This flashlight is an inexpensive ($23 delivered) 1AA pocket light with a tail clicky, a low low which lasts for 35+ hours on 1 AA battery, and a pretty high output high level. Below are beamshots of this light and comparable lights and I ran a runtime test of these flashlights on low setting to see how long they will last.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8752 (black)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8751 (gray)
A long thread about it: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178256
Size is:
3.819" (97 mm) long
0.914" (23.2 mm) wide at the widest point
Here is another thread that lays out how the user interface works.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=186062
I operate the light with these settings:
Very Low -> Low -> Med-> Hi -> VERY very low -> 5 second Beacon
A half press of the clicky switches between modes. A half click on the 5 second beacon switches back to the Very Low level and so on.
It took 18 days from order to delivery, not too bad for $23 delivered. They sent a black version instead of a gray one, but it looks fine and has a fully orange peel reflector.
First impressions:
Feels well made, the anodize is nice and even. No sharp edges anywhere (why can't you do this Nitecore???). Knurling allows a good grip on the flashlight.
It can tailstand.
Glow in the dark reverse clicky. Modes are changed by half presses of the clicky. No head twisting!!!
No instructions included. When it arrived, it was in the level three group with all of those strobe modes. If I didn't know how to work it aleady, I would have been very frustrated. However, I easily put it in the first group and it stays there.
The standby mode is indeed a very low level. It is prefect for reading (I took it into my darkened bathroom to test). It is lower than my Nitecore Di's low level (45 hours runtime) and brighter than my LRI Proton Pro's low level (250 hours runtime).
The beam profile is slightly warmer than the Nitecore's Cree Q5. The hot spot is about 2X bigger than the Nitecore. No rings anywhere to be found. The edges of the hotspot have small flares, a little like small solar flares coming off of the sun. Spill is about 50% wider than the Nitecore DI. It's a typical rebel 100 with an orange peel reflector.
Here are the MTE C3 ($23), Nitecore DI ($86), LRI Proton Pro ($50), and Gerber Infinity Ultra ($19).
The MTE.
MTE.
Looking into the MTE's lense (Rebel 100 led)
MTE, rear cap off. Note two o rings for water resistance. The threads were clean and smooth. They came pregreased.
Looking into the MTE's tube and tailcap.
MTE on high at about 18" or so.
Gerber Infinity Ultra, same distance. Note the blue hue. It is worse in person.
Nitecore DI.
LRI Proton Pro as it came from the factory. Note the nasty looking beam. I added some diffusing material to the lens and got a much better beam (next picture).
Diffused LRI Proton Pro. MUCH better!
25 foot outdoor beamshot of the MTE. My ability to take these pictures sucks, but you get the idea of how bright they are in comparison to each other. They are ALL much brighter than the pictures show. All but the Gerber will light things up at 75 feet pretty well. The Nitecore excels at this. There is a deer skull with antlers at the bottom of each picture.
MTE
Gerber. What light? Remember it is brighter than shown, but there is no throw to the light.
Nitecore.
Proton Pro
*Edit* I checked at 5:00pm and the Gerber was dead. I was surprised. It was running at 10:00am this morning. Verdict: The Gerber lasted 14-21 hours.
Due to personal reasons, I have to take tonight's picture a little early. The Nitecore and MTE still have useable spill, the Proton Pro does not. On low, the Proton Pro is so much lower than the other two that it never had any spill to start with. All three appear to be the same brightness as they started out at. You can barely make out the Proton Pro on the right side. It is brighter than it appears, but the others are so much brighter that they wash it out.
Note: This is when the Fenix L1D and Olight T15 that cost twice as much would begin to die.
*Edit* The MTE died. It was on at 7:00 pm and off at 11:30 pm. The regulation appeared to be very good as it was just as bright then as when I started.
Verdict: The MTE will last 23 to 27.5 hours on low. That is comparable to the Fenix L1D (25 hours) and Olight T15 (25 hours) for half the cost. I am a little disappointed though. It would serve as a very good EDC for someone on a budget. I have owned an Olight T15 and played with a Fenix L1d and this light is very comparable in runtime, brightness, and quality of workmanship. The hotspot is a little larger than the Fenix and quite a bit larger than the Olight. I would buy two of these for the same price before I bought another Olight or a Fenix.
