ARC AAA Premium - First Impressions

For those of you that don't like to read, I'll post the short version of my opinion first. OK, here it is.... not worth the $40.

I just recieved (3) of them. There are no special markings indicating they are "Premiums". The engraving shows "Limited Edition". To be honest, I see no difference between these and the latest version of the LE ARC. No difference in beam color or pattern. As a matter of fact, these are plaqued by the same issue as the last batch of LE lights, whereas the LED is so far recessed into the bezel, there is basically no flood beam pattern. Beam centering is borderline unacceptable. Certainly not what I'd expect for a "Premium" light.

It's going to be a hard sell to get $40 a pop for these lights, when compared to the $15 and $23 specials various dealers run on the standard-AAA from time to time. These are going back to ARC.

Well the beam color of mine is bluer than I expected. The rest is just fine. But what you mean "the latest version of the LE ARC"?

I thought the premium was just a new name for the LE,basically the same light. Are they supposed to be different?

My 'Premium''s LED is beat up by my 'standard'

I love the finish of the LE, though.
The standard's finish is so scatched up - it's silvery black now

Has anyone compared the brightness to the "standard"? I'd love to see lux readings.

Really, a little difference in brightness one way or the other doesn't matter in this type of light. Also, the standard AAA now has the HA finish. The advertised difference is the LE's led is selected for better color. I have the standard AAA and can say it's plenty bright enough but the light is a little bit bluish. I'm ok with that because I'm not using it for super-accurate color comparisons. A couple nights ago I tried it on a near-dead battery and it ran at about 5% of normal brightness, and that was still bright enough to be useful. So I wouldn't worry about slight differences in brightness between AAA lights. If you want a bright ARC LED light, get an LSH /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

I have both the standard and the LE, and there is a definite color difference. I have an LS or two, and there is a definite brightness difference. But I thought I remembered Peter saying somewhere that the AAA premium was distinguished by a brightness difference.

Perhaps I'm mistaken. What's your recollection?

I thought the change from le to premium was to make the grading on aaa lights [standard or premium] the same as LS lights [standard or premium] /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

That's correct, for clarity (that is now debatable) Peter changed the LE designation to the P or Premium and it is reflected on the sticker on the package, however the lights are still engraved Limited Edition to help visually differentiate and who knows this might change on the next batch. I for one do wish we could get a more constistent product though ( re: LED recessing correct and centered). I do love the light they put out though and like the slight greenish tint on both my LE's

Later,
TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But here it says the PE's reference is AWP-NAT with "Premium Edition"Engraved. http://www.vicomptel.com/arclights/arcaaa.htm

The reference of the one with extra "premium"sticker is
AWS-NAT-P. I'm confused!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

My point has nothing really to do with the color of the light or anything else. The ARC-AAA has always been expensive (I know, "expensive" is a relative term), however the $40 price tag has now (in my opinion) has pushed the light into the "Is it really worth the money" catagory. In my opinion, the product is no longer worth the cost. It's my understanding there is no new technology introduced in the "Premium". It's only a reproduced, already existing product, which has been re-labeled and increased in price.

nascar I don't think I would pay 40.$ for one.But many dealers discount them so I have not had to pay that much.I like the quality of the light and I like the service Peter offers.There are many good lights that cost less, and there is nothing wrong with those.It is great to have so many good choices /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif So keep what you like and make me a good deal on what you don't. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I think no LED in the foreseeable future is going to have really accurate natural color balance. The idea of using a white LED instead of a monochromatic one is so it doesn't completely mess up your color perception, i.e. if you try to read a map with a one-color LED, all lines on the map that are the same color as the LED simply disappear, and the other ones turn gray. The white LED fixes that problem and carefully selecting it for whiteness may make it a little more pleasant but not really more useful. So I don't think I'd pay more than a couple dollars extra for an LE, but that's just me.

Monochrome LED's tend to be brighter (more efficient) than white ones for the same amount of power because they don't have a phosphor absorbing any of the energy. So if you want max brightness, you're apparently best off with a cyan LED instead of a white one.

I really feel that the whole issue of trying to identify differences in colour balance is very much down to the perception of viewer. Colour perception tests have shown that the human eye and its appreciation of colour vary considerably from one person to another. Given that Nascar doesn't see the advantage of the grading done by Arc on their premium range doesn't preclude that others will not. It also doesn't mean that the product isn't worth the money asked.

IMHO the difference that some will see between the regular and premium range may be very marginal but if some want that then so be it? I dont see why anyone should decry the price difference because in the end analogy if you dont want it, dont buy it!

Doug

I'm sure the difference in color is real (i.e. the premium likely has less fringes). I'm just saying that compared to daylight, or properly filtered balanced incandescent light, both LED's will be terrible in terms of accurate balance. The premium will be bad and the standard will be worse. Neither will be any good if you're trying to paint someone's portrait from memory and want to mix the right paint colors. But for their intended purpose (being able to tell colored lines apart on maps, etc.) both will work fine. The premium LED will just look a little nicer and therefore may be more satisfying to use. So I see it as a cosmetic difference and not a functional one, worth paying some extra for, but (IMO) not worth paying double for. Of course others may find the difference is worth more to them, and that's fine. They just shouldn't expect a bigger difference than there really is.

