5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Hello,
I have been doing allot of research and searching on this forum for a while now. There are just to many choices of flashlights!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I am just looking for a good flashlight for camping.
One that is bright, somewhat compact, and long lasting with a decent battery life. A good throw would be nice, but I think more light output overall would be best for me.
Would a xenon or an LED be a better choice?
Either this xenon unit, rated at 210 Lumens for 59.99
Xenon light
Or this LED unit rated at 120 Lumens for 59.99
LED light
I realize the lumens ratings really dont mean a whole lot. I also think I would prefer the LED light because of its longer life and durability. But is the xenon going to be ALLOT brighter?
Overall output is my biggest concern, do you think the xenon would be a better choice for me?
Thanks for any input, I am a beginner in the "lumens world"!!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

I own that second lite (The 053 LED). It works better than my Streamlight TL3-LED for half the price. Not as good as a Surefire L6 but that cost $230. Make sure you get the 123 batteries off of one of the suppiers on CPF like Surefire.com or Batterystation because they are a big ripoff at any store. Owe but the way, that light even has adjustable focus which hardly and LED's do. It comes with free holster- I carry mine at work all the time now.I think it is the BEST value 5 watt bright LED anywhere.

NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--

My Lights: I had aliens attack while testing: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/sssh.gif

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tomw9sx/slideshow?&.dir=/c6ab&.src=ph

I think the two cell xenon would be as bright as the 5W,(around 60-70 lumens) the three cell xenon would be brighter (~100 lumens).
Go for a three cell light and get two pila 150s batteries. Whether you choose the the led or the xenon is a matter of personal preference. Some folks just don't like the color rendition of luxeons, my brother says "That light isn't white, it's blue."
Nikola, how well does the Nuwai manage the heat? 'Cause an L4 gets screaming hot after about 10 minutes. The xenon will get just as hot but you don't have to worry about it ruining anything. For example, a pila GL2R light, if left standing for 15 minutes turned on gets too hot to hold. So, if you want a light to use continuously for more than 10 minutes, maybe you might want to consider something less bright or in a bigger package.

EDIT: According to Quickbeam's review of the Nuwai 5W, it is actually about 30 lumens--yikes! Don't get that one.

It all depends on what you what it to do. IF you want to light up the campsite, get a LED, but don't expect to see something 50 yards away. However, if you want to shine on something far away, get the Xenon, which as expected, won't light up the campsite.

It does get hot after a while. But the whole thing is one big heatsink made of aluminum. I have a review up but my Web host died today so comparison beam shots need to be reposted. I have had good battery life and color is constant so it is regulated. Hey my SureFire L6 gets mighty warm too. The SL TL3-LED does not get that warm but the brightness is lower. They must not run the LED as hard. I ordered a 153 from LF (see Raven77's link) for $89. When I get that I will repost a new test on my new host (Yahoo)
If you get a Xenon, Make sure to get a spare bulb with it. The Legend LX is only $20 at wall mart and bulbs like $3 . Irs as bright as a $100 surefire and has a clickie tail cap (Which the Nuwai's do not have)

NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--

My Lights: I had aliens attack while testing: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon8.gif

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tomw9sx/slideshow?&.dir=/c6ab&.src=ph

Greetings Raven; welcome to here - hope you stick around and keep posting.

For camping you may not really need a super bright light for most purposes. A flood beam might be better around the site. You could take two lights, one of them for long throw. A SL-TT2 might be a good tool, its three LEDs provides enough light for dark adapted use and has a semi-flood xenon for moderate distances.

The Arc LSH, LS4, or new UK LED are candidates for camping. Other members can provide more info on good lights for camping. For run time with reasonable size, you may want a 2C light rather than lithium powered, or maybe the SL-TL3C.

When LEDs meet or beat the lumens, throw, and cost of a SL-TL3, for example, only then will I consider them for distance use. LEDs have the advantage in lamp life but for long throw, xenons still give you more bang for the buck. This situation is changing and others may know of good, less expensive, long throwing LEDs. IIRC the Pelican M6 might be one of those LED throwers.

Re. ubermensch comment:
According to Quickbeam's review of the Nuwai 5W, it is actually about 30 lumens--yikes! Don't get that one.

Something does not add up here !
The Nuwai 5 W is running 3 123 cells.
My ARC 4+ (and some other 1 cell 1W) are rated close to 30 lumens.
My (uneducated) ceiling test show my 5 W Nuwai to be MUCH BRIGHTER then my ARC 4+ (second)on high.
Also see the posts comparing the 5 W nuwai to the L4.

I would like to see another opinion on if the Nuwai 5 W is indeed ONLY 30 Lumens. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

Glenn

His lightbox reading showed 30 qups, compare that to the L4's 58 qups. He might have gotten a dud though.

Raven77,
Welcome to CPF!
For camping, we use headlamps. Everyone gets a headlamp and then there is no need for lanterns. With a headlamp you have light where you look without thinking about it and your hands are free. This is where the AAA headlamps with 5mm LEDs are most useful. Examples of these are: Tikka Tikka Plus Zipka Aurora
I like a LED on a neck lanyard for a backup and for having a light while in my sleeping bag. Something like a Photon 2 or ARC AAA.

I also take a bright incandescent, but I don't use it much.
I have used Princeton Tec Tec40s to the Surefire M6. When I need a bright light I want it to be really bright.