The Nitecore and Proton Pro are still going strong. I will continue until they die and will continue to add pictures every 24 hours.
*Edit* The Nitecore was dead at 8:00am today. Verdict: The Nitecore lasted 24 to 31.5 hours. This is much too short as another test showed 46 hours on an alkaline.
Two guesses as to the cause. I got a bad batch of Eneloops (unlikely).
Or, the outside temperature has been between 15 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and not much warmer in my garage where the lights are. The cold is sapping the NiMH batteries. Note that the Proton Pro is still going after 32.5 hours in the cold.
I am going to halt the test and restart inside the house (66-70 degrees).
*Edit* I removed the two pictures from the previous run test to save space and loading time in this thread.
Here's all 4 on their lowest setting starting the second runtime test in warmer temperature. Each started with a fully charged 2000 mAH Sanyo Eneloop. I will update this with pictures every 24 hours until the last one dies. The Proton Pro has been shown to go more than 9 days, so check back. The test started at 7:15pm (central). These are in order from brightest low level to dimmest low level. The Gerber only has 1 level. This picture shows the size of the MTE's hotspot in comparison to the Nitecore.
Left to right: Gerber, Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ START OF TEST
*Edit at 14 hours* Maybe I got a bum Gerber IU or maybe it will just put out a small amount of light for a long time, but at 14 hours it is down to maybe 10% output. Here's a picture at 14 hours. In it you can see the difference in spill size between the Nitecore and MTE. The Nitecore, MTE, and Proton Pro all appear to be at starting levels.
Left to right: Gerber, Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 14 hours
*Edit at 19 hours* The Gerber is only putting out maybe 0.1% of the light it started with. There isn't enough to read by even in a pitch black room. This jives with what I got in the first test in the garage.
Left to right: Gerber, Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 19 hours
*Edit at 24 hours*
The Gerber is dead and the other three continue to truck on. I will try to watch them closely for the next 3-4 hours to see if the MTE and Nitecore fall off again.
Left to right: Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 24 hours
*Edit*At 25 hours the MTE began to dim at a slow, steady pace. By 26.25 hours it was too dim to read by.
At 26 hours the Nitecore dimmed rapidly and was dead within 5 minutes.
The Proton Pro continues on. I'm concerned that my Eneloops or my charger may be bad. Tomorrow I will buy 4 new alkaline batteries and begin the test again to eliminate the battery issue.
This is very disconcerting, since sources have reported much better runtimes with the 3 lights that have died.
Left to right: Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 26.25 hours
*Edit* The Proton Pro is still running at 37.25 hours on the eneloop.
I started the MTE and Nitecore on low settings using Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH cells (charged on a different charger than before) at 8:30am (central) this morning.
*Edit* The Proton Pro is still burning on the eneloop at 48.75 hours and the MTE and Nitecore are burning on the Duracell rechargeables at 11.5 hours. I'm crossing my fingers that the MTE and Nitecore last much longer than before. As always, I will keep you updated.
*Edit* The MTE and Nitecore are still running on the Duracell 2650 mAh at 30.25 hours. Output appears unchanged.
The Proton Pro continues on using the eneloop at 67.5 hours. Output also appears unchanged.
*Edit* The MTE started to dim at a steady pace at 7:30pm and was too dim to read by 8:30pm. Verdict: On a Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH the MTE on its lowest setting lasted 35 hours plus another hour of declining output.
The Nitecore and Proton Pro continue.
*Edit* The Nitecore just died. Verdict: On a Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH the Nitecore on its lowest setting lasted 37.25 hours.
The Proton Pro continues on using the original eneloop (which was probably poorly charged). 74.5 hours and counting. I'm impressed, though ThisIsNascar reported 216+ hours, so we probably have awhile to go.
*Edit* I retested the Nitecore on an eneloop charged on the new charger. I got 27 to 32 hours. About right when comparing the 2,000 mAh eneloop to the 2,650 mAh Duracell. I'm still confused how selfbuilt got 46+ hours on an alkaline. Perhaps the alkaline is that much better in low drain applications?
This shows the first charger isn't completely charging batteries.
The Proton Pro continues on with the poorly charged eneloop. I used it to read by last night and output appears unchanged.
109.5 hours and counting...
