Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

i suppose this could be another Murphy's Law of flashaholism....

Why is it after i buy an "expensive" light or lamp assembly, i find one with similar (if not better) performance for about half the price?

case in point, i purchase a Fenix L1S, and a BOG 3W drop-in module for my SF G2, and then this evening, discover that popping the Luxeon PR base bulb from a Sears 3 AAA Worklight into a 3D Maglite body gives *more* light output and greater throw than my BOG 3W or the Fenix, and it cost about half what *either* of those lights cost

then again, the Fenix and SF G2 are a lot easier to EDC than the 3D LuxMag....

still, it's kinda' annoying that the less expensive LuxMag hybrid outperforms the more "advanced" lights i spent more money on....

then again, it's also pretty cool....

here's a few examples of what i mean;

25 feet away from the side of the house;
Fenix L1;

G2 with BOG 3W;

SureFire 6P (P60);

LuxMag;


45 feet away at the end of the driveway, target is the back of the Subaru Forrester;
Fenix L1;

G2 With BOG 3W;

SureFire 6P;

LuxMag;


this last pic shows the throw of the LuxMag, the road is about 1/4 mile long, the orange patch of light at the end is the intersection , the yellow traffic sign is about 1/8 mile away, the red and white mailbox reflector is probably 200-250 feet away (ballpark)

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

Gee. My $30 Thor probably outperforms most (if not all) handheld lights... And I can carry it in one hand.

Of course, you pay for size. A Moto RAZR costs a lot more than a normal cellphone with the same features, but it's a lot thinner. How about a Cooper Mini? Or a laptop vs a desktop?

Try putting the Mag in your pocket. You'll be happy with your G2 and L1 then.

Thor doesn't fit in pocket
Nor does it fit comfortably on my belt.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

Output isn't everything.
The $75 Costco HID outthrows all those super-expensive HID-lights, but there might be more than one reason to invest some $$ to get something other than the Costco.

--> build quality
--> size
--> beam quality
--> rugeddness
--> interface
--> features
--> etc.

Output isn't everything.
In fact, with consistantly good Luxeon LEDs being available it isn't a problem to drive one of those hard and slap it is whatever light you choose ... the art would be to make a good light.

bernie

Hmm, good point. For me, the light output by itself doesn't really tell the whole story. There's form factor, fit and finish, durability, runtime and a whole host of other factors I take into account when I buy a light. How's the company's service? Where's it made?

As you've noted yourself, it's easy to get good performance (just think of a thor!) - but at what cost to the other attributes of a light? Is the light waterproof, edcable, or have a good HA3 coat? You can do a mag mod which is brighter than say a surefire m6 for less money - but will it have the same build quality?

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

I know, there are tradeoffs for *everything*, i'm not mad about "wasting money" on more expensive lights, i like *all* my lights, i just find it amusing that i can get much better performance from cheap lights with strategic upgrades...

yes, the LuxMag outthrows the Fenix, but guess which one i'll be shoving in my pocket for EDC use, the LuxMag is a brutally powerful* light, but not exactly EDC'able


*brutally powerful in *my* *current* arsenal, that is....

the LuxMag will also become one of my "Holy Belgium, that's bright!" lights, used to impress the "unenlightened", i mean, after all, it looks like a typical, mundane Maglite, until you light it up, that is.....

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

Ok, aside from just pure output, the beam on the Thor isn't exactly pretty, it's not waterproof, and it's kinda heavy. I'd say it's EDCable, though. Not convenient to, but if I were determined to I could.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

I just put one of the Sears PR lux bulbs in a Mag 2d body running 3c cells and it's pretty impressive for an easy drop in mod.

Like you said, it's not an EDC, but it is a step up from the stock Maglite.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

I saw the other thread but I like your beamshots here.

Looks like possible similar characteristics to the Surefire E1L and that lot...excellent throw in a very focused spot.

brad cook

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

A Mac fan should know better than anyone that you pay premium $ for design and style, over real performance.

