Al_Havemann
Enlightened
Last week I started to "prune" my collection of lights some to the ones that I really use. This isn't about just brightness or the "Cool Factor" (although they count), it's more about real world usability. Over the last few years I've acquired quite a few lights, some are (relatively) inexpensive and some should be made of gold, considering the price. I thought you might have some interest in which ones made the cut.
I have a number of criteria that determine what makes a light useful or not.
Brightness
Size
* How well does it carry
Batteries
Elegance and build quality.
Run Time
Play factor - Do I pull out to "play with" or just when I need it.
* I can't carry a light in a sheath or clipped on my belt, I'm the Systems Administrator for a large law office and the CEO enforces the dress code. Things hanging from my belt will earn me his "Special Look", a deliberate, cold, silent stare at the offensively dangling item that continues until said article disappears from view. I could tough it out I suppose, but they pay me well and I'm getting too old to go job hunting.
This is a partial list of lights I've accumulated over the years, with a few pictures and some thoughts about usability.
ARC AAA (3white, 1green)
ARC AAA W/beam shaping lens (see beam shot)
ARC LS
MiniMag/BB500
Brinkman 2AA (1 watt star & home brew 4.5v NMIH pack)
Micro Illuminator (Modified)
Eternalight (Original)
CMG AA White
CMG AA Green
CMG AA Ultra
Inova X5 White
Inova X5T Blue
Princeton Tech Attitude
Streamlight Pro 4AAA
Lightwave 2000
Lightwave 4000
PAL Survival Light
Surefire L4
Surefile E1+KL4 head
Comments:
ARC AAA
These I keep, enough said!.
ARC AAA with beam shaper
I thought I'd mention this mod since it makes for a fun light (see beam shot). It has more throw and a whiter beam than my Micro Illuminator but with much less side spill. The beam shaper lens came from a LedLenser 3N (which incidently, works much better now without either it's lens or reflector!). I tacked the lens on the front of the ARC AAA with the smallest amount of urethane glue and it can now throw a beam out to about 60-70 ft. with good really illumination, although at the cost of nearly all of it's side spill. It astonishes people how much light this tiny little thing puts out. It works surprisingly well provided you don't mind the smiley face (the diode leads) or miss the flood of the original beam. The beam shot is a comparison between the AAA with lens (left) and a Micro Illuminator with a polished reflector at about 10 feet.
ARC LS
My LS is a great light and I like it a lot, but I wish there was an easy way to carry it. It's just too fat to drop in a pocket, a belt pouch is out in my case and I've never found a clip that would work. Much as I like it, it's too expensive to leave sitting around so it's going to my wife for her purse, another I have will be a gift.
Surefire L4 with E1 and L4 barrels:
I purchased a K4L head with both the L4 & E1 barrels. I should say right off that I love the power and build quality of this light. It's the brightest small hand held single led light I've ever seen, second overall only to my home brew 5 watt Luxeon equipped bicycle head light (which is about twice as bright thanks to a monster 12v water bottle battery).
I bought the KL4 with both E1 and L4 barrels thinking it would make a flexible combo and be small enough to pocket carry with the E1 installed. This does make for a flexible light but not one that's easy to carry in either battery configuration. The problem for me is that the belt clip just doesn't work well. The few times I did use the belt clip, I noticed that the end of the clip itself quickly chews into the fabric of the pants behind the belt. It will also slip off my belt quite easily when I sit. Several times I've stood up and found the it laying on the chair, I nearly lost it the first time that happened.
I solved this in a somewhat inelegant way by removing the belt clip and snapping a clip from a CMG Ultra on the tail, pointed towards the head. This lets me carry it head down, clipped inside a front pants pocket and makes the difference between a light that's too big to carry and one that can be carried comfortably all day. The cheap CMG clip isn't up to Surefire standards at all, but it get's the job done. I can now carry it in either configuration and hardly notice it. I catch the end of the clip with a fingernail, lift it slightly and the light slips neatly into my front pants pocket in one smooth motion with no damage to the fabric. Surefire really needs a high quality clip in this configuration to provide an alternative carry position, and I'd be happy to pay extra for it.
