I've been EDC'ing the "Cool" white N-Light B3 (Stainless Steel) AAA light for a while now.
It's the best EDC contender I've seen - compact, relatively lightweight, hardy and well designed.
Output is probably ~10 lm on LOW - and High its ~70 lm (using my Mk.1 un-tuned eyeballs).
There is PWM flicker but its more than 100 Hz only on the low setting (none visible on high).
The steel body has survived drops, falls, impacts and constant abrasion from keys and other pocket shrapnel. No noticeable scratches so far.
The two modes are slightly finicky to switch between - it requires a quick (double) tap of the rear button - which is tricky with gloves, however I've NEVER accidentally switched to high. Nor has it ever activated unintentionally (in a pocket). Even though its an electronic switch, it does not seem to have any memory function, beyond a few seconds (its capacitor based). Its been run continuously on the same AAA LSD NiMH cell for many months - which indicates to me it does not have a large standby current drain (if any).
The Cree XP-C emmiter has a noticeable green tint when run at fractional power - this is not visible when at full power, its a "perfect" 3200K white light.
It can't tail-stand as the key ring gets in the way but without it, it's flat. The steel knurling is mild - and very well machined, also the tiny tailcap threads are using 'triangle' style threading.
I have not tested the runtime - nor do I have the means to do a meaningful beamshot/color tint test.
Suffice to say - its a solid light for its size and price.
I give it a 8/10.
Its only real faults are the mode switching and odd tint at low power (which is absent from the alternate model).
It's the best EDC contender I've seen - compact, relatively lightweight, hardy and well designed.
Output is probably ~10 lm on LOW - and High its ~70 lm (using my Mk.1 un-tuned eyeballs).
There is PWM flicker but its more than 100 Hz only on the low setting (none visible on high).
The steel body has survived drops, falls, impacts and constant abrasion from keys and other pocket shrapnel. No noticeable scratches so far.
The two modes are slightly finicky to switch between - it requires a quick (double) tap of the rear button - which is tricky with gloves, however I've NEVER accidentally switched to high. Nor has it ever activated unintentionally (in a pocket). Even though its an electronic switch, it does not seem to have any memory function, beyond a few seconds (its capacitor based). Its been run continuously on the same AAA LSD NiMH cell for many months - which indicates to me it does not have a large standby current drain (if any).
The Cree XP-C emmiter has a noticeable green tint when run at fractional power - this is not visible when at full power, its a "perfect" 3200K white light.
It can't tail-stand as the key ring gets in the way but without it, it's flat. The steel knurling is mild - and very well machined, also the tiny tailcap threads are using 'triangle' style threading.
I have not tested the runtime - nor do I have the means to do a meaningful beamshot/color tint test.
Suffice to say - its a solid light for its size and price.
I give it a 8/10.
Its only real faults are the mode switching and odd tint at low power (which is absent from the alternate model).
