item, compared to my other LS's, it would be in this order:
Brightest
LGI 3AA
Lambda Illuminator
ARC LS Second (2AA pack)
Inretech 2AA
CMG Reactor
Dimmest
I have a Elektrolumens 3AA LS light also, but as it has different optics, that give me a more pronunced, and focused beam, but do not difuse the light as much, I did not include the light here.
Now, the ARC LS Second, and the Inretech were almost a tie, the ARC having a slighter wider and slightly "more intense" light, but slightly green. wereas the Inretech had more of a white, very slight blue color.
Since I bought a huge amount of AA batteries, tonight I am going to do an experiment. I am going to put fresh Energizer MAX AA batteries in all the above mentioned lights, and let them run constantly for several hours. I am betting that the Inretech will be brighter than the others, after several hours, because it wasn't as bright to begin with. I will do this tonight, and will post the results tomorrow. I think Roy's graphs have already proven the outcome of this test.
So, I think that if you want something dramatic, get a Mr. bulk LGI, or dat2zip MadMax or BadBoy, or and ElektroLumens, or a Lambda Ill Pill or Illuminator. BUT, if you want a bright, white, inexpensive, readily available, replacement for that incandescent bulb in you mini-mag, for that non-flashoholic friend or family member of yours, this is the product to get.
And I think that is the market that Inretech is going after also. Replacing that mini-mag standard bulb.
I have been waiting to show an Electrician co-worker (non-flashoholic, but uses flashlights every single day) my Opalec Newbeam mini-mag conversion. I really like (and still do like!) my opalec Newbeam. It's is just the right amount of light to walk around the house in the middle of the night with, without hurting your eyes, and it is regulated, so you get constant output, and you have a red LED indicator that turns itself on, when the battery level is low. Actually, all my "used" AA lights go into a box, waiting to be used by the Opalec Newbeam, as I know when I am getting full light, and when the batteries are not able to supply full power anymore.
However, now that I have seen the Inretech, I much would rather show him the Inrtech product over the Newbeam. Much brighter, and stronger, and with a very acceptable run time. For shining around in electrical boxes, and looking at wiring in the ceiling and other places, the Inretech would be much prefered over the Newbeam. OK, so it's not regulated, but at 3.00 (on sale at Fry's) for 8 AA Rayovac Maximum Plus batteries, you can afford to spend 75 cents once every two weeks to put fresh batteries in you flashlight, for a tool that you will use every day.
And for the glove box, the lithium run time is impressive, as well as the long term storage that Lithiums can provide. Check out their graph:
Now something that I did try, was putting the Inretech into a Brinkmann, Legend AA. To me, it should have worked, but it did not. After all, the bulbs are interchangable, why not the Inretech. It was very dim, and sometimes would turn itself on and off. Switching it to a Mini-mag, all of a sudden, everything worked fine.
Also,I tried using a Kroll Tailcap. I noticed that the Light was weaker when I had the tailcap installed. Has anyone else noticed this with the Kroll tailcap?
So, a summary would be that the Inretech LS 2AA is a GREAT replacement for the standard mini-mag bulb. Brighter, longer run life per set of batteries, won't burn out, won't get black deposits on the bulb like the Mini-mag does and commercially available (not made by hobbiests). A great gift to all your non-flashoholic friends.
If you want the "sizzle" get a light or drop in replacement by one of the guys here, as listed above, but remember, that the "sizzle" comes at the expense of a shorter battery life.
If you have untold numbers of mini-mags floating around your house, the inretech along with lithium batteries would be an inexpensive way to place emergency lights in glove boxes, tool chests, etc.
And, as much as I like the Opalec newbeam, for a brighter mini-mag replacement, go with the Inretech.
