Review of a nice LED/Xenon Hybrid Flashlight - Look out A2!

[BeamChucker]

I received my Nuwai AN-606 rechargeable flashlight today. I gotta tell you, this is destined to become my favorite flashlight. It comes with the name, "Mountain Green" written on it instead of the "High Pressure Xenon Ultra Bright LED" statement. It's way cool with very nice styling. It is very well made. The anodizing is a little darker than it appears in the pictures. It's a pewter-like color. I like the color quite a bit. I was concerned that this thing would like to roll on a desktop but it doesn't. It's balanced so that it always turns to the switch up position. The tailcap has a recessed area for a lanyard though the hole for the lanyard is pretty small. The flashlight will stand on end if desired. The knurling is very nice and deep and about 15 knurls per inch. The diameter is a little smaller than that of a C Mag so C's won't fit, they're too big around. The light feels very nice and balanced in the hand. Ok the good stuff.

The battery is a rechargeable 3.6V 1.2Ah Nicad running a 3.6V 1.5A Xenon bulb. The battery pack is cylindrical. Nicad is probably not the best choice but it works. I took a chance buying this light because I knew I wasn't going to like the battery pack very much. The only reason I ordered it was because I was already thinking 3 CR123A's might fit because it was 31mm longer than the 2 CR123A version. I also have a 2-CR123A version coming but it's not here yet. Well guess what? 3-123A's fit very nicely, thank you. It just needs a bit of 1/2" PVC pipe in there. It will only need a few turns of tape around the pipe to get a snug fit. The 123's drop right into the pipe. You have to wait for the battery pack to charge up so I pulled out 3 tired 123's I just took out of my Mag 2C which burns up 4 123's pretty quickly. I bit my lip, closed my eyes and turned it on. When I opened my eyes, I was in for a treat. 3 led's came on nice and bright. Each one is almost the equivalent of my CMG Ultra in intensity but bluer in color. Click the switch and 6 led's come on, much brighter. Click again, and oh boy, now that's not too bad. It's hard to say what voltage and amperage I'm putting out with 3 tired 123's but it's not quite as bright as my Scorpion but much brighter than my 4AA Responder. The 6 leds are almost as bright as my 400mA Dat2zip MiniMag mod. The switch is a little on the small side and a little stiff but very suitable and easy to operate. Clicking through the cycle is fun for a while. Makes you feel like a little kid. One thing you really notice flipping through the modes is the bluish light the leds give out versus the yellowish light the xenon gives out. The xenon beam is pretty white though and is focusable with the orange peel reflector and very very even but not quite Scorpion quality. You start to see the led ports when you open up the beam. I don't know why you would open up the xenon beam but you can. I'm sure I'll keep it in the tight spot mode because the led modes are more of a flood anyway. They would work well for taking a stroll through the woods on my way back from fishing. The xenon beam would be used for looking at something further away. I think it's going to turn out that you can use the xenon beam and when the batteries are drained, they'll still work great with the leds extending the life of the flashlight tremendously. Basically, you wouldn't get caught lightless in the dark. By this time, my nicad was fully charged. It comes precharged so it took only 15 minutes to get back to where the green light on the charger came on. I don't think the light is regulated yet but the light wasn't too much dimmer with the nicads in the light. It is very acceptable this way. But, I know I won't be content. I need to get some xenon or halogen bipins that can take three fully charged 123's at 9V. I'm not sure what size it is but it is smaller in diameter than the T 2 1/2 bulbs I have. It's the same diameter as the 5mm leds so it's probably a T 1 1/2. I might get one of those 7.1V 1.20 Carley Halogens to try in it. Let me ask you guys a question. Am I going to blow up my leds doing this? I'm sure it will shorten the life, but by how much? I don't have the guts yet to put in 3 brand new 123's. I really like this light! For $50 bucks I think it could be an A2 killer. I can't wait to get my 2-CR123A version. It will be smaller and I may like it even more. Don't wait any more. Buy one of these things at least in one of the 2-123A versions which only run $40. I wish I had a digital camera to show beamshots but maybe someone else can post pictures when they get one. To buy a 2-CR123A version look here www.shoplifestyle.com . To buy a rechargeable version look here www.sportsmansguide.com and search for item LX2X3-69765 . To look at other flashlights from the manufacturer (or distributor), look here www.nuwai.com.tw . There's more really cool flashlights to come.

StreamChucker

 

[bmsmith]

Nice review. I was hoping someone would buy the one from www.shoplifestyle.com and review it. I didn't know about the rechargable version. I need to check it out.

I'm guessing that you will probably damage the LEDs with new 123 cells since they designed the resistor values in the head assembly for 3.6V and not 9.0V. If you can open up the head assembly and see the resistors you might be able to replace one or more of them with high enough values for 9V usage. But of course the LEDs will be dimmer when the 123's become dead like the 123's you have now. Always a trade off.

