Ultimate reading light?

[LEDagent]

I love the brightness of my Princeton Tec Attitude. But what i don't like is the fact that i must change 4 AAA batteries at a time, and that it does not maintain constant brightness. So even though the light is rated to run for 154 hours, i end up changing the batteries in less that 24 hrs becuase the light is just NOT usefull unless you point the light directly at what you are reading (which is hard when you are lying down and holding a book). After 30 hours it just isn't usefull for ANYTHING except glowing.

I'm leaning towards getting the Arc AAA because it's small and is proven to stay constantly bright for at least 5 hours. Do any of you know the TOTAL running time though? Or does it cut out after 5 hours? ANyway, i know it's not as initially bright as my 3LED Attitude (unless you can prove me wrong), but it's size and constant brightness is a bit more convenient when you don't have to change 4 AAA batteries at once.

Final question... Will NiMH or NiCD batteries work okay in these LED lights(Attitude or Arc)? If so, it would help me a bunch just to use those. I don't plan to run them down all the way becuase i have a habit of just popping in my NiMH batteries in the charger every other day or so. I'm not concerned too much about saving money going the rechargeable route, i'm just more concerned about the inconvenience of always changing 4 AAA batteries every few weeks. It's a burden always going out to buy batteries - you can buy as many as you want, but they always seem to run out when you really need them.

Anyway...there are a lot of questions in this post. I think i will end it here.

 

[LEDagent]

Crap...another light has crossed my mind. How about the Eternalight Ergo (not the EliteXray..too expensive..might as well get the LS)? When that and the Arc AAA first came out, a review was done on the Eternalight on NiMH AA's and it said that after 150 hours, the Eternalight was as bright as the Arc AAA.

How convenient i thought.

I'm not concerned about pocketability, just longevity and brightness (in that order).

So what do you think? Along with the thousands of questions

i have thrusted upon you...which one would you get for primarily reading at night?

 

[Wits' End]

I don't have an Attitude (

), but I do have a similar light and I find it too bright for reading. I'd recomend an Infinity for longevity over the Arc. The Eternalight would be the best choice though with the "dimability" you can set the light level you want (until the batteries are too low), and it is a good bright light for all-purpose
use.
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> which one would you get for primarily reading at night? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I like the Infinity but others find it dim, I can read by kerosene lamp some can't, so the control over light output w/ the Eternalight might make it best for you. Or the motto of the forum "get Both".

 

[LEDagent]

Okay...i went to Quikbeam's review page and it had all the lights i had in question reviewed! THANKS Quickbeam! (Nice site by the way. VERY easy to navigate!!!!!)

Anyway, just in comparison of numbers, the arc AAA is rated at 21 Lumen/Meter^2, the PT Attitude is rated at 37 Lumen/Meter^2. I can say that, considering the arc AAA uses one AAA and one LED, it's PRETTY DAMN BRIGHT for such a small light. i'm guessing my PT Attitude will be at that brightness after 2-5 hours of use. The Arc AAA will maintain that for 5 hours! Good work Peter Gransee.

But, again...with my criteria in mind, the Eternal light beats both lights out. It outputs about 78 lumens/meter^2! If it can be as bright as the Arc AAA after 150 hours, i'd say that this would be the light for me eh?

I think i just answered my own question....way to go Laurence! hehe.

But i would like to hear from the rest of you and your opinions about other lights as well. Don't forget, i still have 999 other questions.

 

[LEDagent]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Or the motto of the forum "get Both" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

AND i will!! No doubt. But you see...here is my strategy. I trick myself into thinking that i'm not spending 80-90 dollars all at once for these two lights by spliting the orders up and buying them on different dates. Slick huh?

Pathetic huh?

I want to buy from Arc as soon as they release the Arc LS in steady production...or when a Arc AA version comes out. I want my first purchace from ARC to be these lights.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Why not just get one a mains powered lamp? They're cheap, you'll get constant brightness and no batteries to replace.

 

[PhilAlex]

I love my Arc AAA, and the LE version is coming... I can't wait.


Now, when I read at home, I use my ol' Eternalight (Version 1). It casts a more even beam more condusive to reading.

