TLE-10 underwhelming

I dropped a TLE-10 into my 2AAA MiniMag just now. It's not that impressive. Very greenish, not nearly as bright as the River Rock 2AA, which was less expensive for a complete flashlight vs. and upgrade kit. Here's a beam shot, underexposed to delineate hotspots, MiniMagTLE10 on the left, focused as tight as possible, RR 2AAA on right, both with new Energizer alkalines:

Think thats amaizng? Try the luxeon dropin.

Huh? Luxeon drop in for what? I'm unaware of a Luxeon drop in for the MiniMag 2AAA. I'm not amazed at all - I'm sorry I wasted $15, as this light will get almost no use...

I agree that the TLE10 microstar is pretty underwhelming for a flashaholic (especially the terrible beam colour), but non-flashaholics are impressed with it - it's still a vast improvement over a stock AA or AAA minimag and it's pretty cheap.

I've ordered several recently for my wife's nursing colleagues, who'd like an improvement over the stock AAA minimags they all seem to carry on the wards at night.

Excuse me for being off track here. . .

I had a TLE-5 for the dbA Mini Maglite and thought that it was impressive. That was until I saw what can be done to said Mini Mags from The Sandwich Shoppe! Also if one is going to keep their Mini Maglites and want to drive LEDs in them, AuroraLite is coming out with a 20mm Aluminum Reflector soon. Now that would be something!

Yeah, I think maybe the AAA MiniMag is hobbled by it's small reflector. The AA model is definitely a better mod contender. I seem to have lost my AA MiniMag since I stopped using it several years ago due to it's crappy performance, and I can't bring myself to buy one just to mod it!

FWIW, I've been carrying the TLE10 AAA one around tonight and I think it's going to be useful after all as my navigating at night without waking up my wife light, as it has a really wide spill and isn't very bright - now just to figure out where to put it so it's easy to reach and remember, but I don't grab it in the dark when I really want my tactical light...

You know, thought I read somewhere here that someone modded one of those AAA Mini(s) with a Luxeon LED if my memory serves me right. And I DO KNOW that there IS a modded Solitaire Maglite with a Luxeon III in it because I SAW it!

I agree, the TLE-10 is pretty sad. I got both the TLE-5 and the TLE-10 and although I do like the TLE-5, the TLE-10 has a very yellow beam. Still, it is quite a lot better than the stock bulb.

I believe you should look the TLE-10 from a different perspective. Before the TLE-10 came out, I used Tektite LT-1 in the Minimag AAA.
Then, Tektite renamed the LT series and started using Nichia CS LEDs in them. The TLE-10 uses a Nichia Rigel diode.
The LT from Tektite and the TLE-10 from Terralux both draws 160 mA at 3 Volt. The Terralux has moree than double of the flux, I can measure approx 12 lumens at front end.
So, the Nichia Rigel has double efficiency of a overdriven Nichia CS. Much more light for the same power.
The big drawbak of the Rigel is the fact that it wasn't designed to be focused. Like the first generation of Luxeons, the phosphor cap is not conformed to the InGaN blue die, so the tint of the emitted light depends from the angle of observation. When you focus the Rigel, you get a blue hotspot and a green-yellow corona.
While this is OK for general illumination purpose, it is a big-no-no for medical use, where tint uniformity is an essential prerequisite. This is also true for other color-sensitive applications.

This said, I enjoy my TLE10 modules.

Anthony

I also find the TLE-10 underwhelming, the only time I use it is in Candle mode
It makes a great Candle, that is the only good point

Can not stand the yellow blue yellow beam pattern of the TLE-10.
Sandwiched a homemade diffusion filter between the lens and reflector. Now I got an even (both tint & intensity) flood as a close in task light. Good for working at under 5 ft. Can see objects at 15 ft+. Yellowish tint but so is the stock bulb. To see how it looks try some satin scotchtape or press & seal.

My Bulletlite uses a TLE-10 module, and yes, the penumbra around the hotspot has that characteristic "rotten octopus urine green" color to it; the hotspot has a definite bluish tint, and the corona (spill beam) is a slightly cool white.