Turtlelite II

I was checking out The LED Museum site and noticed that the Turtlelite II was given a score of 50. I didn't find any other lights that received this rating. So I was wondering Who has one? And what is your impression? Seems like a good general purpose light although kind of ugly.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 5BY5:
I was checking out The LED Museum site and noticed that the Turtlelite II was given a score of 50. I didn't find any other lights that received this rating. So I was wondering Who has one? And what is your impression? Seems like a good general purpose light although kind of ugly.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Turtlelite 2 was the best of its time, and it still is a good light - weatherproof, water resistant, it floats, reasonably bright for 2 LEDs, nice switch, and runs for a good amount of time on cheap batteries.

There are better lights available now, but you really can't go wrong with the Turtle 2.

I use to have one. I believe I paid 27.50 plus shipping. For that kind of money I would rather have the attitude or an arc aaa. The princeton tec attitude is brighter, smaller, and cheaper than the turtle 2. since i dont have it to compare anymore Im guessing the newer arc's are close in brightness to the turtle.

I am looking to buy a light as a gift for two of my brothers. This will be a boat light and I like the fact that the T2 floats.

Craig what other lights are better?

My 2 cents: Eternalight ErgoMarine - floats with Lithium batteries (included)

I second that...Eternalight...you can't go wrong.

Turtle lite II may be outdated but I still use it as it's easy to hold, and has an easy to use switch. It's brighter then an Arc AAA but still has limited brightness for a general purpose LED light. My Inova X5 and Eternalight Elite X-ray both blow it away in brightness but of course more expensive, particularly the Eternalight.

I like the light but unless the price has come down considerably then what I'm aware it used to be, there are probably better deals in LED lighting. Considering the increased competition since it's initial release, I don't think it's worth more then $20, $25 tops if you really love the switch.

I would say the T2 (Turtle Light 2) is my favorite light. It fits great in the hand, has a nice beam (center spot, with dimmer flood ... great for walking around, looking around). It takes 4 AA's, so you can use lithiums (long term storage). And, yes, I would say the switch is good.

The only drawback is the price, I just checked and they are still selling for $27.95 on LEDCorp's website.

Oh, and the heavy rubber coating on the head of the light is nice.

Doug

Ps. Craig, I am curious to hear what you think is better???!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 5BY5:
I was checking out The LED Museum site and noticed that the Turtlelite II was given a score of 50. I didn't find any other lights that received this rating. So I was wondering Who has one? And what is your impression? Seems like a good general purpose light although kind of ugly.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto Craig on the LW 3000. Love that light.

The LW3000 just might get the distinction of "best non-regulated LED light" of the year! One of the Arc models will probably take home the "best regulated LED light". Not that it has a whole lot of competition.

Maybe I will give them a Lightwave 3000 but if it doesn't float I can always give them my PT Impact and have an excuse to buy a new light for myself.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The LED Museum:

FYI the Lightwave 3000 will very likely end up with a 49 or a 50 when I finish up with it. The Inova won't quite make it all the way because it has some shortcomings. But that doesn't mean it's not a great light, because it is. If you can overlook the lack of knurling on the head and the expensive batteries, I give it a thumbs-up.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Craig, is the Lightwave 3000 brighter then the Inova X5? If so, by how much? I have an Inova X5 and it's pretty bright for a five LED light.

P.S. I read on a review somewhere that I can't remember where of a Lightwave3000 and 4000 and the reviewer said the 3000 was actually brighter then the 4000 which is why I asked the above mentioned question. I think my Inova X5 is brighter then my Trek 7 which is why I'm interested on how the Lightwave3000 stacks up.

I've got both the 3000 and the 4000, and while the 3000 is close enough for most purposes not to matter, the 4000 is *still* brighter. It doesn't throw much farther than its 7-led sibling at all, but it does give a bigger flood with better light density in the illuminated area. There's not hotspot with these lights, so I'd just say the 4000 has a larger 'warmspot'

Oh - forgot to add - all that said, the 3000 is the light i'd choose if it was between the 3000 and 4000. For the brightness, build quality, and runtime - they're practically the same. But less bulk and weight. IMO, I really wish the 4000 had crammed 20 leds in its head instead - those D's could've been put to better use.

