Solarforce T700 User Report:

Background:
=========
I have a new career as a security guard, ever since the computer industry decided that "grandpa" can't fix computers any more. Even though the money is much less, I am much happier! However, my tired old eyes need better light than I get from either my 4D LED Maglite, or my trusty and very nice Inova T1.

The T1 is almost the perfect technicians EDC (Every Day Carry, for those who are new to the forum - I can't tell you how long it took for me to figure out what that meant when I found this place). It is a two CR123 pocket light with an amazingly smooth flood, no real hot spot. Not so bright that it blinds you for close in work with machinery, but much brighter than any standard tool box light that I have ever seen. There may be newer ones that are "better" but there is no perfect light. This is why we need so many different ones.


Why choose the Solarforce T700:
=========================
For my outside rounds, I need throw. I am not being paid (nor expected) to get up close and personal with people that might be lurking around trucks etc. Typical range that I want coverage for is 100 to 400 feet. (I will be receiving another light soon for my interior rounds, a P7 flood style. I will start another thread for that light).

While my Maglite will throw a hot spot that far, it just is not bright enough or wide enough to be very useful to me. Hey, for $26 I can't complain about the value though!

I tried various 12v rechargeable halogen lights but aside from the totally awkward carry factor, they typically have sloppy, very warm beams that do not enhance my visual acuity much. We won't even talk about weight or run times.

I thought very hard about the Lumapower MVP, which certainly looks like a top quality product, but my new career dictates that price is a factor. For the same money, I can get the T700, a couple of chargers and two sets of 18650 batteries. (The T700 needs three cells per set, or four CR123). My initial testing will be with CR123 batteries.


Some of the links that I used in my research:
=================================
From user jirik_cz . Thank you so very much for your meticulous testing!
Exterior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-venku
Interior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-v-mistnosti
Run time vs output: http://www.ledmania.cz/vydrz-svitilen-a-celovek-na-baterie

T700 review from Light Reviews: http://light-reviews.com/solarforce_t700/

And Last but not least, the masterful MVP review by selfbuilt:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/205174

Where I got the light: Lighthound in texas (google is my friend).

===============
To be continued in next post: First impressions

Looks like an interesting light. I don't know if you want to do it, but you can upgrade that 4D Mag to something similar, either through modding, or a drop-in like this:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-300.html

You could put in a P7 to a Mag without to much issue, there are a bunch of threads that show you how to do that. Heck the Mag LED module itself is ok, but it isn't that bright and will cutdown it's output if you use it for any length of time, due to heat issues. A TLE-6EX would be brighter than that, and more consistent output.

Not to say you have to do it, just thought you might want to know your options.

wildstar87 said:

Looks like an interesting light. I don't know if you want to do it, but you can upgrade that 4D Mag to something similar, either through modding, or a drop-in like this:

http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-300.html

You could put in a P7 to a Mag without to much issue, there are a bunch of threads that show you how to do that. Heck the Mag LED module itself is ok, but it isn't that bright and will cutdown it's output if you use it for any length of time, due to heat issues. A TLE-6EX would be brighter than that, and more consistent output.

Not to say you have to do it, just thought you might want to know your options.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I have, indeed, thought about the various drop-ins. The most interesting of which is the unavailable Malkoff. The Malkoff triple drop-in, while a most impressive bit of engineering, costs more than the entire T700 flashlight. Frankly, unless you are in love with the Maglite body, drop-ins do not make lots of sense to me. Another reason you might want to stick with the Maglite would be if you have a D battery rechargeable setup.

I wanted throw in the range of the MVP for my application, this means a triple Q5 or special P7 light in order to get the kind of light I want down range. I also wanted to get into the Lithium rechargeable 18650 batteries from a cost and run-time perspective.

I have done the modifications thing in the past, back when I had the audiophile addiction. Mods typically, while great fun, just are generally not worth it in the end (just my opinion).

I can understand why people do go that mod route, and more power to them! Thanks for your helpful thoughts.

DGM

First Impressions:

Build Quality:
==========
Exceeded my expectations by quite a bit! Fit and finish is excellent. Solid feeling yet compact, especially when compared to the Maglite. The emitters appear perfectly centered in the reflector cups. The cover glass is clean, no trapped dust or smudges of any kind. The glass appears to have slightly anti reflective properties, judging by the appearance of reflected room lights. The over-all impression is, again, excellent.

