Palmblaze 1 watt luxeon

boet

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Hi all,

I came across the Palmblaze 1 watt today. Takes 1AA battery. Looks nice and feels well made.
Says on the box that it is regulated. Also states 1.5 hours runtime with (I think) 51 lumens.
Has anyone any experience with this light? Can anyone recommend it?
I want to purchase it if I get positive feedback. I could not test it in store - packaged in a blister pack and the store is too lit up anyway.

My needs are fairly mundane - will be for use inside the home and taking the dog for a walk at night (urban environment).
I googled but did not find helpful info.

Thanks.
Cheers
Boet
 

boet

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fluke, I saw that, thanks. I am trying to get some first hand info from users.

The strange thing about the light I saw locally - it does not look the same as the 1 Watt Luxeon light at the link you gave. However, look at the picture of the K2 Palmblaze lower down on the linked page - the light I saw looks exactly like that :confused:. But the package said 1 watt luxeon, NOT K2. And it uses 1AA - there was even a 1AA battery included in the package. And a nylon pouch was included. Strange. Maybe Battery Junction has the pictures swapped?

Cheers.
Boet
 

light_emitting_dude

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I searched but could not find it but there was a thread arund a few months ago and one user even did a mod on it. Got mine off e-bay -$20.

Get one, you won't regret it. Not a bad light and has a forward clickie! It has no lens but optics so your beam will be somewhat concetrated. LED is very easy to get to and it has a nice finish and threads feel really well made. I have been thinking about getting another and modding it with a KLC8 LED.

Just found the earlier posts.......enjoy

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/164849

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/165441
 
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turkdc

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I bought one about 2 months ago. It sounds stupid, but I really liked the orange pushbutton! It turned out to be a nice light and I keep it in my drawer filled with other "nice lights".

I agree with the other posters that it has a quality feel to it, but I don't think I will be switching my E2L out of edc duty for the Palmblaze. It would make a good light for getting to the bathroom at night and that orange button sure is cool.

:thumbsup:
 

Sharpdogs

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I have one and I have been very happy with. It's no frills, but plenty bright and uses easy to find AA batteries.
 

senna94

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I just bought a 1 watt Luxeon 1AA River Rock at Target yesterday. Looks pretty similar to the mini palm blaze. It is also regulated DC-DC boost but is rated for about 42 lumens and 2 hours. While it doesn't come with a pouch, it has an excellent clip and lanyard included. The rear push button is fully recessed so tail standing is not a problem. Of course it is $22.00. An excellent value for the money I think. Anyway, I would like to see some beam shot comparisons to the mini palm blaze if anyone has both of these.
:D
 

boet

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Just found the earlier posts.......enjoy

Thanks for the links, which led to other links.
However, there is basically no real world use/feedback on the 1 Watt Luxeon Palmblaze I am enquiring about. Most posts are about the K2 light or Mini-Palm.
It is NOT the Mini-Palm that I am trying to get info on. The same shop has a Mini-Palm - but it has a .5mm Nichia led and a smaller body. Maybe they have old stock?
Oh well, thanks anyway, all.

Cheers,
Boet
 

MattK

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The MiniPalm is a nice little 1 x AA light but with the release of the LumaPower LM301 with an SSC P4 for like $10 more it's not as appealing as it was since the LM301 is brighter, 2-stage and has longer runtimes with the more efficient emitter. The only edge the MiniPalm retains IMO is the tactical clickie.

The MiniPalm we carry has a Lux III emitter - not a Nichia.

PS - the LM301 includes black, ORANGE and GITD tailcap switch covers. :)
 

boet

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The MiniPalm is a nice little 1 x AA light..............

The MiniPalm we carry has a Lux III emitter - not a Nichia.

MattK,
Thanks for your comments.

However, the lights I saw are definitely
a) 1 Watt Luxeon with 1AA battery which looks exactly the same (knurling and all) as the picture of the K2 light on your website. The light does not look the same as in the linked picture in post #2 above, but has the exact same specs (although did not mention it was Luxeon III on the package).
b) the Mini-Palm I saw has a .5mm Nichia.

I am interested in real world use/experience of the 1 Watt Luxeon 1AA Palmblaze, NOT the Mini-Palm (as I can only get it in the 0.5mm Nichia locally). Maybe these lights are old stock or only sold in Canada.
Thanks for your input :thumbsup:.

My search for user's opinions continues.

Cheers
Boet
 

mhubble

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Im curious where did you find the aa palmblaze? Did it look anything like the flashlight in the photo?

p6180002bl0.jpg
 

boet

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Im curious where did you find the aa palmblaze? Did it look anything like the flashlight in the photo?

No, the light looks like the K2 Palmblaze as pictured in the link to the batteryjunction website mentioned above.
I saw the light at House of Knives (in Canada).
Cheers
Boet
 

boet

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A thought crossed my mind (always a dangerous situation) - A question for those who know these things:

Is 1 x AA battery sufficient to drive a 1 Watt Luxeon reliabily / efficiently?
With a regulation circuit present, is it feasible for such a light to run for 1.5 hours at 50 lumens (as stated on the packaging).

To those who wonder why I don't just buy the darn thing and try it myself - at $40 Cad it would be a bitter pill to swallow if the light was disappointing. As mentioned earlier, the light is packaged in a blister pack and therefore cannot be tested in-store.
But I do like the looks very much - does that count for anything in the buying decision???:D

Thank you.
Cheers,
Boet
 

mhubble

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Is 1 x AA battery sufficient to drive a 1 Watt Luxeon reliabily / efficiently?
With a regulation circuit present, is it feasible for such a light to run for 1.5 hours at 50 lumens (as stated on the packaging).

