TheMechanic
Newly Enlightened
Part I: Some Background and Some Doubt.
The Lumapower M1 has gotten a lot of press recently, and for good reason: it's a well-built, bright, regulated Cree-based light. What's not to like??
I've been watching the threads about the light, and was intrigued by some of what I was reading. There was a problem, though, as every review had lots of nice beamshots against other LED lights, none dared tackle the age-old question: can this LED light compete with (or even - gasp! - replace) a high-powered incandescent?
This is not just academic to me. My first "high powered" light was a Surefire 6P. I owned it for less than a week when the light rolled off a table (this is the pre-hex-head version), hit the carpet, and blew the lamp assembly. I bought a new LA, at a considerable expense, and treated it more gingerly. The second blew in operation when I hit the head of the light on a door jamb as I was turning around. I've often said that in the first year I owned the 6P, I went through more lamps than I did batteries - and, sad to say, it was true!
I replaced the 6P with the far less-expensive-to-operate Streamlight Strion, and it has been my EDC since the day I got it (which was almost immediately after they were introduced.) The Strion is a nice light, with slightly longer throw than the Surefire, but when focused for the smoothest beam, it has far less spill light. I like the Strion, but it's not perfect - then again, what light is?
The glowing praise for the M1 was pushing me to order one, but that nagging question about LED vs. incandescent remained. My lust for a new light won out in the end, and I ordered an M1 with the standard (smooth) reflector. I was lucky enough to get in on the deal with the included two-level switch assembly.
Part II: The Package Arrives, and Lumens Issue Forth.
Finally! Ten days after ordering, the postman (I refuse to use the newly-fashionable term "letter carrier") brings the package to my doorstep. I'd prepared for this day by acquiring a 18650 cel and charger from AW. I pop in the 18650, push the switch, and the light comes on.
Not bad, I think to myself. Not the barn burner I was expecting, but not too bad.
Then I pushed the switch a second time.
WOW! This is what I wanted to see - bright, blinding, glorious white light (OK, with a very faint purplish cast) poured forth from the reflector. In a sunlit room, no less! I could hardly wait for darkness to fall, when I could see what the light was really capable of. In mid-winter, I didn't have to wait long.
Making sure my prized Strion was completely and freshly charged, I headed outside. My neighbor has a hip-roof shed on his property, and I stepped off the distance: 36 yards (33m for you metric folk.) The shed is painted a medium gray color, and the composition shingles on the roof are a very dark brown - and about as reflective as a black cat. There is no street illumination near the shed, so any real light would be coming only from me.
First up was the known quantity, the Strion. Not bad - nice illumination of the side of the shed, and I could just make out the rows of shingles on the roof. I couldn't see a lot around the shed, nor anything between me and the shed - the consequence of a tightly focused beam for maximum throw.
It was the Lumapower's turn. I turned the light on, quickly advanced to full power, then swung the light on target. The side of the shed was definitely brighter than the Strion - but this could have been a factor of the tint of the light, as the gray paint was far closer to the shade of the LED than the incandescent. Still, it sure looked brighter.
The shingles told the real story: where the color of the shed was advantageous to the LED, the shingles were closer in color to the incandescent - but even here, perhaps especially here, the shingles were brighter. I could see not only the rows, but the vertical spaces between the tabs of the shingles! The M1 was definitely the winner for throw against what is really pretty good competition.
That doesn't tell the whole story, though. The M1 has a larger hotspot than the Strion, despite a difference in reflectors - the Strion is textured, the M1 is smooth. What really makes the difference, though, is the spill light: the Strion, as I've noted, really doesn't have a lot of spill, but the M1 has lots of it.
I took some pictures, but they disappoint; the dynamic range of a digital camera, even with bracketed exposures, just doesn't capture the performance of the two lights. I decided to let other people tackle that aspect, but I'll tell you this: I haven't yet seen a beamshot of the M1 that really matches what you see when you turn the thing on.
Complaints? Well, the inside of the switch housing has a very sharp edge - it would be nice if they'd radius that just a bit for comfort. The less-than-perfect beam from the smooth reflector has been mentioned by many, though it isn't all that bad; after all, the tradeoff is that phemomenal throw!
My only real issue (for me - YYMV) is the lack of a momentary ("tactical") switch, but Ricky at Lumapower says they're working on one that should impress me. I hope so, because this light deserves it.
Side by side, who wins? Against the Strion, the M1 is a more useful light. It throws farther, has more usable spill, and a larger hotspot. (This isn't even considering the ridiculous difference in runtime and regulation, which overwhelmingly favors the LED.) My incandescent of choice has finally been dethroned!
Part III: Into the Future
This got me to thinking: if the smooth reflector is this good, what would the OP reflector be like? Yes, I know I'll sacrifice some throw, but it is already so good that I don't think I'd regret it. A quick PayPal to Ricky, and one is winging its way to me.
I'll report more when it arrives. For now, I'm waiting for my wife to finish a holster for the M1 so I can make it my new EDC...hurry up, Dear!
