In a nutshell, which Badboy and why

Hi guys,

I made my way through about a dozen of the pages on the monster BadBoy/MadMax thread and I went bleary eyed. I'd like to hop up my Minimag but could use some focused (pun intended) advice. Which sandwich would you recommend and why. I am biased towards maximum brightness with good beam quality. Is there any experience with the BadBoy 700?

Thanks,
Wilkey

dat2zip sells both "sandwhiches", and "boards"

boards are for modding your own light, be it a 123, 2aa, 2d, 2c, whatever...

sandwhiches are for dropping into your existing flashlight, they are intended primarily for the minimag, but will fit the brinkman also.

if brightness is what you want, then the badboy 500 is for you.

there is no 700 "sandwhich"

the beam qualities will be pretty much the same, except the higher current sometimes has a tendancy to make luxeons whiter.

here is the page to look at to decide what you want

Hello Ginseng,

You will find a current discussion in the LED forum under BadBoy - Which one?

This should help you get started. Of course, you could always buy one of each, do a test, and report the results back to us...

Tom

imho, the best choice is the badboy 400

the light output is consistent, it lasts longer than the 500 and i can't REALLY tell the difference naked eye nor in use in a practical way.

the madmax starts out brighter, but the light output curve isn't constant. i much prefer constant. the max is useful however to chew up the last spark out of a battery before you toss it though :>

so, buy the 400. lots and lots of them.

don't forget to accessorize with mineral lenses, kroll clickies, and perhaps a mclux reflector (if it fits, i don't recall if it does)

Thanks guys,

I knew I could count on you for sound advice.

Rothrandir, that link does not list a BB400 sandwich however, his www.anlighten.com proto website shows a BB400 board but no sandwich.

Wilkey

Leddite, I already have glass lenses from Flashlightlens.com

I just got a BB400 with a Q3L upgrade in today.

Man is that thing BRIGHT!

It might be brighter than a BB500, for all I know. The only downside is it is definitely of a blue-ish tint, especially the hotspot in the middle. The Luxeon used in mine also has a slight defect--a bubble formed in the pouring of the phosphor, and now there is an annoying off-center blue "dot" in my beam! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Although the Q3L is brighter, the standard used in the regular BB400 has a more even, lower color temp beam. Of course, you have the Luck of the Luxeon draw with any of these. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

My next BB400 modlue (for keeps) will be a colored one. I will then have a BB400, BB400 Q3L, and a BB400 [insert color here]. Lots of people where I work have requested BB400s, and are ready to pay the ~$35 price tag!

How do BAdBoys compare to Lambda's Illuminator pills?

Another Sandwich Fact Page here...I like the 400 myself.