More Coleman Max lights including 2xAA Cree XR-E

[darknessemitter]

I'm afraid I don't have much time to list all the details right at this moment, but I thought people might be interested in some new Coleman Max lights that were being put on the shelves at Walmart yesterday as I watched. They include:

-2xAA Cree XR-E, Forward Clicky :twothumbs
-3xAAA Multi-mode Headlamp, Cree XR-E (high and low settings), 2x Red 5mm leds
-3xAAA Cree XR-E, Side clicky (direction unknown), Red and Blue filters
-3xAAA Cree XR-C, Tail clicky (direction unknown), Black finish, looks different from the other XR-E lights
2xAA Multi 5mm led, same body as Cree XR-E version, presumably Forward Clicky

I'll try to give more info when I have time later...

 

[LEDrock]

I'm afraid I don't have much time to list all the details right at this moment, but I thought people might be interested in some new Coleman Max lights that were being put on the shelves at Walmart yesterday as I watched. They include:

-2xAA Cree XR-E, Forward Clicky :twothumbs
-3xAAA Multi-mode Headlamp, Cree XR-E (high and low settings), 2x Red 5mm leds
-3xAAA Cree XR-E, Side clicky (direction unknown), Red and Blue filters
-3xAAA Cree XR-C, Tail clicky (direction unknown), Black finish, looks different from the other XR-E lights
2xAA Multi 5mm led, same body as Cree XR-E version, presumably Forward Clicky

I'll try to give more info when I have time later...

Dang! You beat me to it! I was just at Walmart yesterday myself. The flashlight section was mostly empty accept for a few new ones, including 3 Colemans. I didn't know there were so many. I had only heard about a 3AAA one on this forum in the past. Here is what I saw:

3AAA for 29.97. 115 lumen Cree with 6 hour runtime
2AA for 24.88. 115 lumen Cree with 5 hour runtime. (I want this one)
2 CR123 for 24.88. 115 lumen Cree with 2 hour runtime.

I thought they were all Tailcap clicky or momentary switches, but I was in a hurry and had to leave.

Does anyone here have experience with the 2AA yet? I'd love to hear about it!!!

 

[LEDrock]

Double post

 

[mikekoz]

I was in a Walmart in Oxford NC and I saw most of the lights you mention. I also saw one that ran on 2 CR2's:sick2:. It was cool looking and I was tempted, but passed. I did buy the one with the switch near the head with the filters and it is OK. It is a thrower and seems well made. I did NOT see the 2AA cree! I would have picked that up in a heartbeat and I may just have to go by Walmart on my way home today!

Mike

 

[LEDrock]

I was in a Walmart in Oxford NC and I saw most of the lights you mention. I also saw one that ran on 2 CR2's:sick2:. It was cool looking and I was tempted, but passed. I did buy the one with the switch near the head with the filters and it is OK. It is a thrower and seems well made. I did NOT see the 2AA cree! I would have picked that up in a heartbeat and I may just have to go by Walmart on my way home today!

Mike

That one you said was CR2 was most likely the one I referred to as CR123. I had assumed it was the same thing. Those batteries (included) did appear somewhat smaller than CR123s do. That explains why they had such a short runtime, even shorter than AA.

 

[tron1974]

Here are a couple more threads on these lights:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=198341
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=201792

 

[Wyeast]

Does anyone here have experience with the 2AA yet? I'd love to hear about it!!!

I posted some stuff about the 2AA in the 3AAA thread (the first one tron links to)

We could probably use with someone merging all these threads together and calling it the "COLEMAN MAX UBERTHREAD" or something.

 

[Chadder]

I bought the 2xcr2 light from Walmart two days ago. It is very bright but not sure about the 115 lumens it claims. I took it out behind my house and compared it to my e1b. It was just a little brighter that the e1b but light had a little less throw than the e1b. I also compared it to my e2dl and it was not near as bright as the e2dL. It had a much warmer color tint than the e1b. The coleman is just a little longer than the e1b but smaller in diameter. Overall I like this little light. I thought for $24 it would be a nice light to go along with my coleman headlamp that I keep in my hiking bag.They both take cr2's and I can swap out batteries.

 

[mikekoz]

I found the 2AA 115 lumen Cree model at a Walmart on my way home from work. This is the first time I have read about a new light on this forum from a B&M store where I actually found it in the first store I looked at:twothumbs. Anyhow, the light is well made and bright, but the tint is a little warm. I am usually not too picky about a lights tint, but I prefer an LED to be a bit whiter. This light has sort of a French vanilla cream color to it shrug: sorry...that is the first thing that popped into my mind!). We are going to another Walmart tomorrow eve, and if they have one, I may pick up another and see if maybe I just got one with an off colored LED. I had to buy 3 of the Energizer AA lights at target (3W) before I got one with a nice white tint. I will keep all interested up to date over the next few days.

Mike

 

[bobski]

 

[KDOG3]

I saw the Coleman lights in Wallyworld today as well. I was "this close" to picking up that CR2 version. It would make a great loaner. I'm torn between that and the 2AA version. The CR2 version is nice and compact though. But I'm concerned about the batteries and where to get them in bulk. I'd like to see a CR123 version....

 

[darknessemitter]

Anyhow, the light is well made and bright, but the tint is a little warm. I am usually not too picky about a lights tint, but I prefer an LED to be a bit whiter. This light has sort of a French vanilla cream color to it shrug: sorry...that is the first thing that popped into my mind!).

