Different Types of ARC Flashlights

I am new to this ARC craze and to the message board in general. I have a question concerning the various "terms" of ARC's that I see referenced. Could someone explain the differences between each and what each is.

1. ARC AAA - I think I have an understanding of this light.
2. ARC LE
3. ARC LS - I believe this is the newest light released from ARC.
4. ARC LS Second - Is this a version 2 or something?
5. ARC CPF

Thanks.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by this_is_nascar:
I am new to this ARC craze and to the message board in general. I have a question concerning the various "terms" of ARC's that I see referenced. Could someone explain the differences between each and what each is.
Thanks.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


1. ARC AAA - This is a keychain sized, regulated LED light that uses 1 AAA sized battery and 1 LED. LED's come in different colors & body comes in type III hard anodized black.

2. ARC AAA LE - Same as ARC AAA (above) except it has type III hard anodized natural finish. It also has a bit brighter 6800 mcd S1 ranked LED that also has a little less blue tint to it. LE means "Limited Edition" since the S1 ranked nichia 6800 mcd LEDs are hard to get, production must stop until they become available again.

3. ARC LS - This is a new, regulated flashlight that uses 1 Luxeon Star (LS) LED. The Luxeon Star is 10-14 times brighter than the typical 5mm nichia LED, so the ARC LS is one of the brightest LED flashlights available anywere! It comes with 3 battery tubes so you can choose how you want to configure the LS. You get a Single AA battery tube, 2 AA battery tube, single 123A size battery tube & the ARC LS LED head in the kit.
ARC LS pictures

4. ARC LS Second - The ARC LS "second" is just an ARC LS that is not considered to be "top quality". For one of many possible reasons, an ARC LS failed QC. But since most of these failings are cosmetic in nature or have to do with the tint in the beam color or beam centeredness. Since there are no major problems with the functionality of the light, they are sold as factory "seconds" at a substantial discount. (ARC LS first $160, ARC LS second $70)

5. ARC CPF - This is identical to the ARC AAA LE except it has a dark blue Type III HA finish and was only available to CPF members for a very limited time in limited quantity. These also were laser engraved as CPF member edition, or you could have gotten a personal engraving.

Get more info at the ARC website

Message edited.

Thanks Sean. Great information that taught me a bunch.

Glad to be of service.

I know what it's like to be new to all of this and try to catch up.

If there is anything else you want to know just ask.

Aren't the regular arc aaa's hard anodized
too?

Yup.

Currently the standard AAA is hard (type III) anodized (same as LE, CPF, Surefire, etc), only comes in black (no choice of case colors), and uses an SB2 bulb for the white LED.

The standard AAA white and the LE are the same brightness, currently. The tint is just slightly different in the two, and the LE is the only one to have the "natural" case color. LE=SB1, AAA=SB2

All this is subject to change without notice but that's how it stands now.

I thought the black ARC AAA's were type II HA not type III. I also thought to make type III in black you would have to add dyes to the HA porcess which weakens the hardness. That's why Surefire leaves their natural HA color alone because it's the most durable.

Am I all wrong about this?

And do all ARC AAA's use 6800mcd LEDs? Just lower rank than LE?

The standard AAA USED to be type II until relatively recently.

Surefire makes a black type III HA now too, as far as I understand.

Each AAA LED color has a different mcd rating. The rank of the white AAA LED is not "lower" than the LE, the LED is just more common, and a slightly bluer tint.

I see.

Post above has been edited.

Just one thing- Arc`s lights aren`t Digitally regulated. There are no micros or PICs in there, it`s all done with "analog" components. The regulation also isn`t perfectly flat, but it does do very well to flatten out the discharge curve of the batteries used. Simple and relible, just like it should be.


However, SureFire`s new not-yet-avaliable LED lights are digital, a little fancy-pants chip controls voltage regulation (pefectly flat all the way to the end) and dimming (2-stage switch, plus at the end of the battery life it`ll switch to that dimmer setting instead of just going out- so you can find your spare batteries!)

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sean:

Post above has been edited.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Swell. That always makes people scratch their heads when they read down the thread for the first time and see folks like me repeating what the corrected post says. But everybody already knows I'm nuts, so no big deal.

Oop. Wait - you still say that the LE is brighter than the standard. It is not. Both have S brightness. Only the tint is different.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by darell:
Swell. That always makes people scratch their heads when they read down the thread for the first time and see folks like me repeating what the corrected post says. But everybody already knows I'm nuts, so no big deal.

Oop. Wait - you still say that the LE is brighter than the standard. It is not. Both have S brightness. Only the tint is different.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's brighter than the old ones.

Ah yes, but the old ones didn't have the HA finish...

- Darell