I can understand your point. If you're going to have a Nichia LED flashlight running off of 3 D cells, why not cram 20 or more LEDs in the same space? Still plenty of runtime. I think I'm going to order a lightwave 3000 to replace tasks I used to use for the turtlelight II as well as my Trek 7 which I rarely use because it's very inconvenient and hard to activate.

I would like to post this in favor of the turtlelite II that it is comfortable in the hand and light. Also, if it is dropped, it certainly won't chip any tile floors with its rubber cassing and light weight. I used to have one untill grandma lost it. I let her use it and it was her favorite light as it was plenty bright and easy for her to turn on with her arthritic hands. She used it on a nightly basis.

after she lost it, I bought her the cool blue light which is a turtlelite I with a different brand name. i'm glad she liked it but that tight beem, though an interesting novelty was just not practical enough for me.

but don't write of the turtlelite II. It definitely fills a nich. with it's floatation, I can't think of a better light to have on a boat at least for backup light.

also, someone metnioned that it's an ugly light, but I think its a really cute light when you see it in person.

I'm honestly considering getting another one.

I am still undecided on which lite to get the T2 has a certain "fishing light ugliness" to it. But on ebay I can get the Lightwave 3000 for $40-45 and have 5 more LED's and we all know brighter is better.

Craig previously you posted that the Eternalight Marine leaked in your fishtank test. But that was a prolonged swim and not a quick dunk. So will it stay dry if it quickly fished out?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 5BY5:
I am still undecided on which lite to get the T2 has a certain "fishing light ugliness" to it. But on ebay I can get the Lightwave 3000 for $40-45 and have 5 more LED's and we all know brighter is better.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just face it, you'll always be in doubt unless you buy both and try them out for yourself. You are right about the T2 and it's "fishing boatness", if it had more LEDs then it would not be such a hard decision. It's squat enough so you could place it on a shelf or table and it would resist tipping over under most sea conditions. A LW3000 would not fare as well as far as staying in place. Still a eternalight is a good compromise between the two lights. No easy decision which is why you need more then one light.

I use some Turtlelite IIs for earthquake lights. I like the fact that they are dependable and can take Li batteries and have very long runtime (web site estimates 60hrs I recall).

While I think the LW 3000 and LW 4000 look interesting, the lack of an Li option make them much less attractive to me.

Interestingly enough, if the LW 4000 was a four cell light instead of three, I would seriously consider using it with Li D cells + dummy cells. In fact, I do the equivilent of this with a 2D Maglite and 4 cell LEDcorp ProSeries LS bulb.

While I don't own one, the LW 2000 looks too cheap to put much trust in, but I could be wrong.

FWIW, the Attitude is a great little light, but the fact that it doesn't have an Li option rules it out for what I want in these particular lights.

Since you said general purpose light, I think the TL II, Attitude, LW3000/4000 seem like good selections depending on what you like.

The Attitude is nice and small, the TL II is easier to turn on and off, the LW3000/4000 should be fairly bright.

That said, you might also consider a rechargable light like the Stinger HP (I know, wrong section). In my particular case, I choose the Surefire 10X as the general purpose / work light since it's rechargable, has long runtime with the less bright bulb, and has the versitility with the brighter one. Of course I ordered them in Oct '01 and I'm still waiting.... :-(

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I just re-read the thread and missed the boat-light intent.

While the floating aspect is nice, I suspect you are going to want more light unless this isn't your primary light. I imagine I wouldn't want to rely on the TL II or the Attitude in the dark on the water, especially if I was looking for the shore.

Something with a bit more light and a bit more throw might be in order. I would probably say the LW3000/4000 would be about minimum I would consider, but perhaps something like a Surge or Stinger HP depending on what kind of boat (and if it has an electrical system to hook up a rechargable).

And I'd probably look at the UK 2L (or a couple) for a backup light.

You might also look at getting some gearkeepers for them: http://www.gearkeeper.com/flashlights.htm

]

-john