Pal Gold vs. Eternal Light vs. Arc LS

[sylvestor]

I'm getting frustrated trying to figure out what I want to purchase. I know I wanted to purchase the Arc LS, but it seems costly. I'm thinking about purchasing the ARC AAA and additionally purchasing either the Pal GOld or Eternal Light. Does anyone know how the Pal & Eternal compare against the Arc LS in terms of brightness/furthest distance ?

thanks,

Sylvestor.

 

[WarrenI]

Well I'm not a big fan of the Arc-LS (somthing to do with the high cost), but I do love the Arc-AAA (my primary light). I think you have to look at it this way:

*You are in a great position as you have not purchased anything yet. Nothing spent!

*As the Arc-AAA shines easily to 15 feet, do you wish for more light?

*Can you handle something like half the length of a Mini-Mag (2AA) to be your primary light to be carried around?

*Does the run time of at least 4+ hours at full brightness (somewhere over 40 feet of beam reach) sound OK with you?

*Are you willing to spend $6 for a "123" battery at each 4+ hour battery change?

If your answers to the above are all "yes", then an Arc-LS with the "123" battery holder is the light for you! It is expensive, but in your case, you haven't spent anything yet! If you buy the Arc-AAA ($24 w/shipping) and the either the PAL or EternalLight ($40 w/shipping), you are looking at a $60 plus bill. For about $20 more, you can get an Arc-LS with one "123" holder. I chose the "123" for you as it seems to produce the most light (but with a reduced run time) with the least size. I think where you start getting into cost overruns, is when you elect to pick-up the entire set with the single and double AA battery holders. Do your homework and research which one will suite your purpose and purchase just that holder. I don't think you will be changing holders each week!

But, I do like the Arc-AAA (my favorite little torch) and the EternalLight (a little more like a toy with all the modes, useful?). As for the PALs, you got to really see one before you buy. You either are going to be OK with it, or hate it (my opinion)!

 

[WarrenI]

Oops, another thing to add! Your question in regards to brightness, as the PAL Gold shine slightly farther than the Arc-AAA, the Arc-AAA looks a hell of a lot brighter as it has a better beam spread. The PAL is too narrow in focus. Others on the board have fixes for this and I'm not sure if it makes it any brighter.

The EternalLight does shine brighter than the two light mentioned, but I think it has only about a third of the light of an Arc-LS.

As I have seen the pictures of the Arc-LS's beam at several feet, I am waiting to see if someone will post pictures of the beam at 40 feet and compare it to my LightWave4000 (it hits 40 feet easily with 40 hours on the batteries). If someone can show me the Arc-LS to break a bright beam to double it to about 80 feet, then there goes my Mag 3D!

 

[sylvestor]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by WarrenI:
Well I'm not a big fan of the Arc-LS (somthing to do with the high cost), but I do love the Arc-AAA (my primary light). I think you have to look at it this way:

*You are in a great position as you have not purchased anything yet. Nothing spent!

*As the Arc-AAA shines easily to 15 feet, do you wish for more light?

*Can you handle something like half the length of a Mini-Mag (2AA) to be your primary light to be carried around?

*Does the run time of at least 4+ hours at full brightness (somewhere over 40 feet of beam reach) sound OK with you?

*Are you willing to spend $6 for a "123" battery at each 4+ hour battery change?

If your answers to the above are all "yes", then an Arc-LS with the "123" battery holder is the light for you! It is expensive, but in your case, you haven't spent anything yet! If you buy the Arc-AAA ($24 w/shipping) and the either the PAL or EternalLight ($40 w/shipping), you are looking at a $60 plus bill. For about $20 more, you can get an Arc-LS with one "123" holder. I chose the "123" for you as it seems to produce the most light (but with a reduced run time) with the least size. I think where you start getting into cost overruns, is when you elect to pick-up the entire set with the single and double AA battery holders. Do your homework and research which one will suite your purpose and purchase just that holder. I don't think you will be changing holders each week!

But, I do like the Arc-AAA (my favorite little torch) and the EternalLight (a little more like a toy with all the modes, useful?). As for the PALs, you got to really see one before you buy. You either are going to be OK with it, or hate it (my opinion)!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Hello Warren1,

Thanks for the advise. I'm really interested in purchasing the Arc LS, but from what I'm reading, some people are saying that the led does not use it's full potential.

