zespectre
Flashlight Enthusiast
Real World Review – PowerTac E3
9/20/2013
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A brief note about the "Real World Reviews"
The industry and my fellow "flashaholics" have developed very sophisticated and detailed methods for measuring nearly every conceivable technical aspect of the illumination products on the market. In the "Real World Reviews" I acknowledge the existence of that information, and I will link to it if I can, but will not re-hash all of the tech data. Instead the focus of the "Real World Reviews" is to take the actual equipment out of the laboratory and into real world conditions where I will to try and give the reader some idea of how the technical data and specifications translate into use under actual conditions.
=========================================
PowerTac E3
1xAAA, Cree XP-E LED
Dual Level (3 lumen "Firefly" or 90 lumen)
As far as I've been able to tell this light is simply a re-branded "ThruNite Ti". Since every particular I have inspected is identical I am simply going to link to a Ti review for the technical specifics. Review of ThruNite Ti with measurements and outdoor beamshots
What you get:
A tiny 1xAAA light with lanyard, and couple of spare "O" rings.
Initial Impression(s)
The E3 is a small light, barely larger than the AAA battery that powers it. All aspects of the light are well manufactured and it feels like a durable tool. The beam is an even, wide, floody, center that transitions into a significant side spill. I have two of these units and on both the beam color is a pleasant warm white. The control consists of a twist head which gives you three modes [Off, Low, High] and my tested runtimes are "basically forever" on low, and just a bit over an hour on high with a 850mah NiMH cell. The manufacturer rates this light as 3 and 90 lumens and this seems about right.
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The "Standard Evening Walk" starts out with the targets set up in my backyard and then takes place over either a 1.5 or a 2.5 mile loop on an unlit and mostly open grassy area with a couple of short, steep, uphill/downhill gravel trails which I call the "confidence course". The typical constant runtime is roughly 45-60 minutes.
I have placed a series of six white plastic squares measuring 5"x5" to trees in my back yard. Target testing includes being able to see the target and the neutral brown trees (or the grey fence) to which the targets are affixed.
1) 20ft (6 yards / 6 meters):
2) 50ft ( 16 yards / 15 meters):
3) 100ft ( 33 yards / 30 meters):
4) 200ft Fence ( 66 yards / 61 meters):
5) 250ft ( 83 yards / 76 meters):
6) 350ft ( 116 yards / 106 meters):
Bonus Target) A stand of trees across the golf course: 915 feet (approx 305 yards/278 meters)
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The E3 falls into the "task light" category. It provides a wide, extremely even, beam in your immediate area and (on high) out to about 25 feet (8 yards/7.3 meters). It passed target #1 and you could sort-of make out target #2 but not well enough to pass. In short this is a "close in" light.
The nice beam parameters made for a very pleasant walking light in terms of confidence reading the ground and immediate surroundings on the evening walk but when you shine the light into dense undergrowth it simply lights up a green wall of shrubbery as most flood style beams do.
Back in the house the "firefly" mode made a very nice "evening stairs and bathroom" light though the switch is frustratingly sensitive and you can, and probably will, accidentally jump to high at some point. This is EXTREMELY unpleasant with dark-adapted eyes.
One sample of this light was treated with some Nyogel on the threads and "O" ring, and then tortured in the following order;
The end result was a small nick in the anodizing at the lanyard ring hole and that was pretty much it. At the end of testing the Nyogel was gone from the "outside" of the "O" ring but internally below the "O" ring was fine and still well lubed so the ring seems to be creating an excellent seal.
The E3 has been hanging on my nightstand hook for about 4 months now and has seen regular evening use. One thing I have noticed with this unit is that the Hi/Low function seems a LOT less sensitive now and that makes for better use in my opinion. As of now the E3 maintains the prestigious "nightstand and inside the house" light" slot .
Summary:
This light is small, light, and tough as nails. It provides appropriate light levels for walking around a campsite, rummaging around in a tent, or doing almost any evening task in your house and the floody beam makes tasks easy. This light has been adequate for other jobs as well such as changing the oil in my car, and finding a loose wire under the hood. Basically, if the job is within 10 feet of you this light can probably provide good illumination. I'm still not fond of how sensitive the line is between "hi" and "low" so I'm dinging the light a bit on that one.
(0 to 5 Photons)
Four Photons - Superior tool for use in the Real World.
