Recommend a 5W Luxeon Tactical Light To Me

I just blew the P61 lamp assembly in my Surefire. I was about to order a new one, but I got to thinking it might be a good time to get a 5W Luxeon flashlight like the L4 LumaMax. My thinking here is that at about $25 a pop, the 5W Luxeon light should eventually end up paying for itself, right? Or, should I just admit I'm just rationalizing to come up with an excuse to buy another flashlight?

Here are the requirements I'm looking for:

1) Primary use as a tactical flashlight.

2) No larger than a Surefire 6P - about 5 1/4" in length. No 3 cell lithium 123 lights - too big to pack around everynight.

3) Should put out at least 60 lumens.

4) One hand operation a must - no twist two handed the bezel operation like the Maglites.

5) Must be significantly less than the $140 they are asking for the Surefire L4 LumaMax! I mean Gerber has a nice 3W Luxeon light for $40!

In other words, are there any 5w Luxeons out there of good quality for less than $100? Or, do I need to wait a bit for 5w Luxeons to come down in price, and for more models to come onto the market. Regulation is certainly nice, but not a requirement.

Bruise

If you have a 6P, just buy yourself a KL5. If you are looking for a tactical light, the L4/KL4 might not have a tight enough beam.

-john

Do an internet search for Nuwai lights to get your 5 watt lux 5 light at a price that won't rape your wallet.

Whoops, edit: /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Get an xm2 from electrolumens for that 60 + lumen 2 x cr123 light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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3rd_shift said:
Get an xm2 from electrolumens for that 60 + lumen 2 x cr123 light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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Hmm, an interesting recommendation. However the XM2 only uses the 3W Luxeon LED, not the 5w. According to the review I read about it, it is supposed to be capable of generating 72 lumens. But, if I'm not mistaken Streamlight only claims 22 lumens from their 3w Luxeon, so I'm a bit sceptical about Electrolumen's claim. The review I read also cited that the XM2 had a non-user friendly, somewhat unreliable tail switch.

Isn't the 5w Luxeon Nuwai offering a larger 3 lithium 123 cell model?

Bruise

The nuwaia is a 3 cr123 cell model.
might be bigger than you wanted.

Most lux 3 lights are well over 60 lumens.
Usually 70+.
The lux 1 lights are the pieces of poopoo that are about 22, or so lumens.

@bruise Lee
FYI-My Nuwai (3x123) 5W is 7" in length. It uses a neck pushbutton click switch on the barrel, and easily puts out 100+ lumens-when running full blast [9V].
(I find that running it on just 2 cells is more than sufficient -for my purposes).

Also worth considering on 5W Luxeon lights...this model does not have the annoying "donut hole" in the hotspot that is commonly seen in a lot of other 5W. units.

To me, this is a real kick-butt of a flashlight (esp.for an LED!), built like tank..-for the going street price of only about $65. Can you say.."VALUE"? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Have I mentioned that I like this light?

-the 7" length is the only thing that might bother 'ya though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Just sorta lurking on this thread, mostly to get info on 3-5 watt lux's. I didn't see a "XM-2" on EL site, did see a XM-3 though. i am i looking in the wrong place, or is the 2 been upgraded to 3? thanks.VDG

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BruiseLee said:
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3rd_shift said:
Get an xm2 from electrolumens for that 60 + lumen 2 x cr123 light. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm, an interesting recommendation. However the XM2 only uses the 3W Luxeon LED, not the 5w. According to the review I read about it, it is supposed to be capable of generating 72 lumens. But, if I'm not mistaken Streamlight only claims 22 lumens from their 3w Luxeon, so I'm a bit sceptical about Electrolumen's claim.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, Elektrolumens along with Arc are some of the few companies that actually provide relatively honest lumen ratings, IMO. Not exagerated like most of the companies. My XM-2 is extremely bright, especially in throw.

The bigger problem with the XM-2 is not output, but quality. There were so many quality control issues that Wayne cancelled the model. For example, the switch is poor, some of the o-rings snapped with only a few twist on/offs, some XM-2s had severe scratches on the lens, undersized lens, poorly fitted parts, poor runtime, etc. From an output standpoint (pure lumens), it was a nice light but there were too many QC issues in a lot of the XM-2s. So, from a perspective of quality the original XM-2 should not be considered. Wayne did make a very small batch of XM-2s that were quality checked, slightly remodified (with different resistors) and passed QC just recently, but they probably sold out by now.