The KL4 head could really use a switchable output option of some sort. It's actually too bright for many daily tasks, especially with the L4 barrel. It would be much more usable if it had an option to start at say, 30% power with full power available by holding down the tail switch for a second or two or something like that. This low power mode would give it competitive run times with the MM/BB500 while really adding to it's usability and extending the life of the Luxeon.
I mostly use the KL4 with the E1 barrel which reduces the output by about half. Some posts have mentioned run times with the E1 barrel to be 1.5 hrs. I haven't seen anything like this even with batteries hand picked for highest voltage (about 3.28v max). Mostly, I get run times of maybe 40+ minutes with the E1 barrel and a good battery, less than 30 with a so-so one. A great light though, one I'll keep and use often, but I could wish for better run times.
MiniMag/BB500
This has been a heavily used light for months now. When I first put it together the size put me off and I didn't think I'd use it much. After a few days carrying it though, I found that it has very few vices. It carries well, has excellent output, plenty for almost any task and it gets well over three hours from a fresh set of Lithium batteries, when it's used intermittently. It's usually in my briefcase, but with a pocket clip snapped on the tail end I can carry it heads down, clipped in a front pants pocket all day without noticing it or (equally important), having it noticed. The smooth tube slides in and out without snagging and if it gets too beat up looking I can always swap the sandwich into a new tube and head for a few dollars.
Overall, a great balance of brightness, economy and run time with common batteries makes this a hard light to beat.
Highly recommended.
Lambda Micro Illuminator
This light deserves some special attention. I've had it a month or so and until last week it sat on the shelf. I liked it well enough but it's output wasn't what I'd hoped for and the tail switch was unreliable. It wouldn't always light when I'd punch the switch, it flickered a lot and I still had to use my MM/BB500 or L4 when I needed real light. It was also just big enough to make an uncomfortable lump in my pocket since there was no easy way to carry it. I shelved it after a day or two playing with it and continued to carry an ARC AAA with a beam shaping lens as an EDC pocket light.
This wasn't a cheap light though and it bugged me to just let sit around unused, so I decided to see what I could do about it. First, I added a nice, good quality pocket clip that I had to the tail. This makes it possible to clip it heads down in a front pants pocket, which removes the carry problem. It now rides unnoticed all day in a pocket.
Next, I cannibalized a MiniMag 2X AAA for it's highly polished reflector. I carefully modified the reflector to fit and substituted it for the pebble finish reflector the Micro Illuminator came with. This substantially improved the quality and throw of the beam and as a bonus, it also corrected the tail switch and flickering problems.
I have no way to measure, but it's a much better light now. I has real throw now and I can use it for many tasks for which it wasn't suited before the reflector change. I can light up the side of a house 75' away well enough to see very good detail on a dark night and it easily reaches to 100' or more, something it couldn't do that at all before the reflector change. I'm really quite pleased with it. No, it's not up there with a BB500 or L4 with an E1 barrel, but it is a very useful light and has replaced the ARC AAA in my pocket. The real proof is that while I still carry the MM/BB500 or L4 in my briefcase, I rarely need to get them anymore. It's makes a world of difference.
Streamlight Pro 4AAA
Power, run time and durability makes this a keeper. I?m always grabbing it for use around the house. Not an EDC but still a very good light.
Sharper Image Compact Flourescent Reading Light ($20.00)
I have two of these (see picture). Perhaps this is not really the correct place to discuss CF lights, but you should know that this is a wonderful light, period!. It's incredibly useful; it's my morning "get dressed" light, it's my reading light when on a bike trip or camping, it's a keyboard light over my laptop during presentations and goes along on every business trip or vacation I take. It's rated for 20+ hours on 4x AA alkalines. On lithium batteries, I really don't really know since I'm still on the original set I installed in it three years ago when I bought it!. It's very bright, putting out what seems like 3-4 watts worth of light in an even flood. It's durable and folds up very compactly. In three years I've taken it on four, 5 and 6 day bicycle trips and read several complete novels by it's light. I've taken it on half a dozen business trips, using it for a laptop light during presentations and on several vacations as a reading light. It gets used at least 10 minutes every day for one thing or another and it's still on the same set of lithiums. I even have a velcro pad on the dash of my car that I stick it to whenever I travel. Can't be beat. I don't see these around very often anymore, but if you find a source, buy one, maybe two. You won't regret it.
