Is the Iota 3W Luxeon LED better than the Nuwai Q3?

batteryjunction.com claims that the lota 3W Luxeon® LED flashlight is better than Nuwai Q3. Is this true?

http://store.batteryjunction.com/theshorelinemarket/iota.html

I doubt that it is 80 lumen.
How durable is it's finish? Is the finish HA3?
Did this flashlight just come on the market recently?
I'd like to hear from those who bought it.

It's been around for about half a year at least. I first started seeing them on ebay then I stumbles across this sight (I was actually looking for the Inova T5).
If the beam is decently narrow it very well could be 80 lumens. Most manufactuers say between 70-80 lumens for 3 watt lexeon lights.
I'm curious about these lights myself but I want another 5watt light (or three) before I get another 3 watt.

Beam spread, wide or narrow, doesn't affect lumen output. Only lux figures are affected by beam shape.

I suppose it depends on what "bright hard anodize" is. The specs of this light seem about the same as the Q3 and 30 for either light is a fair price. The q3 isn't HA so if this light is that would be a bonus. The q3's are great because they are fairly cheap use decent emitters and are fairly well made. The q3 will run in DD on li-ion and that really bumps up the brightness. If the light in the link will and has HA it is better than the Q3.I'm sure it isn't 80 lumens likely more like in the 40 ballpark.

Get it and tell us what you think.

bullinchinashop: I was actually looking for the Inova T5

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Many of us have been looking for the T5, but its MIA for the next few months....

I believe the anodizing is the standard TypeII (not HA3). It has a fairly tight spot beam due to the optic. There's a couple of reviews on it in the Reviews forum you can try searching for. Take a look at the Nextorch Z1 also on lights.emilionworkshop.com. It looks quite nice and something I've been eyeing, but can't justify to get (as I have too many single-cell 123A lights already).

fieldops said:

Many of us have been looking for the T5, but its MIA for the next few months....

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Hi,

I have the T5 in stock now - it's pretty badass! http://www.batteryjunction.com/int5100luled.html

Widget, the IOTA is type II bright anodized. We brought it to market only about 3-4 months ago.

Here's a few CPF reviews:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1287901&postcount=9
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/1217780&postcount=1


Best,

MattK

BatteryJunction.com

Is there a head to head comparison between the Iota and Q3 yet? Please post link.

The page says it's anodized in "HAII", which doesn't exist.

I will know the answer to this question in a week or so. I am having to return my Q3 that I received last week due to a defective tail switch.

I have ordered an Iota 3 Watt today, which should be here in about 5 days. I should be able to post a decent comparison review between it and the Q3 by Friday. Nothing technical like a run time graph or measured light output. Just a standard hands-on, consumer, I like this one better than that one review.

I have one of these - pretty good and definately a good cheap single cell light.

Does anyone know if it will take a 3.6v rechargeable? I'm guessing the LA is not regulates, although if as Matt says it is a T bin it should take 4.2v....

John
SF U2
SF E1L
ARC 4+

tsask said:

my ilumibeam outshines my Q3 I dont know how it would fare against a "Iota" 3 W

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I'm curious about this as well.
I wish there was another group buy on the ilumibeam ulteon like their TL-1.

How's the runtime (curve?) on th IOTA btw?

I'd love to see a direct comparison between the Iota, Nextorch Z1, and Q3 as these are the 3 lowest priced, good quality and performing lights I'd recommend to a newbie looking for a good 1x123A light. Sadly, it seems both the Iota and especially the Z1 are rare so I doubt any single person would have all 3 (I haven't found a single person who has the Z1 yet).

OK, now I have one of each of these lights, the Nuwai Q3 and the IOTA 3 watt. Here is how they compare:

These lights are basically the same dimensionally. In fact the Iota appears to be a direct wannabe with the some cosmetic differences.

The Q3 is a better quality build than the Iota. The Iota has a thinner aluminum body and obvious machine marks on the head and tail cap. Also, the threads on the tail cap and head are rough and burred. The tail cap is very difficult to get started back on the body when replacing the battery. It takes several tries.

The finish on the Iota is shiny black, similiar to a black Minimag. At first it didn't appeal to me, but the more I look at it, the more I like it.

In place of the knurling on the Q3 head, the Iota has 6 flat sides on the head, which is a great anti-roll feature. The anti-roll feature on the Q3 is the otherwise useless clip.

The Iota comes with a lanyard, but no sheath. My personal preference is for the sheath, but the Iota fits perfectly into the Q3 holster.

Like the Q3, the front of the Iota bezel is scalloped so that you can see that the light is on if you stand it on it's head. Neither light will stand on the tail. Well, the Q3 will if you are very careful on a very flat surface.

Now, for comparison of light output and beam quality.....this is the difficult part... They are almost identical, to my eye, except for the color of the beam. By itself the Q3 looks great. By itself the Iota looks great. But when you turn them on together, the Q3 has a lavender tint compared to the Iota's whiter light. The Iota is very similiar to the Fenix L1P and L2P in color.

As far as brightness, they are both slightly brighter than the L1P, but not as bright as the L2P. Duracell alkies in the Fenix lights.

Current draw on the Iota is 1.05 amp and .880 Ma on the Q3 with the same battery. Someone explain to me what that means. Longer run time on the Q3 perhaps?

Bottom line is: I like them both for different reasons. The Q3 only costs about $6.00 more than the Iota, but if I had 36 bucks to spend again.....I would get another Fenix L1P.....LOL.

Btw, the Iota came with a Powerizer CR123 and the Q3 came with a Panasonic. Even tho the voltage measured essentially the same, the Panasonic was noticeably brighter in both lights. The current draw remained at 1.05 amps with both batteries in the Iota, but in the Q3 it went from .880 Ma with the Panasonic to .770 Ma with the Powerizer. Things that make you say hmmm.

We just placed some order for Nuwai TM-301x-5 and TM-303x ( Q3) so we order one Iota to compare briefly: :touche: The machinery on Q3 is nicer, smoother inside out. The Iota Hex head area will scratch your hand. The tail clikie on Iota is smaller and will need more pressure to turn on. The light on Iota with tighter spot. The Q3 is good for you too look for shorter distance with wider area.

I like the style in Q3 better ( inspired by Surefire E1e) considering it's almost same low price right now.

Thanks for the reviews guys. I would've expected the Iota to have a more spot beam since it uses an optic vs. the reflector on the Q3. I really like the Q3 beam and find it extremely useful for all tasks except when I need to look far.
Does the Iota have much spill light? Again, since it's an optic, I assumed it would be more like a SF E1L spot beam with virtually no spill.
I still wonder how the Nextorch Z1 is.

jsr said:

Thanks for the reviews guys. I would've expected the Iota to have a more spot beam since it uses an optic vs. the reflector on the Q3. I really like the Q3 beam and find it extremely useful for all tasks except when I need to look far.
Does the Iota have much spill light? Again, since it's an optic, I assumed it would be more like a SF E1L spot beam with virtually no spill.
I still wonder how the Nextorch Z1 is.

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JSR, the Iota I recieved last week does not have an optic lens. It has a deep smooth reflector. It looks like the Q3 reflector except that it is not textured, and is a bit narrower.

The Iota has a good spot and plenty of side spill. As I mentioned in my previous post, the beam output is almost identical to the Q3, except for the color.

Perhaps there is more than one version.

Thanks Bozzlite! I thought it had an optic before...maybe I was wrong or memory is off. Thanks for the review. I was looking for another light for my car and was thinking about the Iota, but seeing as performance is so similar to the Q3 and build quality seems better on the Q3, I may just pick up another Q3 ($30.70 shipped from LED_Experimenter).