2008 Inova T1: The Poor Man's SF L4

Just got my T1 in from Battery Junction today and played around with it tonight. The beam is shaped EXACTLY the same as my L4. So close it's amazing. The L4 is a bit brighter, and the tints are complete opposites, but otherwise they are identical. Comparing them, the L4's tint looks very bluish white and the T1's tint looks sickly yellow. On their own, the L4 looks very cold white and the T1 looks very natural and nice. I am really enjoying the tint on the T1. Very much like an incandescent, but not yellow (unless you shine it right next to a cool white LED). It's a steal at $50 and it will take a lot longer than the L4 to drain those 2 CR 123As.

I am glad you like your light. I thought the same thing about the beam. I do like the "better gas milage" the Inova gets over the L4 though.

woodrow said:

I am glad you like your light. I thought the same thing about the beam. I do like the "better gas milage" the Inova gets over the L4 though.

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That was my primary motivation for getting the T1. I hardly use my L4 because it goes through batteries so quickly. I am loving the T1 so far. Most of my lights have cold tint, so it stands alone in my collection.

Another vote the the Inova 2008 T1 :thumbsup:
Loving the run time of 4+ hours and that wide even 100 lumen spill of golden light. So good I may have to get another as "spare"

I have a few Inova T1's and they're great.

But it's a little unfair to compare the L4 to it since the 2008 Inova is brand new with the new K2TFFC LED in it, whereas the L4 has been virtually unchanged in at least 4 or 5 years...

Another good comment... I don't think I'll buy one at $50, but since they're more mainstream they might go on sale...

ttran97 said:

I have a few Inova T1's and they're great.

But it's a little unfair to compare the L4 to it since the 2008 Inova is brand new with the new K2TFFC LED in it, whereas the L4 has been virtually unchanged in at least 4 or 5 years...

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in the quest for the best light nothing's unfair

besides, did it have to stay the same?

I came to the light... said:

in the quest for the best light nothing's unfair

besides, did it have to stay the same?

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I do agree that the L4 is long overdue for an LED upgrade. I'm quite surprised it hasn't happened sooner. If not an upgrade, then at least a price adjustment!

IMO the INOVA T1 is the best value in it's class.There are brighter,muti-level and even more efficient lights but not at that price.The T1 also has better anodizing than many moderately priced lights and of course the unusually warm tint.
Never had the pleasure of owning a SF L4 but if the T1 is that close in brightness with the better runtime I am surprised that it isn't more popular here.
BTW the T2 is a great value as well, though it is a bit more $ than the T1.

ZMZ67 said:

IMO the INOVA T1 is the best value in it's class.There are brighter,muti-level and even more efficient lights but not at that price.The T1 also has better anodizing than many moderately priced lights and of course the unusually warm tint.
Never had the pleasure of owning a SF L4 but if the T1 is that close in brightness with the better runtime I am surprised that it isn't more popular here.
BTW the T2 is a great value as well, though it is a bit more $ than the T1.

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I'm a die-hard Surefire fan...but the very few non-SF lights that I have are Inova's. I believe they're made in the USA too. Yeah, I am surprised that there aren't more Inova fans out there.

Inovas have long been my favorite lights, I absolutely love the old Tiros X0 and X03s and the X1 and X5s they are my workhorses. The new Bolts, at least the AAA one I have are great workhorses also. For whatever reason I never picked up a T series light, until a month or so back. I got the new 2008 T1 and I LOVE IT.

It has since replaced the only Surefire I owned which was a 6P that was my bedside bump in the night light.

If I buy any other lights this year, smart money would be on another Inova T1, and if they end up showing durablity an E01 or two. The T1 is the only one I am definitly sure about so far as it will be a perfect tactical light to carry in my double magazine pouch on my belt when out at night.

ttran97 said:

I'm a die-hard Surefire fan...but the very few non-SF lights that I have are Inova's. I believe they're made in the USA too. Yeah, I am surprised that there aren't more Inova fans out there.

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Keep it quiet!
We wanna keep these off the radar of the CPF hoards.
When they hear "T1" they think fenix... mwhahah...

ttran97 said:

I have a few Inova T1's and they're great.

But it's a little unfair to compare the L4 to it since the 2008 Inova is brand new with the new K2TFFC LED in it, whereas the L4 has been virtually unchanged in at least 4 or 5 years...

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The way I see it is that the comparison is a huge testament to the L4's near-perfect design. Talk about staying power. We're only now getting a light that can be compared to it in terms of output and beam shape.

Just picked an T1 the other day. I like the 5 hour runtime.

Has anyone seen a runtime chart?

How warm is the color temperature on these?

Are we talking office fluorescent 4100K or angry incandescent yellow <3500K?

The T1 also doesn't turn into a hand toaster after 10 minutes of runtime like the L4, either.

enLIGHTenment said:

How warm is the color temperature on these?

Are we talking office fluorescent 4100K or angry incandescent yellow <3500K?

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Pretty warm, but not yellow unless compared directly to a cooler light. I really like it.

Phaserburn: I noticed that last night. In the roughly 3 minutes of use my L4 saw while comparing it to the T1, it started to get warm already!

light_emitting_dude said:

Just picked an T1 the other day. I like the 5 hour runtime.

Has anyone seen a runtime chart?

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Not for the new ones. Is there even anyone still doing those after FlashlightReview.com tried to pass the torch?

ttran97 said:

I do agree that the L4 is long overdue for an LED upgrade. I'm quite surprised it hasn't happened sooner. If not an upgrade, then at least a price adjustment!

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From the little I've read about the P7, it sounds like a good replacement for the Luxeon 5 in the L4. The emitter area of the P7 is large like the Luxeon5, so the beam characteristics (flood) should stay the same.

Does T1 supports 17670 like L4?

Alan

Depends on the light and depends on the battery. Are you asking if the battery will fit, or if the light will run off of 4.2v (3.7v nom,) ?