brightness vs. battery life

I just received my first ARC LS, it is an LS-1 (2637) that I bought as a second. I can see why folks are so fond of this light, it just feels so good in the hand. This light is visibly dimmer than my BB400 Q3, and despite reading the description I am not quite sure if it is a rev. 1 or 2. Can I assume that since this light is dimmer than the BB that it is drawing less juice and will have a longer battery life? Or do some bulbs just put out more light with the same amount of power? I also seem to remember reading that this light is not waterproof, so do I need to be carefull with it in the rain, I know dunking is out of the question?

Thanks,
Rick

Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of Arc quality /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif To answer your first question - AFAIR the BB400 feeds more amps to the led than the LS (~330 mAh), so the LS should run longer. And yes, there are differences in light output due to the individual forward voltage of the led. The lower the Vf, the better the light output at a given voltage. Although the leds are handpicked by both, Arc and Wayne, and differences are minimized, it's the feared and famous luxeon lottery /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

The rev. 1 LS heads have a bezel (two-part head) like this one -
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The rev. 2 LS heads don't have a bezel (the head is all one part with no joints) like these -

Hope that helps,
Pat /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

PS - If you have a rev. 2, rain will be no problem. I wouldn't recommend taking your LS diving, but don't worry about rain. If you have the TSP (tailswitch pack) like the ones in the bottom picture, just make sure the Kroll switch (rubber protruding part) is screwed all the way in and you should be good to go. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Ah, but then there is the Hybrid. It has Rev. 1 mechanicals and Rev. 2 electronics.

If you have a Rev. 1 (two piece) head, look inside at the area where the battery makes contact. If the circuit board is green with a heavy, raised gold center contact, the electronics are a Rev. 2, and the head is a what's called a Hybrid.

Thank you for the clarification. I do have Rev.2 which looks like the upper light in your picture above, and I am glad not to have to worry about water. I was out tonight with the light and it really has a nice light level for all around use, it would make a great camping flashlight. Is the light pretty much the same output as the current LSL-S? Thanks for your input.

Rick