No damage in shipping. Packaging was very simple and in layers. Lighthound used two standard bubble wrap pouch mailers, one inside the other. A nice touch, although the light itself is tough enough that you could ship it without packaging at all (if you did not mind scratches). Inside this double pouch is a thick, soft, transparent plastic "product" pouch designed to hang in a retail setting. The light was in this pouch configured as the "short tube" CR132 style. The extension tube was wrapped separately in bubble wrap. Evidently an optional accessory at one time but now sold as part of the kit. The extension tube also comes with a small spacer button. I assume this is for the use of non-protected mode 18650 batteries which are a bit shorter.

Double rubber "o" rings seal end of the main tube and a second double set seal the extension tube which is needed for the 18650 batteries. Threads are anodized and smooth running. The inside of the tubes are anodized as well. Nicely done.

Preliminary Performance:
==================
I dropped in a set of four CR132 cells, since the 18650's have not arrived yet. I took the light to my "first light testing facility". (Ok, it is just a long dark hallway, but don't tell anyone.) I test all my lights there, so that I have a controlled, repeatable and stable environment.

The T700 is my first foray into what I would call "high performance LED" lights, and it was suitably impressive. I am comparing against 12v halogen rechargeables, Energizer LED 4C work lights with four inch reflectors, the 4D LED Maglite, the Inove T1 etc. My first thought was "I see why they call themselves Solarforce." Lots of spill and a very large, smooth, extremely bright hot spot. Very promising, but I will have to test it tonight at the job site to see if it is adequate at the 100 to 400 foot distances that I need.

Operation:
========
I am not a huge fan of the Tactical Light Tail Clicky design, although I can see that when wearing gloves, it makes much more sense than the forward clicky. It also makes sense when you have to make a fast grab for a light, there is no doubt about where your clicky is. I have occasionally tried to turn on my Maglite by pressing bare metal. Not a fruitful use of your time.

The User Interface is very smart, very intuitive. I am addicted already. There is the usual partial press, instant on mode. Full press gets a click and it stays on. Now the fun begins. Two quick partial presses and you get the strobe. Nice! You can also do a partial press, release, full click press to keep the strobe on. (or if you had activated the strobe with partial presses, you can simply complete the last partial press to lock it on.)

Level control is through the use of two little orange buttons up near the head where a foreward clicky would normally be. Simple as pie. Top button to increase brightness, bottom button to decrease. The light will remember your last setting and the strobe will also fire at that setting.

There is a second method to trigger the strobe mode, if you hold the top orange button down for one second, the strobe starts. Hit that orange button once more, and it stops strobing but remains on. Nice.

Hold the bottom orange button for one second and you get the SOS signal.

Preliminary Conclusion:
=================
I like this light very much, but must test it in my actual use environment before coming to final conclusions.

To be continued in next post: Actual Use on Duty
=====================================

Best regards,
DGM

Some of the links that I used in my research:
=================================
From user jirik_cz . Thank you so very much for your meticulous testing!
Exterior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-venku
Interior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-v-mistnosti
Run time vs output: http://www.ledmania.cz/vydrz-svitilen-a-celovek-na-baterie

T700 review from Light Reviews: http://light-reviews.com/solarforce_t700/

And Last but not least, the masterful MVP review by selfbuilt:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/205174

Where I got the light: Lighthound in texas (google is my friend).

DigitalGreaseMonkey said:

Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I have, indeed, thought about the various drop-ins. The most interesting of which is the unavailable Malkoff. The Malkoff triple drop-in, while a most impressive bit of engineering, costs more than the entire T700 flashlight. Frankly, unless you are in love with the Maglite body, drop-ins do not make lots of sense to me. Another reason you might want to stick with the Maglite would be if you have a D battery rechargeable setup.

I wanted throw in the range of the MVP for my application, this means a triple Q5 or special P7 light in order to get the kind of light I want down range. I also wanted to get into the Lithium rechargeable 18650 batteries from a cost and run-time perspective.

I have done the modifications thing in the past, back when I had the audiophile addiction. Mods typically, while great fun, just are generally not worth it in the end (just my opinion).

I can understand why people do go that mod route, and more power to them! Thanks for your helpful thoughts.

DGM

Click to expand...

Oh no problem, just wasn't sure if you knew about them. I also have intentionally tried to stay away from the Li-Ion, due to the cost, and possible explosive properties. I haven't been entirely successful in that, seeing as I have a few Li-Ion lights, and they have their place, but I guess I like the versatility and the different fairly easy mods that can be done on the Mag platform.

