Which is more important to you - Light output/quality vs Interface?

There have been many lights that have caught our fancy because they offer versatile interfaces (p120, LF5XT) and also have a beautiful smooth beams or high output and throw. Others only offer simple to operate interfaces with nothing special about the beams (Q5 Nitecores, come to mind). Still others offer only beautiful beams/output with nothing special about the interface (Tk10 comes to my mind).

While it may be difficult or impossible to separate the two, in your opinion, which matters most, beam or interface? ( Within the term interface, I would have to include not only the switching, and programming of the light, but also the form factor of the light as well.)

In other words, how much would you be willing to sacrifice in form/function for a beautiful beam? Or is a beautiful beam irrelevant to you, if the form/function are nearly perfect for you?

I don't think one should have to sacrifice either one, and ideally have both a perfect beam as well as great user interface.

However, if I was forced to choose, I'd prioritize the user interface higher over the beam. This is because while an imperfect beam might not give me as nice of a view, the wrong UI could interfere with my usage of the light in the first place.

So if I had a perfect beam, but a UI that frustrated me every time I had to use it, it would be very tough to use it every single time I carry my light.

That said, I honestly don't find most lights using the Cree Q5 all that awful in terms of rings / beam. Most of my lights have OP reflector, which help to smooth out the beam.

As many state, in real world usage, the cree rings never decrease usefulness. And for a light where a diffuser is used, for example the D10, this is never an issue.

I can't have one without the other. However, I don't always need extreme levels of either. Both need to be executed to a sufficient enough standard for the task at hand.

If I were looking for overall output (the most I could get) then I really think the beam quality would not be that important, I have a few lights that I bought because they throw out tons of light but the UI and beam are not that good, I use them outside as backyard floods and for that they are fine,
But the way I look at it for my EDC lights I do want a nice beam and an easy to use UI, the overall output of a light does not really interest me if it is going to be my EDC.

The basic minimum for a user interface is a switch of some sort that will turn the light on and off. If the light output is useful for the task at hand, then that basic minimum is all that I require. I don't need bells and whistles like adjustable levels. In most cases my eye adjusts for the light level. I don't need to adjust the light to my eye. Yet there has to be a basic minimum level of output and accurate color rendition for some uses that no matter how fancy the interface is, it won't make up for any less than that minimum output requirement.

As an example, my McGizmo Sundrop with its high CRI Nochia 083 LED (93CRI) has a light output of only 30 lumens and a beam which is totally spill with no hotspot. It has a simple on off switch; that's it. Yet, there is no other LED light source that I have used that gives color rendition in the pink/red region sufficiently good enough for my medical use. If the Sundrop had adjustable levels, or ramping ability, it would make the light more useful and fun, but without it it doesn't make the light useless. However, without that special LED, the light would be useless for my medical examinations even if it had a more versatile interface.

I'm probably a throwback. For me, the beam/output needs only be good enough as long as the light is efficient in its use of battery. The interface only needs to be good enough as long as it works RELIABLY.

After that, the bottom line is cost...

I think to choose a compromise you must determine first what are you going to use the light for.

For single-level light, on/off. Simple, useful. Clickies are nice but not a deal-breaker. I love my Gerber Infinity not for the interface or beam quality but because it's good enough for many uses and runs forever on a AA.

Multi-level is also useful but I don't want to have to fuss. level memory is a must. Light that always wants to start out at Max or Min is a failure. Light that only wants to ramp in one direction is a failure. Light with SOS/strobe/psychedelic effects that get in the way of day to day function is a failure. I've largely tired of my EternaLite for these reasons (and because replacing the batteries is a royal pain). Light that requires sleight of hand to make it work is a failure. Light where you can't swap out batteries in the dark is a failure.

Light quality and beam quality are important. Now that LED lighting is coming out of its infancy, I'd expect multi-level lights will be the norm and the market will be unkind to hard-to-use interfaces. Market will also push for better light quality but for most people, brightness has priority. Once the average light is "bright enough" then light quality will become more of a discriminator.