Good luck with your mods.

Thanks,
- Brian

 

[Icebreak]

StreamChucker-

Could you change the size of your pics? They expand the page so the horizontal scroll has to be used causing me to get a little dizzy trying to read your review.

Thanks

 

[lessing]

what are the measurements on the battery. I am thinking of a new set of rechargables and some regulation to fit inside there. This looks like after a mod, it could be the base of an excellant aftermarket a2 with regulation and all.

 

[Ratso]

The central high pressure Xenon beam is the kind of high intensity light used in car headlights — 50% brighter than a halogen. Click once to get three LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) and twice to get six. LEDs give a brilliant white light. Yet they require very little energy and can last a lifetime depending on use.

In other words the two lithium batteries included will give you up to 9 hours of continuous LED light. Comes with carrying strap and nylon pouch. Water resistant heavy-duty aluminum with rubberized grip. Measures: 5¾"L x 1½"D and weighs: 7 oz.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That has got to be the most deceiving, yet hilarious claims I've ever seen. Xenon beam used in car headlights, %50 brighter than halognes, eh? LEDs can last a lifetime depending on use (or in this case, no use). Then, "in other words" you get 9 hours (so much for lasting a lifetime depending on use).

I bet its a great light, they just need some brighter folks in the marketing dept.

 

[moses]

I wonder what kind of nicads they use, in particular what size. Is is possibly a sub C although it sounds much smaller. Sub C is what Surefire uses in their 8X rechargeables.

MT

 

[moses]

Another question to. Assuming that the Xenon bulb gets very hot, I wonder how much heat LEDs are designed to take before it starts affecting their durability/function.

Anyone know?

MT

 

[BeamChucker]

Icebreak, I don't know how to change the picture size. I'm just pointing to pictures on other websites. If you can tell me how, I'd be glad to reduce their size. Or I could just erase the bigger one.

Lessing and Moses, I don't have any sub C's to look at for reference but the dimensions on this pack are 4 inches by 0.9 inches. It appears to be a shrink wrapped set of three batteries in series so each one is producing about 1.2 V. That makes each battery measure about 34mm long by 23mm in diameter. Is that a 4/5 subC? Can I use 4 - 1/2 subC's to get 4.8V? Are 1/2 subC's available in NiMh? On the side of the pack it says

GP Ni-Cd Battery
Must be recycled or disposed of properly
P/N: GP120SCK3AX
3.6V 1200mAh D2
Made in China

Lessing, if you could suggest an alternative rechargeable and regulation, please let me know. Thanks.

Dave

 

[gb6491]

Dave,
Nice review. Some questions:
1. You said the beam was not quite Stinger quality. I've never liked the quality of the older Stinger, is this compared to the new Stinger textured reflector or a Stinger HP or possibly a Scorpion?
2. Any information on the availability of replacement bulbs and batteries?
Thanks,
Greg

 

[B@rt]

Hi StreamChucker,
the only way you can adjust the size is if you host the pics .

Otherwise it is impossible to adjust the size..

A way to do this is storing your pics on ImageStation, where all pics have a maximum size in preview mode, so if it is bigger it doesn't matter.

 

[BeamChucker]

Oops, I meant Scorpion quality, not Stinger quality. Good catch, Greg. I went back and changed it so no one would get confused by it. Thanks.

And no, there is no information on availability of bulbs except to say that it uses a 3.6V 1.5A Xenon bulb. And it didn't come with a replacement bulb. I'm going to figure out a suitable replacement from somewhere. I would think that once this light becomes established, someone will start carrying them. The only info about Mountain Green was that it is distributed by : [email protected]. I'm hoping someone like Lemlux will jump in and offer up some suggestions for replacement bulbs and the right size bulbs that would work well with 9V too.

StreamChucker

 

[lessing]

is there much room in the head? If there is, it should not be hard to fit two small voltage regulators in to drop the voltage precisely and should not waste as much juice as resistors. A good diode should also soften the start and possibly act as a low voltage shut off. With 9 volts to start with, the original lamps should run fairly well.

Current regulation is a bit harder, because of more pieces and the fact that I suck at it. A 4.8 volt lamp ( if one could be found ) would be ideal as it would run down to the death of the lithiums. I think the 3 volt 123's die around 1.5-1.8 don't they, whicj means with voltage regulation they could run until the batteries could not supply the amperage. Even a 6 volt lamp would be fairly nice, because the current draw would be less harsh for the same brightness at 4.8.

