New Powerful shelf bought light

Jeffrey586

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Apr 28, 2002
Messages
27
Location
PA
Hey all,

I own a dozen or so Maglights and I just got the LED bug, if you will. I have a couple Photon 2's. Im wanting to gradually replace all of my Mag's with various LED lights.

Looking for everyones feedback on the:
Lightwave 4000
Expedition 1900
Inova X5

(I figure I can affored to start with two of these three)Thanks all,
JC
 
Welcome aboard!

I'll offer you a bit of advice:

I'd go for the LW3000 over the 4000. The 3000 is about equal in brightness, and is a more manageable size. The C batteries last a VERY long time. I'd probably never be able to burn through a set of D cells! The whole LW line is getting a bit long in the tooth - they're still using cheaper, lower-brightness LEDs while many other manufacturers have kept up with the technology better. But the LW's are really great, tough, bright lights - so you're wise to consider them.

The X5 will be reintroduced in a couple of weeks. Should be 15% brighter, and will have a clickie tail switch. Same basic 5-barrel design. There is an active thread on this guy here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002047&p=

That's about all I can offer. Except that you should really look into purchasing an Arc AAA as well. Of all my lights (LED and incandescent) the Arc AAA is the one I use most (and carry with me everywhere).
 
THANKS!. The ARC AAA is cool (way better than my single AAA Mag), but that was already replaced with the Photon2.

How about the 19 LED "Expedition 9000" Is this thing worth the 125 bucks they are asking???

How would you compare a Lightwave 3000/4000 to the Expedition 19

Ill wait for the new X5

JC
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jeffrey586:
THANKS!. The ARC AAA is cool (way better than my single AAA Mag), but that was already replaced with the Photon2.

How about the 19 LED "Expedition 9000" Is this thing worth the 125 bucks they are asking???

How would you compare a Lightwave 3000/4000 to the Expedition 19

Ill wait for the new X5

JC
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Jeffrey586,

I own all the lights mentioned here except for the 19 LED Expedition, and I have tried one of those belonging to a friend.
As you probably know, all the 3C Trek lights are identical except for the LED modules which are readily interchangeable. My favorite is the 1400. It is brighter than both the LW 4000 and 3000, is considerably smaller and lighter than the 3000, is waterproof to crushing depths, and comes with the most comfortable carry strap in the business. In addition, its light is "whiter" than either of the Lightwaves and its battery life is excellent, significantly longer than the 1900.

The one area in which the 4000 and 3000 are superior to the 1400 is in burntime, especially bright burntime.

The 4000 is unique, probably the longest
"bright-burning" LED light currently in production. Unfortunately it is also very big and heavy.

The 1400 is brighter than the 4000 and 3000
for the first few hours, but then gradually falls behind both of them.

If I needed an exceptionally bright LED flashlight for 5-8 hours the 1400 would be the hands down winner. If I needed a light for much longer than that it would be either the 4000 or the 3000.

Getting back to your original question, whether or not a flashlight is worth X dollars can only be answered by you. What will you use it for, and how important is that purpose when weighed against the cost relative to your own financial situation?

The 1900 isn't much brighter than the 1400 which burns longer and is exceptionally bright. I have used the 1400 in rural Canada where it definitely proved its merit. It is much brighter than the original Trek
"Expedition" and is my favorite large LED light for trips under 7-8 hours.

Brightnorm
 
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