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voodoogreg said:
Just sorta lurking on this thread, mostly to get info on 3-5 watt lux's. I didn't see a "XM-2" on EL site, did see a XM-3 though. i am i looking in the wrong place, or is the 2 been upgraded to 3? thanks.VDG

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The XM-2 has cancelled due to quality control issues. The XM-3 is a completely different light, doesn't have anything to do with the XM-2, different battery sizes and electronics.

The L5 (or KL5 head) seems to be the closest fit to all your requirements except for the price. So let's look at that piece of the puzzle. Suppose the incandescent lamp lasts 50 hours of use. The 5W Lux is rated at 500 hours IIRC and assuming you don't get significant lumen depreciation, that means 10 incan lamp changes. At $20 a pop, that's $200. You just paid for a brand new L5. An advantage to the L5 is that it's impervious to shock, unlike an incandescent.

As primary tactical light source, I think 5W LED's still have some ways to go. I still prefer a good ole incandescent for that purpose. Its directivity can be adjusted better. The L5 beam is a bit wide IMO for concentrating light in one direction and comparing that with a good incandescent, it doesn't have the "eye scorching" capability that you'd want in a tactical light. Just stand 20 ft in front of a mirror and flash yourself with a **good** incandescent and a 5W LED and you'll see what I mean. Now incans do have big disadvantages, one of which is the "afterglow" that you get with the hotwire, and the other big one is that it does burn out which could happen at the *most* inopportune time. So I'm not bashing 5W Luxes, I just think there's plenty of improvement left. Having said all that I think the L5 (or L6 if you don't mind the added length) is your best bet. I have an L5 that sits backup to my incandescent coz I know I'm gonna need it.

CM

It's Luxeon3's that are the good throwers with thier smaller emitting surface relative to reflector size.
In other words a Luxeon3 can throw better and tighter with same reflector than a Luxeon5 can.
Some Luxeon3's of lower vf H or J bin with T flux output can easily hit 100 lumens with a little overdrive. TWOJ is a great find for that. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Most that you find already installed in flashlights of mass production are 60 - 80 lumens.
That xm3 looks like a very good way to go too.
With rechargeable nimh AA batts and charger (10 - 20 bucks?), you can use it guilt free as much as you like.
Plus it's still about the same size, or smaller as an Asp 21" collapsible baton.
Otherwise, there are plenty of one and 2 cr123 cell lights out there with good 60+lumen lux3's in them in B/S/T Lights and B/S/T modified forums that are well within your specifications. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif

I don't realy get what you are writing about the L2 and it's throwing performance. added: I am not sure if you are talking about the L2?

If comparing the L2 emitter to the reflector size and the L5 emitter to its reflector size the L2 would have a larger emitter surfave relative to the reflector. BTW both L2 and L5 use a 5W emitter, the only difference is how hard they are driven, the reflector size and characteristics of the reflector. I would like to leave binning out of this for now. I also thought all the time that a larger reflector is better in photonmanagement and creating a throwing light than one with a smaller reflector - they can throw, too, as seen with the PR reflectors though. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


I don't own an L2 but from what I have read around here it seems to have similar characteristics in throw as the L4, while the L5 is more into throw.

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edited to correct light designation /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twakfl.gif

Hey guys,
I think we have a nomenclature problem here!! It seems that 3rd_shift has chosen to designate the Luxeon 3 and Luxeon 5 Watt emitters as L3 and L5. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif This can be very misleading considering that SF has a light called a L5 and I think K-T is now referring to a non existant L3 but probably meaning to refer to the L2 or L4. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Slightly off topic, but I've always wondered why Surefire skipped the L3.

Their Lumamax series is L1, L2, L4, L5, L6, and L7. Someone at Surefire forgot that the number 3 is in between 2 and 4??

Thanks, Don. I was confused by his 'L3' and thought he was talking about the L2 - then I by mistake used the wrong name, too.

Now, that you interprete his L3 as LuxeonIII his writing makes more sense - mine doens't anymore - it just gets worse. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

Fixed it.

Makes more sense now and I can follow you. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/drunk.gif I should leave this thread alone to not create more mess /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon6.gif

If you guys will be a little patient there's a killer tac light just around the corner......

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif any hints? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif

When it comes to "tactical" lights--for searching for, identifying and deterring hostiles, dim lights are worse than no lights. You want as bright (i.e. big) as you can stand to carry. From Quickbeam's Throw/Output chart, the SF L5 (5watt Luxeon Star) has 39.37 throw versus 63.25 throw for either P60 or P61. Output for the P61 is 70 and 60 for the L5. The P61 lights are smaller than the L5, too. I am curious about Luxeon lamps because they don't explode in your hand (supposedly) when you are trying to arrest somebody (personal experience), but until they get brighter than incandescents, I'd stick with what you have for self-defense.