Ranked in order of importance (for me):

1. Quality/Reliability - If the light isn't durable, I don't want it.
2. Interface - If the light is hard to use, I don't want it.
3. Brightness - If the light doesn't have 1. and 2. , it doesn't matter how bright it is.
4. Cost - To me, lights are tools (ok ok, they can be fun "toys" as well). But anyway, I will pay up for good tools that work, so cost is ranked below the rest. Who knows? I might need the light in an emergency. In that situation, the light must have 1, 2, and 3... and cost would be irrelevant.

Cheers.

I stopped using a Malkoff as an EDC because while it was unbelievably bright, it was blinding myself and others. That said, I was perfectly happy for six or eight months with a Jetbeam reverse-clicky multimode and an Inova single-mode. The interfaces are both pretty widely disliked - either a stiff switch without any texture or ... a Chinese reverse clicky. Both were usable.

BabyDoc said:

...However, without that special LED, the light would be useless for my medical examinations even if it had a more versatile interface.

Click to expand...

When you place into a context like using it for a critical function like medical examinations, then of course the beam is going to be priority #1. The UI would be secondary. As long as the light turned on that would be all that matter with the UI.

However, for a difference purpose, like general EDC for most people, the UI is more important than in your case. The beam is still important, but the UI is not as irrelevant compared to your usage.

I don't mind the nitecore's beam. So if that's considered bad quality, then beam quality is last on my list. UI ranks first for me, I dispise lights with lots of tapping, and holding etc. every time I want to turn on the light. Some are just annoyingly convoluted. Then appearance/esthetics and build quality are about on par.

At this point my LxD Q5 has covered the 200 lumen range.

My Nitecore D10 covers the interface need.

Now, to wrench $$ out of my wallet there needs to be a 400+ lumen offering from one of the quality manufactures...below $100.

So I guess total output is top of my list now. But I would expect a reasonable beam quality. And Multi levels. 2 X AA form would be best for me.

Most good quality lights, these days have plenty of output IMO (I consider anything 60 lumens or above to be plenty for EDC), and most have really nice beams as well. The feared "Cree rings" are nothing compared to the Mag rings that many of us grew up using and most beams are perfectly serviceable in actual use.

That leaves us with quality and UI. I, personally, don't go for progammable UI's and prefer a simple interface, I have to reboot my computer enough as it is and don't want to have to reboot my torch. My all time favorite UI is the Photon Freedom by a wide margin. My D10 is pretty good and my E1B is perfectly useable but nothing comes close to that Freedom. If only they made the Proton Pro without that blasted red LED.....................or better yet make an E1B with the Freedom UI!

Quality/reliability is still #1 for me, though. When the SHTF I just want a light that works, period. Far too many pricey lights out there have top notch emitters and electronics and then use the cheapest switch that they can find, many even include a spare because they know it'll fail and it doesn't cost much to throw in the extra. Why not design it so it doesn't fail in the first place!? I also believe that more torches should have potted electronics. Solder contacts are not that strong and I've read several posts where folks have dropped a light only a few feet and had a component break off the board and kill the torch. They advertise LED's as being "unbreakable" and yet the completed LED torch is often more fragile than your basic Mag....................

Just my opinion(s)

superflytnt said:

and I've read several posts where folks have dropped a light only a few feet and had a component break off the board and kill the torch. They advertise LED's as being "unbreakable" and yet the completed LED torch is often more fragile than your basic Mag....................

Just my opinion(s)

Click to expand...

most concrete drops have resulted in a busted filament for me, assuming the light was on.

I have yet to drop and LED and break it.
I'd say 3 out of 5 incans popped when dropped.
I don't see the issue here.

the LED is (while still inside the light) for all practical purposes , unbreakable.


Switches wear out.
that's what they do :shrug:
I think it's awful damn nice of them to include a extra switch.
Hell, I'd even give them a buck or two for one if they didn't.