Highest recommendation.
Al
I have a number of criteria that determine what makes a light useful or not.
Brightness
Size
* How well does it carry
Batteries
Elegance and build quality.
Run Time
Play factor - Do I pull out to "play with" or just when I need it.
* I can't carry a light in a sheath or clipped on my belt, I'm the Systems Administrator for a large law office and the CEO enforces the dress code. Things hanging from my belt will earn me his "Special Look", a deliberate, cold, silent stare at the offensively dangling item that continues until said article disappears from view. I could tough it out I suppose, but they pay me well and I'm getting too old to go job hunting.
This is a partial list of lights I've accumulated over the years, with a few pictures and some thoughts about usability.
ARC AAA (3white, 1green)
ARC AAA W/beam shaping lens (see beam shot)
ARC LS
MiniMag/BB500
Brinkman 2AA (1 watt star & home brew 4.5v NMIH pack)
Micro Illuminator (Modified)
Eternalight (Original)
CMG AA White
CMG AA Green
CMG AA Ultra
Inova X5 White
Inova X5T Blue
Princeton Tech Attitude
Streamlight Pro 4AAA
Lightwave 2000
Lightwave 4000
PAL Survival Light
Surefire L4
Surefile E1+KL4 head
Comments:
ARC AAA
These I keep, enough said!.
ARC AAA with beam shaper
I thought I'd mention this mod since it makes for a fun light (see beam shot). It has more throw and a whiter beam than my Micro Illuminator but with much less side spill. The beam shaper lens came from a LedLenser 3N (which incidently, works much better now without either it's lens or reflector!). I tacked the lens on the front of the ARC AAA with the smallest amount of urethane glue and it can now throw a beam out to about 60-70 ft. with good really illumination, although at the cost of nearly all of it's side spill. It astonishes people how much light this tiny little thing puts out. It works surprisingly well provided you don't mind the smiley face (the diode leads) or miss the flood of the original beam. The beam shot is a comparison between the AAA with lens (left) and a Micro Illuminator with a polished reflector at about 10 feet.
ARC LS
My LS is a great light and I like it a lot, but I wish there was an easy way to carry it. It's just too fat to drop in a pocket, a belt pouch is out in my case and I've never found a clip that would work. Much as I like it, it's too expensive to leave sitting around so it's going to my wife for her purse, another I have will be a gift.
Surefire L4 with E1 and L4 barrels:
I purchased a K4L head with both the L4 & E1 barrels. I should say right off that I love the power and build quality of this light. It's the brightest small hand held single led light I've ever seen, second overall only to my home brew 5 watt Luxeon equipped bicycle head light (which is about twice as bright thanks to a monster 12v water bottle battery).
I bought the KL4 with both E1 and L4 barrels thinking it would make a flexible combo and be small enough to pocket carry with the E1 installed. This does make for a flexible light but not one that's easy to carry in either battery configuration. The problem for me is that the belt clip just doesn't work well. The few times I did use the belt clip, I noticed that the end of the clip itself quickly chews into the fabric of the pants behind the belt. It will also slip off my belt quite easily when I sit. Several times I've stood up and found the it laying on the chair, I nearly lost it the first time that happened.
I solved this in a somewhat inelegant way by removing the belt clip and snapping a clip from a CMG Ultra on the tail, pointed towards the head. This lets me carry it head down, clipped inside a front pants pocket and makes the difference between a light that's too big to carry and one that can be carried comfortably all day. The cheap CMG clip isn't up to Surefire standards at all, but it get's the job done. I can now carry it in either configuration and hardly notice it. I catch the end of the clip with a fingernail, lift it slightly and the light slips neatly into my front pants pocket in one smooth motion with no damage to the fabric. Surefire really needs a high quality clip in this configuration to provide an alternative carry position, and I'd be happy to pay extra for it.
The KL4 head could really use a switchable output option of some sort. It's actually too bright for many daily tasks, especially with the L4 barrel. It would be much more usable if it had an option to start at say, 30% power with full power available by holding down the tail switch for a second or two or something like that. This low power mode would give it competitive run times with the MM/BB500 while really adding to it's usability and extending the life of the Luxeon.
