Peak CPF Special versus Amilite Neo T3

...I am looking for a good single 123 Luxeon light. Lion Cub and HDS EDC 60 are both appealing but more than I want to spend on a user light I can lose. The Peak CPF Special and Amilite Neo T3 seem like what I want. Anyone own both of these and can tell me about what they like and do not like about each of them? If you do not own both of them but do have a opinions I would like to hear them also.
TIA,
Jclarksnakes

I also have been keeping my eyes open for a good deal on anew or used Lion Cub and HDS EDC 60. I also have bought both the Peak CPF special and the Amilite Neo T3 which arrived today. The Neo is about 3/4" shorter with similar diameter head & body which equals a very small light. I like the looks of both lights but the Neo does kind of look like a mini Surefire with the type III HA finish. The Peak CPF special has a definetly brighter hot spot. It also comes with rechargeable lith-ion batteries & charger which is a plus.

I was waiting for the Neo to show up so that I could compare them so i could order a 2nd one of which ever I liked the most. That way I could have a beater and a shelf queen/back-up. The Neo is a cool little light but at this point I will probably be ordering another Peak CPF special.

Patrick

please post a link of this peak... I dont even know what it is.

-David

There is another thread with similar title, also in the LED section. You'll find what you need to know there.

how does it throw compared to the amilite you think?

-David

The Peak CPF special has better throw than the Neo.

Here is the link to the Peak 2005 CPF special

you sure about the throw? The alilite throws quite well, its too bad though that regular 123s drop throw numbers significantly on the peak.

-David

Patrick,
...Your opinion sounds like what I was thinking. Hard to make a choice but the rechrgeable batteries plus charger make the Peak CPF my likely choice. Thanks.

Onthebeam,
...thanks, I will go look for it.

David,
..It looks like a bigger and brighter hotspot to me and more importantly the items in the room away from the hotspot are better illuminated. It sure would be nice if flashlightreviews.com would do a review on the CPF Special. That website is a great source of info.

Thanks to all the helpful people on this site,
jclarksnakes

cheapo said:

you sure about the throw? The alilite throws quite well, its too bad though that regular 123s drop throw numbers significantly on the peak.

-David

Click to expand...

Yeah, I am sure, Just went outside to do another comparison. Wish I could do beam shoots for you, but just not set up for it right now. At about 90' you can still see the Peak hotspot but the Neo is fading. The Neo has a fresh battery that came with it and the Peak has about 20 minutes on its first battery. I will try the Neo with a new Titanium battery to see if it makes a difference.

I bought the Neo before the groupbuy for $84.00 including shipping and the peak for $89.95. That is a $6.00 difference, even with the groupbuy $16.00 difference I would still get the Peak CPF special.

I does'nt matter to me that the #'s are low on primary 123's, I will always use the rechargables that came with it. I really liked that it came with and uses rechargables, I have enough Surefires that eat primary 123's already (keeps amondotech happy).

This is just my opinion, others may disagree! :huh2:

Patrick

Seems like what's missing is knowing the Amilite's performance on rechargeable R123's, i.e. brighter, much brighter, same, or magic smoke coming out. If the Amilite worked well (i.e. no magic smoke) with protected R123s, it would be a significant factor.

BTW, will a rechargeable 123 physically fit into the Amilite? Some lights just don't have room for rechargeables, particularly protected rechargeables.

Oh my god! What are you doing with me? I was sure to order the Neo T3 and now I´m totally in disorder! Can the CPF-Carribbean-Special still be ordered??? Are there still chargers and rechargeable CR123As there?
Ok one problem is that in Germany there are not 110Volts but 230Volts plug sockets, but I think there have to exist adapters?.
Of course it nerves a little bit that you can (really) use the CPF-special only with R123As, but so using it is very cheap...
Ok the throw of the CPF-special is better than amilite´s, but how is the overall-output of the CPF-special compared to the Amilite?

I would also like to know if the Neo will run on rechargeable R123's also. Don't get me wrong the Neo is a nice little light with good light output.

I just checked and the extra RCR123 from the Peak CPF special will not fit in the Neo. These are the only RCR123's I have to test with.

which has brigher sidespill? which is smaller?

-David

I know we're talking "premium" lights here and the concept of the Peak CPF special seems great - very high output on a rechargeable RCR123 and good long runtime on a regular (non-rechargeable) CR123A.

