Are incandescents obsolete?

Seems as though Crees and Seouls have surpassed incandescents in terms of output and runtimes. So allow me to pick your brains.

No way are incandescents obsolete, until you can show me a LED with the colour of my hotwires, maybe then we'll be geting somewhere with LEDs, I put together a Cree maglite last night and the focus and throw were good the colur was atrocious. The hotwires show things up in a much more natural light.
Norm

it just depends.... as far as the typical E2e.. .I would say yes.... that light is pointless... unless you really like the color retension properties of incandescents...

however... hotwires are a differnent story.... having a pimp'd out Mag85 is something that current LED technology cannot even come close to beating...

No, they are not obsolete...

We need suckers with incan lights to throw away their batteries that our LED flashlights can get very useable light from! If incan light users go away where will we get free batteries?

Incan lights also keep the price of batteries low because incan light users are always buying batteries! See, we need them!

Incans are definitely not obsolete. LEDs may get more lumens per watt, but incans can get a whole lot more lumens.

Of course, that may change, but I'm talking about the present, not the future.

Not until we stop wanting to view red and green things.

Or not until someone makes bi-phosphor (r-g) leds.

I think I would pay a fair hit in efficiency to get better colour rendering for map reading.
That said, I do use an led light for hiking these days.

Steve

Surefire A2 and E2E still sell like hotcake.

Are incandescents obsolete?

I don't think so!!! I just found 'em!!!!



Karl

That depends on what type of flashlight/application you are looking at. Say you would want 4000+ lumen from 3D-size, then you are screwed using LEDs.

What are incans

No, seriously, I gave away all my incans since I got fantastic Led lights with single and multiple Led arrays. I don't need incans anymore but others like them, so that's the reason they are not obsolete.

Best regards

____
Tom

Not quite yet.
For some flashlights - yes.
The mini-maglite-solitare level, certainly, it's a joke, as LEDs are _so_ much brighter for the same power.

If stuff like the Elly $6.25 1W LED flashlight can be made widely available, then I'd say that this obsoletes most 2AA flashlights.

I think they will be around for a long time, aircraft landing lights, surgical lights, motorcycle headlights, and they are still very common in Flashlights and toys

Low cost, light weight, self regulating and the bonus is that they require the manufacturers to keep pumping out the replacement bulbs.

Look at the flourescent lighting replacements, they have been around for twenty years, last longer, run cooler and are more efficient but only represent about 5% of the market.

Except for my big spotlight they're pretty much obsolete for me.

Geoff

Almost. They probably still have some legitimate niche uses, which are fast fading- probably those will be gone in two years.

Sure, they still have their devotees. Vinyl platters, coal-fired steam engines, tube amplifiers and hand-braided buggy whips all have their devotees, and will continue to have, all of whom still vehemently insist that they have virtues lacking in later developments.. when they can find someone to listen, which isn't often.

Does that mean that they're not obsolete? No, it's just an illustration of human nature, and resistance to change. A technology is obsolete when there's no practical penalty for ignoring it.

For flashlights at least, overheated wires in bottles are fast approaching historical relic status now, and IMHO it's way overdue. Whatever their other virtues, they were just never very reliable. For most practical applications, there is just no penalty for ignoring them.

The niche applications may take a while longer to fade, but they are way past driving any significant market share. I bought my last one decades ago, and never expect to own another.

However, I can practically guarantee that long after the last commonly-available incan flashlight has dropped out of production, when younger people will have never seen one, or understand how it worked, there will still be people, maybe right here, loudly proclaiming their superiority, just as there are those loudly proclaiming the superiority of vinyl platers and tube amplifiers.

But there won't be any practical penalty for ignoring them.

Please correct me if i'm wrong but is there a source for a led la that is just a drop in that will put out 200 to 200 + lumen actual output for $ 16-$25. I have both led & incans & incans are on my weapon for night shooting. I do hear you on the batteries, I am getting a single 123 led to use up the ones I change out.
I have both type lights & use them.
Hog

Is this a joke right? Considering the fact that icans make 95% of the light sells.. Yeah, they are obsolete.
:lolsign:

All of my edc lights are led at this point. But, I do have an incan in each vehicle because there are many times I need better throw there. And I can't find an inexpensive led that throws like an incan.

For any camping trip, I always have at least one light in the 100+ lumen range that is not easily replaced with an led.

And then there are the hotwires.

Technological advance favours LEDs but I'm still an "Incan Man." I will admit I carry LEDs on long hikes and are my loaner lights when camping. In fact my Arc-P AAA is always in my pocket. But I still love the light produced by my E1e\E2O\E2D\6P\9P\KT Turbohead. I can afford to feed them so why worry? I'll be obsolete before my incans!

Double post deleted.

Ooops! I don't know how I double posted. That is why I favour incans, I understand the technology...