Whats hot and whats not?

Hi!

I'm a long time lurker whos been out for a few months. I'm also a long time member of BladeForums - I know there are some guys here from BF also. Hi guys! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

Could somebody kind of sum the current situation for me about what's hot and what's not?

All I want is a $50 LED light that has the brightness and throw from Photon II to Scorpion (adjustable) and would run on rechargeables (one charge about 10 hours), be the size of X5T - and cost max $50. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif But as I guess we're not there yet... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

I've been thinking about X5T for EDC (currently Scorpion - which is usually too bright - but at day time it's not too bad) as I need more of a flood light (under the tables, inside computers, the car...). Is X5T still hot or is there something better? How about that X0, is it flood or spot, like the X1? Can't find info about it... What's the difference between X0 and T1 (other than number of batteries and runtime 8h vs. 2h)? The difference in runtime seems more than just the 1 vs. 2 batteries...

BTW, what is the life expectancy of these Luxeon Stars nowadays? 500h?

Also, I'd like a small light for general usage in house at night (walking around without loosing night vision and waking up everybody, reading a book, ...) and giving for my 2.5 years son to play with (so battery economy is a plus). I've been looking at UK 2AAA eLED. Anything better? How does that compare to Arc AAA, X1 and Photon II?
According to Quickbeam (great reviews!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif) eLED should have about the same throw as Arc AAA, but a little less over all light. Also Photon should have about the same throw, but even more light (but I quess Photon will fade soon). X1 has the best throw, but I think that might not be as good for reading a book in the dark, or has anybody tried?
From Ledmuseum (another great review site! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowdown.gif) the eLED seems to give out the same throw as A2 - which is confirmed by Quickbeam. Of course the over all light output of A2 (or TT-2L) is more. Does that sound correct?
I'm hoping the eLED would be brighter then Photon II - i.e. longer throw but not much tighter beam.

How is UK 4AA eLED? About the same light output as X5T with twice the throw, or? Would this be ok light for 2.5 years old son (who actually likes the Scorpion quite a lot! :thumpsup? Useable indoors at might? Enough for outdoors?

It's getting brighter here in Finland again (summer time coming - won't be needing lights then /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif ), so I can wait for some lights. Any lights I should be waiting for?

Hugo.

Ps. I seem to have some problems with Opera browser - hope the message gets there OK.

Hi Hugo, welcome to CPF!

For navigating around the house I find the yellow Infinity hard to beat, it's bright enough not to bump into things a nice color to read by and has a very good battery life. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Have fun!

welcome /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hi Hugo !

X5T is a great light, but there's better now:

Have a look at the Arc LS series, they're brighter and smaller and top notch quality. There's a "Get your foot in the door" sale for one Arc LSH with an additional 2xAA battery pack and a carrying pouch going on right now, price is $79
If you like it more complitcated with adjustable brightness ... look at the Arc4 ... the most sophisticated little light out there.

Other cool lights in that class:
- McLux variations (CPF custom lights in various combos, SF E-series compatible ... just read around)
- Eternalights, 4x5mm LED with adjustable brightness and various functions
- SF E1 with KL1 or McLux head
- etc.

Small for the house:
- Arc AAA or Arc AA
- Infinity like B@rt mentioned
- every dimmable light from above

You also might want to check out the upcoming VIP, a CPF custom light by MrBulk ... there's a huge thread going on ....

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

bernhard

I second the Arc deal!!!

You just can't go wrong with this deal. Plus the longer you spend here the more you will want to kick yourself for not getting an Arc. I bought a X5T before I bought an LSH-P, and now regret buying the X5T. It's not that it's a bad light but I think there is a big difference between the two. Welcome to the CPF.

You can modify the ARC LSH easily and cheaply to give two brightness settings.

This Thread explains how to do it for about 2 dollars and an hour of your time.

You can buy the mod pre-made and ready to install through This thread in BST


Daniel

Hey Hugo:

The eternaLight would be great for your kid because it has all kinds of bells and whistles that flash and strobe and get dim and then get bright. The top-of-the-line model is regulated and lasts for hours.

The other guys are right to steer you to an Arc for an everyday light. I'd save up for the Arc4+ because it has lots of different light levels.

Before you go for the custom lights, I'd try out Arc or Surefire lines. If you want to read with a flashlight, check out the Lightwave 4000. It has 10 white LEDs and is powered by 3 D cells. The light lasts just about forever.

Most of the Luxeons will be too bright to read a book with, but IMHO they make the best flashlights.

If I could have just two lights (other then my keychain light), I'd pick the Arc4+ and the Surefire L6, which is a 5W Luxeon with great throw.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

For a top-notch LED light that's close to your price range, check out the Pelican M6 LED. It's received VERY good reviews on the forum, and by doing a search, you can find a lot of info on it here at CPF!

PJD

The closest thing to the adjustable light you're asking for is an Arc4+ second, available for $99. As delivered it runs on 1x123 but some folks are using rechargeable 123's in them.

I'd advice AGAINST giving a UKE 2AAA, Arc AAA, or any of those other lights you mention to a 2 year old. They're tiny and easy to lose, and have small removable parts that the kid can swallow and choke on. If you want to give a light to such a young kid, give a bigger light. The one I see as ideal for the purpose is the Nightstar

http://www.shakelight.com

which is about the size of a 3C light (too big to swallow), has no removable parts, is completely sealed (totally waterproof and drool proof), uses an LED (never needs bulbs), and is powered by shaking it up and down (fun for the kid, and never needs batteries). However, it's somewhat expensive. There's a cheaper knockoff called the "Forever Flashlight" which I haven't tried so I can't say whether that model has any removable parts.

