this_is_nascar
Flashaholic
This review my be somewhat premature, since I've only had these (2) units for about an hour. These (2) came directly from the Photon Light web-site. I have (2) more ordered, waiting to be delivered, from another Dealer. In short, I feel disappointed and underwhelmed by the ReX, which is a shame since I had such high-hopes for this light. I was thinking this would easily become one of my EDC lights, ideal for survival situations.
Where do I start? Well, the size is larger than the other LRI pocket lights such as the Freedom, but that really doesn't surprise me. It has 4xNichia vs. 1xNichia of the Freedom, so of course it's going to be larger. It's also no longer using a coin-sized cell, so that adds to the size. Charging this light is way more frustrating than it needs to be. The instructions say not to push, press or force the charging cradle into place, that the magnets should take care of everything. Sure, the magnets connect easily, but it won't start charging until you monkey around with it. Once you do get it charging, you have to monitor it, because it decides to stop blinking on its own, without being fully charged. What's up with this cheap-a** feeling plastic casing? I have visions of the overhang-ends breaking if dropped or stepped-on, crushing the LEDS beneath. The GITD push-button should have just been made black to match the case. The material feels good, but the act of lighting the light by itself does not charge the button, although the GITD around the emitters glow after firing. I don't care for the beam pattern produced, but that's probably just a personal preference and not anything wrong with the light. What I do have a problem with is the quality of LEDS used. I think Nichia must have gotten over on LRI, by sending them all the ****-yellow LEDS that Arc didn't want. These are, by far, the yellowest tinted Nichias I've ever seen. For those of you that have used any generation of the Photon or Freedom, you know the beams are typically yellowish. The ReX makes them actually look pretty damn good.
Run-time is the biggest disappointment with the ReX. I can now see why LRI put all the emphasis on the "1st rechargeable micro light". Yea, that's because if you want to actually ever use this light, you better be prepared to charge, and recharge, and recharge, and charge again and recharge, etc. I think you get my point. At the 30-minute mark on high, the ReX is about as useless as the hunk of plastic in your hand.
I really don't know what else to say about the ReX. If you want a novelty light that you can show your friends and want the "1st rechargeable micro light" available, then I guess the ReX is for you. I'll continue to tinker with my ReX lights and post updates as I see fit, however it's going to take a major revelation of me missing something that's going to change my mind at this point. I'm sorry to say, for me, the LRI ReX may be the "Most Disappointing Light of the Year" for 2007.
Edit #1: It seems that recharging a ReX is a crap-shoot each time. I've had no consistancy in attempting to charge either of my (2) units. The 1st charge seemed to work fine, however all subsequent changing attempts have failed. More times than not, the LEDS will not producing the flashing sequence to indicate a charge is occurring. In another case, the light flashed like it was supposed to, stopped after an hour, only to find the light then produced less light than when I put it on the charger.
Edit #2: Using (2) new Duracell "D" cells, I was able to get the charging cradles on each light setup to the point where both lights were blinking, indicating a charge was taking place. I went to bed, got up this morning and both lights are still blinking. I fired them up and they are both dimmer now that before I started the charge last night. WTF?
Edit #3: Using my battery tester, if I measure the voltage via the charging **** of the ReX, it's showing .04 volts on the 1st unit and .05 volts on the 2nd one. If I do the same on the (2) new units I just recieved from Battery Junction, they're showing 3.25 volts on both units. If I use the meter to measure at the charger cradle while attached to a Duracell "D" cell, it shows 1.51 volts which is expected from a new "D" size cell. This brings me to a couple questions. First, should the ReX battery ever show a reading that low, keeping in mind the lights are firing, although dim. Secondly, how is it expected that a light with voltage higher than the charging cell will actually charge? Is the sofware or electronics of the ReX boosting the power somehow?
Edit #4: ... and probably the final update for the ReX. All (4) units <two to Photon Light and two to Battery Junction> will be going back for a refund. Like I said, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I'm not a moron either. These lights are not ready for prime-time, based on the (4) units I received. The charging configuration will simply not work constantantly and/or reliably. It's a shame too, because I really had high hopes for the ReX. I'll wait for the Rev2 or Rev3 release of the product.
