D-Mini Or Amelite T-5

Which has the longer run time? Which do you prefere & why?

I prefer the Amilite T5, more flood, better regulation and smaller.

+1 T5

I dont care for the D-mini at all.

d-mini is all throw, t5 is mostly flood.
depends on your needs.

FASTCAR said:

+1 T5

I dont care for the D-mini at all.

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Hi. I'm curious if you own/ed the D-mini as well? FWIW, I have been eyeing the T-5 for its floody characteristics. Even with is possible QC issues.

@Spin- From what I have read, I think the T-5 may have some QC issues, if I remember correctly. But don't take my word for it, search and you may come to the same conclusion.

The D-mini is very much a thrower. Nice beam. Even with the smooth reflector, it has usable spill. But as someone already mentioned, from I have read the t-5 is a floodier light. Depends on your needs. On the runtime issue, I have done a couple of self-runtime tests on freshly charged Tenergy 3.0v 900Mah cells and I get 25-30 minutes of runtime. Kinda low I think. On RCR123's it runs very well regulated. These cells are new so I suspect a few more charge/dishcharge cycles will yield a few more minutes. Hope I made sense.

Re: D-Mini Or Amilite T-5

Different beasts.
I use the D-Mini to let someone who is breaking one of the club's rules know that he/she has been observed in the act from across the patio and are about to be asked to leave. This cuts down on the amount of time spent having to answer "What are you talking about?" questions after I've crossed the patio and confronted them. It doesn't provoke the aggressive "cornered cat response" that seems to happen more often when they just see this "club security" guy walking directly toward them while they have their hand in the cookie jar.
For sweeping the club for booze before 2:00am I prefer the Amilite. Clubs are dark, and it's easy to miss bottles of beer hidden in a corner. Floody beam in this case helps a lot. Also, in the case of a fight, I think it's easier to pull someone out of a crowd easier with the Amilite in your hand. I have had some issues with the Amilite sticking in the ON position. This sucks, but so far it has been remedied by changing batteries. I put deoxy on the contacts, and am tempted to blame that for the problem. I don't know.
They are both freakin' amazing lights. At least once a shift, something is easier than it was before I had one or the other. As to runtimes: I couldn't say. I'm sorry, but I top off my batteries at the start of every night.
-Winston

Re: D-Mini Or Amilite T-5

winston said:

Different beasts.
I use the D-Mini to let someone who is breaking one of the club's rules know that he/she has been observed in the act from across the patio and are about to be asked to leave. This cuts down on the amount of time spent having to answer "What are you talking about?" questions after I've crossed the patio and confronted them. It doesn't provoke the aggressive "cornered cat response" that seems to happen more often when they just see this "club security" guy walking directly toward them while they have their hand in the cookie jar.
For sweeping the club for booze before 2:00am I prefer the Amilite. Clubs are dark, and it's easy to miss bottles of beer hidden in a corner. Floody beam in this case helps a lot. Also, in the case of a fight, I think it's easier to pull someone out of a crowd easier with the Amilite in your hand. I have had some issues with the Amilite sticking in the ON position. This sucks, but so far it has been remedied by changing batteries. I put deoxy on the contacts, and am tempted to blame that for the problem. I don't know.
They are both freakin' amazing lights. At least once a shift, something is easier than it was before I had one or the other. As to runtimes: I couldn't say. I'm sorry, but I top off my batteries at the start of every night.
-Winston

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Dude, that is the first time I have heard mention of this kind of use for a light. Lol. Rock on.

RdlyLite said:

Hi. I'm curious if you own/ed the D-mini as well? FWIW, I have been eyeing the T-5 for its floody characteristics. Even with is possible QC issues.

@Spin- From what I have read, I think the T-5 may have some QC issues, if I remember correctly. But don't take my word for it, search and you may come to the same conclusion.

The D-mini is very much a thrower. Nice beam. Even with the smooth reflector, it has usable spill. But as someone already mentioned, from I have read the t-5 is a floodier light. Depends on your needs. On the runtime issue, I have done a couple of self-runtime tests on freshly charged Tenergy 3.0v 900Mah cells and I get 25-30 minutes of runtime. Kinda low I think. On RCR123's it runs very well regulated. These cells are new so I suspect a few more charge/dishcharge cycles will yield a few more minutes. Hope I made sense.

Click to expand...

About those "3.0 900Mah Tenergy's" Have you ever actually checked their voltage with a voltmeter? You ought to. I have the same batteries and they come off the charger well over 4 volts. They will drop to 3.8 volts with a little use. I checked them with 3 different meters, one being a Fluke. I would not run those in your T-5. I was using them, but out of concern about the Browning of the emitters, I went back to primaries. There is no discernible difference in brightness either.

Double post.

Actually no...

Re: D-Mini Or Amilite T-5

winston said:

Different beasts.
I use the D-Mini to let someone who is breaking one of the club's rules know that he/she has been observed in the act from across the patio and are about to be asked to leave. This cuts down on the amount of time spent having to answer "What are you talking about?" questions after I've crossed the patio and confronted them. It doesn't provoke the aggressive "cornered cat response" that seems to happen more often when they just see this "club security" guy walking directly toward them while they have their hand in the cookie jar.
For sweeping the club for booze before 2:00am I prefer the Amilite. Clubs are dark, and it's easy to miss bottles of beer hidden in a corner. Floody beam in this case helps a lot. Also, in the case of a fight, I think it's easier to pull someone out of a crowd easier with the Amilite in your hand. I have had some issues with the Amilite sticking in the ON position. This sucks, but so far it has been remedied by changing batteries. I put deoxy on the contacts, and am tempted to blame that for the problem. I don't know.
They are both freakin' amazing lights. At least once a shift, something is easier than it was before I had one or the other. As to runtimes: I couldn't say. I'm sorry, but I top off my batteries at the start of every night.
-Winston

Click to expand...

lol...best use of lights ever. :rock:

I LOVE my D-mini! It is the flashlight I ususally choose if I'm needing "throw", though I find it has a very usable flood, and not TOO bright in a close up situation.