Is there a better beam then the Mclux PR/PR-T heads? (Pelican Reflector)

My LuxIII PR-T heads have been my favorite beam shapes ever sence I got them.
Very tight spot, especially for its diameter,
with WIDE Spill. Thats what does it for me.

I tested an Aleph3 head, and really liked it alot, especially the throw.
But I felt it lacked Spill, it just wasnt wide enough.

Mag mods are great throwers, but the spot is almost too small,
and unless you use a orange peel one, the beam has way too many artifacts.

So what you think?
The PR reflector still a mayjor winner? Or is there better?
How do the other Gizmo reflectors stack up?

~John

don't know if there's a better beam, but 27mm pelican reflector is one of my all time favorites!

I have and still love my McLux PR-T. You're right the spot is very small and intense, very much an overachiever in the throw department for an LED. If you like that type of beam I would suggest the Lioncub with Lionhead. VERY wide beam with most of the energy focused on a very tight spot. The center has a strong "sear" to it that reminds me of my MagHID, only obviously less intense. Suprising the throw results when using outdoors.

Better ... I don't like this word in the context. Better for me would mean a higher quality reflector ... and I don't think we have one here on CPF.
We have different ones though ... producing a multitude of different beam charavteristics to choose from, which is good

Now ... the 27mm/LuxIII combo is not my personal preference ... spot is too hot and the contrast to the (relatively dim) corona is too sharp, making the corona even more useless. OK, it's big ... but unless you are looking at things that are very close, it is useless, and you are left with a needle-like spot.
I admit the 27mm/LuxIII is a throw monster for the size, and that's its primary strength.

My personal preference would be the 20mm in this size class ... spot is bigger and softer and gently fades into a tight and bright corona .... and this means you got more area coverage up to medium distances, there isn't the hard contrast so it's easier on the eyes and the corona is actually useful beyond a few meters, making this light an excellent choice for medium distances. AND it's a smaller head.
This is abit the philosophy of the SF KL5 abnd KL6 lights ...

To illustrate my point:






An unfair comparison ... this is a TW0K at 1000mA in a McR-27:



And this is a McLuxIII-PD UX1K at 550mA (McR-20):



Even at double the drive current (ok, the PD is a U-bin) the 27mm light covers less area with usable light (corona is still too dim) and while the spot is much brighter (making it actually harder to see anything in the dark coron aat all because of the adaption of our eyes), it covers less terrain, making it less useful than the larger area covered by the underdriven PD (which will also sport better runtime and heat management due to this fact).


So ... no ... the 27mm is not my favourite (except for the LuxV :devil, but I'd advice it to anyone who wants max. throw in a small E-Series package.

Another thought is the low-mode ... while the 20mm reflector will still put out a usabel corona and is great at reduced output, the 27mm will you leave basically with just the spot because of the weak corona.

bernie

P.S.: not talking about the LuxV here though ...

Bernie,

Good post, good points.

In the house, I dont care for the PR all that much, for the reasons you mentioned,
too tight of a spot, and the spill is dim,, only when compared to the hotspot though.

Outdoors, its a different matter.
I love it outside, the spot really throws well, and the wide spill lets you see whats around you for walking etc.

Mainly I think I like it cuz its one of the few lights that has the WIDE spill AND Throws.
Most others that throw well, like the A3, have a norrow spill angle.

I also tested the A1, and it was much better in the house than the A3,
but outside.... I loved the A3.

Its all a matter of what you are doing, and where you are.
As we know, no one light will fit it all.

I have actually grown to like 5W beams... ALOT
for their wide hotspot, and Bright spill.
But I tend to be alittle disapointed when I take them, outside, and expect more throw.
My 5W mag mod throws really nice, and I like its beam alot for outdoors,
it throws by shear power
Its just hard to beat the PR-T head for small package throw.
I had mine on the E1e body last night, and man, will that thing throw for its size :rock:

~John

Yepp, the McR-27 / PR is one hell of a small throw monster, I agree. And that is the primary purpose of this thing IMHO.
bk