Opalec vs. Badbooy

[brramer]

I Just recieved my opalec. As a novice I am pretty impressed with it. I hear a lot about a badboy 400. Can someone Please tell me in plain english what is the difference between the two. I like the run time on the opalec.

Thanks,
Bruce

Thanks

 

[Roy]

BadBoy is MUCH brighter but has a much SHORTER runtime.

You need one of each! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[James S]

runtime on the badboy will be less than the opalec. The Opalec is running 3 5mm LED's at 30ma a piece or 90ma, the BB is running a single luxeon LED at 400ma. Even not taking the efficiency of the converter boards into account you can see that the BB will run out of juice a lot faster.

But, a luxeon run at that power level is roughly equivalent to 15 to 20 5mm LED's so it's also going to be MUCH brighter.

I don't own an Opalec yet, but I can tell you that you will be very happy with the BB dropin. I would recommend a Brinkman legend rather than a Mag for the host though. Personal preference /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The 2 lights are both regulated, meaning that they both maintain a constant brightness until the batteries are almost dead. Both work well with all kinds of batteries, regular, lithium or rechargeable. The 2 lights compliment each other nicely with different capabilities. I do recommend getting both!

 

[shiftd]

Badboy should be at least brighter than 5 opalecs combined together. That is because Badboy uses 1W luxeon star while opalec uses 3 leds. One 1W is brighter than at least 15 leds. Also, BB will be able to drain your battery to the end of its life while opalec will leave some juice in it.
If you need short (or medium) range and enough light to go around your house at night, then opalec will be enough. But if you want a brighter and farther throwing light, BB will do the job better.

 

[FalconFX]

Also, BB will be able to drain your battery to the end of its life while opalec will leave some juice in it.

I'll also attest to that... I'm still having a hard time trying to kill some spent AAs... They recover quite nicely in a BB500...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Just as the mantra here on CPF, get both... You'll like the increased brightness, and if you're worried about eating batteries up, feed both of them with NiMHs and you'll be singing with joy!

 

[Mr. Blue]

Welcome! You made a wise choice with the Opalec. Get a BB400, you will be astonished. I have 2 and they are Bright and white. To complement your AA battery use, consider an Infinity Ultra. It is great for pocket carry and is really great as an EDC. In the AAA realm, you MUST get an ARC...it is as bright as an Infinity, built like crazy, tiny and cool. After you buy those, then you will move to Heroin, I mean 123 Lithium based lights!!!

 

[shiftd]

for 123, get arc LS. You will be happy you did. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RewopEldnac]

I have both, Opalec in Craftman 2AA, and BB 400 Q3L in Brinkmann 2AA.
I use the Opalec for indoor and BB 400 for the outdoor stuff.
I read it somewhere in the forum, you can even use Opalec in Craftman 3AA for longer runing time (2AA ~= 10 hours, 3AA ~= eternity?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif) but not for any of the BBs.

As James said, they both do compliment each other. Get both of them and be happy.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif