SUPERLIGHTS III

[Kenshiro]

Luna,

I mentioned that I am not done with the "HID lights 1" and thus the page will not work. Please read the post completely before you make any comments.

That Guy,
The Polarion has been available in the US for at least 6 months. I guess there simply hasn't been a thread on it on the CPF. You can get it from Strategos International and other places, but I am not sure they have updated their web site.
You can always e-mail them.
The new Polarion has virtually the same performance as the old Kumkang model. The improvements I mentioned are mainly other factors such as waterproofness and a better battery design.
As for the photos, all were taken at the same setting, so you can simply import any photos you like into your favorite viewing program and compare them yourself. I did not take 35W and 50W photos seperately, I just divided them into two groups for better viewing.

 

[dwminer]

The only thing that I have found on the Polarion is this:
http://meridiantactical.com/kumkang-polarion-hid.html
http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/meridiantactical_1873_37705757
Dave

 

[XeVision]

Great work as usual Kenshiro and Mr. Ted Bear! The XeVision 50W isn't much brighter than the 35W Polarion. Maybe it uses a lower quality bulb that isn't as efficient as the genuine Philips bulb?

We use a GE (General Electric) made in Hungary 4200K D2S which we have found offers better lifetime and lumens performance than either Philips or Osram when driven at 50 watts. The GE bulbs are 20% more expensive than their Philips counterparts. The GE bulbs have better lumens maintenance than the others especially at 50 watts. We get well over 100 (about 106) lumens per watt when driven at 50 watts. Name brand 35 watt D2S bulbs (4200K only) are 91 lumens per watt (GE, Osram, Philips).

 

[Luna]

Luna,
I mentioned that I am not done with the "HID lights 1" and thus the page will not work. Please read the post completely before you make any comments.

Sorry mom. Gee people are too sensitive. I missed it or you editted it while I was replying to the orginal post. I don't know, just trying to help.

 

[CroMAGnet]

MAN! That is a lot of work! You guys are lucky to be doing the testing and actually holding and experiencing these forerunners. Big Cheers to KenShiro and MR. Ted Bear!

I took a few notes while I was reading everything on your site and they were actually questions/requests. I have not noticed these details anywhere so please excuse if they have been mentioned. I also realize that you are not finished and both of you are still adding more info, so just ignore anything that is forthcoming.

Great work! Thank you

Can we get individual pics of each light or a clear and labled group pic?
Can we get runtimes on all the lights?
Can we get retail and street price estimates on all lights?
Can we get contact info to purchase all lights?
A set of black and white photos would be a nice addition to demostrate the subtle differences.
I wonder how my li'l ol' USL would look in that shootout. Probably not the throw king but maybe hold it's own in output? Especially with a 3" head!

 

[That_Guy]

We use a GE (General Electric) made in Hungary 4200K D2S which we have found offers better lifetime and lumens performance than either Philips or Osram when driven at 50 watts. The GE bulbs are 20% more expensive than their Philips counterparts. The GE bulbs have better lumens maintenance than the others especially at 50 watts. We get well over 100 (about 106) lumens per watt when driven at 50 watts. Name brand 35 watt D2S bulbs (4200K only) are 91 lumens per watt (GE, Osram, Philips).

That's good to hear. Maybe the XeVision uses a shallower reflector than the other lights, which would explain why it doesn't appear much brighter than the 35W units. The best way to compare lumens between the 50W XeVision and the other 35W units would be a ceiling bounce test.

 

[tvodrd]

Cromag, my interest has escalated particularly re the Polarion. (Our USLs aren't remotely in the same league! But on the upside, you can hold your hand in front of the HIDs. )

Larry

 

[brightnorm]

Cromag, my interest has escalated particularly re the Polarion. (Our USLs aren't remotely in the same league! But on the upside, you can hold your hand in front of the HIDs. )Larry

Are there any lights of the USL's size (10-1/8") and weight (24.3oz) that can outperform the USL in total output and brilliant illumination of a broad swath of terrain?

Many thanks to you and Ted Bear for making this valuable information available to us!

Brightnorm

 

[MaxaBaker]

Wow guys THANK YOU!!!! Excellent pictures as usual!! I can't wait for the write ups!!!


I must say though I expected more from the Rayzorbeam/lites...........both output and the problem with the switch surprises me.

 

[NewBie]

I was really surprised by how well the Costco lights did. Not bad for a 75 dollar HID, complete.

Those two incandescent Costco lights did alot better than I thought they would, especially for a 20-30 dollar light. Especially when their filaments are underpowered (the battery doesn't supply enough voltage to run the bulbs properly).

Have you had a chance to perform runtime tests on the various lights?

Here is the datasheet for the GE D2S 4100k HID:
http://www.molalla.net/~leeper/ged2shid.pdf

 

[That_Guy]

Good to hear that there will be writeups. I find them much more useful than beamshots alone.

 

[CroMAGnet]

I was really surprised by how well the Costco lights did. Not bad for a 75 dollar HID, complete.

Actually $149 now at Harbor Frieght! Here's the CPF thread.

tvodrd: I wonder if my USL would MELT the contestants! ehehh

 

[gregw]

I second the suggestion for purchase/contact information on the Kumkang Polarion since I have not been able to find any information at all.

 

[cue003]

I am also in for information on the Kumkang Polarion. Would be nice for a group buy.

Thanks for all the review information thus far. Very well put together and informative. Looking forward to any/all other information that you guys will be putting up.

 

[grift]

I am also in for information on the Kumkang Polarion. Would be nice for a group buy.

Thanks for all the review information thus far. Very well put together and informative. Looking forward to any/all other information that you guys will be putting up.

my ESP tells me that interest in a Polarion group buy will now be a very hot topic.

 

[That_Guy]

I've re-arranged the images so that all the lights can be compared at once.
Zoomed and wide.

 

[NewBie]

Here we go!

I've posted the photos/review of the "Super shootout 3".

http://home.earthlink.net/~kenshiro2/

I don't really consider these lights as "Superlights", so I just named them "HID lights". If you go to my web site, click on the "HID LIGHTS 2" link on the menu.

So, "Superlights 1" = "Superlight Shootout 1"
"HID lights 1" = "Superlight Shootout 2"
"HID lights 2" = "Superlight Shootout 3"

You'll also notice that the "HID lights 1" doesn't show any page. I'm not done with that yet.

Anyway, I have a fever, have lost my voice, have been sick since 12/11, and haven't had a good night sleep since then (which is probably why I'm still sick - afterall, it's 5:30AM right now!).

But the show must go on!

Ken, could you include daytime photos of your shooting range? If they are already there, could you link me?

 

[cue003]

Is Mr Ted Bear planning on posting more info about this shootout here? I am looking forward to reading more and looking forward to pictures of the lights together so I can get relative size comparisions to say a regular 3d mag. Very interested to see the Kumkang and the XeRay in a side by side picture.

Curtis

 

[Mr Ted Bear]

what the heck... it's new years eve, and I have a "honey do" list that keeps growing by the minute.

anyways, yes, full report will soon come, but yesterday Kenshiro and I re-shot all the lights, plus the three 24 watters. I hade a hunch that I wanted to check out, and sure enough, what I believed was correct. I will post my findings in the Rayzorbeam review.

In the mean time...

 

[cue003]

Thanks Jeff. Is the square block on the bottom of the Kumkang attached or is that just the charging base?

Thanks again.

Happy New Year. 2006 here we come!!

Curtis