how to compare everled to ElektroLumens Blaster II

hanuman

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Joined
May 4, 2003
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27
I am looking a long throw flashlight but not larger than 4D Mag. I don't have any Mag. I just read a review about Blaster II from TheLightSite.
It sounds like blaster II and everled have adventage of the quality of beam at short distance. How do you compare those baster II, eveyled, 3-4D mag with xenon lamp at 80 yards or above ? Can you see things that far with LED ? If not, how far ? I saw ad from Ledcorp epieon can reach 250 feet. I just got one and put it in responder 4 AA. The beam is white and good enough for me eventhougth the spot is not in the center. I tested it last night. I don't think I can see things more than 30-40 yards. I am not so sure how far but not very far.
For me, responder 4 AA + epieon($29) is a good investment compare to any LED with the same size or even lightwave 3-4000. What should I get for a long range purpose , Blaster II, Mag or Mag + everled ?
thanks,
Ron
 

Gandalf

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Jul 3, 2001
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USA
I have a new ElectroLumens Blaster II+/III. That is the current production one with the 30mm optics. I compared it side by side with a 3 D Maglite with a halogen bulb, and the reach for both is at least 200 ft; my Maglite has a little tighter beam, but the Blaster is much, much whiter, and just a little brighter, so the light reflected back looks much brighter.

Keep in mind, this is comparing the 3 D Maglite with a brighter, whiter, upgraded lamp, not the stock bulb.

The reports I read on the Everled say that it doesn't give a very good beam in a Maglite, in any event. Not as bright, and not as tight.

By the time you buy a 3D Maglite, (at least $20 to $22) and an EverLed,($45) it will cost more than the Blaster, too.

On top of everything else, the Blaster is a much better built, more rugged light than a Maglite. The walls of the Blaster are about 40% thicker than the Maglite, and the switch is much better, too.

Here's most of my review of the Blaster II+/III:

The color of this light is as close to perfect as I could possibly want. My Arc-LSH-P is very, very white, but with a very tiny amount of yellow green. Compared to the blue/ violet KL1, and the very bluish earlier Arc-LS's, it's very, very nice, of course.

The Blaster just blows it away, in terms of both color, and sheer lumen power. The color is almost pure white, with just a tiny bit of blue in it. I actually prefer the small amount of blue in it to the color of the much more expensive Arc-LSH-P; but it's obviously not a candidate for EDC.

The beam is quite tight; not quite as tight as a 3D Maglight at tight focus, and with more spill light. But much more of a spot, than anything else. In a light this big, I'm not going to use it for reading a map in my car. This is the light you use when you want a LOT of light, with a LOT of throw! Walking in the woods; lighting up house numbers from your car, intimidating rookie LEO's. Unbelievable!

It's brighter than a 3D Maglight with a halogen lamp; I have a HPR53 lamp in my 3D Maglight; they are a significant improvement over the standard krypton lamp. The Blaster is brighter, in a side to side comparison, with identical batteries, at least to my eyes. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. I'm sorry I have no way to produce beamshots.

I live right in the city, with lots of ambient light. For the past 10 years or so, my test of how well a light throws, is to shine in on a neighbor's white garage, on the back of his lot, across the street, from the back of my lot. The distance is around 200 feet; probably a bit more.

The Maglight has a little tighter beam, but by the time it get to the white garage door, it's very yellow, and only adequately bright.

The Blaster, OTOH, delivers what looks like much more light, because it is simply so white. The slight amount of blue is lost at this distance, and the Maglight looks like a focused candle lantern, compared to the Blaster.

The workmanship on this light is nothing short of phenomenal. It's shorter than the 3D Maglight, with a significantly smaller head, but it weighs as much; as near as I can tell; (I don't have any way to weigh it accurately). The aluminum appears to be significantly thicker, and measuring with my dial caliper reveals the Blaster to have walls approx. 43% thicker than the Maglight.

That's a *big* difference, in my book. This flashlight is ready for 'Rodney King' duty, and then some!

The radial grooves on the light provide an excellent grip. At first look, it doesn't look as though they would provide as good a grip as the more common knurling. But the ridges, while tiny, are very numerous, and cover the entire light. So unlike a Maglite, which only has knurling on a portion of the grip area, the Blaster is completely covered with these little aids to good gripping. I like it!

