idleprocess
Flashaholic
I recently acquired a LOFTEK Pioneer 15W Portable Flood Light from Amazon.
No photos at this time since one can get a reasonable idea of what it looks like on the manufacturer's site.
What Is It?
The Pioneer 15W is a USB-rechargable floodlight / power bank that retails for about $25. It has 2 white light output modes, a weird red/blue "SOS" mode, and as a power bank it can recharge your USB accessories. It strikes me as reasonably rugged for what I would call most non-occupational use - i.e. you likely wouldn't to use this in a mine nor other technical environment.
The Specs
Courtesy the manual:
Look and feel
General
It's a flat rectangular box roughly the dimensions of a paperback book. The housing is powder-coated aluminum, the lens appears to be plastic, and the clip/handle are powder-coated steel; this appears to be the makeup regardless of the color one chooses.
The front
The dominating feature here is the recessed lens over a shallow rectangular reflector containing the COB LED in the center. The LOFTEK logo and their slogan are embossed in the front below the lens. The lens itself seems to be plastic.
The top
The nearly-flush controls are off to one side - SOS and Power. Hold either for approximately 2 seconds to activate. The main white light can be switched to low then off with an immediate press of the button; strobe simply deactivates immediately. There is a fairly self-explanatory red/green Indicator LED for charging. The entire panel looks to be a membrane switch that's vaguely flush with the housing; one hopes there's some glue or other water/dust ingress behind to keep it reasonably compliant with the IP65 claim.
On the other side is a center-hinged rubber flap covering the USB ports that secures with projecting tongues that slot into the ports. The housing remains continues through the recess, so presumably so long as the rubber flap does its part watertightness is assured.
A sticker printed Press for two seconds to turn on is also on the top; I do not expect it to hang around long as it wraps over the backside curve.
The back
A product information label lives on the top, roughly centered, with fairly generic product information that generally matches the spec sheet. Make, model, and serial information is not to be found. It includes a proper CE mark that may or may correspond with an actual listing. I also expect this label to peel up sooner rather than later.
The centered steel belt clip is riveted to the back. This has managed to get a little scratched up on the edges in its one use on smooth garage-floor concrete during an oil change. I do not know if the backside of the rivets has been waterproofed.
There are 6 rubber plugs around the perimeter. They started out slightly proud of the back surface, but I pressed them in. Going to make a reasonably-safe assumption that these are hiding screws that hold the thing together.
Sides
There's a yellow steel handle secured to the sides with cap-head screws. Rubber washers are positioned between the handle and the body to provide friction. The holes the screws thread into are blind, so no water-intrusion worries there. The screws have knurling, but I find it difficult to put much torque on them with my fingers. The handle features a reinforcing rib along the sides and a hole centered on the bottom - presumably to accommodate tripod usage.
In use: worklight
At 650/380 nominal lumens, this is a light for reasonably close-up task usage. In the ~24 hours I've owned it, I've used it for both dog-walking (slightly cumbersome) and an oil change on a vehicle in a garage with reasonable overhead lighting (useful). The modes could be spaced a tad further apart - I find that while your eyes notice the dip down to low, the actual difference is hard to discern so I end up using the low setting and found it adequate.
The SOS setting is strange and poorly-implemented. It has but one mode - red and blue alternating at roughly 2Hz. If the controls had red- and blue-only modes in addition that would be some added utility. But as it stands it can only attract attention - and likely from the law at that.
Light output is a pretty smooth wall of light. The shallow semi-matte reflector doesn't catch much of the output from the LED but does help shape the beam (if we can call it that) into a semi-uniform rectangle.
The handle is reasonably useful for angling the light - just be sure you tighten the screws a bit before leaving it unattended lest it slip on you.
I am not certain if there is effective heatsinking for the COB LED. The light has never gotten the slightest bit warm on me in operation. Looking at it, it's vaguely possible that there's a bridge from the back of the LED to the housing, but that would have to work around the top rivet for the clip.
In use: powerbank
I was able to charge my phone with the powerbank, however its claim to deliver 2.1A is questionable. My phone neither displays "Charging rapidly" nor even an estimate - both of which it will provide with 2.1A chargers. However, I lack instrumentation to measure this and the phone was also reasonably topped off at the time.
The flap covering the in/out USB ports combined with the recess makes for relatively little margin; expect oversized plugs to be an interference fit or not to slot in comfortably.
The Verdict
Like a number of combination products, the multiple features make for a more complex decision on its overall value.
As a floodlight, it strikes me as reasonably useful for homeowner/hobbyist usage. If it can hit 4 hours of peak output light and lasts for several years of moderate abuse then it's perhaps a useful purchase. It's reasonably easy to position and aim on a flat surface. Durability is going to be questionable: after some light use mine has some scratches on the finish and some stubborn beads of oil in numerous seams and that COB LED could fry itself after a few tens of hours of operation.
There are numerous similar products (battery-powered worklights) on the market; the LOFTEK's main strength seems to be a lower price-point.
As a powerbank, it's less-than-ideal. Powerbanks in the ~6600mAH class are typically far smaller, considerably lighter, and are less sketchy about spitting out their claimed amperage. Powerbanks of a similar volume/weight also have immensely more capacity and more ports. I view the powerbank largely as a bonus feature.
I wouldn't pay more than the going price on Amazon for this product.
Since this was an inexpensive purchase, I might tear mine down in the future and post some photos of the innards.
No photos at this time since one can get a reasonable idea of what it looks like on the manufacturer's site.
What Is It?
