Z
z_tdoom15
Guest
I ordered this after many hours of debate on what 1xCR123 to buy, and I am very happy with the decision. I ordered it from Bugoutgearusa.com for $83 shipped. It did not come with a clip (still waiting for news from Jetbeam about why it wasn't included), BUT it does come with the AA extender included in the price!
Specs per Jetbeam:
Using CR123 Battery or 14500 Li-ion
High Mode = 255 Lumens, 60 min
Low Mode = .003 Lumens
Using AA Battery
High Mode = 180 Lumens, 45 min
Low Mode = .003 Lumens
The anodizing is very nice and even, and the AA extender matches the body perfectly. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how relatively small it was after reading all the comments about everyone thinking it was too big. It is just right in the CR123 form IMO, however it is pretty long in the AA form.
The brightness ring has a good feel to it, very smooth. Turn it all the way to the right for max brightness, then turn it to the left to lower the brightness. Turn it to the left just far enough and you hit the first detent, which is nice positive lockup that will prevent you from passing it inadvertantly. You are now in standy by mode, even if you click the light on, it will not work...this is done so that you can set it here while in your pocket/bag and not accidently turn it on and drain your battery.
Turn it one more click to the left and you enter max brightness strobe mode. I like the location of the strobe, it's not easily accessed by accident. There is also a hidden SOS which is activated by turning the ring all the way back and forth 3 times, nice to have and well hidden.
On to the negative, if you can call it that. Since it can tail stand, the clicky is a bit difficult to depress fully. You have to use about the first inch of your thumb pad in order to really get in there. In addition, the momentary is a little deep to activate easily. The easiest way to grip it and activate easily is the cigar hold rather than the typical tactical grip. If I had one recommendation for this light, it would be that the clicky under the boot was another millimeter longer allowing it to come close to touching the bottom of the rubber boot. This would still allow it to tail stand and make activating the light a little bit easier. Overall though, its nothing you cant get used to and is a fair trade for tail standing ability.
*On to the Beam!*
Color: It is pure white, there is NO hint of blue or purple WHATSOEVER (this was a great surprise after everything that I had read about the older R5's tint). It is pretty much dead on in terms of color with my TK15 (maybe even slightly warmer), but as far as I can tell in the day time, it is pretty close to pure white. This also seems to be the general consensus of what I've read from other new RRT-0 owners.
Beam Pattern: I have the smooth reflector as I wanted to atleast have some throw with the R5. There is a TINY donut hole in the center with the SMO reflector on a white wall about 20 ft away, and I mean TINY. It is so unnoticeable that I really had to look hard to confirm that that is what it was. 1 meter from the wall, you don't see a thing, and anything after 20 ft, you also don't see a thing. This is literally a non issue.
As far as rings, there is the defined hotspot with ever so slightly defined rings of decreasing brightness spilling from the center...but that is not be mistaken for a dark ring in the beam pattern. However, towards the very very edge of the spill, there does seem to be a slightly darker ring, I honestly can't tell how significant it is until I see it outside at night, but since it is so far outside of the hotspot (and useable spill), my guess is that your eyes will never venture to that part of the beam anyhow. I will report back tonight when I get a chance to try it outside in the dark.
*On to the pics* (EDIT: outdoor beam shots added in post #10 below)
Surefire 123, Extender, AA, RRT-0, TK15, Mini Mag LED 2xAA
With the AA extender on the RRT-0
Reflector diameter is almost equal to a nickel
Low Low with the lights off...it goes sooo low!
Low Low with the lights on
Tail stand on high with Duracell Alky AA (paint in the bathroom is blue, does not acurately shot beam tint)
Tail standing on high with Surefire primary CR123 (again, paint on the wall and ceiling is blue, hence the tint)
This is the MOST accurate picture of the beam profile on a white wall, although in real life the hot spot is a bit more defined
The rings are NOT that noticeable in person, it's just the camera adjusting itself
^ditto as above
I will try to get some outdoor beam shots tonight, however my photography skills are limited and I will only post them if I think they accurately depict the product as I see it in real life! Feel free to ask if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them for you!
