Maxabeam - Demo models out there? Blemished models?

Who has a Maxabeam? Is it really the best out there? I'm looking for a long throw with a tight beam BUT also the ability to flood on the fly. I almost bought the Light Cannon, but from what I've read its throw is not all that far (couple hundred yards).

After doing the math, I could try and build my own "maxabeam" with less than stellar results for several hundred dollars. I figure my attempts would result in a pile of burnt out bulbs at $100 a pop. The Solarc developers kit could satisfy my urge, but the Maxabeam actually WORKS.

I've seen them on Ebay for about $1200 with battery. This looks like a damn good deal, but does anybody have a blemished or demo model they would part with for a really good price?

Thanks!

I had hopes for a MaxaBeam for myself - until SHOT when I tried one. They're really heavy, and the beam quality sucks.

I'm spoilt by having played with The Beast.

I figure that if the MaxaBeam they have for showing off at a trade show has poor beam quality, the ones you can buy will be just as dire...

But, it's about as bright as normal people can afford.

Al

Why were you shot? Whats the story (sorry I'm new here)?

Do you mean that the Maxabeam fresh out of the box sucks or just the one you tried that could have been damaged? If I were to spend $1000 on a light with a long throw and flood capabilities, which one would you recommend?

Thanks

He's talking about the SHOT Show. It's a firearms show held once a year. In different parts of the US. This year it was Vegas. Next year it will be closer to me.

That's too funny. I could understand getting shot holding the Light Cannon with the pistol grip, but I figured the Maxabeam wouldn't look like a firearm.

I don't feel tooo much like a newbie

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kogatana:
...BTW, the color of the beam is not nearly as blue as that depicted in the following photograph.
See ya.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

KT,

I'm having difficulty opening your photos, the icons for which appear as boxed red X's.
The only way has been to copy/paste into WORD, but I'm unable to open your current photo no matter what I do.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Best regards,
Brightnorm

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Size15s:
I had hopes for a MaxaBeam for myself - until SHOT when I tried one. ...

But, it's about as bright as normal people can afford.

Al<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

SHOT, Al ? Wish I'd been there to see it ......

I don't want to be "Normal" !!
I'm happy to be a *switched-on* lover of light.

I only handled a Maxa-Beam the once, and only saw a few seconds of it warming-up, not the full output. It didn't look to be an especially pure beam then: though otherwise smoothly graduated, there were a lot of blue radial lines. The HID daylight-tinted colour of the light was cool.

The build quality was very good - it is a heavy, serious light.
I can't recall this exactly, but at the press of a button, the focus was changeable by a cute-sounding motor.

The reflector, a smooth parabola, was absolutely beautiful. An *organic* naturally elegant shape, with an amazing deep shine to it. Stunning.

lightlover

Kogatana,
I totally respect your review of the MaxaBeam. There is the obvious difference between those that require and use lights in their jobs, and those (like me) that...don't.

I do not need a MaxaBeam, and to justify to myself the expense of getting one as a toy, it would have to meet my expectations, which it doesn't.

For me, a MaxaBeam as a toy has no appeal.
For many, a MaxaBeam as tool has appeal that has for all real purposes has no current competition.

Kogatana, and myself, for our own different reasons hope that this will change as Xeonics and SureFire make their NightHunters and HellFires avaliable in the near future.

Al

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by *something ridiculous ?:

I only handled a Maxa-Beam the once, and only saw a few seconds of it warming-up, not the full output. It didn't look to be an especially pure beam then: though otherwise smoothly graduated, there were a lot of blue radial lines. The HID daylight-tinted colour of the light was cool.

[/QB]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Uh - you sure this was a maxabeam? They use xenon short-arc bulbs and NOT HID for this exact reason - immediate and constant light output. What you are describing sounds like an HID copy of a maxabeam design, possibly offshore.

(BTW - xenon SA lamps also allow for the strobing power reduction to be used, for those occasions where 6MCP is just too much light...)

Oh, it was a Maxa-beam for sure. What you've pointed out makes it worse.

I was seriously disappointed at the output: seeing it on a wall at about 30' distance it didn't seem at all spectacular. That made me think of a warming-up HID. It was certainly a blue-tinted beam.
The store it was in has no idea about lighting (neither have I, it seems ...... ). Maybe it was poor due to a low battery ?

lightlover