You can't beat the runtime with 4D Ni-MH at 10-12Ah. I have a nice 5-Cree setup on one with a 12AA setup, but it will run on 4Ds, just not at full power, but I'm going to be doing a P7 mod in another 4D that will run at full power with the 4 Ni-MHs.

I know that there are others out there that prefer the small lights, but I like both the small and the big lights.

wildstar87 said:

You can't beat the runtime with 4D Ni-MH at 10-12Ah. I have a nice 5-Cree setup on one with a 12AA setup, but it will run on 4Ds, just not at full power, but I'm going to be doing a P7 mod in another 4D that will run at full power with the 4 Ni-MHs.

Click to expand...

I bet you do get great run times on the NIMH D's! My run time needs are relatively modest, since I return to the guard station regularly and can swap batteries if needed. The T700 set to max gets two hours to the eighty percent output mark and three hours to the fifty percent mark. Of course, lowering the output can give you thirteen hours, and frankly, at the lowest output available on the T700, it equals my 4D LED Maglite!

At first when I looked at the run time vs output graphs, I thought that the MVP crushed the T700. Then I realized that the scales were different. The MVP gives ruler flat regulated output for 1hr, then goes out. The T700 runs the same test at 3 hours but with less regulation. Not only due to differences in regulators, but also 3 batteries vs 2 batteries.

I see a lot of hand wringing going on over differences of 20% in output. We really need to keep some perspective here. Just as with Audio, to get a noticeable increase in brightness, you need to double the power output. Have you ever taken two identical flashlights, turned them both on and overlapped the beams? Nothing to write home about is it? I am pretty sure that this is why manufacturers jump from one emitter to either three or four emitters for the upscale lamps. Tripling or quadrupling your emitters is what you need to jump to the next level for lights, barring unforseen breakthroughs in chip technology. I've seen a utube demo of four P7's in their own individual reflectors driven by a custom PWM regulator. That's 16 chips, or four per P7. It was impressive!

I was originally planning to build my own like that, but I realized that by the time I was finished with the project, I would have spent a pile of money and time (since I am not an electronics whiz kid) and by then, something would be commercially available that would be close in performance and a much nicer package.

I know that there are others out there that prefer the small lights, but I like both the small and the big lights.

Click to expand...

Agreed!

Best regards,
DGM

Actual Use on Duty - First Night:

Actual Use on Duty - First Night:
========================
I am doing this evaluation using my stock of Toshiba CR123A batteries that I bought five years ago. I have no idea how old they were at the time I bought them from Botachtactical for $1.00 each. (At the time I had a digital camera that used these batteries as well as two old Inova X5 lights.)

Interior rounds: I have to say that the T700 has delivered beyond my expectations. I was considering this light for use as a thrower for external rounds (to be tested later tonight) but this light is excellent for lighting up dark recesses in the warehouse and various basement crawl spaces that I patrol. This is so far superior to what I have been used to, that I am nearly stunned. The very large hot spot is perfect for me and the substantial spill gives excellent peripheral coverage!

Exterior rounds: The facility that I patrol has a large number of flood lights, both overhead and on the ground. They are poorly shielded and thus the spill hits you in the eye, causing your iris to close down and blinding you to the shadows. My Maglite could barely penetrate this interference at the hot spot, and even then it was marginal at best. The Maglite was essentially useless during half of the rounds. The T700 penetrates this visual "hash" very nicely! When in the vicinity of ground lights used to illuminate signs, the ideal useful throw distance is in the neighborhood of one hundred feet. Away from the dazzle of poorly shielded HID ground lights, the useful range is three to four hundred feet, even with some dazzle from the overhead parking lot lights. The T700 penetrates foliage very nicely and this property is surrounded by dense woods and shrubs.

I understand that there are many flashlights out there that are in this output range, such as the MVP. If you are a security guard or have similar needs and if you can afford one of these lights, they are worth every penny. I got the T700 for $129 at Lighthound, The MVP is $199 (I think) at Batteryjunction. The MVP would make a better bludgeon. Although there is much to be said for the lighter but still VERY solid T700 with a long handle. That would make the T700 more of a medieval morning star or mace.