*Edit* The Proton Pro died at 140.5 hours. Not bad, but that battery charger is apparently junk.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8752 (black)
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8751 (gray)
A long thread about it: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=178256
Size is:
3.819" (97 mm) long
0.914" (23.2 mm) wide at the widest point
Here is another thread that lays out how the user interface works.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=186062
I operate the light with these settings:
Very Low -> Low -> Med-> Hi -> VERY very low -> 5 second Beacon
A half press of the clicky switches between modes. A half click on the 5 second beacon switches back to the Very Low level and so on.
It took 18 days from order to delivery, not too bad for $23 delivered. They sent a black version instead of a gray one, but it looks fine and has a fully orange peel reflector.
First impressions:
Feels well made, the anodize is nice and even. No sharp edges anywhere (why can't you do this Nitecore???). Knurling allows a good grip on the flashlight.
It can tailstand.
Glow in the dark reverse clicky. Modes are changed by half presses of the clicky. No head twisting!!!
No instructions included. When it arrived, it was in the level three group with all of those strobe modes. If I didn't know how to work it aleady, I would have been very frustrated. However, I easily put it in the first group and it stays there.
The standby mode is indeed a very low level. It is prefect for reading (I took it into my darkened bathroom to test). It is lower than my Nitecore Di's low level (45 hours runtime) and brighter than my LRI Proton Pro's low level (250 hours runtime).
The beam profile is slightly warmer than the Nitecore's Cree Q5. The hot spot is about 2X bigger than the Nitecore. No rings anywhere to be found. The edges of the hotspot have small flares, a little like small solar flares coming off of the sun. Spill is about 50% wider than the Nitecore DI. It's a typical rebel 100 with an orange peel reflector.
Here are the MTE C3 ($23), Nitecore DI ($86), LRI Proton Pro ($50), and Gerber Infinity Ultra ($19).
The MTE.
MTE.
Looking into the MTE's lense (Rebel 100 led)
MTE, rear cap off. Note two o rings for water resistance. The threads were clean and smooth. They came pregreased.
Looking into the MTE's tube and tailcap.
MTE on high at about 18" or so.
Gerber Infinity Ultra, same distance. Note the blue hue. It is worse in person.
Nitecore DI.
LRI Proton Pro as it came from the factory. Note the nasty looking beam. I added some diffusing material to the lens and got a much better beam (next picture).
Diffused LRI Proton Pro. MUCH better!
25 foot outdoor beamshot of the MTE. My ability to take these pictures sucks, but you get the idea of how bright they are in comparison to each other. They are ALL much brighter than the pictures show. All but the Gerber will light things up at 75 feet pretty well. The Nitecore excels at this. There is a deer skull with antlers at the bottom of each picture.
MTE
Gerber. What light? Remember it is brighter than shown, but there is no throw to the light.
Nitecore.
Proton Pro
*Edit* I checked at 5:00pm and the Gerber was dead. I was surprised. It was running at 10:00am this morning. Verdict: The Gerber lasted 14-21 hours.
Due to personal reasons, I have to take tonight's picture a little early. The Nitecore and MTE still have useable spill, the Proton Pro does not. On low, the Proton Pro is so much lower than the other two that it never had any spill to start with. All three appear to be the same brightness as they started out at. You can barely make out the Proton Pro on the right side. It is brighter than it appears, but the others are so much brighter that they wash it out.
Note: This is when the Fenix L1D and Olight T15 that cost twice as much would begin to die.
*Edit* The MTE died. It was on at 7:00 pm and off at 11:30 pm. The regulation appeared to be very good as it was just as bright then as when I started.
Verdict: The MTE will last 23 to 27.5 hours on low. That is comparable to the Fenix L1D (25 hours) and Olight T15 (25 hours) for half the cost. I am a little disappointed though. It would serve as a very good EDC for someone on a budget. I have owned an Olight T15 and played with a Fenix L1d and this light is very comparable in runtime, brightness, and quality of workmanship. The hotspot is a little larger than the Fenix and quite a bit larger than the Olight. I would buy two of these for the same price before I bought another Olight or a Fenix.
The Nitecore and Proton Pro are still going strong. I will continue until they die and will continue to add pictures every 24 hours.