However a much cheaper alternative might be worth considering -
the very popular Nuwai Q3.

On a rechargeable Li-Ion RCR123 - its output is outstanding - albeit at the short'ish runtime of about 30-40min.

The Q3 also run on regular (non-rechargeable) CR123A - less bright but slightly longer runtime in the order of 1-1.5hours (older version at ~700mA draw) -
it should be noted, however, the runtime of the Peak CPF special is 10 hours on regular CR123A - which is outstanding!

Nuwai Q3 with RCR123 + Nano Charger

Nuwai Q3


"Practical" Beamshots?

I like the Q3, it was my first small light in the single cell format. Then I got a Fenix L1P then the Peak CPF special and last the Neo. Its hard to beat the Q3 & L1P as far bang for the buck. I bought a few Q3's & L1P's to give as christmas gifts.

I have not tried the RCR123 in the Q3 yet, will have to try that.

cheapo:
The Neo is smaller by 3/4" as I posted in my first post. The Neo has a little bit more sidespill. I think you would be happy with the performance of either of these lights, I am. I also like that the Neo will fit in the coin pocket of my jeans instead my regular pocket getting scratched by keys & stuff.

The neo has better battery life right? So, the Neo has bigger spill, but is the spill brighter? Also, how do the finishes compare? And last, which do you prefer?

-David

You want me to to choose only one.

That is a very hard decision if I am just comparing the lights and not the fact that one comes with 2 rechargables & a charger. If I had to do it all over again I would still buy both, if had to choose between them I would have to say I prefer the Peak. I EDC both of them but really have no need to carry a torch with me for my job.

Spill is about the same. Finish is good on both lights, I prefer the nat HAIII finish but the red is a nice change since most of my Surefires are HAIII. The Neo does get hot quicker than the Peak.

darn... and I wanted the Amilite, and now this new light...sheesh. Which throws better on cr123s? Also, which do you think has more output? battery life?

-David

Hey Cheapo, you and I we're one of the very first ones to be impressed with the Neo T3. Will I finally got my Neo T3 tonight. The light is really small. I currently own a T1, T3, RR 2AAA, Dorcy 3D and a 3D Mag and now a Neo T3. The Neo is brighter and has more throw than my T1 but the Inova T3 has definitely more throw than the Neo. The light on my Dorcy 3D is whiter than both my T1 and T3, but both of my Inova's are whiter than the Neo. My Neo has a yellow tint to it when compared to my Inova's. When not being compared to my Inova's, the Neo looks white. The hot spot on the Inova T3 is definitely more intense and much better throw (brighter). The Neo has more side spill, but I wish it had more throw and less spill. My Neo is my only twisty light, now I know that I really don't like twisty lights. Having a clicky like my Inova's is soooo much more convinient. The Neo appears to be well made, but I will have to say compared to my Inova's the Neo feels fragile. Will I buy the Neo for $84.00 shipped if I had to do it again? I would have to say no. The Neo is a good little flashlight but not very practical. I guess I'm saying this mostly because of it being a twisty (I'm starting to hate twisty lights). Maybe I will try the Fenix .

Kalle said:

Oh my god! What are you doing with me? I was sure to order the Neo T3 and now I´m totally in disorder! Can the CPF-Carribbean-Special still be ordered??? Are there still chargers and rechargeable CR123As there?
Ok one problem is that in Germany there are not 110Volts but 230Volts plug sockets, but I think there have to exist adapters?.
Of course it nerves a little bit that you can (really) use the CPF-special only with R123As, but so using it is very cheap...
Ok the throw of the CPF-special is better than amilite´s, but how is the overall-output of the CPF-special compared to the Amilite?

Click to expand...

the Peak CPF special goes on until the end of the year, after which it'll be sold at a higher price and "normal" finishes as the Rainer.

If you choose to go with the Peak, then you can ask them not to include a charger, whcih won't work with your voltage, and instead get one very similar charger from AW (check the dealers thread) which will work on 110-240v.

of course i don't have either yet (not buying the amilight, but peak is in the mail), but i think/believe/speculate that on rechargeable cr123s, the peak will out-throw and be brighter than the amilight, while will be dimmer but longer-running on non-rechargeable cells. a couple reports above by those who do own both seem to confirm this. also, the peak will work on non-rechargeables but it'll be much dimmer.