Now... If I was camping (which I don't do) and was reading in a tent (Which I would do) I would like the Arc... Smaller, and multi use.

I'm using an old NiCd in it right now. I get about 4 hours total out of it, 2.5 at hight and 1.5 at low.

--Phil

 

[Chuen]

For me it's the Princeton Tec Matrix. It's a headlamp so I don't have to hold it. It's regulated to give contant brightness throughtout the battery life, so I don't have to worry about weak battery. I'm curious how u guys use a flashlight such as the arc as a reading light. Do u guys hold it with one hand?

 

[Alan]

Zipka has always been my favorite reading light. It's a headlamp that I don't need to use one hand to hold the light. I use nimh AAAs with the light.

Alan

 

[JollyRoger]

As an owner of the ARC AAA, ARC LE, Eternalight Ergo Marine, and Eternalight Elite X-ray (of course I own more lights...like the ARC LS...but these aren't relevant to this topic), I must urge you to get BOTH the ARC and the Eternalight as well....
The ARC LE is my daily "carry in jacket pocket" light. The Eternalight? Well, I'd like to carry it everywhere b/c it's so cool...but it's bit bigger...and I don't want to scratch it.

Plus, if you use nimh rechargeables in the Eternalight, it's basically "regulated," since the discharge curve of nimh batteries is so flat.

For reading? I think the Eternalight might be better, simply b/c you can stand it up, etc. You might have to hold the ARC in your mouth? hehe...
I'd get the Eternalight X-ray, atleast...I think it might be able to stand up better? If you can afford the Elite X-ray, get this one, b/c I know for sure that the "feet" are really nice and it can stand up easily...My ergo marine doesn't really stand up well, but I'm sure you can "sand" the bottom to be more flat so it does....

 

[bikeNomad]

The Eveready folding LED lantern (4 AA cells, unregulated, 1 or 2 LEDs with diffuser, 180° output) works well for reading, I've found.

 

[Gandalf]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bikeNomad:
The Eveready folding LED lantern (4 AA cells, unregulated, 1 or 2 LEDs with diffuser, 180° output) works well for reading, I've found.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, it does, and also for a tent light, perhaps, but it's really too dim for much else. The cost is very reasonable, compared to the Eternalight, but the Eternalight is *vastly* more versatile, IMHO.

 

[machspass]

Wow, this is good! These are all some very good questions. If you have read some of my other postings, well then you know how much I love my Arc AAA.

I agree that a regulated light output makes a big difference! I have been tinkering with the Zetex circuit lately, and I'm quite impressed!

I get a pretty constant light output from it for about 5 hours on a single AAA battery, which is similar to the Arc AAA. I haven't done any longevity tests yet with a AA battery, but I expect to have around 15 hours of bright light, since AA batts have about 3x the capacity of AAA batts.

NiCd and NiMH batts work fine with all my LED lights, though I haven't done any brightness vs. time tests yet with my PT attitude. The Arc AAA works well with them. The Zetex circuit also works well with NiCd and NiMH batteries, since it provides partial regulation of current, not voltage. The measurements I've taken on the Zetex circuit show that a single LED will put out a pretty steady and bright light down to a cell voltage of about 1.0 volts. The light output will then begin to drop until it falls into a dim state (something like the moon mode of the Arc AAA) until the cell voltage falls to around 0.8 volts. I've had one last in this mode for around 15 hours until it finally crapped out completely. It was better than I expected!

 

[machspass]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bikeNomad:
The Eveready folding LED lantern (4 AA cells, unregulated, 1 or 2 LEDs with diffuser, 180° output) works well for reading, I've found.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just saw one of these at Wal-Mart, and I just had to buy it! I think it's kinda cool. I wonder why nobody has done more development of LED area lights???

BikeNomad, I have dismantled mine to see what they did (of course

). I suspect that these somewhat translucent plastic tubes that use to diffuse the light aren't letting through as much light as they could be. Do you agree? I like their idea of making it look like a miniature CCF tube, but I think it could be brighter.

BTW, I just LOVE this smiley. He's just cool!