Which replacement for lost Nuwai TM301X-3

bexteck

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My father recently lost the Nuwai TM301X-3 I had given him a few years back, and is looking for a replacement. I wanted to see if any other lights might be appropriate for his needs before ordering a new Nuwai.

First off, the Nuwai is a 3W 2x123A LED light, with low (~10 lumens) and high (~75 lumens)setting selectable with a clickie on the tailcap.

My father uses this light for hunting as well as an around the house/office light. He likes the two levels about where they are and the fact that all operation is controlled by the clickie and not by the bezel too. 10 lumens is perfect for walking in the woods at night and 75 lumens is good for blood-tracking deer. The lithium batteries are good because they aren't highly affected by cold temperatures and have a long shelf life.

I know LEDs have gotten better since this light was designed and I wanted to a least ask before ordering a replacement light for him.

Please send any suggestions.

Thanks.
 

Toaster

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There are plenty of better choices now. What are you looking to spend?
 

bexteck

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There are plenty of better choices now. What are you looking to spend?

Probably up to about $60. I know that cuts out a lot of the higher end LED market. I have a Fenix P3D and PD30, which I like, but would be too many features for my father's liking. Just two levels and one switch suit him well.
 

mudman cj

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For a low cost option you might want to consider the X2T Tactical Cree Q5 from Shiningbeam. It uses 2 CR123 or 1 17670 rechargeable. If you would prefer to go with 2 x AA format there is the RC-N3 with 2 modes.

Going higher in price, there is the Fenix L2T v2.0 Q2 (older technology, but still a good light).

I really prefer warm tints for outdoors, so the Fenix TK20 is nice because of better color rendition/object recognition and the excellent throw, but the low mode is a bright compared to the Nuwai he had before.

At the high end of your price scale would be the Quark lights from 4sevens.com. I would say that the Quark 2 x 123 or 2 x AA light would be a great one to have, especially if you got one of the limited edition warm tints. They can be used as a simple high/low interface by twisting the bezel to select the output. There are other modes available by momentarily depressing the button, but your father can keep things simple by just using the switch to turn it on and off as well.
 
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bexteck

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Thanks for the suggestions so far. I think it would be best to keep the high setting on this light to a max of around 100 lumens, as some of the 200+ lumen lights would be far too bright and bordering on painful to look at when aimed at the ground in the woods at night, when blood tracking a deer. I don't know how a warmer tint will make blood on the ground react, but the Nuwai really made it pop out.
 

Toaster

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Warm tint light is exactly what you don't want when looking for blood. Blue light is best for tracking blood. Cool white LEDs aren't bad either, but a blue led or blue filter really makes blood pop out.


I recommend you pick up the Streamlight PackMate BuckMasters C4 LED introduced earlier this year (read the press release) which is targeted for outdoors use. It has 4 separate modes. 125 lumen white, 20 lumen white, 3.5 lumen green, <0.05 lumen green. The tailcap switch turns the light on/off and allows momentary activation. The side switch allows you to select between the various modes. Runs on 2xCR123, lifetime warranty, and available at a pretty decent price.
 
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bexteck

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That buckmaster's light sounds kind of neat, but I really want to follow the KISS principle here. Two levels controlled by a single switch. No colored LEDs, strobe, SOS, multi brightness stuff.

The Nuwai was really a good design for what my father wanted, I discussed what has been posted here with him and he is still leaning towards getting the same model he had before.

Any more suggestions would be welcome though.



Warm tint light is exactly what you don't want when looking for blood. Blue light is best for tracking blood. Cool white LEDs aren't bad either, but a blue led or blue filter really makes blood pop out.


I recommend you pick up the Streamlight PackMate BuckMasters C4 LED introduced earlier this year (read the press release) which is targeted for outdoors use. It has 4 separate modes. 125 lumen white, 20 lumen white, 3.5 lumen green, <0.05 lumen green. The tailcap switch turns the light on/off and allows momentary activation. The side switch allows you to select between the various modes. Runs on 2xCR123, lifetime warranty, and available at a pretty decent price.
 
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