I mostly use the KL4 with the E1 barrel which reduces the output by about half. Some posts have mentioned run times with the E1 barrel to be 1.5 hrs. I haven't seen anything like this even with batteries hand picked for highest voltage (about 3.28v max). Mostly, I get run times of maybe 40+ minutes with the E1 barrel and a good battery, less than 30 with a so-so one. A great light though, one I'll keep and use often, but I could wish for better run times.
MiniMag/BB500
This has been a heavily used light for months now. When I first put it together the size put me off and I didn't think I'd use it much. After a few days carrying it though, I found that it has very few vices. It carries well, has excellent output, plenty for almost any task and it gets well over three hours from a fresh set of Lithium batteries, when it's used intermittently. It's usually in my briefcase, but with a pocket clip snapped on the tail end I can carry it heads down, clipped in a front pants pocket all day without noticing it or (equally important), having it noticed. The smooth tube slides in and out without snagging and if it gets too beat up looking I can always swap the sandwich into a new tube and head for a few dollars.
Overall, a great balance of brightness, economy and run time with common batteries makes this a hard light to beat.
Highly recommended.
Lambda Micro Illuminator
This light deserves some special attention. I've had it a month or so and until last week it sat on the shelf. I liked it well enough but it's output wasn't what I'd hoped for and the tail switch was unreliable. It wouldn't always light when I'd punch the switch, it flickered a lot and I still had to use my MM/BB500 or L4 when I needed real light. It was also just big enough to make an uncomfortable lump in my pocket since there was no easy way to carry it. I shelved it after a day or two playing with it and continued to carry an ARC AAA with a beam shaping lens as an EDC pocket light.
This wasn't a cheap light though and it bugged me to just let sit around unused, so I decided to see what I could do about it. First, I added a nice, good quality pocket clip that I had to the tail. This makes it possible to clip it heads down in a front pants pocket, which removes the carry problem. It now rides unnoticed all day in a pocket.
Next, I cannibalized a MiniMag 2X AAA for it's highly polished reflector. I carefully modified the reflector to fit and substituted it for the pebble finish reflector the Micro Illuminator came with. This substantially improved the quality and throw of the beam and as a bonus, it also corrected the tail switch and flickering problems.
I have no way to measure, but it's a much better light now. I has real throw now and I can use it for many tasks for which it wasn't suited before the reflector change. I can light up the side of a house 75' away well enough to see very good detail on a dark night and it easily reaches to 100' or more, something it couldn't do that at all before the reflector change. I'm really quite pleased with it. No, it's not up there with a BB500 or L4 with an E1 barrel, but it is a very useful light and has replaced the ARC AAA in my pocket. The real proof is that while I still carry the MM/BB500 or L4 in my briefcase, I rarely need to get them anymore. It's makes a world of difference.
Streamlight Pro 4AAA
Power, run time and durability makes this a keeper. I?m always grabbing it for use around the house. Not an EDC but still a very good light.
Sharper Image Compact Flourescent Reading Light ($20.00)
I have two of these (see picture). Perhaps this is not really the correct place to discuss CF lights, but you should know that this is a wonderful light, period!. It's incredibly useful; it's my morning "get dressed" light, it's my reading light when on a bike trip or camping, it's a keyboard light over my laptop during presentations and goes along on every business trip or vacation I take. It's rated for 20+ hours on 4x AA alkalines. On lithium batteries, I really don't really know since I'm still on the original set I installed in it three years ago when I bought it!. It's very bright, putting out what seems like 3-4 watts worth of light in an even flood. It's durable and folds up very compactly. In three years I've taken it on four, 5 and 6 day bicycle trips and read several complete novels by it's light. I've taken it on half a dozen business trips, using it for a laptop light during presentations and on several vacations as a reading light. It gets used at least 10 minutes every day for one thing or another and it's still on the same set of lithiums. I even have a velcro pad on the dash of my car that I stick it to whenever I travel. Can't be beat. I don't see these around very often anymore, but if you find a source, buy one, maybe two. You won't regret it.
Highest recommendation.
Al