The Pioneer 15W is a USB-rechargable floodlight / power bank that retails for about $25. It has 2 white light output modes, a weird red/blue "SOS" mode, and as a power bank it can recharge your USB accessories. It strikes me as reasonably rugged for what I would call most non-occupational use - i.e. you likely wouldn't to use this in a mine nor other technical environment.
The Specs
Courtesy the manual:
- Materials: Aluminum and stainless housing
- Dimensions: 6" x 3.5" x 1.5"
- Power: USB 5VDC in 500mA - 2A; 5VDC out 2.1A
- Wattage: 15W total - 11W white, 2W blue, 2W red
- Light output: 650lm high, 380lm low, >120° beam angle, 5000k-7000k CCT, CRI >70
- Battery: 6600mAH, 4 hour endurance high, 4.5 hour recharge time at 2.0A input or 6 hours at 1.0A input
- Environmental Specs: 14°F - 104°F
- IP rating: IP65 (total dust ingress resistance, fully waterproof)
Look and feel
General
It's a flat rectangular box roughly the dimensions of a paperback book. The housing is powder-coated aluminum, the lens appears to be plastic, and the clip/handle are powder-coated steel; this appears to be the makeup regardless of the color one chooses.
The front
The dominating feature here is the recessed lens over a shallow rectangular reflector containing the COB LED in the center. The LOFTEK logo and their slogan are embossed in the front below the lens. The lens itself seems to be plastic.
The top
The nearly-flush controls are off to one side - SOS and Power. Hold either for approximately 2 seconds to activate. The main white light can be switched to low then off with an immediate press of the button; strobe simply deactivates immediately. There is a fairly self-explanatory red/green Indicator LED for charging. The entire panel looks to be a membrane switch that's vaguely flush with the housing; one hopes there's some glue or other water/dust ingress behind to keep it reasonably compliant with the IP65 claim.
On the other side is a center-hinged rubber flap covering the USB ports that secures with projecting tongues that slot into the ports. The housing remains continues through the recess, so presumably so long as the rubber flap does its part watertightness is assured.
A sticker printed Press for two seconds to turn on is also on the top; I do not expect it to hang around long as it wraps over the backside curve.
The back
A product information label lives on the top, roughly centered, with fairly generic product information that generally matches the spec sheet. Make, model, and serial information is not to be found. It includes a proper CE mark that may or may correspond with an actual listing. I also expect this label to peel up sooner rather than later.
The centered steel belt clip is riveted to the back. This has managed to get a little scratched up on the edges in its one use on smooth garage-floor concrete during an oil change. I do not know if the backside of the rivets has been waterproofed.
There are 6 rubber plugs around the perimeter. They started out slightly proud of the back surface, but I pressed them in. Going to make a reasonably-safe assumption that these are hiding screws that hold the thing together.
Sides
There's a yellow steel handle secured to the sides with cap-head screws. Rubber washers are positioned between the handle and the body to provide friction. The holes the screws thread into are blind, so no water-intrusion worries there. The screws have knurling, but I find it difficult to put much torque on them with my fingers. The handle features a reinforcing rib along the sides and a hole centered on the bottom - presumably to accommodate tripod usage.
In use: worklight
At 650/380 nominal lumens, this is a light for reasonably close-up task usage. In the ~24 hours I've owned it, I've used it for both dog-walking (slightly cumbersome) and an oil change on a vehicle in a garage with reasonable overhead lighting (useful). The modes could be spaced a tad further apart - I find that while your eyes notice the dip down to low, the actual difference is hard to discern so I end up using the low setting and found it adequate.
The SOS setting is strange and poorly-implemented. It has but one mode - red and blue alternating at roughly 2Hz. If the controls had red- and blue-only modes in addition that would be some added utility. But as it stands it can only attract attention - and likely from the law at that.
Light output is a pretty smooth wall of light. The shallow semi-matte reflector doesn't catch much of the output from the LED but does help shape the beam (if we can call it that) into a semi-uniform rectangle.
The handle is reasonably useful for angling the light - just be sure you tighten the screws a bit before leaving it unattended lest it slip on you.
I am not certain if there is effective heatsinking for the COB LED. The light has never gotten the slightest bit warm on me in operation. Looking at it, it's vaguely possible that there's a bridge from the back of the LED to the housing, but that would have to work around the top rivet for the clip.
In use: powerbank
I was able to charge my phone with the powerbank, however its claim to deliver 2.1A is questionable. My phone neither displays "Charging rapidly" nor even an estimate - both of which it will provide with 2.1A chargers. However, I lack instrumentation to measure this and the phone was also reasonably topped off at the time.
The flap covering the in/out USB ports combined with the recess makes for relatively little margin; expect oversized plugs to be an interference fit or not to slot in comfortably.
The Verdict
Like a number of combination products, the multiple features make for a more complex decision on its overall value.
As a floodlight, it strikes me as reasonably useful for homeowner/hobbyist usage. If it can hit 4 hours of peak output light and lasts for several years of moderate abuse then it's perhaps a useful purchase. It's reasonably easy to position and aim on a flat surface. Durability is going to be questionable: after some light use mine has some scratches on the finish and some stubborn beads of oil in numerous seams and that COB LED could fry itself after a few tens of hours of operation.
There are numerous similar products (battery-powered worklights) on the market; the LOFTEK's main strength seems to be a lower price-point.
As a powerbank, it's less-than-ideal. Powerbanks in the ~6600mAH class are typically far smaller, considerably lighter, and are less sketchy about spitting out their claimed amperage. Powerbanks of a similar volume/weight also have immensely more capacity and more ports. I view the powerbank largely as a bonus feature.
I wouldn't pay more than the going price on Amazon for this product.
Since this was an inexpensive purchase, I might tear mine down in the future and post some photos of the innards.
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