Yes, I too bought a Legend LX

[geepondy]

I bought it at Sports Authority for $19.99 where they had six more on the shelf. The best thing I can say about it is that it's probably good value for the money. On the positives, it's bright and has a "fairly" smooth hotspot. It's brighter then my E2 but not as bright as my Surge. You can focus down the hotspot fairly well but it's still blotchy a bit, no where near as good as a Surefire and probably not even as good as my Surge is when focused down to it's hotspot. The construction although not horribly shoddy reflects the price. The head rattles a bit and the lens especially feels wimpy when tapping it. It tends to be top heavy and the clickie switch nearly takes both thumbs to depress. Don't know why they made this switch so difficult.

If this was two years ago and mags were my major incandescent experience then I would say this is a great light but I can't help but be dissappointed after owning others. My next light is going to be a Scorpion and at just 12 or 13 dollars more then the Legend LX plus including a spare bulb, I bet it's going to be the best deal out of the two cr123 cell lights. I can't say that until I own one and am basing this on other's reports but I hope I can tell everybody that's frothing for a Legend LX that it's much better to spend a little more for the Scorpion.

 

[Kill-O-Zap]

My sentiments exactly. I too recently bought a Legend LX at SA. I too would think this is a great flashlight had I not seen better. I actually do own a Scorpion. The Scorpion is a better light, and a better value despite its somewhat higher price. What you say about the balance of the Legend is very true, I noticed it immediately. The thing about the switch had been discussed on this board before, so I was expecting that. I can't compare the Scorpion with an E2 (don't have one), but it's definitely more than just $13's worth better than the Legend.

Not that the Legend is a bad light, all in all I'll probably keep it. The perverse thing is that because the Legend was under $20, I'll probably keep it out and beat on it, and get some real value out of it, while the Scorpion will get babied, pulled out once in a while just to refresh my memory as to just how neat it is, thus making the Legend the better value in the end.

Next up: yclo's LX switch mod, how timely

 

[PJD]

...in my side by side comparison, the Legend LX was the brighter of the two, with a more intense hotspot, and a smoother beam. The Scorpion also seemed to have a cheap feel to it's switch. Still, both are good lights for the price...it all depends on what yer "druthers" are

...

PJD

...there is nothing in the world more frustrating than a lousy beam...

 

[Kill-O-Zap]

Well, perhaps I was a bit unfair to the Legend

. Comparing side by side now, I have to admit that the Legend's beam is in fact tighter than the Scorpion's, perhaps smoother too. Another thing in the Legend's favor is that it is well sealed with o-rings; the o-rings also give the Legend a nice smooth feel when twisting the head. All things considered, this light is a keeper, and I can even see where some would prefer it over the Scorpion.

 

[WarrenI]

Thanks geepondy for your opening review. Not to stray far off of the subject, you mentioned that your compared lights ranged from the E2 (least brightest), Scorpion, Legend LX, and the PT Surge (brightest of the sample group). Thanks again for this comparison as some keep placing the E2 being the only light to consider within this range of lights. I had an E2 for a short time and while it is very bright for it's size, it is nowhere near the brightest small light to have. This is why I went with the Surge as it seems to put out almost twice the light of an E2, with a run time about three times longer. The Legend LX looked very appealing as I was shopping.

 

[geepondy]

The E2 has the best quality beam out of the three, IMO. You just "see" better with it, without trying. I know it's too wide for some but it's perfect for near and medium distance lighting. Out of the three it's my favorite just because of the brightness and beam quality vs. size. With the Surge and the Legend LX, the beam is still blotchy around the edges of the hotspot no matter how you focus it. The Legend LX is the worst out of the three in beam quality. It seems to have a bright spot and then a dimmer "tail" in the bright spot. Still better then most incandescents I own including the Streamlight polypro 4AA. Also you can widen the beam a bit before it starts deteriorating. It will become the car light supplement to my Inova X5 which is currently the polypro.

The Surge is the best value light that I own by a long shot. It does put me in a dilemma though. I run it with nimh's for a fairly bright, fairly steady output but when I put fresh alkalines in, it is considerably brighter for awhile then with nimh's but dims steadily. I keep going back and forth with the battery types. When and if Surefire releases their digital series incandescents, that's what I'm saving my pennies for.