Photon Rex-li-ion rechargeable light?

Hi, I just seen a pic of this light and it really looks nice!! Anyone have one of these lights? Any comments would be appreciated!!

I was all psyched to buy one recently until I read somewhere around here about some problems with it. I've heard both good and bad about it. I decided it was too big for a keychain light and too little output. It has some nice functions but I've heard there are problems with the charging setup. I'm sure some other people here will know more about it than me. If you do decide to get one take a look @ yourcornerstore.com who I think has the lowest price on them.

This is one I like a lot. Has the same UI as the Protons and Freedoms. You can start at low or high and ramp up or down, plus three different strobes and SOS. The original ones had some troubles when folks tried charging with too much voltage. I've not had any problem using regular AA's for charging, which takes around 2-3 hours. The high is brighter than you'd expect-somewhere around 30 lumens as a guess. Low is very low. For a unique little keychain light that's cheap (~$30) I'd say give it a try. There's hours of reading about it here in the LED and Reviews sections. Just search for ReX.

Geoff

matrixshaman said:

I decided it was too big for a keychain light and too little output. I

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Too little output? What? This thing is freakin' bright! It absolutely stomps my Princeton Tec AMP 3.0 which is 40 lumens, so I'd guess at least 80. Heck it even seems brighter than my Jetbeam C-LE V2 on high doing ceiling bounce. Definately my most used light and definately the one light that goes with me wherever, whenever.

I've had one on my keychain since they came out. Unbelievably bright for its size. I've heard others complain about charging issues, but I have never experienced any. I only charge with partially depleted AA and C cells though. Been in my pocket for probably a year. No problems at all.

Do we yet have the promised USB charger for it?

geepondy said:

Do we yet have the promised USB charger for it?

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Don't think so, nor the solar charger. Forgot to add, no problems charging mine at all.

Thanks guys!! Just ordered one, might have it by the end of the week!! It sure is a very interesting light and I can't wait to get one!!

I have one from the initial introduction with the DS LED's and a newer one with the GS LED's. The GS version has a bit more throw and output. I like these a lot and have had no issues.

Keep in mind that the output on high is impressive (probably 40-50 lumens from the 4 GS Nichia's) but will drain the battery in about 10-15 minutes. If you use it at a lower output you can get surpisingly good runtime and output for such a small light. This light is small enough to take with you wherever you go.

One more thing - it is great for those who like a very low low output. You can dial the output down to the point where you can look into the LED's glowing.

I had two "clunkers" (charging problems) which LRI replaced under warranty, including shipping. The third was a charm. It's very bright on high and very low on low. Love the UI for ramping up and down. I like the light for utility duty: it's the go-to light at my desk. But it's not built anywhere near the tough standards of Arc/Hds/SureFire/Etc.

W.

This topic reminded me I wanted to charge up (top off) my Photon Rex, which is the first time I've tried it. Using a fresh D battery. Posted a grainy iPhone pic here:

http://twitpic.com/3otzs

One thing that I am cautious NOT to do is drain the battery down completely. I do not believe the ReX has smart enough electronics to prevent overdischarge of the battery which could damage it. I suspect this may be a cause some people experience (but I do not have any fact to back this up, it is just speculation). I top mine off every couple of weeks even if it has not been used much. I probably go 4-6 weeks sometimes if it has been used sparingly.

Hope you like your ReX, lrp, and that we didn't steer you wrong. Seems like a light any self-respecting flashaholic would need to have, just for grins.

Geoff

Mine only charged for an hour or two, so I guess it was mostly charged.

No problems with brightness or charging, but after light use for a few months, I found the switch to be harder and harder to press until it became unreliable as keychain light. It is now on the shelf and I replaced it with the dimmer, smaller ... but more reliable micro. Too bad. It was bright and I never had to worry about anodizing coming off.