I do think that your beamshots look good and offer a fair comparison of the lamps. BOG looks good to me.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

thanks, i figured it'd be easier to see the differences in performance with outdoor beamshots, there's not much you can gather by the "spot on the wall/door" style beamshots

it's funny, the more i play around with the LuxMag, the more i realize it's kinda' ill-suited to be an "indoor" light, at most inside the house distances, the spot of light is too small and bright to be useful inside, yes it has great spill and works quite well as a ceiling-bounce light, and running it "headless" it's a perfect "electric candle" or floodlight, but using it with the head tightened all the way down keeps the hotspot very small (about half the diameter of the SureFire P60 or BOG 3W)

defocusing the head does *not* make the spill any brighter, it just puts the infamous Mag "Black Hole" in the center of the beam, there's *no* reason to defocus this LuxMag, this light clearly has one purpose, to throw a beam of light as far as it can, i'v always loved the throw of the Mag, but i *hated* the fragility of the bulb, every time i dropped a Mag, the filament inside the bulb broke, now, with the Lux1 bulb, that's no longer an issue....

i think my next hack for this light will be to make up a diffusion lens for it to make it more floody for inside use, perhaps something akin to the "beamshaper" style slip-on filter

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

one thing that really stands out in my mind, after looking at the beamshots i posted in this thread, is how *well* the Fenix competes with lights *beyond* it's class, it's throwing a decent, usable beam (it lights up the reflectors and licence plate on the Forrester fairly well, and puts a nicely balanced beam on the side of the house) and it's doing it on one AA

the Fenix is a impressive little light for sure, it's "The Little Flashlight That Could"

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

MacTech said:

Fenix is a impressive little light for sure, it's "The Little Flashlight That Could"

Click to expand...

I constantly compare my L1P to my much more pricey U2.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

MacTech,

Is this the Sears 3AAA LED Torch you got the donar bulb from?

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/03493673000?layer=comp&wid=190&hei=190&fmt=jpeg&qlt=75,0&op_sharpen=0&resMode=norm&op_usm=0.5,1.0,0.0,0

If you are impressed with the Craftsman bulb in the mag, you're gonna love it when you finally get a U-bin Lux III Mag mod.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

iNDiGLo said:

MacTech,

Is this the Sears 3AAA LED Torch you got the donar bulb from?

http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/03493673000?layer=comp&wid=190&hei=190&fmt=jpeg&qlt=75,0&op_sharpen=0&resMode=norm&op_usm=0.5,1.0,0.0,0

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the one, the 3AAA "Endurable" tool light

what i thought was amusing is after i pulled the Lux bulb (and installed the Mag3D bulb in it's place...) i looked down the barrel of the light body and saw *rust* on the tailspring, actually a good amount of rust, that doesn't speak well for the quality of construction, to have a "new" light have a corroded tailspring, the switch is also a primitive metallic edge contact switch, like on the cheapie Eveready plastic lights, the only "sophisticated" part of that light is the LED bulb, everything else is a dressed-up cheapie plastic light, heck, even the actual *body* of the light is plastic, that metal "body" of the light in the photo is clearly cosmetic only

if i was going to use the Sears light as an actual light, i'd be very dissapointed in it's poor construction, the only thing it's good for is being a bulb donor

anyone know how far the LED bulb in these lights can be pushed, i have an old Eveready Commander lantern that takes PR base bulbs, can the Worklight LED bulb handle a 6V lantern battery?

Most lanterns that use an actual 6V battery have opposite polarity so the Craftsman bulb wouldn't work. You'd probably need a reverse polarity EverLED. Depending on how much extra room is in the lantern, you might be able to wire something up to switch the polarity but then, I'm not sure how long the Craftsman bulb would last on the 6V.

If you wanted to use this bulb in a lantern type setting, your best bet might be to get a lantern than can run on 4 D cells and only use 3 D cells and soldering something in to make connection over the last set of terminals.

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

Well,
compairing very small lights, offering great (medium flood) beam for small light chores,
and a thrower...
then complaining the small lights dont throw?
I dont really get the point.

How about complaining that an expensive ferrari is not suitable for farm work (and a tractor is).

Better compare the small lights with a Minimag with the Acrylic ball installed.
Latter one a thrower, the others much more useful lights (except for throw, of course)

yellow said:

How about complaining that an expensive ferrari is not suitable for farm work (and a tractor is).

Click to expand...

Are you kiddin' me?! I lifted my old Testarossa and put some super swampers on it. That baby pulls the plow just fine now!

brad cook

DigMe said:

Are you kiddin' me?! I lifted my old Testarossa and put some super swampers on it. That baby pulls the plow just fine now!

brad cook

Click to expand...

Yeah... and that 12 sounds more glorious than a rattley old deisel any day!

Re: Why does this always happen (finding out about value performers after expensive lites

NICE PICS!!!! it happened to me too... I bought the PM6 3W, and a few days later, out comes Pentagonlight L2.

-David