Do you know any stats on that Arc Ls, Pal or Eternal light (ie: Candellas or Lumins) ?

thanks,

sylvestor

 

[WarrenI]

Sorry Sylvestor; I don' thave this information. But, you should check with this site "http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/zone.htm" and you should find more than you need. The thing to remember that even with LEDs, you need to overdrive it to get this amount of light. There comes a point that overdriving it will not return much more light, with much drain on the batteries, and a very short life of the LED. If you wait long enough, something better may come out and be at a better cost. Do you need it now, or can you afford to wait? At some point, you may need to make the dive. It's your call and the selection with questions are going to get only deeper. Happy shopping and check out the web site. Sorry, but this may make your selection only more difficult. The best thing for you is to find someone who will let you purchase these lights to try, and let you return the ones you do not desire...

 

[Gransee]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sylvestor:

Hello Warren1,

Thanks for the advise. I'm really interested in purchasing the Arc LS, but from what I'm reading, some people are saying that the led does not use it's full potential.

Do you know any stats on that Arc Ls, Pal or Eternal light (ie: Candellas or Lumins) ?

thanks,

sylvestor<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Hi Sylvestor. With a 123, the LS would be underdriven. It also puts out more lumens in a wide, usable beam than any other LED flashlight of that size. Period.

With 2AAs, it is running at just about full power. With 2AA lithiums, it is overdriven and starts to run warmly. At all times and with all battery options, it produces more lumens in its beam than any other LED flashlight (and most incandescant lights as well) of that size.

Yes, it is expensive. But make no mistake, there is no other LED flashlight brighter in those sizes.

There may be a LED flashlight in that size that projects a narrow beam further, but it is not truly brighter since it is focusing the beam tighter.

Craig's review of the prototype showed it producing about 85 candela on his equipment. I am not sure if he has used that same equipment to test other popular lights for a comparison. Craig?

Peter Gransee

 

[Gandalf]

For my 2 cents worth: I own the Palight Gold, Arc-AAA, and EternaLight, all with white LED's. The Arc-AAA is really in a class by itself, due to it's diminutive size. It's a great light, but with only a single LED, it may not put out enough light for many situations. The Palight Gold is quite bright, but is uses a reflector and lens to provide a very tightly focused beam of light. Too tightly focused, for general use, for me at least. And it gets easily turned on in your pocket. The EternaLight is, IMHO, a good compromise. The light is electronically controlled, and with 4 LED's, puts out a great deal of light. Battery life is very, very good. And, the price has been lowered to $39.99, plus shipping, making it a very good value for the money. I have a hand built 3 D cell light that uses the same Luxeon Star light that the Arc-LS does, and it is much brighter than any of the other lights. It puts out a somewhat focused light (compared to a bank of Nichia white LED's) that gives very good illumination. The only shortcoming of the Arc-LS will be that due to it's high light output, and small size, it won't have a very long burn time. This is the tradeoff with a maximum of 2 AA batteries to power the Luxeon Star LED. And, it's considerably more expensive than almost any other LED light on the market (or almost on the market) It's built tough, and as small as possible. If the price and shorter battery life aren't a problem, it's got to be the best LED light available. OTOH, I like the Eternalight, myself. It's quite small, bright, and has good battery life. If the cost and burn time of the Arc-LS puts you off, I'd highly recommend the Eternalight. I'm giving 5 of them as Christmas gifts, plus I bought two for myself. I'm sure I'll like the Arc-LS when I get it, but it's not (quite) perfect. No single flashlight can be 'the best' in every category. The ARC-LS is the LED flashlight that comes the closest, but it's not necessarily the best light for every situation. Like most flashaholics, I have to have all the newest and brightest lights. It leaves me with a significant number of lights I rarely use. The EternaLight is one I use quite a lot, and I expect the ARC-LS will get a lot of use, as well. It remains to be seen wich of these two light I'll use the most. Time will tell.

 

[sylvestor]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gandalf:
For my 2 cents worth....:<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

thanks to everyone who replied to my questions.

sylvestor.

 

[Spork]

In case they make changes to the ls after release I'm going to wait several months before I order if i do. in my opinion the 2aa compartment with nimh cells would be the best use for the light. I have an arc-aaa which is my fav. I'm not really concerned with the run time because I won't be using my flashlight for more than a few minutes or a few hours if I go hiking. just carry a backup light with on your keys which for me would probly be an arc-aaa or infinity. the size of a flashlight isnt really an issue to me unless its a keychain light or its larger than a 3dmag. but the arc ls is still pocket size which is a good thing. I believe the cost for ls are high. sure it may cost a lot to make them but you can get a rechargeable ultrastinger for 84 dollars or a recharheable mag for even cheaper. I know this is the led forum but if I'm gonna spend the bucks on a flashlight you can get a very bright and reliable incandesent for that price. but I am still deciding also and the Arc-ls looks impressive.