Edit #5: All (4) units have been returned to their Dealer of puchase. I really hope they can find out what the problem is, because I want the ReX to be a successful light offering from LRI. If I don't hear anything back from either Dealer, I'll attempt a single order in a month or so, hopefully with new stock.
Where do I start? Well, the size is larger than the other LRI pocket lights such as the Freedom, but that really doesn't surprise me. It has 4xNichia vs. 1xNichia of the Freedom, so of course it's going to be larger. It's also no longer using a coin-sized cell, so that adds to the size. Charging this light is way more frustrating than it needs to be. The instructions say not to push, press or force the charging cradle into place, that the magnets should take care of everything. Sure, the magnets connect easily, but it won't start charging until you monkey around with it. Once you do get it charging, you have to monitor it, because it decides to stop blinking on its own, without being fully charged. What's up with this cheap-a** feeling plastic casing? I have visions of the overhang-ends breaking if dropped or stepped-on, crushing the LEDS beneath. The GITD push-button should have just been made black to match the case. The material feels good, but the act of lighting the light by itself does not charge the button, although the GITD around the emitters glow after firing. I don't care for the beam pattern produced, but that's probably just a personal preference and not anything wrong with the light. What I do have a problem with is the quality of LEDS used. I think Nichia must have gotten over on LRI, by sending them all the ****-yellow LEDS that Arc didn't want. These are, by far, the yellowest tinted Nichias I've ever seen. For those of you that have used any generation of the Photon or Freedom, you know the beams are typically yellowish. The ReX makes them actually look pretty damn good.
Run-time is the biggest disappointment with the ReX. I can now see why LRI put all the emphasis on the "1st rechargeable micro light". Yea, that's because if you want to actually ever use this light, you better be prepared to charge, and recharge, and recharge, and charge again and recharge, etc. I think you get my point. At the 30-minute mark on high, the ReX is about as useless as the hunk of plastic in your hand.
I really don't know what else to say about the ReX. If you want a novelty light that you can show your friends and want the "1st rechargeable micro light" available, then I guess the ReX is for you. I'll continue to tinker with my ReX lights and post updates as I see fit, however it's going to take a major revelation of me missing something that's going to change my mind at this point. I'm sorry to say, for me, the LRI ReX may be the "Most Disappointing Light of the Year" for 2007.
Edit #1: It seems that recharging a ReX is a crap-shoot each time. I've had no consistancy in attempting to charge either of my (2) units. The 1st charge seemed to work fine, however all subsequent changing attempts have failed. More times than not, the LEDS will not producing the flashing sequence to indicate a charge is occurring. In another case, the light flashed like it was supposed to, stopped after an hour, only to find the light then produced less light than when I put it on the charger.
Edit #2: Using (2) new Duracell "D" cells, I was able to get the charging cradles on each light setup to the point where both lights were blinking, indicating a charge was taking place. I went to bed, got up this morning and both lights are still blinking. I fired them up and they are both dimmer now that before I started the charge last night. WTF?
Edit #3: Using my battery tester, if I measure the voltage via the charging **** of the ReX, it's showing .04 volts on the 1st unit and .05 volts on the 2nd one. If I do the same on the (2) new units I just recieved from Battery Junction, they're showing 3.25 volts on both units. If I use the meter to measure at the charger cradle while attached to a Duracell "D" cell, it shows 1.51 volts which is expected from a new "D" size cell. This brings me to a couple questions. First, should the ReX battery ever show a reading that low, keeping in mind the lights are firing, although dim. Secondly, how is it expected that a light with voltage higher than the charging cell will actually charge? Is the sofware or electronics of the ReX boosting the power somehow?
Edit #4: ... and probably the final update for the ReX. All (4) units <two to Photon Light and two to Battery Junction> will be going back for a refund. Like I said, I'm not a rocket scientist, but I'm not a moron either. These lights are not ready for prime-time, based on the (4) units I received. The charging configuration will simply not work constantantly and/or reliably. It's a shame too, because I really had high hopes for the ReX. I'll wait for the Rev2 or Rev3 release of the product.
Edit #5: All (4) units have been returned to their Dealer of puchase. I really hope they can find out what the problem is, because I want the ReX to be a successful light offering from LRI. If I don't hear anything back from either Dealer, I'll attempt a single order in a month or so, hopefully with new stock.
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