Surefire Saint

[nmiller]

Anyone have the full Saint? What are your thoughts on it vs the Minimus. I have the minimus and am considering getting a second and may go with the full version. I just don't know that I would like all of the bulk on my head.

Nick

 

[yowzer]

I've been eyeing the Saint for a while to use for night hikes and SAR, especially since some of the early problems reported with it seem to have been fixed. Since it comes with an adapter that turns it into a Minimus, I'd just spend the extra $50 for the extra flexibility in batteries. It'd be nice if SF sold the Saint battery pack and cabling so that you could go the other way as well without having to buy a whole new light.

 

[red02]

I've been tempted to check one out. Can you take the saint out of it's housing brackets like the zebralight? Any runtime/brightness info with 2xAA/NiMH? There seems to be a distinct lack of these type of measurements for surefire products...

 

[carrot]

I have the full-size Saint and prefer it to the Minimus. By using two straps the Saint does not require you to have the straps as tight on your head so it is more comfortable and the weight of the battery pack is hardly noticeable on your head. Most of the time I actually forget that I'm wearing a battery pack, which is an unpleasant realization if you try to lay with your head back on it -- in fact, that's the only downside, that the battery pack gets in the way of you leaning the back of your head on something, say a hammock.

My sample of one Saint is a bit on the bluish side but not overly so, and has no corona or rings as mentioned by earlier owners, which suggests to me that it is possible the problems reported have been fixed.

As far as I can tell, you cannot remove the Saint from its housing bracket. But I have never felt a need to either.

It looks to me like two Eneloops put out the same amount of light as three CR123's (100 lumens). By the numbers, two Eneloops should offer similar runtime to a single primary CR123 cell (over 2 hours on high). (2000 mAh at 2x1.2v versus 1400 mAh at 3.0v)

 

[nmiller]

carrot: thanks for the info. I would be interested in running it on enelops because I've never been too crazy about running multiple CR123a cells on my head.

 

[expeditionary]

I have used both, and ended up buying the minimus. I liked the way the minimus rode on my head. I thought I'd want the regular to have the longe capacity, but I decided I'd rather carry spare batteries in my pack or cargo pocket. either way they are hands down the best headlamp I've ever used. luck had it within 3 days we had a huge storm and lost power overnight for about 8 hours. my minimus saved my rear end with all the hail and flooding.

 

[red02]

I have the full-size Saint and prefer it to the Minimus. By using two straps the Saint does not require you to have the straps as tight on your head so it is more comfortable and the weight of the battery pack is hardly noticeable on your head. Most of the time I actually forget that I'm wearing a battery pack, which is an unpleasant realization if you try to lay with your head back on it -- in fact, that's the only downside, that the battery pack gets in the way of you leaning the back of your head on something, say a hammock.

My sample of one Saint is a bit on the bluish side but not overly so, and has no corona or rings as mentioned by earlier owners, which suggests to me that it is possible the problems reported have been fixed.

As far as I can tell, you cannot remove the Saint from its housing bracket. But I have never felt a need to either.

It looks to me like two Eneloops put out the same amount of light as three CR123's (100 lumens). By the numbers, two Eneloops should offer similar runtime to a single primary CR123 cell (over 2 hours on high). (2000 mAh at 2x1.2v versus 1400 mAh at 3.0v)

Thanks for the info, I've been considering getting the Saint as my H501 gave in after only 4 months of regular use. ZL warranty is 1 year, and I'm glad this light quit at home rather than on a trip. Somehow I expected more...

How solid are the connections between the wires and battery/emitter housing? I've heard stories about the MYO XP that discouraged me from getting a headlamp with wires. How is the regulation on 2xEneloops? Any chance for an informal runtime test?

Just FYI the saint does not use PWM for dimming according to their sales rep.

 

[carrot]

The wires seem attached pretty well. On the emitter side they go into a cap that can be unscrewed (so you can convert to Minimus mode) and on the other side there is a screwed down plate that holds them. The wires are pretty thick so they should be tough. I never considered any durability issues with them because they seem quite solid, plus with Surefire's top-notch reputation for reliability I feel comfortable trusting it.

 

[nmiller]

"Surefire's top-notch reputation for reliability I feel comfortable trusting it."

This is why I bought the Minimus.

 

[red02]

Carrot, any chance you could measure or know the how wide the flood angle is?

 

[derangboy]

I've been tempted to check one out. Can you take the saint out of it's housing brackets like the zebralight? Any runtime/brightness info with 2xAA/NiMH? There seems to be a distinct lack of these type of measurements for surefire products...

Over the winter I ran my Saint on 2xAA NiMH. I would estimate I used it for about 1.5 hours a day at low to medium levels accumulating about 10 hours before it was no longer able to turn the unit on full power. The light is not designed to be removed from the bracket.

 

[lyklyk616]

I'm running the Saint and I can say it is pretty darn good for the extra weight !
It may look kinda bulky but it won't weight you down , just get it !

 

[Bolster]

Carrot, any chance you could measure or know the how wide the flood angle is?

I'm not Carrot, but I do have trigonometric calcs of the SF Saint beam: Around 56 degrees. If you want to compare beam widths of floody headlamps see the link in my sig line; lots of them have beam angles listed.

IMHO, for my work (close up work such as electrical, attic, crawlspace, and also reading) a useable beam starts around where the Saint is, although I prefer one around 90-100. Widest beam I've seen in a headlamp is 120 degrees and it's a pleasure to work with. Obviously if you are looking at something farther away (ie, hiking a trail at night) the wide beam is of less value.

 

[namancio]

I've seen 2 versions of the Saint; one has ridged knob while another as pictured in the Surefire website has knurling. The ridged version also seem shorter. Carrots pictures are different from Surefire's website. Does anyone know the newer version and what changed? Thanks.

 

[angelofwar]

Newer version has the old aggressive style knurling. They tried the fluted design, but got too many complaints of having trouble activating it/rotating the knob, so they went back to the proven method. Thank God they left the knurling on the E2L-AA!

 

[namancio]

Thanks for the reply. I have another observation and want to know if others have something similar. I noticed extraneous light all around the main flood. I sat it down and can saw a sliver of light going to the bottom. It is quite bright and very noticeable. I am not sure what impact this has but just checking if this is normal. Thanks!