-- What do you think of your Photons?

I carry a Arc AAA on my keychain all the time (and an Arc AA in my pocket)
And dont get me wrong, I LOVE them.
But I find that theres alot of times that I just want a couple seconds of light, and twisting the head on the Arc AAA is a bit of a pain with one hand if you want it on just a couple seconds, then twist it back off.

So, the Photons came to mind.
I like the push button ones. But I have a couple concerns.

1. Do they ever come on in your pocket?
2. Hows the brightness/beam compare to an Arc AAA?
3. What kinda runtime do they get? (I hate coin cell batts, pricey hard to find)
4. Which model do you recommend? Are the dimming ones worth the extra $$$?

Runtime isnt a HUGE issue, sence I should only be running the light for less than a minute a day.
Lets say I EDC it, and use it for 30 to 60 seconds a day, how long will the battery last?

oh, and while im at it, anyone have one to sell? hehe

thanks for the help
~John

Any coin cell light will last quite a long time if only used a few moments a day, but the majority of the runtime will be much less bright than the first few minutes. Photons are great lights; the best coin cell light on the market, but for your use, virtually any other company would serve just as well. The Inova microlight can be found for $5 a piece (2 for $10 at CompUSA) and is a really quality light. Its got a nice feeling momentary surface and a crisp constant on switch (easier to switch/larger than a photon 2). There's not much chance the light will come on in your pocket. Another option is the $1 light twenty pack from countycomm- not nearly as nice fit and finish, but wat do you want for a dollar a piece- the lights work pretty well and cost less than their replacement batteries. However, if you are willing to spend the extra cash, the Photon Freedom is really versatile since you can hold the button from off and it will ramp up, dimmest light first. This lets you use just the right amount you need so as not to disturb night vision too much and saves on the bats. Its also kind of fun to turn it on at the lowest setting and just stare into the LED and observe that faint glow /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif. If you don't mind waiting a few months, LRI will be releasing the Freedom Max which is employing the newest twice as bright Nichia LED's (eta is late March as of my emailing them last week). I'll definately been picking one of these up.
ps. I don't have any white ones, but I have a "night vision green" (turqoise) and an orange photon Freedom that I'd be willing to part with.

[ QUOTE ]
jtice said: 1. Do they ever come on in your pocket?
2. Hows the brightness/beam compare to an Arc AAA?
3. What kinda runtime do they get? (I hate coin cell batts, pricey hard to find)
4. Which model do you recommend? Are the dimming ones worth the extra $$$?

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I've EDC a Photon for probably over 8 years now.

The first was a Yellow Photon 1 (before they were called Photon 1's - ie: before the Photon 2 came out).

When the Photon 2's came out I bought a Yellow Photon 2 as a replacement for when the Photon 1 wore out - it never really did. I finally replaced it after 7 years on my keyring with that "reserve" Yellow Photon 2.......That poor Photon 1 was so worn that the texturing of the casing was worn smooth - but it kept working on its original single 2032 battery and would not die....

I've since had this Photon 2 yellow EDC on my keyring.

1) they have never come on in my pocket (or I've never noticed it) - but I have heard of some people who have had Photon 2's and above come on accidentally.

2) the central hotspot of the Photon 2 white I have is comparable to the ArcAAA - but the Arc has much better and usable sidespill. The yellow is much dimmer and narrower - but I use my yellow more as a close-quarters task light - although I have actually been able to navigate around outdoors in the countryside at night with only a Photon 1 Yellow (but it was hard on my thumb....)

3) The longer wavelengths (red, orange and Yellow) are advertized as 120 hours battery life. White and the shorter wavelengths are suppoosed to be 10-12 hours - please see Photon's Specs a lot of people say these are optimistic or the lights dim quickly - however my own usage attests to the longevity of at least the Yellow - because when I replaced the Yellow Photon 1 after 7+ years it was still going strong - now that's what I call an EDC!

4) personally I like the simplicity of the Photon 2's - I EDC a Yellow - with over 8 years' experience - it does everything that I need for a close task light - but I am able to navigate with it outdoors in an emergency - so I'm kind of biassed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

EDIT to ADD -
If white LED is preferred then I'd look at the Inova Microlight -
I would choose the solid body over the flashier looking translucent bodies, since the translucents have a lot of extraneous light that's both distracting, as well as attracting (unwanted) attention.....
but as always YMMV.

Jtice, I've been very happy with cheap Photon II clones. They're not /quite/ as nice as LRI Photons but they're cheap enough that you can toss them when the batteries go flat.

Runtime of a coin cell light is at least as long as Arc AAA runtime, if you accept that during the last few hours, the coin light will be noticably dimmer than the Arc (but still quite useable).