-=[ Grant ]=-
The Lumapower M1 has gotten a lot of press recently, and for good reason: it's a well-built, bright, regulated Cree-based light. What's not to like??
I've been watching the threads about the light, and was intrigued by some of what I was reading. There was a problem, though, as every review had lots of nice beamshots against other LED lights, none dared tackle the age-old question: can this LED light compete with (or even - gasp! - replace) a high-powered incandescent?
This is not just academic to me. My first "high powered" light was a Surefire 6P. I owned it for less than a week when the light rolled off a table (this is the pre-hex-head version), hit the carpet, and blew the lamp assembly. I bought a new LA, at a considerable expense, and treated it more gingerly. The second blew in operation when I hit the head of the light on a door jamb as I was turning around. I've often said that in the first year I owned the 6P, I went through more lamps than I did batteries - and, sad to say, it was true!
I replaced the 6P with the far less-expensive-to-operate Streamlight Strion, and it has been my EDC since the day I got it (which was almost immediately after they were introduced.) The Strion is a nice light, with slightly longer throw than the Surefire, but when focused for the smoothest beam, it has far less spill light. I like the Strion, but it's not perfect - then again, what light is?
The glowing praise for the M1 was pushing me to order one, but that nagging question about LED vs. incandescent remained. My lust for a new light won out in the end, and I ordered an M1 with the standard (smooth) reflector. I was lucky enough to get in on the deal with the included two-level switch assembly.
Part II: The Package Arrives, and Lumens Issue Forth.
Finally! Ten days after ordering, the postman (I refuse to use the newly-fashionable term "letter carrier") brings the package to my doorstep. I'd prepared for this day by acquiring a 18650 cel and charger from AW. I pop in the 18650, push the switch, and the light comes on.
Not bad, I think to myself. Not the barn burner I was expecting, but not too bad.
Then I pushed the switch a second time.
WOW! This is what I wanted to see - bright, blinding, glorious white light (OK, with a very faint purplish cast) poured forth from the reflector. In a sunlit room, no less! I could hardly wait for darkness to fall, when I could see what the light was really capable of. In mid-winter, I didn't have to wait long.
Making sure my prized Strion was completely and freshly charged, I headed outside. My neighbor has a hip-roof shed on his property, and I stepped off the distance: 36 yards (33m for you metric folk.) The shed is painted a medium gray color, and the composition shingles on the roof are a very dark brown - and about as reflective as a black cat. There is no street illumination near the shed, so any real light would be coming only from me.
First up was the known quantity, the Strion. Not bad - nice illumination of the side of the shed, and I could just make out the rows of shingles on the roof. I couldn't see a lot around the shed, nor anything between me and the shed - the consequence of a tightly focused beam for maximum throw.
It was the Lumapower's turn. I turned the light on, quickly advanced to full power, then swung the light on target. The side of the shed was definitely brighter than the Strion - but this could have been a factor of the tint of the light, as the gray paint was far closer to the shade of the LED than the incandescent. Still, it sure looked brighter.
The shingles told the real story: where the color of the shed was advantageous to the LED, the shingles were closer in color to the incandescent - but even here, perhaps especially here, the shingles were brighter. I could see not only the rows, but the vertical spaces between the tabs of the shingles! The M1 was definitely the winner for throw against what is really pretty good competition.
That doesn't tell the whole story, though. The M1 has a larger hotspot than the Strion, despite a difference in reflectors - the Strion is textured, the M1 is smooth. What really makes the difference, though, is the spill light: the Strion, as I've noted, really doesn't have a lot of spill, but the M1 has lots of it.
I took some pictures, but they disappoint; the dynamic range of a digital camera, even with bracketed exposures, just doesn't capture the performance of the two lights. I decided to let other people tackle that aspect, but I'll tell you this: I haven't yet seen a beamshot of the M1 that really matches what you see when you turn the thing on.
Complaints? Well, the inside of the switch housing has a very sharp edge - it would be nice if they'd radius that just a bit for comfort. The less-than-perfect beam from the smooth reflector has been mentioned by many, though it isn't all that bad; after all, the tradeoff is that phemomenal throw!
My only real issue (for me - YYMV) is the lack of a momentary ("tactical") switch, but Ricky at Lumapower says they're working on one that should impress me. I hope so, because this light deserves it.
Side by side, who wins? Against the Strion, the M1 is a more useful light. It throws farther, has more usable spill, and a larger hotspot. (This isn't even considering the ridiculous difference in runtime and regulation, which overwhelmingly favors the LED.) My incandescent of choice has finally been dethroned!
Part III: Into the Future
This got me to thinking: if the smooth reflector is this good, what would the OP reflector be like? Yes, I know I'll sacrifice some throw, but it is already so good that I don't think I'd regret it. A quick PayPal to Ricky, and one is winging its way to me.
I'll report more when it arrives. For now, I'm waiting for my wife to finish a holster for the M1 so I can make it my new EDC...hurry up, Dear!
-=[ Grant ]=-
to get here with mine!!!
