SUPERLIGHTS III

Mr Ted Bear

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Overview

For starters, checkout Kenshiros SuperLights Shootout website .

From SS#1, we learned a number of things

1) Basically two kinds of lights, the one's that illuminate, and the one's that throw.

2) HIDs are like exotic animals… the Maxabeam and MegaRay are the most rare, capable of throwing distances which exceed the visual acuity of the human eye.. It is nice to know there are lights that can throw 1500 yards, but without binoculars, who cares? These lights are for special applications, and don't address my needs as an illumination device (hey, I'm just a civilian flashaholic !!!)

3) The top dogs from SS#1 were the McCulloch X990 and the KumKang v2. If you want to know why these were the best lights, read the SuperLights Shootout website

4) In the beginning of 2005, we had SS#2 and the introduction of the Havis Shield HID, the SureFire Beast, the WolfEyes Crocodile, and some very interesting suuperlight mods. In the end, the X990 and KumgKang came out on top.

5) Now, 12 months later at year end 2005, we have some new kids on the block: Rayzorlite, Rayzorbeam, XeRay, and the COSTCO HID (mid 2005). The Thor 10 and Cyclops 15 million CP units will also be included for reference.


So, will the XeRay (50 watt), and the Rayzors (35/50 watt mode) surpass the reining champions? And what about the COSTCO HID? With it's 9" reflector, one would expect it to ace the competition, but will it?

Shootout.jpg



Methodology

Performance FIRST !

The shootout will compare apples to apples, and oranges to oranges. Meaning, first we will compare the units at the 35 watt level, and then in round 2, look at the units that advertised 50 watt output. Then, the summary will look at all the units combined; might be that some of the 35 watt units perform on par with the "new kids" at 50 watts.


Details will then follow...

Performance is #1, but there are other factors which can influence the buying decision. Size and weight for starters. Water resistance (or lack of) is another. Runtime also is a critical factor (runtime vs lumen tradeoff?) How hard is it to charge, and how long. Then there' s the intangible tests, like a 36 inch drop ...


Anyways it won't be long now...

seven.jpg


As a side note, I would offer the following:

Kenshiro (and his wife) arrived yesterday afternoon bout 4:30. We spent a hour or so, reviewing the "new units", and then dinner. We then proceeded to the "range" to take pictures, and followed up the session debriefing over coffee. By my watch, Kenshiro probably got home just past midnight.

Bright and eary this am, Kenshiro and I were on the phone. It was only a 4 1/2 hour conversation, at which time, both of us had to do things.


What I am trying to say is that there is more to this shootout than meets they eye. It took less than an hour to take the pcitrues.... and more than 10 man hours have been spend anyalying them... and still no finished review
 
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cue003

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IT HAS BEGUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:rock:

Really looking to hear more about the instant restrike that the RayzorBeam has and why the Rayzorlite doesn't have the same feature..... :(

Weight, runtime and overall output matter quite a bit to me... I guess so does durability since I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a light that if even slightly dropped I end up SOL and out of money. That would not be good.

Looking forward to the results.

Curtis
 
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BVH

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Oh Goodie!! Can't wait. I'm thinking seriously of buying one of these super performers based on the results. I wasn't even thinking about buying one before the shootout materialized. Way to go, Mr. Ted Bear!
 

PoliceScannerMan

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:drool:

Wow! I cant wait to see full size pics!! If you stare at the little pics on the top row, it looks like the bottom row of pics dims a little bit.

-PSM

Thanks for doing this! :goodjob:
 

XeVision

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cue003 said:
IT HAS BEGUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really looking to hear more about the instant restrike that the RayzorBeam has and why the Rayzorlite doesn't have the same feature..

The XeRay by XeVision IS hot restrikeable, this will have no significant adverse affects on life. No need to wait to restrike!
 

cue003

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Ok, there are 12 lights selected to participate but yet there are 13 shots with some sort of light in them.... HMMM..... who/what is the mystery light?

Anways... I like (top row) 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th with the 2nd picture being my first choice.... not sure which lights those are but the output from the little pics look good. Not too keen at this point for anything in the bottom row. I would need to see larger pictures of those shots.

Curtis
 
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gregw

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Anxiously waiting for the results... :sweat:

Thanks for taking the time to do this and to provide an impartial/objective "eye" to the testing of these SuperLights! :goodjob:
 

That_Guy

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Who wants to play "Match the lights to the picture" with me? I'll go first. Bottom left is the SF Beast. Bottom 2nd from the left is the Costco HID. Top left is the Rayzorbeam with 4100k bulb at 50W, bottom right is Rayzorbeam with 6000k bulb at 50W, although I'm not certain about the wattage. I have ideas about the others, but I'll let the rest of you have a go now. :p
 

winny

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:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

Oh, man. This is going to be fun!


Anyway, if someone wanted to have his/her light tested in SuperLights Shootout IV, what to do? I'm thinking about outthrowing you guys. :naughty:
 
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cue003

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That_Guy said:
Who wants to play "Match the lights to the picture" with me? I'll go first. Bottom left is the SF Beast. Bottom 2nd from the left is the Costco HID. Top left is the Rayzorbeam with 4100k bulb at 50W, bottom right is Rayzorbeam with 6000k bulb at 50W, although I'm not certain about the wattage. I have ideas about the others, but I'll let the rest of you have a go now. :p


I forgot that he got the Rayzors with different color temp bulbs.

OK HERE ARE MY GUESSES:

Top row L to R
RB - 4100K, RL - 4100K, Ken 3, X990, KumKang, Costco 10mil, Costco 15mil

Second row L to R
Beast, Thor HID, ???? (maybe RL or RB low output), XeRay - 6000K, RL - 6000K, RB -6000K

I wonder how far off I am.

Thanks for all the efforts and hassle with putting this together and pulling off such an awesome comparision..... and of course thanks for doing it a 3rd time (Superlights III).

Curtis
 
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jtice

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Thanks for all the time and effort you guys are putting into this, !!!!! :rock:
Cant wait for the final results.

So far, from these small teaser shots, I like the 2nd in the top row :D

~John
 

Lunarmodule

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cmacclel said:
Ccmachel<<<<I guess that's me :) I can't waite for the results!

Mac
:lolsign: What's in a name?


:touche:LET THE GAMES BEGIN...:touche:

Curtis, you may need to take it easy, the "refresh" function on your browser is screaming for mercy, I can here it from here....:nana:


Mr. Ted Bear,

Thanks for getting the preliminaries up quickly. Curious to know how in depth the comparo will be, will there be plenty of descriptive narrative about the subjective impressions of quality? Any output measurements or standardized runtime tests? Of course pics are the mainstay, but an elaborate opinion would be hugely appreciated. Great effort on your part!
 

XeVision

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cue003 said:
Second row L to R Beast, Thor HID, ???? (maybe RL or RB low output), XeRay - 6000K, RL - 6000K, RB -6000K I wonder how far off I am. Curtis

So you think That the XeRay 50 watt with 4200K bulb is in the lower performance group on the second row. I am quite confident it is on the first row.
 
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