Everything about this light reeks of top quality, down to the smallest details. The threads in the tailcap are machining perfection, perfctly done, and deeper than a Maglite. The O-rings are at least 50% thicker than those found on a Maglite, and are well lubed with a silicone compound.

Even the switch is substantially better than the Maglite switch. The switch on a C or D cell Maglite doesn't take much pressure to turn it on; after the second time I found a dead Maglite in my car's glove compartment, I started using the old Boy Scout trick of reversing one battery to prevent accidental battery drain. But that meant I had to open the Maglite, and turn the battery around before I could use the light. A *major* PITA. I later fabricated a guard to prevent the Maglite switch from being accidentally activated. Still a nuisance.

This isn't necessary on the ElectroLumens Blaster II+/III. The switch is in the same place as on a Maglite, but the switch requires a firm pressure to turn it on, and it turns on *as* the switch rises back to it's 'rest' position, making accidental activation vastly less likely than with the inferior Maglite switch design, IMHO.

Despite this, putting on my heaviest insulated gloves, the Blaster is easy to turn on.

If I were a LEO, or in the military, or in any profession where it my life could depend on my flashlight, I'd want that flashlight to be an ElectroLumens Blaster II+/III.

So go buy a Blaster II+/III, in either green or black, if you want a light with an unbelievably bright, white, perfect spot beam, with very useable spill light, that looks like it could stand up to a lifetime of really hard use, and that gets 25 hours of full output light, and another 50 hours beyond that, on a single set of inexpensive D cells. Awesome.

Oh yes: no spare bulb in the tail cap. Gee, in about 60 years of using the light for 4 or 5 hours every night, the emitter may need replacing...I certainly won't still be here to that happen...

Check the Electrolumens.com website; the Blaster was on sale for $49.99 a very short time ago. I highly recommend the Blaster.

Bottom line: I'd get the Blaster with the 30 mm optics.
 

x-ray

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Jul 1, 2002
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London
I have both the EverLED & Blaster II and totally agree with Gandalf.

Here's a beamshot comparing the Blaster II with an EverLED running in a 2D Mag:

__________Blaster II______________EverLED (Tight Focus)
fc2c3ee2.jpg


Full Size Pic
 

rodfran

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Jan 31, 2003
Messages
300
Location
Texas
Ditto on what Gandalf and x-ray had to say! I have both Everled converted maglites and Elektrolumens Blaster II. Wayne`s stuff is far superior to the converted maglites. Beam quality and battery longevity and quality custom made flashlight for the right price- you can`t beat Elektrolumens.
As a matter of fact I should have just sold all of my stock maglites and bought a bunch of Blaster II`s!
 

PhotonBoy

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Mar 11, 2003
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Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada http://tinyu
[ QUOTE ]
Gandalf said:Bottom line: I'd get the Blaster with the 30 mm optics.

[/ QUOTE ]

Most of the beam quality of Wayne's lights is due to the 30 mm optics. Does Wayne alone sell these, and did he design them? I have an Elektro Star headlight and the beam is awesome in it too.
 

FalconFX

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Nov 1, 2002
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Davis, CA
Wayne's the first to offer it to CPF... Just when it seems the 5Ws will be the norm, the 1Ws got a new boost with the 30mm... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Quickbeam

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Jun 19, 2001
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FlashlightReviews.com
Well, everyone's pretty much said it already, but I'll say it too. The Blaster 2 has every bit as much throw as a standard 3-D mag and gives the 4-D a run for it's money. The light is much higher color temperature and the bulb never needs to be replaced (!).

The Blaster 2 is now my light of choice when I need to grab a flashlight for use in or around the house. (that should serve as a pretty good recommendation considering I have about 100 lights now...) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'd love to compare to an Everled for you and write up a review, but the're a bit slow on getting review materials to me... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif You guys are buying them up too fast! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 

pedalinbob

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Joined
Dec 7, 2002
Messages
2,281
Location
Michigan
slightly off topic question:

do the 30mm optics work best with high dome or low dome 1w?

do the 30mm optics work well with the 5w?

thanks,
Bob
 
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