Cree Lantern ..

Anyone see the cree lanterns on www.dealextreme.com there are two different kinds one is a Q2 3 mode version and the other is a P4 3 mode version, and a ssc seoul could anyone remind me which one is brighter or better? Or what is the benefit of either one?

Q2 is rated brighter than P4. Q2 should be roughly the same as SSC (Seoul) P4. But since there is a luminous flux range for the emitters, it could be down to luck of the draw.

Crees produce ringy beams in typical flashlights, but since this is a diffused light, I think any one of the lanterns will be as good as the other. Some say Crees are more robust than Seouls at high currents, but since this lantern is prob 'lowish' current, I don't see a problem.

I personally ordered a Q2 for a friend, just because its a 'newer' emitter. If it were Q5, I'd order that.

cree.

the seouls have problems.

I ordered one of the Seoul P4's and it just came DOA. I'm waiting to hear back from DX, but roundtrip shipping is more than the wholesale on the lantern. So likely, I'll have to eat it. I'll take it apart to see what happened.

that sucks!!

I got the wrong lantern the first round; ordered a Cree and got a generic LED one... had to send it back, but they were good about sending me the correct one before my returned item reached them. Shipping of about $4 by sea freight.

My next order with them for another light was DOA too... now pending action. Sigh.

Anyway, the lanterns feel cheapie; the battery compartment cap isn't very good. I had a hard time closing it shut when using my Sanyo 2500 NiMhs.

I just received the Seoul 4xAA lantern from DX. Like the others, it came DOA. However, since I had nothing to lose, I reversed the batteries and bingo, there was light. Apparently, on the inside of the battery case, where there is a "+" on the bottom, I placed the "-" end there, and the same for all four batteries. Replaced the cap and all works. It goes on low first, then high, then strobe, and then off.

On high, it's not as bright as the original Target River Rock lantern, at least that is what I see. However, now I have the option for a low beam.

Overall, same or a bit lower quality than the original Target River Rock lantern. But what did you expect for $16.50 shipped?

On my DX Seoul P4 Lantern, I found that one of the metal rods used to conduct the current from the battery case to the LED circuit had been set too high up in the LED circuit compartment. This was partly due to the metal being low quality and the threads not holding onto the retaining nuts. The result meant that there wasn't enough rod at the bottom to making contact in the battery compartment. I fixed that, but it was still a no glow. Tried flipping the batteries to no effect. So it must have been a fault in the switch, circuit or LED. However, as has been pointed out elsewhere, there is no heat sinking in these lanterns, with cooling expected strictly via the limited air convection in the small LED and circuit compartments. So, it likely wasn't long for the lantern world, in any event. A $16.50 lesson learned. Although, the Osram Dragon that I had went belly up after only 2-3 hours of burntime, too, and those had a good rep and decent heat sinking, so maybe I've just got bad lantern luck. An Essential Gear K2 Luxeon ($45) that I currently have is working well so far, with a limited total runtime to date. But I still need a second lantern for the shed, so I'll try a Coast 4AA from BrightGuy next. Maybe the heatsinking needs for the Cree's and Seouls will always be limiting for the the compact 3-4AA size class?