Hi dss_777. Thank you for your enthusiasm! These are very good observations. I'll try to address them all:
The lantern community (all eight of us) has been clamoring for an 18650 compatible, warm/neutral tinted product at 300+ lumens output.
I'm glad to hear! We specifically chose these LEDs for their warmer light. The CRI of the LED's that we use are 3000K. They are not "cool" whatsoever.
I know this is an "area light", but I just can't think of any other use for this that isn't a "lantern". Even as an automotive work light, it's still a lantern. I'm sure I'm missing something, I just don't know what it is.
Well, to be honest, you are correct. For all intents and purposes, it is a lantern. The reason that we call it a "personal area light" is that we do not wish to associate all the general negatives associated with lanterns such as the Rayovac Sportsman or Coleman Quad. Both of those lanterns are huge, use poor quality LED's, and frankly do not hold a candle
rolleyes
to our feature set.
One, the light appears to be produced by bare-naked LEDs covered by a slight diffuser. Is the output evenly distributed over 360 deg.? This is one things lanterns are really good at, and why they're favored as area lights, IMO.
Yes, the light is distributed evenly over 360 degrees. The projection angle of each LED overlaps so that light is distributed evenly. There may be noticeable artifacts on nearby surfaces due to internal reflection between the lens and the inner body, but you will absolutely not see any gaps in light.
Second, how far does that light project? My 3 D-cell 300 lumens lantern will easily light up an entire room with usable light. How far does this light project with no reflectors?
The R-PAL can easily fill a smallish (15x15) room with usable light at the lowest settings, and is definitely more than capable of providing extremely bright light at the highest settings. Distance wise, the light can easily project 20+ feet. In fact, I would hesitate to use the higher settings at anything but a reasonable distance -especially if this was the only source of light.
OTOH, this has a drop-light kind of format, which is great to be able to dangle or hang it, something lanterns don't do quite as easily.
We wanted a high functioning unit, which is why we put the dual 1/4-20 mounts on both ends, as well as the "balance" ribs on the sides of the unit. Also, something I haven't mentioned is that the ends (where the 1/4-20 attachments are) are actually concave by ~10 mils (at least that's how my models were designed, the EDM machine and injection mold guys might have lost a mil or two due to tolerance). The intent behind this was to provide an even more stable footprint when placed vertically.
Third, that's a lot of money for a little lantern. How does that compare to the competition, both in lanterns and work lights? Kind of related to the first issue, I'm unclear what the target market is for this?
Yes, it is quite a bit of money. However, we are using high quality parts across the board and having it built right here in California. We also manufacture the IC that is used inside the device, which is not an inexpensive process. Given that, the base price of the BOM is quite high, and we have to add the assembly costs. HOWEVER, I think I can reduce the price for the CPF crowd using a discount code on our site if you guys are interested. I don't want to turn this thread into a sales sort of thing, but I can start another one elsewhere.
As far as comparison goes, I do not think we really fit into a direct blow-for-blow market. There are miniature lanterns, such as the ones from Black Diamond -but frankly they are already bigger than our product and their light output pales in comparison. They also do not incorporate adjustable brightness. Goal Zero has so neat stuff based on similar technology, but again their product is huge and the light output also suffers greatly. Coleman and Rayovac are also poor comparisons because they are so large and suffer in light output. Our product is almost the size of one of their D-Cells (okay, it's bigger, but not by a whole lot), and they require 3-4 of them.
The biggest difference is that we're using a custom built integrated circuit. We are handling the LED driver side of things as well as the micro controller functions (auto shutoff timer, brightness adjustment, low battery indication and strobing modes). Our device is pretty efficient compared to everyone else. We're getting more lumens for longer periods of time with less battery capacity and more LEDs. The 18650 is, of course, also the big difference.
The main market is flashlight users who aren't using the right tool for the job, as well as lantern users who just want to lighten their load and get more bang for their buck. A powerful, pocket sized lantern to replace all other lanterns (within reason).
A random suggestion: consider adding a low profile articulated magnetic base that screws into the accessory mounting hole. It might make it a really great work light for cars or the shop.
Already in the works
We're trying to make this thing super functional. The idea was to be able to mount it sideways on a metal panel (such as the side of your car, or a fusebox). I definitely appreciate the input though!
Again, thank you for your comments! I will head over to the lantern forum and take a peek -it looks as if we still have lots to learn about the lantern world.
