Nuwai Q III or Longbow Micra

[Wits' End]

I've seen some reviews of both but I'm looking for some side by side comparisons. The Micra is more money, is it worth it? What are the differences? Which would you get? Warranty on either? Any other similar lights? I'm happy with my Arc LS with twistie but I'm looking for gifts. How do they compare to the LS?
Thanks in advance, Wits' End

 

[Haesslich]

"Should I get a Nuwai Q-III or a Longbow Micra?"

Someone asked this a while ago. They'll probably both outdo the LS, or at least the Q-III will, though the quality varies on both. The Micra has regulation... but rather bad regulation at that, at least in the experience of several of the forum-goers. The Q-III uses a boost circuit, and is a very bright light, but isn't as easy to mod as the Longbow is. Warrantees with both usually are handled through dealers, IIRC - and with both of them, don't expect a SureFire-type warranty, much less build quality. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

No other lights compare to these two, at least not in mass production. The Q-III isn't a bad gift light, though if you want to spend some more money you could look at the Brass 1W AAA thread in B/S/T Lights by Andrewwynn, who is selling a bunch of rechargable AAA-type lights with a LuxIII being driven anywhere between 0.75-1.5W.

 

[Wits' End]

Thanks for the link Haesslich!!
My guess is that for my use the QIII will be about right. The lower quality machining will be noticed but I think the light will outshine that and other minor problems.
Thanks again. Any other input?

 

[Haesslich]

Yes - the build quality's solid on the light itself, but depending on what day or what bin they used on the particular light in question, the runtime will vary. It's not bad at the price, and you can find links for it in the B/S/T Lights forum, as well as in Advancemart.com

 

[ChocolateLab33]

Buy em' both. They're great lights.

 

[s2k]

i used to have both of them. Q-III is made in China.

Longbow has a much better quality and finish, you can also change the capsule to make it brighter if you need. there are a lot of accessories can make it more fun.

Q-III is slightly brighter, but consider the overall quality, i'll still prefer longbow.

 

[Haesslich]

Personally, if I want to get an accessory-laden light, I'd just get an Surefire E-series light off the B/S/T Lights forum or an Aleph and forget the Longbow, especially after what I've heard of the poor regulation on several units. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Basically, if I'm going to go modular, splurge. If you want a CHEAP light, go Q-III. If you want quality, spend more than you'd spend on both together.

 

[pedalinbob]

it is funny that at work i routinely make very difficult decisions, sometimes life and death in nature.

but i STILL havent decided on what to get!

oyu guys have helped a gerat deal, though.

positives
Q3: inexpensive, pretty bright, lux3, pocket clip, small.
longbow: HA3, bright, easily (?) moddable, not terribly expensive, can get improved converters.
Aleph: HA3, very modular, can get fantastic converter boards, adaptable, can choose form factor/brightness/optics, etc. the "Caddy" of lights!

negatives:
Q3: no HA3, perhaps not as easily moddable, not great regulation(?).
longbow: much more expensive after mods ($25 for a pocket clip!), poor regulation(?)
Aleph: quite expensive, have to build own driver (i am not fond of this)

as hasselich stated, it appears that the Q3 is a great light on a budget. the longbow is a bit better, after mods. the Aleph is the top of the heap.

choices...choices...

Bob

edited to add: oh wait. it appears i can order an assembled Aleph. damn. i now have no excuse...

 

[Haesslich]

The Aleph is the top, but you can sometimes get good deals on E-series lights on the B/S/T Lights forums - and many of those will accept mods like new heads (KL1, KL4, KL5), new tailcaps (Mc2ES is one I'd recommend), new bodies (Balrog bodies, for example), and so on.

While you can get a McCapsule for a Longbow to improve the LED, I'm not sure if that'd fix all the issues - by the time you've bought a McCapsule and a SOX17A reflector, you've spent about $130-140 on the light, which you could've put towards an Aleph or a SureFire and gotten more options for modding. Heck, buying a pocket clip is another $25, which puts you just $25 short of an Aleph, and definitely is enough to buy a brand new SureFire L4 or maybe a used L5 light. Longbow's a decent company with a decent idea, but after everything I've heard of their regulation and the tints of some LEDs, I'm not sure I'd be willing to spend the money to make it a good light (pocket clip, reflector, UCL lens, McCapsule). I'd either just save up for a better light, or else buy a cheapie like a Q-III and switch out the emitter as MilkySpit and 4sevens have done.

The Q-III has a boost circuit, not a regulator - so it won't regulate at all. It'll give you an hour's runtime if you have a bad LED (L-binned and up), or relatively good runtime (90-100 minutes till 50% brightness) on a K-binned LuxIII. The 'pocket clip' is also crap - it's set up too low on the bezel so the head sticks out an inch or more from said pocket, and balances the light rather poorly as a result. It also isn't tight enough for serious pocket-carry in that configuration - and I'm not sure I'd trust it on the bill of a cap. The only purpose the clip serves is to keep the light from rolling around, and I'd rather stick a lanyard around it to keep it from getting lost.

The Aleph you can buy from McGizmo for $195, which means everything's assembled and the battery's ready to go.

 

[pedalinbob]

my search is coming up empty:

it appears that the Aleph does not have a pocket clip, correct?

this may pose a problem since i ultimately will carry the light either in a cargo pocket, or clipped on the inside of my jeans pocket.

anyone have a measurement of the Aleph 2, 1x123 tube and tailcap? i found a pic, but there was no actual measurement.

hmmm. the surefire e-body is a possibility as well, or the vital gear body with the Aleph2 head?

hmmmm...this could be interesting.

Bob

 

[Haesslich]

Personally, I use the belt-clip and EN-tab, so I've never found a need for a pocket-clip, though I suppose you could rig one up by putting something into the tab-mount if you had a pocket-clip that would work for it. The whole package is about 3.65" long and an inch or so at the head, which is about as long as my Q-III, but without the crenellated head. The two-stage switch is protected by the rim, so it's not as easy to trigger as an ARC 4+ light might've been with the exposed Kroll switch. If you get a Micro-clip and a lanyard to go with the Aleph, it'll be fairly easy to grab (I can verify that based on experience).

Otherwise, the VitalGear body and an Aleph head MIGHT work for you, but I'm not sure if it allows the LE to make contact with the switch. May want to check with McGizmo on this, or else get a KL4 and stick it on a VitalGear body along with an Aleph tailcap and call it a day.

 

[Blades]

Does the Q3 actually put out 72 lumens of light?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
That seems like alot for a 1 123a battery, even with a 3watt LED, or are they "pushing" it?? Just wondering.



Blades

 

[Catman10]

I don't know of anyone with a Q3 that puts out anywhere near that much light. Mine sure doesn't. Probably closer to 30-45, but depends on your emitter.

 

[Haesslich]

The LuxIII, optimally, is rated for 72 lumens, but that's assuming you've got a higher-binned LuxIII than they make these Q-IIIs with. In reality, I'd say that 40-50 lumens is probably closer to what you should expect. The 50-lumen rating is going to assume that you've modified the hell out of the light and are throwing a 4.2V r123 in it, though.

Then again, you'll be lucky to get 30 out of the Micra, even with the optics collimating the beam some and the reflector redirecting the rest of the light into the lens.

 

[Blades]

Thanks!!
I thought 72 lumens was alot for such a small light.



Blades