Suggestions for Newbie

Hi all, I'm new here. Wound up finding out about this place after seeing a pic of a lanyard someone made for a JetBeam CE-L (or whatever it's called) over at bladeforums (typical OCD German - current obsessions being bicycles, pocket knives, binoculars,and now maybe flashlights). Anyway, looking for an AA or AAA-powered small LED light to start this newbie off. Not looking for something too spotlightish. Models that I'm currently considering (although open to suggestions) are the Inova X1, the Rock River (Target Model), Gerber Infinity Ultra, ARC AAA Premium, and maybe that previously mentioned JetBeam. Looking for something with good, durable build quality, good for a variety of uses (dodging dog poo in the dark, camping, emergency use, looking down drywells, etc.). So what are the relative strengths and weaknesses of these models?

I would go for the Jetbeam CL-E V2.0 because it will easily out lumen the other lights you are looking at. Good quality and good price.

But if you really want cheap, the MTE Seoul(one mode) or the MTE 5-mode or the 20 mode(should be brighter then the Jetbeam on good rechargeable batteries but also potentially confusing). Shipping does take a month though.

What's your price range?

:welcome:

I want to try to spend under $50. What's the build quality on the JetBeams? I'd rather sacrifice some brightness to get better quality.

This, This, and this thread might help. Quality seems to be pretty good. It is recommended to clean the thread and lubricate then when you receive the light. But that applies to almost all lights.

For your price range, the CL-E V2.0 is a great light(and with the leftover money, you could buy a Dealextreme Cree/Seoul light like this one or this one).

wintermute2.0 said:

I want to try to spend under $50. What's the build quality on the JetBeams? I'd rather sacrifice some brightness to get better quality.

Click to expand...

The Jetbeam C-LE2.0 costs less than 30 dollars with the CPF discount, and has very nice build quality. The HAIII hard anodized finish is as good as any you will find. In fact the anodized finish is better than some of the Fenix lights costing twice as much, and matches some lights costing ten times as much.

The C-LE has a high quality aluminum MOP textured reflector, so the beam is very clean.

The C-LE's electronics are second only to Fenix on efficiency and regulation and give great output and runtimes (two hours on High, 5 to 6 hours on medium, and 24 hours or more on low), which is much better performance than nearly all of the other lights under $50 that you will find.

Compared to the 1W 1AA River Rock at Target, the C-LE offers literally TWICE the performance on the same single AA battery.

For example on high the C-LE has more than TWICE the output with more runtime, on medium it has the same output but offers more than TWICE the runtime, and on low you still have a useful level of light (about like those little triple 5mm led lights), but you get an incredible 24 hours plus of runtime on a single AA battery.

It's a 5 mode light but don't worry it's really simple to change modes and the light remembers the last mode you used so most of the time you can just click the light on and off like a simple single mode light.

If you would like about the same output in an even smaller package, check out the Fenix L0D Q4 seasonal special . The tiny L0D Q4 single AAA light has the same three power modes as the C-LE and can nearly match it mode for mode on power, thanks to a premium bin Q4 emitter (the only tradeoff is about half the runtime due to the smaller AAA battery).

This is a super deal at about 42 dollars shipped (with the CPF8 discount coupon at checkout).

I just recieved my red L0D Q4 and it really is an incredible little light.








The fact that this little light can keep up with the larger Jetbeam C-LE also means of course that like the C-LE it can BLOW AWAY 1W department store Luxeon lights like the River Rock 1W 1AA by a factor of TWO or more (in a light that is less than half the size of even the smallest single AA light).

+1 to the Fenix LOD-CE Q4 special edition. It's my current favorite (and my newest light).

Any relation to wintermute?

Look over the fenix-store.com site. They have many lights with various sizes, features, and outputs.

But remember to stick with the Cree XR-E(P4-R2 bin), Seoul P4 U bin or Rebel 100 lights if you want output.

If you don't know already, the newer LEDs are twice as efficient as the Luxeon I, III, V and K2. For the same power, the newer LEDs would output at least twice the light as the older LEDs.

The CL-E and the L0D-CE Q4 are both great lights from what I've heard.

Thanks for the help everyone (especially Lumiescent - who provided additional rationalization to buy this thing).

No relation to the other wintermute on this board, though I should drop them a PM - the name comes from the William Gibson novel Neuromancer - which started the whole cyberpunk genre (everything from Bladerunner to the Matrix) of science fiction.