Yeah, the two of them that I got are both on the warmer side (sort of yellowish), but it's not such a bad tint to have, and it's not like it's severe.

It's possible that different batches of these lights will show up with different tints, if you really want a different one...

 

[darknessemitter]

I have the 2xAA Cree and the 3xAAA headlamp.
The 2xAA has a an orange-peel reflector and puts out a decent hotspot with spill. It doesn't tail stand, but at least the tail clicky can't be pushed in far enough to "click" into constant-on if you were to press the tail against a flat surface. The forward-clicky has a good feel; it isn't as sensitive as the 3-color 3xAAA flashlights mentioned in the other Coleman threads. It also shares the smooth finish with that model, but since the 2xAA isn't as wide, it's easier to keep your grip on it.

The headlamp has a Cree in an orange peel reflector, and two red 5mm leds outside of the reflector (protected by clear plastic windows and by the body of the headlamp). One thing that I like about this model is that the switching is done via a rotary switch on the side of the headlamp.

-Turn it counter-clockwise from "OFF" position to get the red leds.
-Turn it one notch clockwise from "OFF" positon to get the Cree on High.
-Turn it one more notch clockwise to get the Cree on Low.

I find this useful because it separates the red and white modes, and you don't have to cycle through all of the modes to get to the one that you want. I'm also glad that they didn't use a digital switching system since that can sometimes sacrifice moon mode (like with the ROV Sportsman Extreme headlamp with the diffuser).

 

[DaveG]

I picked up a 2-aa model it seems good to me tint wise,I returned the 3aaa headlight its tint was on the green side that I did not like.If you can find a M Mag brand pouch that has the full cover flap it fits the 2-aa Coleman well it has more room for the fatter Coleman light.

 

[darknessemitter]

I picked up a 2-aa model it seems good to me tint wise,I returned the 3aaa headlight its tint was on the green side that I did not like.If you can find a M Mag brand pouch that has the full cover flap it fits the 2-aa Coleman well it has more room for the fatter Coleman light.

One of the Nite-Ize holsters also fits them nicely.

 

[LEDrock]

As someone who was thinking about getting an 80 lumen 2AA Rayovac Sportsman Extreme for $25, I'm wondering if this Coleman 2AA Cree is an "ROV killer", or is it somehow inferior? I find it hard to imagine how Coleman is able to make a Cree light with 115 lumens instead of 80, with a runtime of 5 hours instead of 2, and still sell this light at the same exact price.

Is it just a better deal, or is its construction quality lacking?

With the price of everything going up these days, it's hard not to be suspicious when we can get something better for the same or lower price...

 

[EricTarini]

The Rayovac Sportsman Extreme 2AA for ~$25 at WalMart is a Luxeon III, which is less efficient, and not as bright as the Cree in the Coleman Max 2AA. There's also a 1W version of the Rayovac that is very nearly as bright as the Luxeon III, doesn't go through batteries nearly as fast, and is cheaper, too.

But I'm waiting for the Coleman Max Cree 2AA to show up in my WalMart.

 

[darknessemitter]

Don't put too much trust in what packages say about lumens; they probably figure there are a lot of consumers like me who don't have anything to measure the actual lumens with...

What I can tell you is that the Coleman is well-made and pretty bright.

If the ROV you're thinking of is one of the older Luxeon versions, this Coleman light is brighter than most Lux I and III lights that I have. If you're thinking of an ROV with a Luxeon Rebel (I'm not sure if there's one under the ROV brand yet, but I know they've been made by Nuwai), then I'm not sure which would be brighter. Keep in mind these lights will have different beam characteristics too.

As someone who was thinking about getting an 80 lumen 2AA Rayovac Sportsman Extreme for $25, I'm wondering if this Coleman 2AA Cree is an "ROV killer", or is it somehow inferior? I find it hard to imagine how Coleman is able to make a Cree light with 115 lumens instead of 80, with a runtime of 5 hours instead of 2, and still sell this light at the same exact price.

Is it just a better deal, or is its construction quality lacking?

With the price of everything going up these days, it's hard not to be suspicious when we can get something better for the same or lower price...

 

[Radiophile]

I have both an ROV 2AA Rebel 80 lumen and the Coleman Max 2AA 115 lumen. Given a choice of one or the other, I'd chose the Coleman because it's brighter, whiter, and it's got a forward clicky.

The ROV in comparison is slightly yellow and noticeably dimmer, although not by much. The Coleman has a slightly larger hot spot and smaller spill - both of which are brighter than the ROV's. I'd give the nod on build quality to the ROV because it just seems tougher - can't really say why, but it just feels that way to me. I think it's heavier too, but I haven't weighed them.

FWIW - The Coleman has 6 ridges in the battery tube that allows the AAs to fit. I checked with a set of cheapo calipers and the main tube diameter is just under 18mm. If the ridges were removed, it would allow CR123s or other batteries to be used. Don't know if the electronics can handle the higher voltages, but it'd be interesting to find out.

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Glad I checked this forum before posting yet another thread.

I too saw the 2AA, 3AAA and 3AAA Head Lamp by Coleman at my local Walmart.

The 2AA will come home with me when I can afford to. The HL probably as well.