*Edit* The Nitecore was dead at 8:00am today. Verdict: The Nitecore lasted 24 to 31.5 hours. This is much too short as another test showed 46 hours on an alkaline.
Two guesses as to the cause. I got a bad batch of Eneloops (unlikely).
Or, the outside temperature has been between 15 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and not much warmer in my garage where the lights are. The cold is sapping the NiMH batteries. Note that the Proton Pro is still going after 32.5 hours in the cold.
I am going to halt the test and restart inside the house (66-70 degrees).
*Edit* I removed the two pictures from the previous run test to save space and loading time in this thread.
Here's all 4 on their lowest setting starting the second runtime test in warmer temperature. Each started with a fully charged 2000 mAH Sanyo Eneloop. I will update this with pictures every 24 hours until the last one dies. The Proton Pro has been shown to go more than 9 days, so check back. The test started at 7:15pm (central). These are in order from brightest low level to dimmest low level. The Gerber only has 1 level. This picture shows the size of the MTE's hotspot in comparison to the Nitecore.
Left to right: Gerber, Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ START OF TEST
*Edit at 14 hours* Maybe I got a bum Gerber IU or maybe it will just put out a small amount of light for a long time, but at 14 hours it is down to maybe 10% output. Here's a picture at 14 hours. In it you can see the difference in spill size between the Nitecore and MTE. The Nitecore, MTE, and Proton Pro all appear to be at starting levels.
Left to right: Gerber, Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 14 hours
*Edit at 19 hours* The Gerber is only putting out maybe 0.1% of the light it started with. There isn't enough to read by even in a pitch black room. This jives with what I got in the first test in the garage.
Left to right: Gerber, Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 19 hours
*Edit at 24 hours*
The Gerber is dead and the other three continue to truck on. I will try to watch them closely for the next 3-4 hours to see if the MTE and Nitecore fall off again.
Left to right: Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 24 hours
*Edit*At 25 hours the MTE began to dim at a slow, steady pace. By 26.25 hours it was too dim to read by.
At 26 hours the Nitecore dimmed rapidly and was dead within 5 minutes.
The Proton Pro continues on. I'm concerned that my Eneloops or my charger may be bad. Tomorrow I will buy 4 new alkaline batteries and begin the test again to eliminate the battery issue.
This is very disconcerting, since sources have reported much better runtimes with the 3 lights that have died.
Left to right: Nitecore, MTE, Proton Pro @ 26.25 hours
*Edit* The Proton Pro is still running at 37.25 hours on the eneloop.
I started the MTE and Nitecore on low settings using Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH cells (charged on a different charger than before) at 8:30am (central) this morning.
*Edit* The Proton Pro is still burning on the eneloop at 48.75 hours and the MTE and Nitecore are burning on the Duracell rechargeables at 11.5 hours. I'm crossing my fingers that the MTE and Nitecore last much longer than before. As always, I will keep you updated.
*Edit* The MTE and Nitecore are still running on the Duracell 2650 mAh at 30.25 hours. Output appears unchanged.
The Proton Pro continues on using the eneloop at 67.5 hours. Output also appears unchanged.
*Edit* The MTE started to dim at a steady pace at 7:30pm and was too dim to read by 8:30pm. Verdict: On a Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH the MTE on its lowest setting lasted 35 hours plus another hour of declining output.
The Nitecore and Proton Pro continue.
*Edit* The Nitecore just died. Verdict: On a Duracell 2650 mAh NiMH the Nitecore on its lowest setting lasted 37.25 hours.
The Proton Pro continues on using the original eneloop (which was probably poorly charged). 74.5 hours and counting. I'm impressed, though ThisIsNascar reported 216+ hours, so we probably have awhile to go.
*Edit* I retested the Nitecore on an eneloop charged on the new charger. I got 27 to 32 hours. About right when comparing the 2,000 mAh eneloop to the 2,650 mAh Duracell. I'm still confused how selfbuilt got 46+ hours on an alkaline. Perhaps the alkaline is that much better in low drain applications?
This shows the first charger isn't completely charging batteries.
The Proton Pro continues on with the poorly charged eneloop. I used it to read by last night and output appears unchanged.
109.5 hours and counting...
*Edit* The Proton Pro died at 140.5 hours. Not bad, but that battery charger is apparently junk.
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