Ordered a Jetbeam PA-40, Warm tint...but it's out of stock :(

Based on a recommendation here on CPF I went ahead and ordered myself a Jetbeam PA-40 to add to my collection and maybe carry in my flight bag. Found what I believed was a good deal with a CPF discount and free shipping, but was notified today that the warm tinted PA-40s were out of stock. The dealer said they had plenty of cool tints available and offered to swap out my order. But I already have a collection cool tinted lights and really wanted a warm tint this time around, so I opted to wait. Shame too, I fly out next week for 20 days and I was looking forward to lighting up the tail section of the 747 and making our mechanics envious. Also wanted to see how low that 2 lm. setting really is in the cockpit. Now I will have to wait till I get back home on Dec 1st to see if it arrived, and then it will be on or about Dec 12 before I fly back out and get to try it on the plane.

I hate it when a good plan falls apart

You must fly for Qantas.

Bicycleflyer,

I have the PA40 warm and I really recommend it. But I just want to tell that it isn't really a warm tinted light. The hotspot is neutral and the spill is cool, the only part of the beam which is warm is the corona. This sounds strange I guess, but I found it's an issue only if white wall hunting, I don't even notice it in practical use outdoors.
While the highest mode could serve as a car light in emergency the lowest mode is great at short distance and with dark adapted eyes. Personally I would not put it on at highest mode in an airplane cabin, however...

Regards, Patric

I just took delivery of a PA40 warm, and it's pretty good - but the "warm" tint at 5000k is pretty cool. By Cree standards, it's in between cool and neutral, and compared to my 4Sevens neutral Quark, its positively cool. Mine also came with a smooth reflector, so the hotspot is brighter and more defined with the spill less intense. I suspect they ran out of orange peel reflectors. Like Swedpat says, the color changes a bit throughout the beam.

No big deal, when better tint LEDs come, I think I'll just replace it.

Bikeflyer,

Let me add my confirmation to Patric's and Louie's testimony. The PA40 'neutral' isn't warm at all. I suppose you could say that it's a "true" neutral in that it's not really warm, but at the same time it's not truly a cool tint either. I ordered one a few weeks ago, and it is a very nice light. My experience with the tint is exactly the same; a pure white hotspot with no hint of any color that I can see, a yellowish corona with a slight hint of green on the outer fringes, and a bluish perhaps even a little purple spill area. This really bugged me at first, as I'm very picky about tint. If my use was to be as an inside light, or an EDC light, I wouldn't be happy with it at all. But even before I made the purchase, I had already decided that I'd be using it for camping, emergency prep, BOB use, etc. so the tint is much less of an issue for me in those situations. So, rather than keep it in the stable with my other gear, I've added it to the collection of camping equipment and emergency supplies we keep on hand, as for me, that's the best use of this light.

Also, the beam profile is unusual in that the corona area is a lot more defined than in other lights, which typically have a two step profile of hotspot and spill. It has a larger secondary area around the hotspot, the corona area, that is pretty well defined between the hotspot and spill, so it's almost like it's got two spill zones, a smaller brighter one around the hotspot, and the typical wider dimmer one as well. It's taken me some time to get used to it, but it's actually very nice in actual use, because you only really see the break point between the hotspot and corona when white wall hunting. In the field, it looks like one big bright area that tapers off in brightness towards the edges of the beam. That makes it very floody, and for my outdoor needs, it works very well.

Overall, it's a very nice light. It's bright, has excellent run time even on the max mode, and is a good floody light for short to medium range use. It does throw pretty well just from sheer horsepower on the highest modes too, although it's not really a true thrower. Unless you really do want a warmer tint, or a more dedicated thrower, it'll probably be fine for you.

Very well described BOwz3r,

PA40 is well worth it's price and the wide corona makes the feeling of a wide hotspot but with decent throw.
With all AA-based lights I think it's an advantage if they can make good use of all kinds of AA batteries.
As usual the highest mode doesn't work very well with alkalines, but the second highest does pretty well. At 220lm mode(I think it's 180-200lm with the "warm"-option) you have close to 4 hours stable output even with cheap alkalines, which I find very good and useful!

After looking for a light for my auto tech I found the PA 40. The warm tint version will be MY next light.

Bowzer...

I saw your other posts and wanted to ask for more info, but did not want to hijack another person's thread. I figured you would chime in here Between your post and those of the other users, my questions have been answered. All but one...see below.

Pblanch...nope

Swedpat ... I don't plan to turn it on (high mode) in the cockpit, or the upper deck when the dead heading crew is sleeping. The low mode should work fine. Besides, I carry a Princeton Tec "Byte" headlamp in my flight bag. That has proven quite useful for going into the back for a drink, or to put a meal in the oven.

Thanks all for your responses...I do have one more thought, you might even call it a question. Given that only the corona is warm...or just neutral, I am wondering if I should just go ahead and opt for the cool model and save my desires for a warm tint for another day. I may just get it in time to take it with me.

Bicycleflyer said:

Bowzer...

I saw your other posts and wanted to ask for more info, but did not want to hijack another person's thread. I figured you would chime in here Between your post and those of the other users, my questions have been answered. All but one...see below.

Pblanch...nope

Swedpat ... I don't plan to turn it on (high mode) in the cockpit, or the upper deck when the dead heading crew is sleeping. The low mode should work fine. Besides, I carry a Princeton Tec "Byte" headlamp in my flight bag. That has proven quite useful for going into the back for a drink, or to put a meal in the oven.

Thanks all for your responses...I do have one more thought, you might even call it a question. Given that only the corona is warm...or just neutral, I am wondering if I should just go ahead and opt for the cool model and save my desires for a warm tint for another day. I may just get it in time to take it with me.

Click to expand...

While I don't have one of the cool tint PA40's, I'd speculate the difference in actual use is probably going to be minimal. I say that because about a week or so ago I was out on a night walk with my PA40. There's a multiuse trail near where I live and I like to go out and do walks for exercise at night when there's no one around, primarily because much of the path goes through a golf course. On this particular evening, it was getting cold, and there was a lot of smoke in the air from fireplaces of the houses around the course. I found I got a lot of glare / Rayleigh scattering when using the PA40. You tend to get the same kind of effect with a cool tint compared to a warm. I can't really say how much difference there would be in the effect between the neutral I have and one of the cool models, but I did notice that it was more pronounced with the PA40 than with a warmer tint light.

Thanks Bowz3r,

I think I'll e-mail them and switch it... Still, the free shipping was for parcel post, so questionable if I will get it before I leave this Thursday.

Finally, my 20 day world wide tour is over nad waiting for me when I got home, my new PA 40. I got the cool tint and it has a smooth reflector. Too k it out and played with it. I really like this light...very bright and the low is really low.

Thanks for all the advice folks.