 

[BeamChucker]

Lessing, we're thinking along the same lines. There isn't much room in the front part of the head. There's six LED's and a xenon stuffed in there. It would take a dat2zip badboy type mod to fit it up there, though that would work if you could rig it into a bipin. You would still probably have issues with heatsinking though. This thing is begging for a 5W luxeon but you would have the same issues. I have a 5W SE coming. I think if one could drill holes through the heat sink to go around the leds, it would work. Then the heat sink would butt up against the aluminum body. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to get the switch assembly out. It looks like it is press fit in there. I think the top piece that holds the leds and xenon bulb is an individual piece that fits over the circuit board. If that can be removed, one could substitute it with the heatsink assembly very nicely. There may also be room behind the circuit board.

I've been thinking about a couple of different options for incandescents. I was thinking about a 4.8 volt lamp too. In fact the 123 version uses a 4.8V 0.9A lamp which is probably putting out less than 80 lumens. I would try to put in a Carley Xenon 807 4.8V 1.6A bulb or a W/A 01119 4.80V 1.62 A bulb that generates in the neighborhood of 140 lumens. The W/A would be the first choice since it's a size T1 1/2 and the Carley is a size T2 1/2. Would one of these Xenon bulbs hold up if driven by 3 123's at 9V? Ideally, for the 123's, I suppose you would want a 7.2V 1.0A or thereabouts. But if a 4.80V 1.62 would work, you could have the option of putting in 3 123's or a 4.8V battery pack (made out of 4 1/2 subC NiMH's or Nicads). They are about the same wattage.

As for diodes, and regulators to ease up on the leds, I really need a lot of help there. Even if I could figure it out I don't have the soldering tools...yet. I'd love to learn how but I'd be willing to negotiate a trade of some kind if a modder out there would be willing to help. Is there anyone in the Grand Rapids, MI area that I could collaborate with?

Does anyone know the answer to lessing's question about the voltage at which 123's die?

StreamChucker

 

[Daniel Ramsey]

Put 3 123's in it, a 5 watt LS, rewire the 6 LEDS to operate in three pairs of two each in series, add a resistor or two and bake a 350 deg. for 60 minutes, serve with cool whip and strawberries......

 

[lemlux]

Streamchucker:

If you use the stock battery pack, the easiest change might be a swap of bulbs. Based on your description, you might try the following Carley bulb.

#1122 T-1 1/2 3.5 V 2.30 A 138 Lumen 50-hour life halogen bi-pin.

I have overdriven this bulb potted in a PR base PT40 with NiMHs that overdrive to about 3.9 to 4.0 V after voltage drop. I've blown one of my two bulbs after about 2 hours of run time.

I would stick with NiCads in the 3-cell #1122 application to avoid excessive voltage drop.

I'd also buy or build a spare battery pack or two.

Furthermore, as you use shorter cells of a given circumference you almost always forfeit a disproportionate amount of total watt-hour capacity.

 

[BeamChucker]

Lemlux, that would work too. I would indeed build a spare battery pack. What is the difference in voltage drop characteristics between NiCad and NiMH?

One thing I was attempting to do with the 4.8V NiMH battery pack was to have the choice between 4.8V of NiMH's or 3 123's at 9V. Is there a bulb that would perform reasonably well with both or how about a 5W Luxeon?

The other thing is I'm not fond of NiCads. Plus, I think I've found a source for 1/2 subC NiMH's if I want to go this way.

StreamChucker

 

[lemlux]

The typical NiMH cell will drop to 1.1 V when driven at 0.5C and to something around 1.0 V at C and 0.85 V at 1.5 C.

R/C Sub C NiMH cells are designed to deliver 1.1 v at 20 A for much of their life. I am not familiar with the characteristics of 1/2 subC NiMHs.

I know of no bulb that will run well off of both a 4.8 V NiMH and 3 123's. According to Brock, the P91 bulb draws 6.25 V and 2.35 A on 3 123's. The 4 cell N62 draws 1.9 V per cell at 3.7 A for a few minutes before suffering thermal shutdown.

 

[draftaman]

Uh now let me get this straight, you click once and 3 led's come on. you click twice and the remaining 3 leds fire up and three clicks makes the xenon bulb come on with the leds? Is this right? The discription on shoplifestyle talks about the leds but it doesnt say how many clicks or what method you turn the blaster bulb on with.
thanks.

 

[BeamChucker]

With one click, 3 leds will be on.
With the second click, all 6 leds are on.
With the third click, no leds are on, just the Xenon bulb.
With the fourth click, it is shut off again.

StreamChucker

 

[Bushman]

Q#1 Does any one have the 123 x2 lithum version of this light.

Q#2 Which would be the best Carley bulb to use in that 2x 123 setup?

Q#3 In its stock form of the recharable or the lithium, how bright is that stock bulb say compared to an E2? Would a legend or asp taclight bipin bulb fit in it?
Once I get these answers I will probably start saving up for it... heck I will start saving now!!