are 5watt leds become more available?

I have not looked in awhile but I was wondering if it was getting any easier to get a really good 5watt LUX yet?

i came to the conclsion the 3 wats are way beter then 5 wats at least in how they throw

HOw are three watts better? does it have to do with the construction of the LED?

actually I am wanting a larger beam. I want a tiny light that beats and L4 at what the L4 does best.

E1e mod using a bezel down clip that PK gave me, with X bin using a rechagable 123 at 4.2 volts. A short run mini tactical light. Should be a little blinder for use at 1 yard away.

I would say no,
The good (W and X) bins are, at present, unobtainium. A lot of folks have moved to the Luxeon III for throw and they can be had with good bins. Why get a U bin 5 watter when a T bin is much cheaper and almost as bright? To say nothing of the fact that the T bin is rated at 700mA, they could possibly hit U bin at 1000mA.
BilBill, the Luxeon III has better throw than a 5 watter due to the single emitter size VS the 4X larger die of the Luxeon V.

Basically think it's that with a 3W Luxeon, you can get narly the same amount of light as from a 5W, but it's a much smaller point source - hence easier optical control.

I am thinking for a distance of 1 yard, I want a bit of a shotgun of light rather then a rifle.

I want to know when Lumileds is going to roll out longer-life versions of the white Luxeon V. Their data sheets say they expect to produce long-life versions "soon."

Shame as my most used LED light is my X-bin McLux PR flood. Excellent for searching for dropped stuff in the dark and for poking around in cupboards and under sinks!

Cheers

PEterW

I think with mostly the U bins only avaiable for the 5 watters for now a good LuxIII beats it hands down - same total output at least at 1A current and way less power needed and less heat issues too. With W and X 5 Watters its a different game as you get way more light - but there are none it seems for a while already. The good dies might go all in the T 3 Watters - and selling 4 T LuxIIIs Lumiled might be able to make more profit than selling a single W or X 5 Watter - as far as my math goes.

Klaus