The postman and UPS guy showed up today with four new lights: (1) UK 4AA, (2) PT Surge, (3) SL 4AA 7 LED, and (4) SL 3C 10 LED. I'll offer my initial impressions of the first two here, and the second two in the LED section.
1. UK 4AA: This is apparently the discontinued model without the switch. I was curious about this one because I really like my PT 40 and I was curious how it would compare. Functionally and size-wise, the two are about identical, although the UK is maybe 1/2" longer. The UK packaging says it has a 5-6 hour burn time, Xenon lamp, and is waterproof to 10-feet. Unlike the PT, the batteries in the UK rattle noticeably when the cap or bezel isn't screwed all the way to the "on" position. The light beam itself is strong and very smooth with a decent-sized hotspot. It's also smoother or more consistent than the PT (sorry, I don't know what lamp the PT has; whatever was stock two years ago). The biggest difference between the two is that the UK's beam is wider, or less narrowly focused. It's not a huge difference, but it's definitely noticeable. So the PT is brighter, but it illuminates a smaller area. I took them into the woods in back, and to my surprise I actually preferred the wider beam of the UK. It was $13.95 on closeout from BrightGuy.
2. PT Surge: What can I say? It's an 8 AA light with the stock lamp, the packaging says 3-5 hour burn time, it's about 1/4" longer than the UK but distinctly more rotund. The light beam put a great big smile on my face. It's remarkably bright and smooth. The light is brighter at the center and it just subtly tapers off a bit toward the edge of the illuminated area. Almost no hot or dark areas. Did I mention it's really bright? This is my new favorite flashlight. It just blows the doors off my MagLite 3D, though, in fairness, I'm comparing brand new batteries to ones that have been used for half-an-hour. The light was $25.95.
I know these lights are nothing special to most of you, but this is just too much fun!
1. UK 4AA: This is apparently the discontinued model without the switch. I was curious about this one because I really like my PT 40 and I was curious how it would compare. Functionally and size-wise, the two are about identical, although the UK is maybe 1/2" longer. The UK packaging says it has a 5-6 hour burn time, Xenon lamp, and is waterproof to 10-feet. Unlike the PT, the batteries in the UK rattle noticeably when the cap or bezel isn't screwed all the way to the "on" position. The light beam itself is strong and very smooth with a decent-sized hotspot. It's also smoother or more consistent than the PT (sorry, I don't know what lamp the PT has; whatever was stock two years ago). The biggest difference between the two is that the UK's beam is wider, or less narrowly focused. It's not a huge difference, but it's definitely noticeable. So the PT is brighter, but it illuminates a smaller area. I took them into the woods in back, and to my surprise I actually preferred the wider beam of the UK. It was $13.95 on closeout from BrightGuy.
2. PT Surge: What can I say? It's an 8 AA light with the stock lamp, the packaging says 3-5 hour burn time, it's about 1/4" longer than the UK but distinctly more rotund. The light beam put a great big smile on my face. It's remarkably bright and smooth. The light is brighter at the center and it just subtly tapers off a bit toward the edge of the illuminated area. Almost no hot or dark areas. Did I mention it's really bright? This is my new favorite flashlight. It just blows the doors off my MagLite 3D, though, in fairness, I'm comparing brand new batteries to ones that have been used for half-an-hour. The light was $25.95.
I know these lights are nothing special to most of you, but this is just too much fun!
