Arc one triple A vs MagLite one triple A...

Last night, as I was laying in bed, it came to me just where I had put the "barely used" one triple A MagLite I promised to compare to my single triple A Arc Lights. My jewelry box with my watch collection! I took it out and, incredibly, it still worked. (Dim, but working.) Wanting the comparison to be fair, I replaced the battery with a fresh triple A and went down to my basement to a dark area. First of all, there is a physical difference. The little MagLite is about half an inch longer. As far as light output, there was no contest~up close or a few steps away. The Arc was MUCH brighter in every test. When I shined them both on the floor, I realized that the Arc would be a much better "walking around in the dark" light. The one thing that the little MagLite had over the Arc was the neat little "fob cord". And THAT is now on my EDC "special edition" Arc. When I took off the base of the MagLite and shook it, I realized that the spare bulb was still there, under the spring contact. And THIS sent a shiver through my body as I remembered trying to fly an airplane with an electrical failure which made it dark as a cave when the bulb on my former "flying flashlight", a two double A MagLite, burned out it's bulb. I had to fly the plane on a dark night, while changing the bulb by feel alone. (High "Pucker Factor") I did it with sweaty hands. I was lucky. I also now have a new neck lanyard which holds my new CPF Arc. My CPF Arc is now my "flying flashlight".
Excuse me if I've posted something all of you already knew. This was just a little experiment I did mostly for myself. One other thing I remember about the little MagLite. I took it on vacation and it sure seemed that the "usable" light it first put out with a fresh battery got dim very quickly. I'm still using the battery that came with my SE. The SE is as bright as it always was. (I'm REALLY impressed with my Arc Lights!)

Will

I had the same thing happen to me when I was about two miles in to a forest. I was going off the trail to get to another trail, and had run into swamps, and dense pricker bushes. I knew the diretion I should go, but was having a hard time going in that direction. I had my 2AA mini-mag with me, and had put in fresh batteries. With out any warning.....DARK. So here I am, on a moonless, cloudy night, not quite sure where I am. I dropped to my knees and cleared the ground in front of me. And I wasn't sure if I had used the replacement bulb on not. I managed to change it by feel alone, but I will not be cought in that position again. Now I carry an ARC-AAA, mimimum! The ARC-LS if I know I will need more light.

I also compared. The Arc is about twice as bright as the Solitaire. And it's whiter light. It's also tougher and there's no bulb to burn out. It's even smaller too. I like the centered lanyard hole better than the offset hole on the solitaire.

My ARC-AAA is actually as bright as my 2-AAA Minimag! Not as much throw, but slightly more overall brightness. This is evident when shining both off a white ceiling. The Arc illuminates the room slightly better. And it doesn't have the black holes like the Mag. And it's half the size. WOW!

(Comparisons were done with fresh batteries and new bulbs.)

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gyverpete said:
...It's even smaller too...


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I've found that sometimes mine can be TOO small. When I have a bunch of things in my pocket, it can take a while to find it. So now I have it on a large saftey pin. This almost doubles the length, but it can fold over against the light if I need to fit it in a small space. It's now alot easier to grab when I need it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Guess which is which.

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif

YC,
Perfect representation. Thank you. Surprising, isn't it?

CNC Dan, It's an awful feeling to be left in darkness immediately. I was mighty happy when I was able to put that spare bulb in by feel. It was a little later that I was able to screw on the MagLite head. My hands were shaking and I didn't want to take the chance of dropping the thing and "POP"...darkness again. I remember walking into the Aero Club at Bowman Field after I landed and people saying..."What happened to YOU"??? That's when I realized my hair was matted down and my cotton shirt was wet and stuck to my back. Bad JUJU to try flying a plane with a dark panel on a real dark night. The instruments were (mostly) working just fine. (One radio was not so great.)

Hey! Thanks everybody. I thought maybe it was an elemetary post and nobody would reply. I'm so scared of no light in the cockpit, now I carry my CPF Arc on a great "break away" lanyard around my neck, my SE Arc in a little leather pouch (and some other stuff) in my watch pocket, and a PALight (and some more stuff) in a little 3X5X2 inch waterproof plastic container that my wife gave me. (In case I need a strobe.)

Will

I think I had to change a Mag bulb by feel once, it was kind of fiddly but not that big a deal. Certainly a small LED light (Photon II or something like that) would be plenty bright enough to make it easy to change a Mag bulb. I have a red Photon II on my keychain these days, which is handy for its minimal effect on night vision, and it should have very long runtime for such close-up tasks, because of the red LED's low voltage requirements.

I agree that the Arc AAA is just about perfect for the type of light that it is. The incandescent Mag Solitaire is pretty much an obsolete light now.

My favorite small incandescent these days is the Princeton Tec Blast. It uses two AAA's, weighs 1.5 ounces with batteries, is completely waterproof and puts out more light than a stock Minimag. You can carry two of them and still have considerable weight savings vs. just one Minimag.

I just modded a maglight 2AA with a red 5mm LED and compared it to my arc AAA, but it wasn't really a fair comparison. You can check it out on the mods forum here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=268609&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1 .

I want to try it with a solataire though, if it is possible. However, it probably won't compare to the arc because I won't have the "step-up circuit."

I have an excellent Solitaire pill made by LEDsASAP. The Solitaire is a bit longer than the ARC AAA. It takes some modding to use the pill - but it is worth it. Beamshot /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif



If you are interested, check out Superbright Luxeon Star Solitaire Mod

Paul- Sitting on the floor of your house or in your car on the side of the road, changing a mag bulb by feel would be a breeze. In a dark cockpit, in not so great weather, still having to fly the plane while changing the bulb was hard.

Will

will, no worries not that you have your arc AAA. once you get your LSH-P you can light up the whole cockpit /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif