Photon Freedom

I haven't seen much discussion on the Photon Freedom for a while. I got one a while ago, and love it. It's actually knocked the Arc AAA off as my little house light. After reading about all the problems with the Photon III, I was a little hesitant about the Freedom, but I can't find any complaints. The button doesn't turn on by accident. The user interface is simple and intuitive. The features are excellent. When I make my final rounds through the house at night, I touch it to get it to highest intensity, then ratchet it down to check the kids room.

And, the fact that I often use the Freedom in its lower power modes means I don't have to be concerned about the cost of the batteries, since they are lasting so long.

The P-III, oops I meant Freedom, sure is a versatile light and SMALL. When funds permit I'll have to get one and see if I like it more than my Inova MicroLight. Does yours have the covert option? Keeping stray light from your eyes has the effect of having more light on the target being viewed.

I awarded the Freedom Micro 4 1/2 stars on my website.
Very neat little flashlight.
My page is right here if anybody is interested.
Note that the photograph of the covert model near the bottom of the page does not appear, as it is hosted on a domain that is currently offline.

My freedom covert replaced my Arc AA on my keychain. That alone says a lot. I plan on getting a couple more in colors. They're so small, I can fit 3 on there.

Love it. Use it and/or one of my similar P3s every night. Great for when you don't want too much light. They have virtually perfected the coin cell light with the Freedom.

Being cheap, I find the runtime on 6V inadequate for a light that is frequently used, but on a 3V battery, even the white LED puts out a useful amount of light for indoor use and runs for a very long time.

By the way, they recently added a tab to the battery cover and made it stiffer. You can get a free upgrade if you ask.

FYI: For those of you (like me) who purchased an early Freedom, please note that LRI have upgraded the battery cover - it's now easier to remove.

Check their website at http://www.photonlight.com/products/accessories.html for more details

What's the lowest TOTAL price (including the cheapest shipping) have you found for the Photon Freedom?

Froogle finds prices as low as $12-$13 but some shipping can be outrageous.

I found this @ $12.95 for the Photon Freedom (covert @ $14.95) with $3.95 shipping -

http://alphanet.zoovy.com/category/photon_microlights_by_lri.photonfreedom/

Ebay is the cheapest I found..

12.95 + 3.00 shipping (Non covert) with buy-it-now

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16037&item=5118930917&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

The alphanet link above has long been the low-cost source and I have dealth with them with good results. My order took about a week to ship, so it was not the fastest. When I last checked they did not list the covert Freedom.

Ordering direct from photonlight.com is only a few dollars more (free shipping within US).

Any one that has owned the Freedom and the III, can you compare how likely the light is to come on in your pockets with keys and junk in there?

I have to keep my III in timer mode because it came on twice and ran the batteries down.

Thanks

I've never had a Freedom or Photon 3, but did try the X-light and several other "1 button" lights. To this day, I still have to find one that doesn't come on in your pocket... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

[ QUOTE ]
cypher2001 said:
Ebay is the cheapest I found..

12.95 + 3.00 shipping (Non covert) with buy-it-now

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16037&item=5118930917&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[/ QUOTE ]

What a coincidence that eBay seller is AlphaNet Products - the same as the lowest total price listing I found.

http://alphanet.zoovy.com/category/photon_microlights_by_lri.photonfreedom/

(to corroborate - I just got an e-mail reply to my inquiry on that the alphaNet web site from the same named individual/e-mail address on eBay)


It seems from this very limited survey so far -

To purchase a single (white) Photo Freedom (non-covert model) it seems that $12.95 + $3 = $15.95 is the cheapest from this eBay source.

But for 2 then shop at the AlphaNet web site where the shipping stays at $3.95 (first class US mail) -
but will jump to $6.85 (Priority mail) for 3-8 lights - without the option of choosing first class.

Bart, the Inova MicroLight that I have will not, accidently, activate unless the momentary switch is FIRMLY pressed, and then only momentarily. I've yet to have it switch on via the slide switch.

Each of these lights have different advantages and both are good for keyrings, IMHO.

Here's that photograph that didn't show up on my Freedom Micro page:



Shows the business-ends of Freedom Micro covert and standard versions.

Depending on which version of the Photon 3 you have, the 3 may be the same or more prone to accidental activation than the Freedom. The last version of the 3 has microswitches, and they are somewhat resistant to accidental activation, the same as the Freedom. I never had a problem with either.

The Freedom can be easily put into "signal mode" by pressing the switch about 7 times. In this mode the light will not latch on and is therefore safer to carry on a key ring like that.

i like this type of light but i can't understand why they continue to use the 2016 battery, if they use the 2025 can double the run-time and the cost of the 2025 is equal of the 2016. and with 2x2032 they can have 2,5-3 time the runtime. only the light become a little more fat (2mm with 2 2025 and 3mm with 2 2032) but i think isn't a problem...

The Photon III (with the chip dated 2001) had a problem: it was draining the batteries when it was turned off. Version 2002 of the chip cleared the problem.
I have some Photon Freedoms, and I love them. I don't think, however, the Freedom can replace the Arc-AAA as EDC or EDC back-up, since the power of 2016 is nowhere comparable to that of AAA battery. Also, it is not waterproof, nor crush-resistant.

Anthony

Sorta off topic, but if you have one in your area,the Academy Stores (sporting goods) have the Inova Microlights for $5.95 everyday price.

Prophet,

No argument that the value prop of the Arc AAA and Photon Freedom are different. What I like about the Arc, besides the craftsmanship and bomb-proofness, is the battery capacity and the use of cheap easy-to-change batteries. But I've moved back to valuing more the Freedom's much smaller footprint and lighter weight, combined with the dimming feature (which alleviates runtime concerns and battery price concerns to some extent). Definitely wouldn't put someone down for carrying an Arc AAA, it's awesome.

Joe

I have many of the Photon III's and the Freedoms. My III's never come on in my pocket, not once ever. After I bought some Freedoms, I found they come on in my pocket so often that I had to put it into signal mode. I like the interface of the Freedom a lot but the III has an interface advantage in a certain way, depenidng on how you use it. With the III, you can have two instantly available modes depending on which button you push, I keep full low available on the lower button and just press the upper button for momentary high during low beam use, then let go to return instantly back to low. With the Freedom, you have full high available instanly, or full low which can be cycled up to high. But you can't instantly return to low from high or high to low without cycling the light. The Freedom has the advantage of not having to cycle thru the strobes to change the setting on the lower button. Each has it's different advantages dpending upon personal uses. I tend to prefer the III for myself.
Hope this helps and didn't confuse you even more /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif