Bypassing Cree & Latest Bling

I'm gonna be reeeal smart and wait for next year's offerings of even better LEDs. Hope it turns out to be the right decision. I don't have a burning desire to have the latest light unless it's a serious improvement and (affordable) value over my existing stuff. I'm hoping that improved cash flow in the future will coinside with continued LED improvements and price reductions. Kind of like hanging on to one's old Windows '98 and going right to Vista.

My roll of the technology dice indicates it might be worthwhile for me to wait upgrading my old & ordinary Luxeons. Since many of my lights are already bright enough for their intended purposes, I'd end up having to modify the drivers or switches to gain the run time benefit of new LEDs. So, I'm going to TRY waiting for awhile to brighten up my lights that need extra lumens.

What's in your crystal ball?

I've got four lights in my sights right now: Malkoff's or Lambda's Mag mods, the Amilite Neo T5 and the 4th Gen. VB-16. I'll probably obtain at least one, if not two from that list. But I don't have much in the way of flashlights, so it's not like I'm adding to an existing over-abundance .

I don't know if I can wait til next year, I'm looking at the June/July timeframe to add a couple of new lights to the arsenal......if they keep building them I'll keep buying them!

Todd

jayflash said:

Since many of my lights are already bright enough for their intended purposes, I'd end up having to modify the drivers or switches to gain the run time benefit of new LEDs.

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+1

That's exactly my viewpoint on swapping out emitters on older lights with Crees - not worth the trouble in most cases. My lights are already bright enough - I just want more runtime.


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Good point, but I don't agree with your Microsoft analogy at all. Windows Vista is truly a real dog. It may be the version that followed XP, but it is actually the successor to Windows ME (Mistake Edition)!

That makes me feel better about upgrading from Me to XP and not waiting for Vista.

Jayflash: You are either planning to enter a monastary soon- or you're writing from your deathbed. We will pray for you. Nobody normal has this kind of will power!!

Next years offerings will be an incremental one IMO. You can take a revolutionary step right now, or wait next year and take essentially the same revolutionary step.

The Cree and Seoul offerings now are fairly affordable (the LED itself is less than $10 if you want to do DIY) and there really isn't any harm jumping into now with a low to mid end light if you don't want to be out too much.

Compared to jumping onto the premium Lux IIIs and Vs last year, it's a steal I must say. For $45 previously, you'd get a nice Lux V WW0S (just the emitter) putting out about a 100 lumens at 350ma (but needs 6+ volts to power). Now for about $45, you can get a whole light (Jetbeam, Fenix even and not just the cheapies) with one of the new LEDs that give you practically the same output with only half the voltage required.

I'm in awe Jayflash - such will power!

CM said:

Next years offerings will be an incremental one IMO. You can take a revolutionary step right now, or wait next year and take essentially the same revolutionary step.

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By next year, there will probably be more mainstream manufacturers offering Cree lights so you will have more choices. There are other factors beside brightness, e.g., quality of build, type of switch, etc.

jayflash said:

That makes me feel better about upgrading from Me to XP and not waiting for Vista.

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Don't bother with Vista at all.

1. It's a resource hog. Linux Beryl can do all and more that Vista's Aero interface can do and at a 1/4 of the resources Vista demands.

2. Vista will be replaced by 2009. Microsoft was at work already on a new OS when Vista hit the streets. There was a Yahoo article on it I read last month. Microsoft also had a couple of their major players resign. I heard talk that a future OS may be the last full development. Instead of having a full staff developing one from scratch, they're going to move more towards major updates via the update site.

Speaking from the point of view of a computer technician and tech geek:

1. The new high powered emitters from Cree, SSC and Edison Opto are cheaper now and in my opinion very much worth the upgrade of some if not all of your existing Luxeon flashlights.

2. While I personally am still recommending Windows XP to my customers, I don't think Vista is as crappy as some have said here. From what I recall, Windows XP had its fair share of initial issues (and continues to this day, which why there are updates). I say give Vista a year. By this time next year, I believe Vista will be better. I never expect a Microsoft operating system to be great during it's first year of existence. Think of it like Star Trek The Next Generation--for SciFi and Star Trek fans, it was the next step from the original series. The first season of TNG was crappy, but we gave it a chance and it got better.

Personally, I just can't see the point in being a flashaholic if you don't at least sample the technology available at any given time. Do some of them is what I say...

ace0001a said:

Personally, I just can't see the point in being a flashaholic if you don't at least sample the technology available at any given time. Do some of them is what I say...

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:thumbsup:
Especially when its affordable...

I can't wait for next year, Just go out and buy it now and have fun with it

What's in my crystal ball? I see jayflash thinking about this for a while, and finally deciding that it would be ok to mod maybe one light. Just one.

Of course, we all know where that scenario ends.

jayflash said:

That makes me feel better about upgrading from Me to XP and not waiting for Vista.

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I'm actually going to downgrade from Vista to Windows XP.

Derek, you know me too well. You've described my typical modus operandi. By CPF standards I'm usually conservative and hold off on the latest/greatest offerings until they have proven themselves. The new LEDs have already proven themselves and I did indicate I'd TRY to resist till the next round of improved emitters.

Yeah, that's it! One, just one, just for now.

You can be a moderate Flahaholic like me, just buy 2 or 3 of each generation of product to keep current and be happy.

I didn't have a lot of Luxeon lights to begin with, so I went whole-hog into Crees and Seouls.