Bolster
Flashlight Enthusiast
I'm considering purchasing the ShiningBeam Spark XP-G Neutral, but can find little objective information on it. I've heard it's quite floody. Any advice before I pull the trigger at $34?
ShiningBeam Spark XP-G Neutral
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Bolster
Flashlight Enthusiast
If anyone's interested, I did find a review here. Found a beamshot here.
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Bolster
Flashlight Enthusiast
I've seen rumors circulating that the ShiningBeam Spark is made by Olight. Can anyone confirm/deny?
Bolster
Flashlight Enthusiast
Almost no info or discussion on this light?...seems strange. Is it too bargain-basementy to get CPF notice? I know the "cigar shaped" 2AA light is a popular format, and from what little I've read, this seems to be a value leader with an efficient (advertised 265 lumens) neutral XP-G R4 emitter with a 3B tint, which would make it something of a find, I'd think. It was only $32 with the CPF discount.
If the light is truly an "unknown" I'll try to put together a review when it's in my hands. I think I paid twice as much for my 2AA Quark w/ 205 advertised lumens, so it will be interesting to compare the two.
If the light is truly an "unknown" I'll try to put together a review when it's in my hands. I think I paid twice as much for my 2AA Quark w/ 205 advertised lumens, so it will be interesting to compare the two.
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I have one! :thumbsup:
it's a great light, someone compared the brightness to a quark a while back (I don't have a quark) they said it's just about as bright.. and were upset with spending so much on the quark.
it's all rumor, but as far as I can tell, they are made by Olight, or the same factory, the quality is excellent.
It is very floody. it throws as far as my LD20 with a Q5, but it lights up a much larger area. About 1.5 to 2 times the hotspot size, and no rings or dead zones, lots of spill
the only downside to the light is that the brightness of the medium and high modes are too close together on the neutral version.. a 40ish lumen medium would have made it perfect
I need to get around to getting the single AA tube for it, I think it would make a nice edc.
*and as a side note, if you leave the head a little loose, you can just press on it from the side to change modes
Edit: more thoughts
It is regulated. It does have a preflash. It has squared threads.
If it's not made by Olight, it could be made by 4Sevens, or are they the same thing now?
The only budgety thing that stands out is the anodizing, which is good, but it's easier to scratch than my Fenix lights
It also has some tool marks that can be seen under the anodizing, a rather minor thing, but I used to inspect tools, so I notice these things...
This is a walk the dog light... it lights up the world.
..but I wish it had a longer runtime on medium.
I could recommend this light to people all day long... worth every penny.
it's a great light, someone compared the brightness to a quark a while back (I don't have a quark) they said it's just about as bright.. and were upset with spending so much on the quark.
it's all rumor, but as far as I can tell, they are made by Olight, or the same factory, the quality is excellent.
It is very floody. it throws as far as my LD20 with a Q5, but it lights up a much larger area. About 1.5 to 2 times the hotspot size, and no rings or dead zones, lots of spill
the only downside to the light is that the brightness of the medium and high modes are too close together on the neutral version.. a 40ish lumen medium would have made it perfect
I need to get around to getting the single AA tube for it, I think it would make a nice edc.
*and as a side note, if you leave the head a little loose, you can just press on it from the side to change modes
Edit: more thoughts
It is regulated. It does have a preflash. It has squared threads.
If it's not made by Olight, it could be made by 4Sevens, or are they the same thing now?
The only budgety thing that stands out is the anodizing, which is good, but it's easier to scratch than my Fenix lights
It also has some tool marks that can be seen under the anodizing, a rather minor thing, but I used to inspect tools, so I notice these things...
This is a walk the dog light... it lights up the world.
..but I wish it had a longer runtime on medium.
I could recommend this light to people all day long... worth every penny.
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Bolster
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks for the review, Ez. Glad to hear it is floody. I will use the light to make house inspections, and floodier is better, usually.
Bolster
Flashlight Enthusiast
Light received quickly, good packing, so a mini review on the ShiningBeam Spark 2AA Neutral XP-G:
Comes with many goodies: snap on clip, a 1xCR123 alternate tube, extra o-rings, and even a reverse clicky switch.
I have difficulty seeing much quality difference on the exterior of the light, compared to a Fenix and a Quark. The embossed diamond pattern is a little coarser, perhaps a little less visually pleasing, and slightly less grippy than the Quark. Like the Quark, it's not diamond pointed knurling, it's a flat-topped diamond knurl. Also there is a milled slot for the ShiningBeam logo, which has a tooling mark at the end of the slot, but that's pretty darned minor. The SB feels very similar in the hand as the Quark, and both are much easier to hold than the vintage Fenix, which is downright slippery. The pocket clip snaps on tight and firm.
I really, really like the UI. I don't shift brightness levels too much, so it's perfect for me. The brightness levels are chosen by quarter turn twists of the head. Then the clicky handles the on-off. It's a sort of "manual last level memory." I much prefer this UI to the Quark's, where to get to a medium high level I have to click through a lot of modes.
