Surefire Saint headlamp? (Part 2)

[nzgunnie]

Mine arrived in NZ today. Box went straight to the wife... wont see it again till Christmas!

Hopefully it will be worth the extra wait.

 

[cave dave]

Mine arrived last week but I only had a few minutes to try it, before the girl friend caught me. I had to rush to pack the car to head down to NC for indoor skydiving in a vertical wind tunnel. (much cooler than flashlights )
Thank gosh the wind tunnel is so far away. I'd would seriously have no money for flashlights.

 

[DM51]

Mine arrived last week but I only had a few minutes to try it, before the girl friend caught me. I had to rush to pack the car to head down to NC for indoor skydiving in a vertical wind tunnel. (much cooler than flashlights )
Thank gosh the wind tunnel is so far away. I'd would seriously have no money for flashlights.

LOL!

Dave, when you get time off from the g/f and the wind tunnel, a review of the HS1 from an experienced caver such as yourself would be extremely useful - you cavers really put lights through their paces, and hard use must be what the HS1 is designed to tolerate.

 

[cave dave]

So far I don't like the beam or prismatic artifacts so I will probably sell it without ever using it. It is unlikely I will put the HS1 through it paces.

 

[Size15's]

It seems that occasionally these slip through with undesirable beams. I urge you to call SureFire and arrange to have it replaced.

 

[jimbosan72]

Ups brought me my Saint tonight. This is the moment i've been waiting for along time. initial thought is comfortable, lighter than it looks and great beam for night hikes. There is a thin line of bright light that doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the beam. That thin beam aims at my feet when light is pointed forward. I still love the headlamp. Btw thanks Batteryjunction.com I received it one day after you shipped it. Great service again. Jim

 

[zemmo]

Is anyone using RCR's in the Saint or Minimus? I'd like to know for sure that Li-on is ok in my Minimus? TIA.

 

[Patriot]

So far I don't like the beam or prismatic artifacts so I will probably sell it without ever using it. It is unlikely I will put the HS1 through it paces.

I had to opportunity to play with one locally at a great SF dealer and noticed the same thing regarding the "prismatic artifacts" which I think is a pretty good description. I suspected that it wasn't normal but then I read cave dave's post and saw csshih's pictures. Has anyone else seen this effect from the HS1? I'm just wondering if these are flukes are standard characteristics of the light.

 

[Daniel_sk]

Has anyone else seen this effect from the HS1? I'm just wondering if these are flukes are standard characteristics of the light.

My Saint Minimus had the same artifacts. Not so noticeable at home, but it was really annoying in the forest - because you always had the feeling that something is moving in your peripheral vision.
I returned to my old trusty Tikka XP (modded with Seoul) - I like the beam with the diffuser better and I have the choice between two beam patterns + color filters + instant access tu Turbo mode + ...

 

[crizyal]

Mine has the "prismatic artifacts". The effect is minimal to me. I can see them if I look for them, though they have not bothered me in any way.

 

[carrot]

I got to play with a friend's Saint Minimus and I didn't notice any weird artifacts. Either his is perfect, or you guys are noticing something I didn't. In any case, I was about to order one but then I saw Arc was having a sale... I will be getting one probably early next year instead.

 

[yowzer]

What kind of throw does the Saint have? The Minimus I played around with a bit in REI didn't seem like it would have a whole lot of range -- more than a Zebralight, good for night hikes on trails, but not enough for serious route-finding or bushwhacking -- what I need in a high powered headlamp.

 

[carrot]

If you need a lot of throw I don't think that the Saint will be for you. But it definitely has more throw than a Zebralight and seemed just about perfect to me. If I really need to see outside of the Saint's range, a handheld flashlight suffices.

 

[yowzer]

If you need a lot of throw I don't think that the Saint will be for you. But it definitely has more throw than a Zebralight and seemed just about perfect to me. If I really need to see outside of the Saint's range, a handheld flashlight suffices.

Like the Minimus, then (Unsurprising, considering they look like they share the same optics.) The flexibility of the Saint wrt to batteries, and the the dial-a-lumen make this light really appealing... maybe for christmas. The chromatic artifacts that quite a few people have mentioned as a negative is the only thing stopping the Saint from being a must-buy.

I pair up a headlamp with a handheld light now, which works most of the time, as long as you don't need both hands for something else. (Used to use a Black Diamond Icon, got sick of the 5mm leds. Been looking for a good alternative ever since. I suspect my ideal high powered throwy headlamp just doesn't exist, but the Saint and the HP10 sounded like the best bets.)

 

[yowzer]

Found a store that had the Saint in stock and they let me play with it to the point of going into the stockroom and turning off the lights to use it in the dark.

