More Crees at Target

Not sure if this has been discussed yet, but I was at Target and saw another Brinkman-Cree light. This was NOT the 2D LCD screen variable output OR the 3AAA "red knob" variable output.

This one was a silver/black plastic & rubber body with 3AAA cell carrier. About the same size as a SF G2. The previous iteration of this light had a Luxeon emitter, direct drive via resistor, and looked like it could accept an 18500 cell. I am not sure if this Cree rendition has better DC regulation.

It was a Cree-P4, four wire emitter with yellow backing, and advertised 136 Lumens.

For those looking for a 3AAA type light, this one is another option.

They also had a new River Rock headlamp, that used a Cree P4 and claimed Lumen output in the ~130 range. It was all black and used a pair of CR123 cells. Pretty large/deep reflector and a lamp housing big enough to conceal the two cells. IMHO a reflector-less design would have been a better choice for a headlamp... but thats just me.

kramer5150 said:

This one was a silver/black plastic & rubber body with 3AAA cell carrier. About the same size as a SF G2. The previous iteration of this light had a Luxeon emitter, and was direct drive via resistor, and looked like it coule accept an 18500 cell. I am not sure if this one has better DC regulation.

It was a Cree-P4, four wire emitter with yellow backing, and advertised 136 Lumens.

Click to expand...

This is probably an updated version of the "1 watt" (with older Seoul ZLED) and "3 watt" (with Luxeon III) 3xAAA LED lights. I upgraded my 1-watt Brinkmann with a Seoul USVOH star.

Despite the weakness of the 3xAAA setup, the body design of these lights is quite good (forward clicky, glass lens, tough plastic). They are similar to the Brinkmann Maxfire LX, but wider.

asdalton said:

This is probably an updated version of the "1 watt" (with older Seoul ZLED) and "3 watt" (with Luxeon III) 3xAAA LED lights. I upgraded my 1-watt Brinkmann with a Seoul USVOH star.

Despite the weakness of the 3xAAA setup, the body design of these lights is quite good (forward clicky, glass lens, tough plastic). They are similar to the Brinkmann Maxfire LX, but wider.

Click to expand...

Oh cool... glass lense:thumbsup: Might make a nice mod host if you could squeeze in a low current multi-mode driver, I don't think it has enough heat-sinking to host a high current single mode circuit.

Thanks for the heads up,the flashlight dept in my Target has been picked over with nothing new for some time.

I did put a 17500 in my 3AA 1W Brinkmann without much effort. I got it on clearance for $4.50!
I plan to upgrade the old Seoul Z-power with a new P4 too. Someday. It is a decent but not great around the house light. I am always afraid the AAA's will leak when I have the 17500 in something else.

Sounds like this Cree version is a ready to go upgrade.

I've always liked the both the 1W and the 3W versions of this light. Some people don't like lights with battery carriers, but they've never really bothered me. Wal-Mart recently started carrying the 1W with a Cree, and I was hoping they would bring out a brighter 3W version of the light. I picked up my Cree powered 3W at Target yesterday morning. They only had one Cree version on the hook, the others were all old. Mine has a nice warm tint to it, very nice! I took it outside and shined it into our hay field at the deer that are always out there. They were about 100 yards out and I could just make out their bodies. Next I tried my U2 on high. I couldn't make out their bodies, I could only see their eyes. The batteries in my U2 are almost brand new, only a few minutes of runtime on them. So the new 3W Brinkmann has more throw than my U2! I was surprised at how bright it was compared to my U2. Tonight I'm going to compare it to my Fenix P3D and T1.

Roger