Now about the beam. I guess I don't understand what people mean by a "floody" beam because this looks pretty normal for a spot/spill beam to me. I guess I don't have any throwy beams with which to compare. It's plenty bright as you can see. My Lumen Toob estimator puts it at around 230-240 lumens rather than the advertised 265, but that's a home-grown estimate (search Lumen Toob if you're interested in how I made the estimate.) The beam looks remarkably neutral in the photo, does it not? That's a vintage Fenix Rebel 100 at 175 advertised lumens on the left--which had a great tint "back in the day" but now looks greenish. And on the right is a 4Sevens lego'd High-CRI 123 head with a 2AA body. I don't know what its lumens are--the 4Sevens High CRIs were never given a lumen count, and my Lumen Tube estimates it at 250-260. Really close to the ShiningBeam, basically. But that SB neutral really does look neutral in this photo--to my eye at least. The photo maybe shows a very little blue-green area between the spot and spill--I don't know, maybe it's my imagination, what do you think?
As far as I can tell (without the perspective of months or years to evaluate it), this light seems to be something of a bargain leader. It was only $31.72 with the CPF discount, plus a few bucks for shipping. Any questions, ask away. Haven't done any runtime work on it yet.
Comes with many goodies: snap on clip, a 1xCR123 alternate tube, extra o-rings, and even a reverse clicky switch.
I have difficulty seeing much quality difference on the exterior of the light, compared to a Fenix and a Quark. The embossed diamond pattern is a little coarser, perhaps a little less visually pleasing, and slightly less grippy than the Quark. Like the Quark, it's not diamond pointed knurling, it's a flat-topped diamond knurl. Also there is a milled slot for the ShiningBeam logo, which has a tooling mark at the end of the slot, but that's pretty darned minor. The SB feels very similar in the hand as the Quark, and both are much easier to hold than the vintage Fenix, which is downright slippery. The pocket clip snaps on tight and firm.
I really, really like the UI. I don't shift brightness levels too much, so it's perfect for me. The brightness levels are chosen by quarter turn twists of the head. Then the clicky handles the on-off. It's a sort of "manual last level memory." I much prefer this UI to the Quark's, where to get to a medium high level I have to click through a lot of modes.
Now about the beam. I guess I don't understand what people mean by a "floody" beam because this looks pretty normal for a spot/spill beam to me. I guess I don't have any throwy beams with which to compare. It's plenty bright as you can see. My Lumen Toob estimator puts it at around 230-240 lumens rather than the advertised 265, but that's a home-grown estimate (search Lumen Toob if you're interested in how I made the estimate.) The beam looks remarkably neutral in the photo, does it not? That's a vintage Fenix Rebel 100 at 175 advertised lumens on the left--which had a great tint "back in the day" but now looks greenish. And on the right is a 4Sevens lego'd High-CRI 123 head with a 2AA body. I don't know what its lumens are--the 4Sevens High CRIs were never given a lumen count, and my Lumen Tube estimates it at 250-260. Really close to the ShiningBeam, basically. But that SB neutral really does look neutral in this photo--to my eye at least. The photo maybe shows a very little blue-green area between the spot and spill--I don't know, maybe it's my imagination, what do you think?
As far as I can tell (without the perspective of months or years to evaluate it), this light seems to be something of a bargain leader. It was only $31.72 with the CPF discount, plus a few bucks for shipping. Any questions, ask away. Haven't done any runtime work on it yet.
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I will agree that the Fenix L2D has a definite lack of knurling, but makes up with its 'shapeliness', which aides certain grasps. That small rebel still looks to out throw the larger 2mm^2 dies.
I apparently cooked the phosphor on my L2D rebel, and it is dim and angry blue. So I need a replacement 2xAA [I don't think I can solder such a small LED as the rebel], but the 5000K cool isn't neutral enough for me.
I apparently cooked the phosphor on my L2D rebel, and it is dim and angry blue. So I need a replacement 2xAA [I don't think I can solder such a small LED as the rebel], but the 5000K cool isn't neutral enough for me.
yeah.. my bad....
the problem is we don't have a definition of "floody". I tend to put the LD20 Q5 right in the middle when I estimate it. So a TK20 is a Thrower, and a Spark is Floody in my mind.
Up close the difference is minimal, but at 50 feet, the Spark has a big hotspot
It's about the same beam size/pattern as my TK45, and everyone seems to consider that a floody light. If you ever want a AA thrower, the fenix E40 (at 30 lumens) will out-throw your Spark (on high) by about 10 feet, but the hotspot will only be a fraction of the Sparks in size.My lights tint is the same as yours; non-existent. I still have nightmares of the tint lottery days, so it's nice to see some stability. I also find that, on the medium setting, it's slightly yellowed, which I like when outdoors; not really 'warm' but enough to be gentle on the eyes.
Glad you like the light