I also understand that a P7 light might be superior for my interior rounds, which is why I bought one of the $55 Trustfire P7 lights that uses two 18650 cells. It will be several weeks before that arrives for testing, and I do not expect to get the full 900 lumen potential from it, but I expect it to be a better flood style light.

Next Post - How is the T700 with 18650 batteries?: (It may take two weeks to get the batteries and charger)
==============================================================================
Best regards,
DGM

Some of the links that I used in my research:
=================================
From user jirik_cz . Thank you so very much for your meticulous testing!
Exterior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-venku
Interior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-v-mistnosti
Run time vs output: http://www.ledmania.cz/vydrz-svitilen-a-celovek-na-baterie

T700 review from Light Reviews: http://light-reviews.com/solarforce_t700/

And Last but not least, the masterful MVP review by selfbuilt:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/205174

Where I got the light: Lighthound in texas (google is my friend).

===============

the Solarforce T700 is a great light, great bargain and greatly underappreciated

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p175/russianesq/solarforce-006.jpg

Russianesq said:

the Solarforce T700 is a great light, great bargain and greatly underappreciated

Click to expand...

I agree completely! The user interface is arguably the best around. Thanks for that great little "family portrait" of your lights. If you substitute an Inova T1 for your short light, it would be the same as my collection.

[/quote]
[/quote]

I'm also surprised that T700 is not more popular here. I don't know, maybe it is too long?

Btw. I've heard some rumors that T700 has been already discontinued and is replaced by Solarforce L900. L900 is probably the best throwing SSC P7 production light and should be comparable to SSC P7 mag mods. Unfortunately it has only one mode. But my friend already ordered one so I'll have some beamshots soon

A good deal for you can be a 2 or 3 D cell maglite with the TerraLux 3 leds Drop in (http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-300.html) and Specials 3.75V D Li ion Batteries http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=2751 and http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=2735

So you can have 7.5V-11.25V in a 2 -3 D cell maglite with a great runetime.

by

jirik_cz said:

I'm also surprised that T700 is not more popular here. I don't know, maybe it is too long?

Btw. I've heard some rumors that T700 has been already discontinued and is replaced by Solarforce L900. L900 is probably the best throwing SSC P7 production light and should be comparable to SSC P7 mag mods. Unfortunately it has only one mode. But my friend already ordered one so I'll have some beamshots soon

Click to expand...

Great minds think alike! I have ordered one as well. (this is a sickness) What I really like is the small head size on the T700, it fits well on my belt in a little holster that I made out of a cell phone holder purchased at Home Depot under the Workforce brand. All I had to do was cut a small hole in the bottom to let the handle fit through. It has a velcro strap that covers the opening and locks the flashlight in place. Strangely enough, it fits perfectly.

What I expect from the L900 is to get the full output from the P7 and a larger, brighter hotspot (although I am very pleased with the T700 in that regard, and I really like the multi-mode interface. It is so intuitive!)

If I can borrow a digital camera, I will take some beam shots with all three of the "performance" lights that I will have at my disposal in the near future.

Best regards,
DGM

zifnab69 said:

A good deal for you can be a 2 or 3 D cell maglite with the TerraLux 3 leds Drop in (http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-300.html) and Specials 3.75V D Li ion Batteries http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=2751 and http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=2735

So you can have 7.5V-11.25V in a 2 -3 D cell maglite with a great runetime.

Click to expand...

Thanks for those pointers. The Li D cells are interesting, but I have already put myself on the path of the 18650 cells. Not really interested in two different battery systems at this point.

I've already played with the idea of Maglite drop-ins, and after handling the T700, I am convinced that moving to a properly integrated new product is my favorite approach.

Thanks for your helpful thoughts on this!
DGM

jirik_cz said:

I'm also surprised that T700 is not more popular here. I don't know, maybe it is too long?

Btw. I've heard some rumors that T700 has been already discontinued and is replaced by Solarforce L900. L900 is probably the best throwing SSC P7 production light and should be comparable to SSC P7 mag mods. Unfortunately it has only one mode. But my friend already ordered one so I'll have some beamshots soon

Click to expand...

By the way, jirik_cz, I wanted to thank you again for your wonderful collection of beamshots, they were instrumental in my decision process!

