Re: Three Questions
BentHeadTX,
The red Luxeon has a very low forward voltage and when powered by lithium batteries runs a substantial risk of overheating causing failures. One failure we have seen is the plastic bulb holder of the flashlight gets damaged when left on too long. If you use lithium batteries on a red Luxeon you should expect the product to fail during extended use. Since extended use periods tend to occur during emergencies, this is officially a BAD THING.
A point I like to bring up:
In a fanny pack, you can carry two InReTech adapted Mini-Mag flashlights and enough alkaline batteries to keep them both running continuously for a year.
Also, a lot depends on the strength of your night vision. I personally have very good night vision, or I did before I started handing TRILIGHTs to customers at shows. My experience is that the red-orange spider light is a great nightlight. A friend of mine who has one loves to go camping and is terrified of waking in the dark, so she leaves the light on all night. It has never failed her, and she only occasionally has to change the batteries. The point is that acceptable output is literally in the eye of the beholder.
It is one of those things that I am afraid that you either have to come up here to Oregon and go camping with us, or you should get both products and decide for yourself.