I'm calling UI trump here.

My D10 isn't as bright as some other lights I have, and the beam isn't as nice, but I can turn it on low, and some of the others only have on-off.

gratewhitehuntr said:

most concrete drops have resulted in a busted filament for me, assuming the light was on.

I have yet to drop and LED and break it.
I'd say 3 out of 5 incans popped when dropped.
I don't see the issue here.

the LED is (while still inside the light) for all practical purposes , unbreakable.


Switches wear out.
that's what they do :shrug:
I think it's awful damn nice of them to include a extra switch.
Hell, I'd even give them a buck or two for one if they didn't.

I'm calling UI trump here.

My D10 isn't as bright as some other lights I have, and the beam isn't as nice, but I can turn it on low, and some of the others only have on-off.

Click to expand...

Some wear out much faster than others. It's still way cheaper for a company to include a POS spare or two than it would be to just use a high quality component in the first place.

As for durability, I was just making the point that many torch makers tout the emitters durability but don't make the rest of the light tough enough to take advantage of that fact. You seem to have had a bad run with dropping incans (karma?) but if you look around you'll find many stories of Mags surviving harsh abuse and still working after........................for that matter even their switches are pretty hardy

Quality and interface is more important to me. Anyone can overdrive an LED with massive output. But at the cost of heat and premature wear.

However, not anyone can make a quality light with reliable, smart interface.

The ringiest beam on my collection is from my Surefire L1 Cree. This same flashlight also happens to have what I believe is the best multimode interface out there. Guess what: I use it all the time, it's my beater light.

Nevertheless, besides beam/brightness and UI, one of my most important factors when choosing a light is runtime. Then comes reliability/quality of construction. These two are what really makes the difference between having or not having light.

Off course, affordability also plays a major role. Stangely, I tend to favour production items over customs. At comparable prices (within a factor of two), production lights are bound to have been better developed, studied and efficiently produced.

superflytnt said:

Some wear out much faster than others. It's still way cheaper for a company to include a POS spare or two than it would be to just use a high quality component in the first place.

Click to expand...

true and true

either way though I still want my free extra switch :thumbsup:
I've gone to electronic anywhere it matters.
As far as I'm concerned switches ALWAYS break (mechanical ones).
I know that cheap still sucks though and would gladly pay an extra $3 if I knew they applied it to the switch.

Of course I still want me free extra. :twothumbs

superflytnt said:

As for durability, I was just making the point that many torch makers tout the emitters durability but don't make the rest of the light tough enough to take advantage of that fact.

Click to expand...

also true

of course lots of manufacturers also put stuff like
" Now 33% more " *

labels are covered with that crap and if you aren't smart enough to read though it then you pays your money and takes your chances

superflytnt said:

You seem to have had a bad run with dropping incans (karma?) but if you look around you'll find many stories of Mags surviving harsh abuse and still working after........................for that matter even their switches are pretty hardy

Click to expand...

I would hope so since Mag filaments are so underdriven

I meant REAL incans.

Let's see how cool you are with your bright light when you drop it on the concrete and have to go fish out a replacement LA. :ironic:
A couple of times is enough.






*when compared to the size with 33% less

I own both the Novatac p120 and the LF5xt. They have the smoothest beams of any light I own. When I first got the lights, however, I was quite frustrated that I had to read an instruction book to get them to work. The operations of these lights were not intuitive in the least. However, after struggling with each of them for a couple of days, I mastered their operation completely and programmed them the way I needed them. They now are as simple as I have "made" them, and I see no need to fiddle with them any longer. Their operation,while not intuitive at the beginning, seems second nature to me now. It sure would have been easier had there been other lights for me with just as beautiful beams and easier to learn interfaces, but there wasn't. I have no regrets chosing a beam over the interface, since with difficulty, I have been able to simplify the interface for my needs. I feel that my patience and persistence has been rewarded.