9/20/2013
=========================================
A brief note about the "Real World Reviews"
The industry and my fellow "flashaholics" have developed very sophisticated and detailed methods for measuring nearly every conceivable technical aspect of the illumination products on the market. In the "Real World Reviews" I acknowledge the existence of that information, and I will link to it if I can, but will not re-hash all of the tech data. Instead the focus of the "Real World Reviews" is to take the actual equipment out of the laboratory and into real world conditions where I will to try and give the reader some idea of how the technical data and specifications translate into use under actual conditions.
=========================================
PowerTac E3
1xAAA, Cree XP-E LED
Dual Level (3 lumen "Firefly" or 90 lumen)
As far as I've been able to tell this light is simply a re-branded "ThruNite Ti". Since every particular I have inspected is identical I am simply going to link to a Ti review for the technical specifics. Review of ThruNite Ti with measurements and outdoor beamshots
What you get:
A tiny 1xAAA light with lanyard, and couple of spare "O" rings.
Initial Impression(s)
The E3 is a small light, barely larger than the AAA battery that powers it. All aspects of the light are well manufactured and it feels like a durable tool. The beam is an even, wide, floody, center that transitions into a significant side spill. I have two of these units and on both the beam color is a pleasant warm white. The control consists of a twist head which gives you three modes [Off, Low, High] and my tested runtimes are "basically forever" on low, and just a bit over an hour on high with a 850mah NiMH cell. The manufacturer rates this light as 3 and 90 lumens and this seems about right.
=====================================================================================
The "Standard Evening Walk" starts out with the targets set up in my backyard and then takes place over either a 1.5 or a 2.5 mile loop on an unlit and mostly open grassy area with a couple of short, steep, uphill/downhill gravel trails which I call the "confidence course". The typical constant runtime is roughly 45-60 minutes.
I have placed a series of six white plastic squares measuring 5"x5" to trees in my back yard. Target testing includes being able to see the target and the neutral brown trees (or the grey fence) to which the targets are affixed.
1) 20ft (6 yards / 6 meters):
2) 50ft ( 16 yards / 15 meters):
3) 100ft ( 33 yards / 30 meters):
4) 200ft Fence ( 66 yards / 61 meters):
5) 250ft ( 83 yards / 76 meters):
6) 350ft ( 116 yards / 106 meters):
Bonus Target) A stand of trees across the golf course: 915 feet (approx 305 yards/278 meters)
=====================================================================================
The E3 falls into the "task light" category. It provides a wide, extremely even, beam in your immediate area and (on high) out to about 25 feet (8 yards/7.3 meters). It passed target #1 and you could sort-of make out target #2 but not well enough to pass. In short this is a "close in" light.
The nice beam parameters made for a very pleasant walking light in terms of confidence reading the ground and immediate surroundings on the evening walk but when you shine the light into dense undergrowth it simply lights up a green wall of shrubbery as most flood style beams do.
Back in the house the "firefly" mode made a very nice "evening stairs and bathroom" light though the switch is frustratingly sensitive and you can, and probably will, accidentally jump to high at some point. This is EXTREMELY unpleasant with dark-adapted eyes.
One sample of this light was treated with some Nyogel on the threads and "O" ring, and then tortured in the following order;
- Pocket carried for a week [subject to coins, keys, et-al]
- Immersed in a glass of water overnight while being turned on and off about 6 times
- Run with clothes through the washing machine while off
- Run with clothes through the washing machine while on (we have a front loader, that was fun to watch)
- Dropped repeatedly from 6ft onto a hard-wood floor (not really on purpose)
- Hung from my dogs collar and left there while he played chase for about an hour
The end result was a small nick in the anodizing at the lanyard ring hole and that was pretty much it. At the end of testing the Nyogel was gone from the "outside" of the "O" ring but internally below the "O" ring was fine and still well lubed so the ring seems to be creating an excellent seal.
The E3 has been hanging on my nightstand hook for about 4 months now and has seen regular evening use. One thing I have noticed with this unit is that the Hi/Low function seems a LOT less sensitive now and that makes for better use in my opinion. As of now the E3 maintains the prestigious "nightstand and inside the house" light" slot .
Summary:
This light is small, light, and tough as nails. It provides appropriate light levels for walking around a campsite, rummaging around in a tent, or doing almost any evening task in your house and the floody beam makes tasks easy. This light has been adequate for other jobs as well such as changing the oil in my car, and finding a loose wire under the hood. Basically, if the job is within 10 feet of you this light can probably provide good illumination. I'm still not fond of how sensitive the line is between "hi" and "low" so I'm dinging the light a bit on that one.
(0 to 5 Photons)
Four Photons - Superior tool for use in the Real World.
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