New lumintop Ant AAA!

Check out the new lumintop AAA With E switch in
Brass & stainless steel with tritium slot in the tailcap!

First down side I have noticed!!!
Horrible run time!!
Check the description..

Deleted.

Several new and different things from a Tool here. Side switch, tritium tube in tail that is able to tail stand, added Strobe mode, and appears to be only available in Cree, no Nichia. And I believe the Stainless is new as well. I think I'll just stick with the Tools I already have since the Ant really doesn't offer anything so new and/or different as to make it attractive.

Now the new Duke is much more attractive. Again, Cree only, but it is designed to be able to use a 10400 cell as well as an AAA, for some serious output and run time. I kinda like the swing out lanyard loop in the tail, the the all over carbon fiber patterned body is kinda sharp. That one I may think about, if they ever offer it with a Nichia.

I'm always nervous about lights that use an electronic switch, due to the battery draw, however slight, even when not in use.

I think the low runtimes are to be expected for an AAA torch like this. The Lumintop Tool is rated as 110 lum @ 30 min and it isn't really staying at full brightness the entire duration. The official specs are quite similar to the Tool. I think it's fine for a AAA.

I have to agree with nascar though about the parasitic drain. I think it's only okay if someone is using the light frequently such that the actual usage consumption far outweighs the drain. I'd hate to have something like this on a keychain only to find the battery is almost dead when I need it.

Timothybil said:

Now the new Duke is much more attractive. Again, Cree only, but it is designed to be able to use a 10400 cell as well as an AAA, for some serious output and run time.

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You mean designed to run aa and 14500.

I like the look of the brass version.

Too bad that the mode sequence is M-H-L, rather than L-M-H, but that's better than M-L-H.

Actually, the text of the website says M-H-L, but the picture says L-M-H, so what is the actual mode sequence?

It looks like the clip is reversible for cap use.

jorn said:

You mean designed to run aa and 14500.

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You are right. I stand corrected.

LightObsession said:

Actually, the text of the website says M-H-L, but the picture says L-M-H, so what is the actual mode sequence?

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If you go to the Lumintop Page, there is a flow diagram of the various modes. The normal mode is M->H, but there is an alternative path that does L->M->H. After looking at the schematic I think they tried to be all things to all people and made it overly complicated.

If L-M-H really is an option, I may be getting one, even if it isn't high CRI.

LightObsession said:

If L-M-H really is an option, I may be getting one, even if it isn't high CRI.

Click to expand...

It's shown on the flow diagram as an alternate if one long presses between modes.

$46 USD?

I prefer my ThruNite TiS, Stainless, has 0.04L low, 2.75" long, no parasitic draw - twisty, L-M-H and I got it for $20 USD

I like that Lumintop has a family of similar AAA lights with twisty (Worm), rear clicky (Tool), rear electronic (Tool Ti), and side electronic (Ant) interfaces. The specific mode choices are bound to be a matter of personal preference, so I don't fault them for not providing my favorites, because obviously quite a few users here like Lumintop's choices.

Perhaps a Nichia version is coming, too?

Runtime on low and medium actually seems ok - comparable to the Fenix E05. Claimed time on high is pretty low, but I think better overall lumen-hours than some of Lumintop's other lights.

I though there was an micro usb charging port at the end of the tailcap from the first photos as there is not trit installed, pity.

Also far to expensive it needs to drop $10 in price.

Looks great though, looking forward to the first review to see how the UI has been implimented.

John.

Someone on another forum reported that the claimed tritium thing was missing from the light. Also the light has to cycle through L-M-H before it can be switched off. So much for the option of first Low mode.

Hotlinked images and link to buy removed from two posts.Shilling is frowned upon, Nichia. I'm sure you're aware of that...

I think it looks amazing, Especially is brass with the steel clip and button, The runtime is not too bad, And i like LOW MED HIGH on small lights, But it will be a deal killer if you have to cycle though LOW MED HIGH before you can turn it off.

Just need a couple of reviews to give us the skinny.

John.

Re: New lumintop Ant AAA! Loving it!

Hello,
I got the ANT a week ago as replacement for a much bigger Led Lenser and absolutely love the little guy. So much in fact, that I registered on this forum today, when I found this thread! I was looking for a single AAA lamp, preferably button-operated rather than twisty and with strobe function. This one was way more expensive than what I wanted to spend, but the brass sent me over the edge. It doesn´t just look nice, it is also a wonderful pocketcharm. Two things I noticed in this thread were the confusion about the brightness cycle. Mine is L-M-F, which is what I was looking for, since I don´t want to be blinded immediately when I turn on the lamp. A little trick for those who need to turn it off from L or M without cycling through: give the head a little twist and it turns off. Since there is no memory, when you twist it back and turn it on it will start on L agin. This also prevents the switch from draining the battery and the lamp from turning on in your pocket. The last feature I absolutely wanted was strobe and it is quite well incorporated: a long press when in L turns on strobe, another press brings it back to L. There is atleast a chance to get that right in an emergency situation which is where you´d need strobe I guess. That is what turned me off the Olight I3S which I also like, but twisting the head 6 times (some users report it took them 9 twists) is just not a sensible way to access that function. Did I mention that I absolutely love this little guy and recommend it to anyone with similar requirements to mine - if you can live with having a button-operated lamp with a twisty safety