woodrow
Flashlight Enthusiast
(to be considered for the reviews section)
Hi,
About 3 or so months ago, I heard that AE (who is well known for their great H.I.D. lights) was going to carry a led light. MattK of Batteryjunction announced they were carrying them in the Dealer's section of the Marketplace forum. I am a sucker for dive lights... especially AA versions that can take Energizer e2 lithiums. I called Batteryjunction on Monday and spoke to Jeff, who was very helpful, and I gave into temptation and had one overnighted which I received yesterday afternoon.
What impressed me about the light (at least according to AE's specs) was that finally, a there was a true dive light that ran on 3AA's that was actually bright. UK and PT make nice led AA dive lights, but they are not bright. I also liked the fact that the light would work with either Alkalines, NIMH's or Lithiums. (1.5-1.7v primaries....not 3.7v 14500's) The light is advertised as having 3-5 hours of full power burn on standard batteries (alkalines?) while producing 300 lumens. I do not see how the light can live up to that kind of runtime... but I will do those tests later. About the 300 lumen claim... it is a very bright light. I would say slightly brighter than the Fenix T1, but Just Slightly... and that's to my eyes, not a light box. But that would mean the light is putting out over 200 lumens on 3 AA batts... not too bad.
Here is are some pictures of the light and what came with it.
It came in a simple box with 1 sheet of instructions and a set of Alkaline Batts.
As you can see, it is a very thick (for an AA light) flashlight. It is 10 ounces in weight, but it has good balance. The lanyard stud on the end and the head of the light are both metal.
The light twists on and off, and continued twisting will open the light to put in the batteries. Notice the thickness of the tube compared to the AA cell, and also the 3 thick O rings.
The body has a inner aluminum tube and is surrounded by a very hard billit aluminum type of material (I think...It does not feel cool like metal, but it feels different than any other plastic I have ever felt...just harder somehow) Edit: The "very hard plastic" material over the metal battery tube is POM or Delrin used in diving for its resistance to gases and expanding or warping.
I am astounded by how thick the metal of the head is. I forgot to take a picture of this, but I do not believe that it would be at all easy to get into the head from either end to do any kind of led mod. Also, the lens is either pyrex or some other shatterproof material.
The light uses an optic. Its beam is designed for throw, but it has a very wide (although dim at the edges) spill beam. Think Makoff drop in or E2L Cree (on Serious steroids)
The beam does have a couple of rings to it... but they are really mainly noticeable when white wall hunting. Not outdoors (or I would imagine underwater)
How does it compare to some other Cree lights? I took some outdoor beamshots at my work to try to give you a decent comparison.
The first shots are at 15' at basically 3/4 of a second at f/2.8 ISO 64 WB sunlight. The wall is brown.
First The Inova T1 (2008) "100 lumens"
Next, the AE W30 "300 lumens"
Finally, a Fenix T1 (high) "225 lumens"
Overall, I am very impressed with the build quality of the light. The threads are very smooth. The body feels like it could survive a A-bomb explosion... or several hundred feet of water immersion. The light is just very "tank like" without being ungainly.
As to its brightness... I think it falls a little shy of the 300 mark, but I would guess it is putting out about 240, which is great for an AA light. Basically, it feels that the $230 I paid for it was justified. I bought it and like it, simply because it is not like all the other 2x123a cree lights I have bought the last couple of years. It is unique, and I look forward to putting it in the ocean hopefully this year. If you are a diver, or just someone who likes a seriously overbuilt light....that you can get batteries for anywhere... check this thing out. I think you will be happy.
I will post longer beamshots in a few minutes. Thanks for reading.
Hi,
About 3 or so months ago, I heard that AE (who is well known for their great H.I.D. lights) was going to carry a led light. MattK of Batteryjunction announced they were carrying them in the Dealer's section of the Marketplace forum. I am a sucker for dive lights... especially AA versions that can take Energizer e2 lithiums. I called Batteryjunction on Monday and spoke to Jeff, who was very helpful, and I gave into temptation and had one overnighted which I received yesterday afternoon.
What impressed me about the light (at least according to AE's specs) was that finally, a there was a true dive light that ran on 3AA's that was actually bright. UK and PT make nice led AA dive lights, but they are not bright. I also liked the fact that the light would work with either Alkalines, NIMH's or Lithiums. (1.5-1.7v primaries....not 3.7v 14500's) The light is advertised as having 3-5 hours of full power burn on standard batteries (alkalines?) while producing 300 lumens. I do not see how the light can live up to that kind of runtime... but I will do those tests later. About the 300 lumen claim... it is a very bright light. I would say slightly brighter than the Fenix T1, but Just Slightly... and that's to my eyes, not a light box. But that would mean the light is putting out over 200 lumens on 3 AA batts... not too bad.
Here is are some pictures of the light and what came with it.
It came in a simple box with 1 sheet of instructions and a set of Alkaline Batts.
As you can see, it is a very thick (for an AA light) flashlight. It is 10 ounces in weight, but it has good balance. The lanyard stud on the end and the head of the light are both metal.
The light twists on and off, and continued twisting will open the light to put in the batteries. Notice the thickness of the tube compared to the AA cell, and also the 3 thick O rings.
The body has a inner aluminum tube and is surrounded by a very hard billit aluminum type of material (I think...It does not feel cool like metal, but it feels different than any other plastic I have ever felt...just harder somehow) Edit: The "very hard plastic" material over the metal battery tube is POM or Delrin used in diving for its resistance to gases and expanding or warping.
I am astounded by how thick the metal of the head is. I forgot to take a picture of this, but I do not believe that it would be at all easy to get into the head from either end to do any kind of led mod. Also, the lens is either pyrex or some other shatterproof material.
The light uses an optic. Its beam is designed for throw, but it has a very wide (although dim at the edges) spill beam. Think Makoff drop in or E2L Cree (on Serious steroids)
The beam does have a couple of rings to it... but they are really mainly noticeable when white wall hunting. Not outdoors (or I would imagine underwater)
How does it compare to some other Cree lights? I took some outdoor beamshots at my work to try to give you a decent comparison.
The first shots are at 15' at basically 3/4 of a second at f/2.8 ISO 64 WB sunlight. The wall is brown.
First The Inova T1 (2008) "100 lumens"
Next, the AE W30 "300 lumens"
Finally, a Fenix T1 (high) "225 lumens"
Overall, I am very impressed with the build quality of the light. The threads are very smooth. The body feels like it could survive a A-bomb explosion... or several hundred feet of water immersion. The light is just very "tank like" without being ungainly.
As to its brightness... I think it falls a little shy of the 300 mark, but I would guess it is putting out about 240, which is great for an AA light. Basically, it feels that the $230 I paid for it was justified. I bought it and like it, simply because it is not like all the other 2x123a cree lights I have bought the last couple of years. It is unique, and I look forward to putting it in the ocean hopefully this year. If you are a diver, or just someone who likes a seriously overbuilt light....that you can get batteries for anywhere... check this thing out. I think you will be happy.
I will post longer beamshots in a few minutes. Thanks for reading.
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