I also would prefer an ARC LS over an X5T.
When you're going for the LSH Deal, you get a 2AA pack - perfect inhouse, cheap batteries, and can be used with AA NIMH.
And you get a bright EDC with the 123 pack.
I have an X5T myself, and I almost don't use it anymore since I have my ARC.

Welcome Hugo!!
To quote you-
[ QUOTE ]
Hugo said:
All I want is a $50 LED light that has the brightness and throw from Photon II to Scorpion (adjustable) and would run on rechargeables (one charge about 10 hours), be the size of X5T - and cost max $50.

[/ QUOTE ]

Has it occurred to anyone that he almost exactly described a Surefire U2 (except for the price point, which is way over 50 bucks)?! Runs on rechargeables and dials to 6 settings, from 2 to 100 lumens (Photon II = 2 lumen light/ Scorpion = 60 lumen light)

Oops, didn't spot the name change...

[ QUOTE ]
absoLite said:
I also would prefer an ARC LS over an X5T.

[/ QUOTE ]
Ok, I knew I should have restricted you all to not to suggest Arc LS... I've been lurker for long enough to know that you would /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif And I do know that ARC LS rocks. I've also seen Arc to grow from company that only CPF member knew to a company whos flashlights are sold in numerous internet stores. BUT, they are too expensive for me at this point. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif I know I'm /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif but what can I do. LS with AA pack sure sounds good, but even with Peter's "give us your little finger" -deal it's still more than X5T+UK 2AAA eLED + UK 4AA eLED combined. But thanks for the heads-up, because it is the best deal I've ever seen on Arc LS - and I hadn't noticed it!

[ QUOTE ]
Kiessling said:
If you like it more complitcated with adjustable brightness ... look at the Arc4 ... the most sophisticated little light out there.

[/ QUOTE ]
Also, I didn't exactly know what Arc4 is... so thanks for this tip also. I tried to find more about it... and I know I should not say this as I know the reputation of Arc and as I'm quite a newbie on this forum /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, but I found the simulator for the Arc4. I think that Peter has made a huge mistake with this light. Bright LED light with adjustable outputlevel is exactly what I'd like, but quite frankly I never thought that one could have a really bad user interface to a flashlight. But Arc has done it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif Photon III had a "one-button" interface that most people said was hard to use (mind you that Photon III actually had 2 buttons with very easy interface on the second button). Also people have critisized Streamlight TwinTasks for their one button interface. What Arc has - unfortunately done - with Arc4 is to show how bad user interface one can actually put to a flashlight. I's many magnitudes worse than anything else. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Sorry guys - but I just had to say it. Just compare the Arc4 user interface to Surefire (was it now) U2 user interface and you know what I mean. One doesn't need simulators to know how to adjust the levels on the Surefire.

But unfortunately the Surefires too are out of question for me. Specially the upcoming almost $300 light.

Getting back to the lights that I had in mind... I know that you like Arc's but what do you think about those that I listed? How do the eLED's compare for instance (I had the photon II there just for comparison - I have one and I'm not really buying them anymore... actually might as they are small enough for keychain, but..)

Hugo.

Ps. My son would probably like the eternalLight quite a lot... but I'm not just buying it for him to play with.
Pps. You know, Arc (and Surefire) is a bit like Sebenza... you need to have some Spydercos before you can buy a Sebenza. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

[ QUOTE ]
Flux said:
Oops, didn't spot the name change...

[/ QUOTE ]
Neither did I /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif ... but that's what you get if you are using the same computer and not do a logout between. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif
Anyways, we fixed the error and I think everything is now ok.

And yes, you are right about U2... I had read about it, but the price really isn't realistic for me at all. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Only thing missing from it is a small, dim, red indicator LED warning about low battery before it gets into a "moon mode." One thing I have ever understod about fully regulated EDC lights, do you guys always carry a spare battery? Or do you risk not getting light when you might need it?

Hugo.

As I understand it, normal regulation works till a minimal voltage level is reached. Below that, the light drops out of regulation, and gets dimmer with time.
So you wouldn't just have your light go dark when falling out of regulation.
With the ARC4, you have many "regulated" levels, which are chosen automatically by the light when the voltage of the battery drops. So you would also notice when your battery gets depleted.

[ QUOTE ]
absoLite said:
As I understand it, normal regulation works till a minimal voltage level is reached. Below that, the light drops out of regulation, and gets dimmer with time.
So you wouldn't just have your light go dark when falling out of regulation.


[/ QUOTE ]
But at that point, all the current lights are about very dark already. Specially if they are run from AA batteries. Right? And at the best they fade from that level to totally dark in about 1/2 hours max? I think Opalec is the only one who had an indicator LED. And I think most people liked it. Why not others?
[ QUOTE ]
absoLite said:
With the ARC4, you have many "regulated" levels, which are chosen automatically by the light when the voltage of the battery drops. So you would also notice when your battery gets depleted.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well this is a good feature!

Hugo.

While I also like the Arc LS series (they're even better with a hand selected LED or better yet with a 3W /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif) I have to also suggest the X5T. It's a great light for around the house since it puts out more of a "flood" type beam instead of one that's more concentrated like the Arc or other LS LED lights. I use my X5T-HA every night.

Another light that fits the catagory of inexpensive, great "flood" type beam and long running is the Streamlight 7LED 4AA light. I gave one of those lights to my wife (with <font color="pink">Pink</font> glowring attatched to it) as her bedside light. She uses it every night and it also can take rechargeables.