PM me your address and I'll send you a Photon clone.

Hi John...I've made a similar transition recently. I always carry an Arc AAA w/ BP miniclip on a chain around my neck, and about 2 weeks ago I took the Arc AAA second off my keychain and replaced it with my old Photon II (white). It took some getting used to, but it definitely does the job (quick momentary light) and there are always the whatever other lights I have on me if more's needed...if I was only going to carry one light and it would be on my keychain it'd be the Arc...but since I've got others, I think the Photon (or KevinL's knockoffs) are sufficient for keychain duty. And as they say, "The best is the enemy of the good (enough)."

I like Photons a lot. I had a Photon III a while back that I sold when I got the Arc AAA, and the III would come on in my pocket occasionally, but I never had to change the battery (I actually have never changed the battery in any of the coin cell lights I own).
For the money, however, it's hard to top the $1.25 Photon knockoffs that KevinL has on B/S/T...I bought 20 earlier and plan to buy probably 50 or so more in time for Christmas giveaways. Extremely good value.

And I noticed that right now there's a Photon Freedom on B/S/T being sold by PJD.

Ciao
Dave

I've edc'd a photon micro and it's a lot better than I thought it would be.
I was kinda afraid of the switch turnin on in my pockets at first but there's an auto-shut off feature and it doesn't seem to happen at all anyway.
I believe the newest ones are regulated so the brightness will be fairely constant and the led can easily be replaced by one of these new 26KMCDs for a boost...
Most of the features seem to be pretty useful and easy to use; my only regret is that it's still pricey compared to the clones...
If you look on ebay, you can find pretty good deals tho.

wow, great comments here guys.

Do the knockoff ones have a constant on? or do you have to hold them down?
I would like the constant on feature.

But, for $1.25?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
I might have to get some of those for my buddies ! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
going to look in b/s/t now...

Yep, they have the constant on - almost exactly a Photon. In fact, only difference I see is a slightly wider tail.

The newer Photons do have dimming abilities, as well as flash.

Really nice.

ahhh darn, looks like Kevin is out of the lights, at least, his order page isnt working /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Solstice, is your green one a Freedom? If so I might be interested, what ya wnat for it?

paulr, PM on the, I would like to try one of these, might be good lights to get to freinds. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

My Photon Freedom Micro (white LED) is the brightest coin cell light I've seen so far. The dimming and signaling features are very nice. It's the Rolls Royce of coin cell lights for sure.

Funny, I had a bad experience with my first Photon and have never used one after that. The %·"@# thing kept turning itself on in my pocket and the batts were dead when I really needed some light. After this hapenned twice I decided not to use'em again. Maybe one with the switch may work better... I'm happy with my Arc AAA /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I like my photon freedom. It's been on my keychain for about a year. I usually keep it in "pocket mode" which acts as a momentary switch. If i need a constant on, i have to take it out of pocket mode by holding the button for 5-10 secs until the light turns off. I can then press once quick for full brightness, constant on, or use one of it's dimmable or flashing modes.

ahhhhh i was wondering if it had some sort of lockout feature.
Sounds like I need to find a white Freedom for myself,,, and some $1.25 clones for my buddies /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

If a Photon II turns itself on in your pocket, the cure is to open it up and bend the LED lead outward a little bit.

I EDC 3 Photons. Green, White, and UV.

attached a photon II to the inside of my girlfriends hand bag - she loves it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I EDC a Photon Freedom Micro. I can't imagine my keychain without it.

It has never come on in my pocket. I once forgot to turn it off before putting it in there ( /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) but that's it.

The beam is typical for a 5mm button cell. It's purplish, but very bright for the size and quite useful.

No battery replacement has been needed as of yet, so I don't know about runtime.

The dimming function is worth the extra money, in my opinion. And the Micro's UI is great (starts dim and increases in brightness, not vice-versa).

I have a blue P2 that has been on my keys for probably 4 or 5 years now and love it, although I'm thinking about upgrading to a Freedom next time I find a good deal. My light has been with me around the world and sees use probably at least once or twice a week. The amazing thing it that it's only on its second or thrid battery. Pretty much I grab it first and use it to find a bigger light if needed.

In all honesty the switch in mine did break about 2 years ago, but I sent it back to LRI and had it fixed for free with no problems. Overall LRI and the Photon lights gets a big /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif and has a happy customer for life here.

-Mike

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WallaceD said:
... The dimming function is worth the extra money, in my opinion. And the Micro's UI is great (starts dim and increases in brightness, not vice-versa).

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It can actually do both! Turn it on and then press and hold for the dimming to go from bright to dim.