1W Shootout -- Mods vs. Coupla Factory Lights

I received my Streamlight 3AA Luxeon Tasklight the other day and to be honest, I was very pleasantly surprised at the both the fit and finish remarked upon by others, as well as the very BRIGHT and quite WHITE beam, unlike some who got greenish-tinged examples.

So I lined up this tall guy against some known shorties -- from left to right they are the Arc LSH-P, McLux, KL-1/E2, BB500/Legend 2AA, and Lambda Adrenalin Pro:




Here they are in the same order, casting their beams across a couple of feet of carpet onto a white baseboard/wall:



Note the clearly bigger, whiter, and brighter hotspot of the Long Guy.


And the lux readings?

Arc - 359

McLux - 409

Kl-1 - 315

BB500 - 212

Lambda - 404

SL Task - 655


This Long Guy was obviously brightest. Oops, did I say Long Guy, or Long GUN? No need to include the Long Gun Illuminator (LGI) in this shootout, as the one I had on hand made 869 lux.

But for $32.95 from BrightGuy, this new Streamlight 3AA Tasklight is a really nice bargain that shows the factories are indeed closing the gap (if you luck out and get a really white one like I did).

And at $55, could the LGI Classic's days be numbered?

Tick, tick, tick...

Unless they decide to go direct drive (which I'm finding it hard to see), I don't think regular manufacturers (as we know it, like SL or SF or PT) will be able to catch modders in terms of brightest LS made...

Just imagine, an R or S ranked LGI... Now that'll be the lux-breaker...

Yeah, you're probably right Choua, until they come out with a 3.6V battery that puts out exactly 350 mah...

very nice!

the beam is tighter correct? that would account for the higher lux reading.

so what did you find when you took it apart? i'm greatly interested in the reflector!
any information you could provide about it would be greatly apprecaiated...detailed beamshot, opionions, beam angles, reflector materials... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

roth have not taken it apart yet, just the comparo -- did you ever get my e-mail to your hotmail.com addy?

Mr B, interested in what is in the guts too...

That is unfair. Why you did not include the LGI on the picture? Wait, you did not! but you do include the lux reading. Hmm, strange. Any idea why I can only get 300 lux out of my LGI?
Hmm, pretty interesting results. I also interested in seeing the guts /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You know, I have a feeling Charlie has something up his sleeve. Why else would he "endanger" the LGI's rep?

What's up bro? What cha got coming???

I want in!!

Shiftd, there's something definately wrong if you're getting less Lux than an ArcLS from your LGI... Need new batteries? Contact needs cleaning?
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Paypal loaded and ready Mr Bulk. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

shiftd, we need to have a look at yours.

BTW as far as a new-type LGI, I have nothing up my sleeve, this SL is a winner in my book (plus I just bought a ton of stock in Streamlight recently...) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I expected more lux from the BB500!? Is the Streamlight regulated?

I find great humor in this, Charlie. You don't seem even slightly ticked by Streamlight's LS basically being an attempt at an LGI rendition. I do detect a bit of a grin, though.

- Jeff

cmen -- I'll try again, maybe bad batteries I put in? SL is resistored -- and they are just waiting to be removed...

Jeff -- more of a sh!t-eating grin as we've already talked in the past and have a good relationship...

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif You da man. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Mr. Bulk,
Put one of those S or R rank Luxeons on the BB500 and see what you get (I know you have them!) Have an original BB500 laying around waiting for an S4. Let the wars continue!

you haven't taken it apart yet? hmmm....

email? no, i didn't get it...
when did you send it? could you please try again?

Mr. Bulk, could you do a "fresh battery" voltage and current reading on the Streamlight Tasklight (at the Luxeon itself)? It's one of the best ways to explain the performance of any particular flashlight (besides the reflector design).

Charlie,

Can you EASILY remove the resistor?