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this_is_nascar said:
My point has nothing really to do with the color of the light or anything else. The ARC-AAA has always been expensive (I know, "expensive" is a relative term), however the $40 price tag has now (in my opinion) has pushed the light into the "Is it really worth the money" catagory. In my opinion, the product is no longer worth the cost. It's my understanding there is no new technology introduced in the "Premium". It's only a reproduced, already existing product, which has been re-labeled and increased in price.


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I think This Is Nascar has a valid point. After hearing and reading all the rave reviews of the Arc AAA, I decided to buy one and found it was indeed a wonderful little flashlight. I know you can get a bigger and brighter Princeton Tec Attitude for the same price or even less, but I really like the Arc AAA. Then I heard about the Arc AAA LE and wanted to get one as well mainly because of the natural finish and the reported increase in brightness over the standard version. Then came the Arc LS in it's various configurations, but the prices have simply put them out of my range for the moment (sorry, I just can't afford Surefire-like prices right now). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Now I see that the standard Arc AAA is available in the same natural finish as the Limited Edition, plus an added pocket clip. Also, the Premium Edition is supposed to be equivalent to the Limited Edition. Well, if that's the case then I would have to ask the same thing. Is it worth the price increase? I know there's R&D involved and construction costs, but is it enough to justify a price increase if it isn't all that different from the Standard? And if the Premium Edition is simply a re-labeled Limited Edition, is the Limited Edition expected to become a rare collector's item? I really like the Arc AAA and would like to see them available in a variety of colors and perhaps a "more affordable" 3 or 4 LED cluster light for those who cannot readily afford the Arc LS models, but unless the Premiums are to the Standards what the CMG Infinty Ultra is the the regular Infinity, then I don't think it's worth the extra $$$.

[ QUOTE ]
Cosmic Superchunk said:
[ QUOTE ]
this_is_nascar said:
My point has nothing really to do with the color of the light or anything else. The ARC-AAA has always been expensive (I know, "expensive" is a relative term), however the $40 price tag has now (in my opinion) has pushed the light into the "Is it really worth the money" catagory. In my opinion, the product is no longer worth the cost. It's my understanding there is no new technology introduced in the "Premium". It's only a reproduced, already existing product, which has been re-labeled and increased in price.


[/ QUOTE ]

I think This Is Nascar has a valid point. After hearing and reading all the rave reviews of the Arc AAA, I decided to buy one and found it was indeed a wonderful little flashlight. I know you can get a bigger and brighter Princeton Tec Attitude for the same price or even less, but I really like the Arc AAA. Then I heard about the Arc AAA LE and wanted to get one as well mainly because of the natural finish and the reported increase in brightness over the standard version. Then came the Arc LS in it's various configurations, but the prices has simply put them out of my range for the moment (sorry, I just can't afford Surefire-like prices right now). /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Now I see that the standard Arc AAA is available in the same natural finish as the Limited Edition, plus an added pocket clip. Also, the Premium Edition is supposed to be equivalent to the Limited Edition. Well, if that's the case then I would have to ask the same thing. Is it worth the price increase? I know there's R&D involved and construction costs, but is it enough to justify a price increase if it isn't all that different from the Standard? And if the Premium Edition is simply a re-labeled Limited Edition, is the Limited Edition expected to become a rare collector's item? I really like the Arc AAA and would like to see them available in a variety of colors and perhaps a "more affordable" 3 or 4 LED cluster light for those who cannot readily afford the Arc LS models, but unless the Premiums are to the Standards what the CMG Infinty Ultra is the the regular Infinity, then I don't think it's worth the extra $$$.



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Well said. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

It was my impression that the LE/Premium was a better colored led, not a brighter led from previous postings and discussions. With the introduction of the premium and the elimination of the LE, ARC just widened the acceptable range of leds to be able to produce more. With that said, I bought a few regular Arc-AAAs before the grading change.

I'm not trying to jump on the wagon for the sake of bashing but I have to agree with the last few comments. I just ordered a regular ARC AAA for $17.00. I read the reviews and I really hope it is worth the price of two Photon II's (Great lights IMHO.) If it is, cool. If not, it won't break me. OTOH, if the price tag had been $40.00 I would have passed on it. My Streamlight 3C LED was not much more than that and frankly, its a lot more bang for the buck if you ignore the size differences. Also, $40.00 puts you in the ball park of a Nitrolon Sure Fire that is also manageable for daily carry (based on the advertised dimensions). With all that said, if the market will bear the price tag of the Premium then great. I will likely not be buying one.

Chris

just thought I would mention, the Surefire nitrolon G2 is available for approx. $25 now.