Specs per Jetbeam:
Using CR123 Battery or 14500 Li-ion
High Mode = 255 Lumens, 60 min
Low Mode = .003 Lumens
Using AA Battery
High Mode = 180 Lumens, 45 min
Low Mode = .003 Lumens
The anodizing is very nice and even, and the AA extender matches the body perfectly. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how relatively small it was after reading all the comments about everyone thinking it was too big. It is just right in the CR123 form IMO, however it is pretty long in the AA form.
The brightness ring has a good feel to it, very smooth. Turn it all the way to the right for max brightness, then turn it to the left to lower the brightness. Turn it to the left just far enough and you hit the first detent, which is nice positive lockup that will prevent you from passing it inadvertantly. You are now in standy by mode, even if you click the light on, it will not work...this is done so that you can set it here while in your pocket/bag and not accidently turn it on and drain your battery.
Turn it one more click to the left and you enter max brightness strobe mode. I like the location of the strobe, it's not easily accessed by accident. There is also a hidden SOS which is activated by turning the ring all the way back and forth 3 times, nice to have and well hidden.
On to the negative, if you can call it that. Since it can tail stand, the clicky is a bit difficult to depress fully. You have to use about the first inch of your thumb pad in order to really get in there. In addition, the momentary is a little deep to activate easily. The easiest way to grip it and activate easily is the cigar hold rather than the typical tactical grip. If I had one recommendation for this light, it would be that the clicky under the boot was another millimeter longer allowing it to come close to touching the bottom of the rubber boot. This would still allow it to tail stand and make activating the light a little bit easier. Overall though, its nothing you cant get used to and is a fair trade for tail standing ability.
*On to the Beam!*
Color: It is pure white, there is NO hint of blue or purple WHATSOEVER (this was a great surprise after everything that I had read about the older R5's tint). It is pretty much dead on in terms of color with my TK15 (maybe even slightly warmer), but as far as I can tell in the day time, it is pretty close to pure white. This also seems to be the general consensus of what I've read from other new RRT-0 owners.
Beam Pattern: I have the smooth reflector as I wanted to atleast have some throw with the R5. There is a TINY donut hole in the center with the SMO reflector on a white wall about 20 ft away, and I mean TINY. It is so unnoticeable that I really had to look hard to confirm that that is what it was. 1 meter from the wall, you don't see a thing, and anything after 20 ft, you also don't see a thing. This is literally a non issue.
As far as rings, there is the defined hotspot with ever so slightly defined rings of decreasing brightness spilling from the center...but that is not be mistaken for a dark ring in the beam pattern. However, towards the very very edge of the spill, there does seem to be a slightly darker ring, I honestly can't tell how significant it is until I see it outside at night, but since it is so far outside of the hotspot (and useable spill), my guess is that your eyes will never venture to that part of the beam anyhow. I will report back tonight when I get a chance to try it outside in the dark.
*On to the pics* (EDIT: outdoor beam shots added in post #10 below)
Surefire 123, Extender, AA, RRT-0, TK15, Mini Mag LED 2xAA
With the AA extender on the RRT-0
Reflector diameter is almost equal to a nickel
Low Low with the lights off...it goes sooo low!
Low Low with the lights on
Tail stand on high with Duracell Alky AA (paint in the bathroom is blue, does not acurately shot beam tint)
Tail standing on high with Surefire primary CR123 (again, paint on the wall and ceiling is blue, hence the tint)
This is the MOST accurate picture of the beam profile on a white wall, although in real life the hot spot is a bit more defined
The rings are NOT that noticeable in person, it's just the camera adjusting itself
^ditto as above
I will try to get some outdoor beam shots tonight, however my photography skills are limited and I will only post them if I think they accurately depict the product as I see it in real life! Feel free to ask if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them for you!
