What a great year for LED torches so far...

[gadgetnerd]

There've been times over the last few years where I got a bit bored, with months going by and not a lot happening except incremental increases in brightness, minor cosmetic or UI improvements. Not 2008 though...

This year has been a really amazing year for production torches, particularly AA. So much innovation, so many cool releases. I seem to be gettting my credit card out every other week! Some of the highlights (pun intended) for me:

Zebralight H50: so tiny, simple, well built and elegant, filled its niche perfectly.

LiteFlux LF5XT: an AA light with UI, MCU, switching and beam quality hitherto seen only in HDS/Novatac lights.

Nitecore D10: Design features and build quality on par with expensive custom lights. Oh and a great simple UI to boot. Worthy successor to the Nitecore Defender Infinity and an instant CPF Classic.

JetBeam Jet-I Pro IBS: Absolute pocket rocket with a rock solid build and a great programmable UI.

Ra Twisty 70Tr: My only CR123 purchase this year, but an incredible torch that will probably be the last word in reliabilty - this is the torch I would trust my life with. Took a long time to get here, but worth the wait.

What say you?

 

[FrogmanM]

I feel that Don's LunaSol Design and his Sundrop have up'd the bar once again. His Piston Driven UI has also been mass-produced in the highly affordable 4seven's EX10 and DX10.

...coming up on one year at CPF for me, looking back, I'd never imagine owning the few torches I do, let alone one of McG's Ti Creations. I look forward to the future, yet yes this year has been great for LEDs.

Mayo

 

[WadeF]

I think the Zebralight H50 was out in 2007, but the H30 came out in 2008.

One of my favorite lights though (both of them).

The Nitecore / 4sevens / McGizmo collab EX10 and D10's are awesome and the EX10 is my new EDC.

 

[Crenshaw]

I think the sudden interest in High CRI tint is interesting.

And it was also this year that 200lumens in a small light become "normal"

Crenshaw

 

[LED-holic]

It's been a phenomenal year, but my wallet is feeling it too...

 

[Ninjaz7]

It's been a phenomenal year, but my wallet is feeling it too...

+1 ... ... :mecry: .

 

[StarHalo]

JetBeam Jet-I Pro IBS: Absolute pocket rocket with a rock solid build and a great programmable UI.

Don't forget the JetBeam Jet-II I.B.S., the first mass-produced single-cell EDC to hit 250 lumens.

I think the sudden interest in High CRI tint is interesting.

+1, I wouldn't be surprised if by this time next year the CRI number will be just as prominent as the lumens number.

And infinitely variable brightness settings are really exploding, it won't be long now until a flashlight with "a few brightness options" will be seen as a drawback..

 

[Gunner12]

Yes it does seem like a good year for LED lights. I have to find a way to get one of those new lights(haven't bought any light related thing for a year, heck don't even have a Fenix or similar that I recommend so much, but I do have a McGizmo from last year's christmas gifting).

Now I hope new higher bin LEDs or better color rendering ones come out to top it off before the end of the year.

I think the trend towards higher CR is because the output from the current gen LEDs is enough for most tasks and output isn't as much of a want anymore for many people. Seeing better with the same amount of lumen could be helpful for many or just be a good plus to have.

 

[lengendcpf]

It's been a phenomenal year, but my wallet is feeling it too...

It's also a great year for my wallet too..