Some more thoughts on the L900:
The single mode is actually fine for my application. As much as I appreciate the ability to get over 13 hours of run time with output that equals an un-modified Maglite, for my outside duty I am always at maximum. As I mentioned earlier, the poorly positioned and badly shielded property lights create a situation that causes the iris in the eye to close down. I need to "punch through" that interference with more photons. I hope the L900 will provide another boost in that department. Not because of output, the difference between 700 and 900 lumens is not that huge when it comes to the eye registering a brightness change. The combination of more output PLUS a larger, deeper reflector is very promising!

I had briefly considered dropping a P7 chip into a reflector from one of my old Halogen lights, but the design is all wrong. I would probably wind up with a great big bright ring of light with a black hole in the middle.

So, thanks again jirik_cz and keep us informed regarding new testing!
DGM

To be honest I don't think that there will be a significant throw difference between T700 and L900. 900 lumens for P7 is theoreticall maximum, realistic value is 700lm only... The one thing that L900 is special is extra large reflector. Bigger than any other production P7 light.

jirik_cz said:

To be honest I don't think that there will be a significant throw difference between T700 and L900. 900 lumens for P7 is theoreticall maximum, realistic value is 700lm only... The one thing that L900 is special is extra large reflector. Bigger than any other production P7 light.

Click to expand...

Indeed, the reflector and the three 18650 cells are the most interesting pieces. This indicates longer run times for the P7. We shall see. The T700 actually has a very wide spill. This uses up a lot of photons that could be applied to the hot spot if deeper, wider reflectors were used. Of course that would change the entire form factor for the light and it would not be as convenient, nor as well rounded for application.

My hope is that the L900 is optimized for throw. Yes, there will inevitably be some spill, but I really want to banish those shadows hiding behind the dazzle of the property lights. (HID is out of the question for various reasons but primarily due to the frequent duty cycle and slow warm up).

If nothing else, it will be one more toy in the arsenal.

Best regards,
DGM

have you considered the terralux dropin for your maglite.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6k2.html

id say its almost three times as bright as the 4cell magled, with only a slight drop in runtime. you can pick one up for $22.95 plus shipping. reason its so popular here is it has twice the lumens per watt of a stock magled, so you get brightness for free basicly. very reasonably priced.

jasonsmaglites said:

have you considered the terralux dropin for your maglite.
http://www.batteryjunction.com/tle-6k2.html

id say its almost three times as bright as the 4cell magled, with only a slight drop in runtime. you can pick one up for $22.95 plus shipping. reason its so popular here is it has twice the lumens per watt of a stock magled, so you get brightness for free basically. very reasonably priced.

Click to expand...

I agree that this is perhaps one of the best values around. The problem is that keeping in mind the non-linear scaling of power output vs perceived brightness, I need much more than two or three times a Magled. The T700 is approximately seven times the output with a much nicer beam pattern and is the kind of magnitude that I was looking for.

The next area of "improvement" would be a more optimized throwing light, (for my application) something that has a more concentrated beam of the right size for my needs - between 100 to 300 feet. Take the 700 lumen output and don't "waste" it on spill. I think that would bump things to the next level, but perhaps not.

Thanks for that suggestion! A good value, but I need more.
DGM

Actual Use on Duty - Second Night:

Second night:
I am really loving this T700. This old dog is learning a new trick: How to love the Tail Clickie. Tonight we had temperatures drop down to 49 degrees F. Not terribly cold, but enough that I wore jacket and gloves on my rounds. So easy to use the tail clickie with gloves on!

One of the people at the facility noticed the T700 handle hanging from my belt and asked me what it was. After letting him play with the light for one minute he asked "Where can I get one of these?"

I was so conditioned by old habits that it really took me a day to begin to adapt to the long handle tail clickie, but I now prefer it this way. The quality of light I am getting is excellent. It changes my perceptions of the facility greatly. Visual acuity is enhanced. (This would of course be true of any light in this class of output).

Eagerly awaiting 18650 batteries and a couple of P7 torches. What a sick little hobby....

Best regards,
DGM
==============================================================================
Some of the links that I used in my research:
=================================
From user jirik_cz . Thank you so very much for your meticulous testing!
Exterior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-venku
Interior beam shots: http://www.ledmania.cz/fotky-v-mistnosti
Run time vs output: http://www.ledmania.cz/vydrz-svitilen-a-celovek-na-baterie

T700 review from Light Reviews: http://light-reviews.com/solarforce_t700/

And Last but not least, the masterful MVP review by selfbuilt:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/205174

Where I got the light: Lighthound in texas (google is my friend).

================================================