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Raven

Sure is alot to choose from. I've just decided to buy one of everything. Aleast that's what my wife has accused me of. I think Jayflash had some good ideas regarding all round use. My do anything light is a SL TT1 modified with a Kroll tail clickie. Out to medium range, I'm very happy with it. To go farther, I use a SL Scorpion. A TT2 should do a good job out to maybe 30 yards? They're cheap enough. Locally I can get a TT2 for about $30.

Good Luck LR

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Thanks allot for all the great replies!!
I have once again changed my mind though.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I am now narrowed down to one of these three...
1. SL Scorpion @ $33
2. Surefire G2 @ $33
3. Pelican M6 @ $40

I am leaning towards the Scorpion though...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Not for 1 minite do I believe its only 30 lumens. compare these shots to the SF L6 and TL3-LED:
http://www.tjtech.org/gallery/5Watt-LED-shootout

Maybe he had crummy batteries. I always use brand new 123's to do test shots.

NikolaTesla /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif

An Arc lamp is the Spark that takes away the Dark--

My Lights: I had aliens attack while testing:

http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tomw9sx/slideshow?&.dir=/c6ab&.src=ph

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

[ QUOTE ]
I would like to see another opinion on if the Nuwai 5 W is indeed ONLY 30 Lumens.

[/ QUOTE ]

How about an explanation of my numbers instead? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The 5 Watt Nuwai does indeed start out at about 6000 lux (60 Qups) in my lightbox apparatus, but it drops rapidly and stabilizes around 3000 (30 Qups) in about 30 seconds. So an instantaneous reading at start with fresh batteries will give around 60, but it dims quickly to around 30.

The Surefire L4, on the other hand, stays very stable around 58.

Note that my readings are not in Lumens which would require a $20,000 integration sphere. Any similarity to Lumens is just a happy coincidence.

{edit} just tested it again with Surefire batteries - same thing - starts around 6000 and plummets.

Don't forget, too, that the Lightbox is designed to read overall output, not the brightness of the hotspot in the beam center. So one light may appear to the eye to be brighter as a result of a tighter beam, but actually it may be dimmer overall.

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

I did an informal conversion from Qups to lumens--assuming that an L4 is really ~65 lumens, and that lumens and qups are both linear and parallel measurements.
Does anyone know if the 5W is resistored? It seems like it has to be--to around 700mA if it matches the L4. So, just take out the resistance, and you'll have a teeny Space Needle II.

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Quickbeam.....quote:

"The 5 Watt Nuwai does indeed start out at about 6000 lux (60 Qups) in my lightbox apparatus, but it drops rapidly and stabilizes around 3000 (30 Qups) in about 30 seconds. So an instantaneous reading at start with fresh batteries will give around 60, but it dims quickly to around 30."

Thank you for the explanation.
I just did an informal test with mine on my bathroom ceiling.
I would think that I would notice a 50% decrease in brightness. I COULD NOT NOTICE ANY DECREASE IN 60 SECONDS.
Is it possible that you got a "bum one" as someone else suggested ?

Glenn

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

ubermensch,

quote: "Does anyone know if the 5W is resistored? It seems like it has to be--to around 700mA if it matches the L4. So, just take out the resistance, and you'll have a teeny Space Needle II."

That would be nice. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

On another discussion of the 5 W Nuwai a couple of different people said that it was REGULATED !
I am hoping that is so.
Quickbeam said that it is not. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

Glenn

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Raven, Hogshead's sugestion for headlamps is a good one because you can use both phlanges for chores. AAA styles should be lighter but I think some AA types aren't too bulky and have more runtime.

I love my Scorpion and may buy another one after I've been back to work for awhile. The SF-E2e is even nicer but three times the cost, and the Scorp's a little brighter.

A headlight, small LED EDC and a Scorp, Pelican M6, or SF G2 would cover most of your camping needs.

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

Jayflash, not trying to sound condescending or anything, but a phalange is a single digit (finger) not a hand. Sorry, I read the dictionary sometimes just for fun.

Re: 5 Watt LS or Xenon??? Help Please!

We are all very different people... as Martha Stewart might have said "That's a Good thing.".

I fear my main problem with a Scorpion would be the same one I find with Brinkmann Maxfire. That dratted rubber grip. Doesn't slide in and out of my holster well.

Were it not for my Kroll modded TT2L, I would carry the Garrity modded G2. I find the PM6 just a bit too big and heavy compared to the other lights.

I would suggest for the needs outlined,

(1) a LED headlamp. Of what I've tried I would choose the Optronics 3AAA 3LED (or a genuine Clipmate) as first choice, a Garrity 3AAA 2LED 3 brightness modes plus 2 flashing modes (though mine has one white and one blue LED) second. I read with an Energizer 3AAA 2W 1R LED headlight.

(2) a LED flashlight, maybe PT Attitude or Streamlight 4AA 7LED or Lightwave 2100 class of light.

(3) a Surefire G2. Beautiful beam, good feel, CHEAP as Surefires go! Or PM6, though I find it much less desireable than the G2.

All three won't weigh that much nor take up TOO much room.

You COULD cover 2 and 3 with a Twin Task in either 3AA, 2L or 3C format. The 3C has 2 LED modes + Xenon. The Twin Tasks won't focus very tight however.

Most of the fun is in the hunt!