Moderators, please consider moving this to the reviews section.
I received this light last week from Lumapower. I want to thank Ricky from Lumapower for letting me evaluate this. It is a very nice light, with my sample showing no cosmetic flaws anywhere. I have to disclose I'm partial to warm creamy tint and this sample has what I consider perfect tint though I realize this is highly subjective. The light is rated 100 lumens on NiMH AA's and the only other similar light I have to compare with is a Nitecore DI which is rated 130 lumens on high. Comparing the two lights tell me that relative to each other, the numbers are feasible. I'm not going to post beamshots since there is nothing extraordinary about the beam. If you've seen the beam of a Cree from a small textured reflector, it's probably similar to this.
There are three levels and to me they are spaced just about right. Switch is "normal" clickie so you get momentary with a slight push and click on for sustained use. You switch levels by toggling on/off within two seconds. The light stores the last setting used which is nice. Did I say it only has three levels? That is just about right. There are no strobes, no SOS, no silly gimmicks. The medium output is very useful and I'd probably stick to this for 90% of my use. Low is also very useful. It's low enough for me such that it doesn't screw up my night adjusted vision if I have to use it in the middle of the night. Runtime using 2700mAH NiMH is rated 100 min on high, 2000 min on low. I haven't done a runtime but current measurement shows the following:
High=1.9A
Med=430mA
Low=20mA
I repeated the measurement with a power supply and confirm the current is around 1.8A-1.9A at 1.2V. This is quite high and I wonder whether the tail switch is up to the task. This suggests a runtime of about an hour and a half with my sample, not quite 100 minutes. Based on current draw, you will probably get more than 2000min on low if you have good 2700mAH cells. I've run it overnight (10 hours) on low and the 2000mAH Eneloop still had plenty of life left in it.
I do not have Li-Ion AA's but using 3.6V from a power supply, I get the following current draw:
High=450mA
Med=100mA
Low=20mA
Output does measure a bit higher with 3.6V input vs 1.2V. The rated output is 130 lumen at 3.6V vs 100 lumen at 1.2V. I don't know about the absolute numbers but the results I get is consistent on a relative scale. Personally I don't see a benefit to using Li-Ions in this light unless you want moderately more output that only a light meter will be able to tell apart. I suspect runtime will be similar on high (again, based on current draw)
My perceived quality is very good. As mentioned above, no cosmetic flaws in the anodizing, no dust in the lens/reflector, general fit and finish is very good. It does tail stand for those that find this useful. Knurling is fairly smooth and there is no nasty "crenelations" that some find attractive (I don't, at least for something that I'm going to stick in my pocket) There is a pocket clip and I do not see a way to remove it. I prefer not to have a pocket clip on a light this size but that's just me. I do think the pocket clip appears delicate and don't know how it will stand up to use. There is glow in the dark O-ring inside the lens and the boot over the tailcap is also GITD. The light will tail stand if clicked ON. It wobbles a little if you try to stand it with the light switched to OFF.
What's in the box? Manual, light, spare o-rings, warranty registration. Could probably use a spare switch, as well as instructions for replacing it since I haven't been able to figure out how to remove it to clean it.
I do not know what the price is so I can't comment on value. If I was to guess on street price, I'd guess $50-$60. You can decide on value based on my personal opinions above. After using it for the past week, I've decided this is a keeper if the price point is what I am guesstimating above.
Picture next to an LM31
I received this light last week from Lumapower. I want to thank Ricky from Lumapower for letting me evaluate this. It is a very nice light, with my sample showing no cosmetic flaws anywhere. I have to disclose I'm partial to warm creamy tint and this sample has what I consider perfect tint though I realize this is highly subjective. The light is rated 100 lumens on NiMH AA's and the only other similar light I have to compare with is a Nitecore DI which is rated 130 lumens on high. Comparing the two lights tell me that relative to each other, the numbers are feasible. I'm not going to post beamshots since there is nothing extraordinary about the beam. If you've seen the beam of a Cree from a small textured reflector, it's probably similar to this.
There are three levels and to me they are spaced just about right. Switch is "normal" clickie so you get momentary with a slight push and click on for sustained use. You switch levels by toggling on/off within two seconds. The light stores the last setting used which is nice. Did I say it only has three levels? That is just about right. There are no strobes, no SOS, no silly gimmicks. The medium output is very useful and I'd probably stick to this for 90% of my use. Low is also very useful. It's low enough for me such that it doesn't screw up my night adjusted vision if I have to use it in the middle of the night. Runtime using 2700mAH NiMH is rated 100 min on high, 2000 min on low. I haven't done a runtime but current measurement shows the following:
High=1.9A
Med=430mA
Low=20mA
I repeated the measurement with a power supply and confirm the current is around 1.8A-1.9A at 1.2V. This is quite high and I wonder whether the tail switch is up to the task. This suggests a runtime of about an hour and a half with my sample, not quite 100 minutes. Based on current draw, you will probably get more than 2000min on low if you have good 2700mAH cells. I've run it overnight (10 hours) on low and the 2000mAH Eneloop still had plenty of life left in it.
I do not have Li-Ion AA's but using 3.6V from a power supply, I get the following current draw:
High=450mA
Med=100mA
Low=20mA
Output does measure a bit higher with 3.6V input vs 1.2V. The rated output is 130 lumen at 3.6V vs 100 lumen at 1.2V. I don't know about the absolute numbers but the results I get is consistent on a relative scale. Personally I don't see a benefit to using Li-Ions in this light unless you want moderately more output that only a light meter will be able to tell apart. I suspect runtime will be similar on high (again, based on current draw)
My perceived quality is very good. As mentioned above, no cosmetic flaws in the anodizing, no dust in the lens/reflector, general fit and finish is very good. It does tail stand for those that find this useful. Knurling is fairly smooth and there is no nasty "crenelations" that some find attractive (I don't, at least for something that I'm going to stick in my pocket) There is a pocket clip and I do not see a way to remove it. I prefer not to have a pocket clip on a light this size but that's just me. I do think the pocket clip appears delicate and don't know how it will stand up to use. There is glow in the dark O-ring inside the lens and the boot over the tailcap is also GITD. The light will tail stand if clicked ON. It wobbles a little if you try to stand it with the light switched to OFF.
What's in the box? Manual, light, spare o-rings, warranty registration. Could probably use a spare switch, as well as instructions for replacing it since I haven't been able to figure out how to remove it to clean it.
I do not know what the price is so I can't comment on value. If I was to guess on street price, I'd guess $50-$60. You can decide on value based on my personal opinions above. After using it for the past week, I've decided this is a keeper if the price point is what I am guesstimating above.
Picture next to an LM31
. So basically .... to put it in the simplest terms .....
:whoopin:
