want a good 14500 light

jasonsmaglites

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Feb 15, 2007
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i'm thinking of the fenix L1d (aa)
i already have a lod ceq4 on the way so i might wait to see how i like that.
anything good from ultrafire
does the ultrafire c3 work with a 14500,
can i break it down to it's single aa size and cram the 3.6 volt in there.
would it be brighter than with 2aa's
or would the fenix be my brightest best bet?
i already have the ultrafire c3 (two, one i just sold, one on loan to friend) so that may be an easy solution if
1. it works
2. it's the BEST 14500 light (read: brightest)

actually a super bright aa would be better but i think mte and ultrafire c2 one mode is about as good as it gets.
 

Gunner12

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The Single mode Ultrafire C3 has the same output no matter what battery you put in there(3.6v and under, it is a bit brighter at first with a 14500 battery).

The brightest might be Nitecore Defender. The L1D-CE looses lower modes when the input gets above 3.2v.
 

PhantomPhoton

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Jetbeam MkII R should do well with 14500, as do Rexlights if you can find one. And the highly anticipated Edgetac Nightcore Defender INfinity Ultra will likely be a good choice as well.
 

Lobo

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Going by Selfbuilts review, the Fenix L1D CE on 14500 will be brighter than the Nitecore(3400lux vs 2550lux and 76 output vs 69 output). Allthough I'm not sure that the difference will be noticable in real life.
NiteCoreSummary.gif

And the Fenix is as Gunner12 mentioned not made for 14500, you will only have one level of light.
 

jasonsmaglites

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so the l1d ce will lose low levels on 3.6 volt

as i understand it the l0d ce, which i have on the way, will not, right?

i think i prefer having it come on at high anyways.

i'm usually just showing it off anyways, lol.
 

merlocka

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You should definately read SelfBuilt's thread.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/172434

My personal comments/suggestions:

JetBeam MKIIr - New, so I don't know much detail on output vs runtime. If the ~20% improvements over the MKIIx are accurate, should be a good 14500 option with decent Alkaline and Nimh performance. Earlier versions got very warm with 14500's on 100%.

Nightcore Infinity - Initial review show that while not a 14500 monster, it does look like a great combination of output vs runtime.

Fenix L1D CE Q5 - High output, but loses all modes when running a 14500. Major bummer for me.

Rexlight 2.1 - Excellent balance of output and runtime on 14500.

Dexlight X.1 - Very similar to the earlier Jetbeam MKIIx, mine happens to be a bit brighter on 14500. Very bright on 14500's.
 
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Lightedge

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The TnC Keylux looks really nice at TnC Custom Products. I'm considering one.
 

jasonsmaglites

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leaning towards the fenix.

is it the brightest?

one mode is ok by me, he he he.

that little "defect" is probably preferred!
 

merlocka

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leaning towards the fenix.

is it the brightest?

one mode is ok by me, he he he.

that little "defect" is probably preferred!

I don't think anyone will try to argue that the Fenix L1D CE Q5 isn't a monster with 14500's. It's probably the only single AA that's close to (or at) 100 "torch" lumen out the front. As far as I know, it's the brightest 14500 AA light. The rebel versions are bright as heck too.

That said, here are my personal pro's / con's with the Fenix single AA.

Pro's - I like the UI, e.g. knowing that by turning the bezel I am sure what mode it will be in when I turn it on. The low is a pretty good low. Very efficient circuit. Good build quality. Good beam dispersion with OP reflector.

Con's - Lose adjustable low modes when using 14500. When using AA, there is a brief flash when turning on in low modes. Only available in black finish, which doesn't seem like a proper HAIII to me, but others seem fine with it.

And I agree that the "con's" are fairly minor. I'm just bummed by them because otherwise the Fenix would be close to a "perfect" AA light.
 

jasonsmaglites

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ok, i'm leaning towards the fenix l1d ce but what bin is available right now?
do they have a q5?
can the rebel 100 take a 14500?

should i just go and get a p2d ce?
would that be a brighter option?
 

merlocka

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how about this one
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3200
it's made for 14500.
how many lumens at 650 mah

No idea on that one. You should check Selfbuilt's thread. He just updated it with some L1D CE Q5 results on 14500.

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/172434

Check the 5th graph down.

As you can see, the L1D CE Q5 is a winner on 14500. It's also among the best with Nimh and Alkaline.

The Ultrafire C3 5-mode seems like a good gamble, although there have been issues reported.
 

awberke

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Edgetac Nightcore Defender INfinity Ultra

does anyone else think this is too many names?
 
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