Yes it is....the "mini palm" that was mentioned (the one with the one watt) earlier does just that. I would almost bet that the light you are looking at has the same internals as the "mini palm".
 

FlashKat

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I don't own the Palmblaze, but from what I have read the beam is more of a spot beam with very little sidespill. You mentioned you want to use it for around the house and walking the dog which I think having sidespill may be something to consider.
 

MattK

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$40 Canadian is a LOT of money for the light you describe - or pretty much any Lux 1 that doesn't say Surefire on it.. :)

Are you anywhere near Victoria?
 

boet

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$40 Canadian is a LOT of money for the light you describe - or pretty much any Lux 1 that doesn't say Surefire on it.. :)
Are you anywhere near Victoria?

No, Victoria is a few hours away.
Is there a dealer there? Do you have a link?

I know this light is expensive for what it is. Unfortunately "out of the ordinary" flashlights are very difficult to come by here. Maglites, plastic Energizers and Dorcy out the ying yang. Surefire is around, but expensive - $160 plus taxes for the L1.
Never mind that the Canadian dollar is not that far from parity with the US dollar nowadays. Some ripoff suppliers/shops are still charging prices as when the exchange rate was very poor for Canada vs US/other countries.

Thanks for your time.
Cheers
Boet
 
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jerry i h

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Has anyone any experience with this light? Can anyone recommend it?
I want to purchase it if I get positive feedback.

I share your skepticism about the retail packages you are seeing in Canada. As you have noticed, what you are seeing does not match what is easily available in many websites in the US. Perhaps what you are seeing is discontinued merchandise (those of you who have been flashaholics for more years than I can shed light?), e.g. the company has since upgraded the items, increased the price, and changed the names. If so, that would make the merchandise you are seeing in that retail store really, really old and really, really overpriced.

This thread is of considerable interest, as I am considering getting one of these as the LED-thingie I put in my pocket everyday to take to work, but I did not see any posts from someone who as actually done this.
 

boet

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......really, really overpriced.

This thread is of considerable interest, as I am considering getting one of these as the LED-thingie I put in my pocket everyday to take to work, but I did not see any posts from someone who as actually done this.

The shop that sells the Palmblaze is part of a province wide chain with 14 outlets, so one would think that pricing would be more realistic.

As for the Palmblaze 1 Watt Luxeon, I could not resist purchasing it - then returned it. Nicely put together - but the beam was green
icon13.gif
(and square, if that bothers you). A nice light otherwise. Plenty of light for general use. Not overly bright. If I could find another at a fair price with a beam tint to my liking, I would buy it (again).

Are you in Canada?

Cheers.
Boet
 

AvroArrow

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The shop that sells the Palmblaze is part of a province wide chain with 14 outlets, so one would think that pricing would be more realistic.

As for the Palmblaze 1 Watt Luxeon, I could not resist purchasing it - then returned it. Nicely put together - but the beam was green
icon13.gif
(and square, if that bothers you). A nice light otherwise. Plenty of light for general use. Not overly bright. If I could find another at a fair price with a beam tint to my liking, I would buy it (again).

Are you in Canada?

Cheers.
Boet

Ouch. Yeah, House of Knives is... expensive... I think all their stuff is overpriced. Might be due to the fact that they have to pay high rent in the for their shop in the malls. The other thing is, I don't think that light is giving 51 lumens out the front. Lights like that usually only have a R-bin Lux1 at the most, and the Lux1 R-bin is rated at 51 lumens max, at the emitter, not after loss from the reflector, lens, and bin variation. Good thing you were able to return it.

Anyway, if you're looking for a something a bit cheaper than $40+PST+GST, then you might want to try the LumaPower LM301. I'm actually thinking about getting one myself. It uses a SSC-P4 LED, which is noticeably brighter than a R-bin Lux1, has a high and low mode, runs on 1AA, and has decent runtime (65min on high/600 min on low on alkalines, longer on Ni-MH). BatteryJunction sells it for $31USD (-5% CPF discount code) + shipping. I don't know how much shipping is from them now. I ordered something from them before and asked for USPS GPM envelope shipping, but since USPS took away GPM, I don't know if they have cheap international shipping anymore. You could probably e-mail them and ask. The other option is to order from LumaPower directly in HK, $35USD including shipping. Here's a link
to ernsanada's review, with links to buy it in post #18.

I have 2 Fenix L1Ps (1 original group buy version, 1 later shinier anodized version) that came with R-bin Lux1s. I modded 1 of them with a SSC P4 (USVOI bin) and wow. It's a much nicer light. The hotspot is a bit brighter, but the biggest gain was the sidespill which I'd say was about 30% brighter to my eyes. It's made it more useful to me because of the brigher spill/flood light. The only thing it doesn't have is a high-low mode, which the LM301 does have.

The other thing to note is the screw threading quality. Most of the guys who've posted their opinions of the light says the LM301 has really good threading on it. This is something that's important to me, right after brightness and runtime of course :D. I even notice it on my Fenix L1Ps. The original matte HA version has much smoother threading the newer shinier HA version. It's like their QA slacked off after the initial production run. The L0P-SE that I bought about a year later also has rougher threading. It might be luck of the draw for me, but YMMV.

The only thing about ordering online is, if you really don't like the tint, you can't just drive to the store to return it. You'll have to mail it back (at your own expense) if they'll take it back because you don't like the tint.
 
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