I like it. A lot. I almost bought it then and there, massive sales tax on top and all, but . Didn't notice any prismatic stuff going on, though the beam is funny shaped -- the spill area is rectangular, which I've seen before, but with concave sides. I don't think it'd be a big deal outdoors, but shining onto a wall, it's funky. Inside that square is a nice big normal shaped hotspot. The low is advertised as 1 lumen, but doing some quick comparisons with my D10, it's more like 3 or 4. The high of 100 lumens felt fairly accurate, maybe a bit understated but not to the levels Surefire is known for on the forum.

The Saint looks to be an incredible medium-range light; able to do a Zebralight's job and more when the ZL just doesn't have the range. Wouldn't try skiing downhill with it, but for nighttime hiking, it'd be great. ZL still reigns supreme for around camp use because of the size and weight, but for trail use, I haven't seen anything else that comes close to the Saint in terms of general build quality and versatility. Now if only it had a warm tint LED...

I was going to get a SF Titan for Christmas, but I think Santa's going to be bringing a Saint instead.

 

[Snow]

So I bought a SF Saint (NOT Minimus) today

I was driving across Missouri on my way to St Louis and saw a small store called Crane's Country Store just off the highway. On a whim I decided to stop, stretch my legs a bit, and see if they had any carbon steel Sodbusters. I stepped into a store that was much larger than it looked from the outside and PACKED with cool stuff. Lots of Carhartt and Filson. My eyes were quickly drawn to the packed SureFire display case. I looked in at the U2, M2, E2L, etc. and noticed a T1A. I thought it was unusual for a small store out in the middle of nowhere to have such an up to date and complete lineup of high end flashlights.

My eyes drifted down to the bottom of the case where I saw a complete SureFire Saint in the box. A gentleman came by and asked if I wanted to see anything. I said, "Sure! I'd love to see that headlamp. Nobody else has them yet!" He told me he had been waiting months for it and was glad to finally have it in stock. 😎 He opened the box, handed me the light and proceeded to tell me the specs. Then we went to another room of the store and he turned off the lights so I could check it out in action.

I slipped it on my head and dialed it on. A smooth beam of white light came out. Similar to a Zebralight but more focused. I looked for nasty tint, beam artifacts, or any flaws and found none. I had been thinking of getting a Minimus to replace my faulty H501w but was still undecided. I started to tell the guy I would think about it and come back on my way back to Kansas City tomorrow when he offered me a very generous discount. I didn't even hesitate before agreeing.

Unforunately, I don't have my camera, but I will be back home tomorrow and ready to post some pictures, including a comparison to the H501w. So far, I am very impressed with the Saint. I don't know if I'll use the full-sized battery pack much but it will be nice to have as an option. I still love the H501w and will probably send it in for repair and give Zebralight one last chance, but I any time I carry it, it will be playing backup to the Saint.😗

 

[Launch Mini]

Re: So I bought a SF Saint (NOT Minimus) today

Awesome find
hopefully one will show up locally soon

 

[Hugo2x]

Re: So I bought a SF Saint (NOT Minimus) today

I love seeing proper flashlights in brick and mortar store. So far all i've ever found is SF and Streamlight. I would freak out if I saw some Fenix's or Nitecores sitting in a display case.

 

[joema]

...I was going to get a SF Titan for Christmas, but I think Santa's going to be bringing a Saint instead.

I have a Minimus and T1A, and an quite dissapointed in the Minimus beam. It's quite greenish/yellow, with significant artifacts. See below images, taken with identical camera settings and fixed white balance.

Distance to white wall: 1 meter

These were captured as RAW on a Nikon D300 and converted to high quality jpg. Color-wise they mostly match the visual impression. No post processing except for slight cropping to center the beam.

Unlike many CPF'ers, I'm not very sensitive to tint. However in this case it's quite extreme. To the eye, the T1A beam pattern looks better than the pictures, and the Minimus looks worse than the pictures.

The Minimus beam has distinct dark square artifacts, probably the projected emitter die. I'm not a "white all hunter" and accept no beam is perfect. But the Minimus beam is such poor quality it's distracting to use. My less expensive Princeton Tec Apex Pro has a much better beam.

If this is typical of the Saint/Minimus beam, I'd suggest getting the T1A.

Surefire T1A:


Surefire Minimus:

 

[yowzer]

I have a Minimus and T1A, and an quite dissapointed in the Minimus beam. It's quite greenish/yellow, with significant artifacts. See below images, taken with identical camera settings and fixed white balance.

The Saint I played with had a nice white beam. The LED tint lottery is alive and well with whatever SF's using (SSC?). For what it costs, if you don't like the tint, I'd exchange it for another until you get it right.