BuddTX
Flashlight Enthusiast
I was going to write a "different" type of review (different format) of a new light, the InReTECH TRILIGHT, ( http://www.inretech.com/ ) a 3 Luxeon Star drop in module for a Maglite (or Mag-Lite, Maglite's OWN web site spells it BOTH ways), but the Space Shuttle Tragedy changed that.
I walk my dog nightly, off the leash, for at least an hour, at night, with a friend, who has three dogs, and we walk in several locations, and some of the areas are completely without ambient light, and some have some ambient light. She usually carries a Streamlight Stinger HP, and I usually have a Mr. Bulk LGI, and a Brinkmann Legend LX that I modified to have a SureFire P61 bulb ( http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/mods/legendlx_p60.htm ). So, any light that I bring for comparison purposes has a "tough act to follow". (And I DO bring other lights, I mean, hey, I'm a flashoholic!)
I was going to write this review as an active discussion, like a real time conversation, as we discussed the Trilight, as we were walking our dogs. HOWEVER, I do not have time to adequately write the review this way, as I have to go to her house, and pick up her other two dogs, as she has been called out, with Murphey, a Certified SAR Border Collie, to search for the Human remains of the Space Shuttle Astronauts. She called me as she was on route to the search area, and, while I can't fully describe the tone of her voice, she was very nervous, or apprensive, as, it is one thing to read or watch it on TV, but another thing to actually be involved in the search for the Astronauts. Murphey is certified in finding Human Remains, and it is a somber occasion any time he has to "go to work".
Just to let yall know, she is a volunteer, as is everyone on her team.
Here are their web sites for your info:
http://www.ghsd.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GHSDTX/
InReTECH sent me a sample of their TRILIGHT for review (drats, I have to give it back, but knowing me, I will eventually buy one!) I loaded it into my 3D Maglite, where my Super6 (another InReTECH drop in module, 6 Luxeon Star LED's with no optics) ( http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003033#00 0000 ) currently resides. In comparing the construction of my Super6 (which I like!) to the Trilight, I noticed some nice improvements. Instead of a plastic body, the Trilight is made of a metal body, and instead of just resting in the Maglight, it is screwed in. Very professional, and tight. The Trilight came with detailed instructions on how to install, and it took me longer to read the instructions, than to actually install the Trilight.
The batteries in my Mag were fairly new (I thought), as I used them "only" to test my Super6. I took it with me, to go walking with my dog, along with my LGI and Joann's Stinger HP.
Of course I turned it on before hand. It gave a nice, wide solid light. It lit up my "great room" (living room and dining room) nicely. Well, in walking for an hour, the Trilight performed very satisfactorily, but not stellar. The other lights that we used were preferred by both of us, to the Trilight.
Well, knowing the guys at InReTECH, and the fact that they are pretty "fanatical" about their products, I wanted to see if I could make this thing brighter. I remember getting an e-mail from Patrick at InReTECH saying how his Trilight was "stuck" in his Mag 4D.
"4-D", I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if . . ."? Well, I ran off to Wal-Mart, and purchase a Maglight 4D, along with a 4 pack of fresh, Raovac Maximum Plus batteries.
I got home, and installed the Trilight in the 4D.
What happened next?
To quote Emeril Lagasse, BAMM! KICK IT UP A NOTCH! BAMM BAMM! KICK IT UP ANOTHER NOTCH!
The Trilight went from "OK" to BAMM! It almost literally "came alive"! The Trilight easily became the brightest and widest LED light that I own. If my friend didn't have to go and search today, I was going to show her the "BAMM" of this light! The difference between 3D and 4D was like, well, Night and Day! (Pun Intended!)
I took it out to my backyard, and my back fence is about 175 feet long. I found that the light could easily light up the other side of the fence, if I stood about 140 feet away from the other side. Using the Trilight to look at my house, I was amazed on how wide, yet bright a field of light, this light produced. (Sorry, no digital camera to take pictures).
Can you "officially" use a 4C or 4D light to power the Trilight? Well, you will have to ask InReTech, but here is a quote from Mike at InReTECH on that subject:
"I use my TriLight in a 4D as well; you need to measure the current since battery combinations are different it should be under 1.1A"
While the maglite 4D is not a "hiking light", it is the type of light that I would want to have, when I KNOW I am going to need lots of light for a long time. The kind of light you would want to have in your vehicle, or toolbox, or to keep around the house, for when you need a heavy-duty light, but still prefer the light of an LED to an incandescent. And we ALL KNOW about the robust-ness of the maglite body!
That is an important statement, so I will re-state it. While very powerful, the Trilight is NOT going to light up objects 300-500 feet away, like my friends Stinger HP. I would use it for things, like inspecting a car, or truck or plane. It even puts out more light than my Mr. Bulk LGI, and I say that with a little sadness, because my LGI is my single most used light. A hand picked Luxeon Star, tweaked to be as bright as possible, it is a nice light, for the lucky few that were able to get one.
Is the 4D form factor in a light right for you?
Well, for me, I am going to take my 4D back to Wal-Mart (I saved the receipt), and will exchange it for a 4C. Without knowing the specifics, I know that I will be sacrificing run time for a lighter light. That works better for me. BUT, if you were "in the warehouse" or "on site" or "in the field" for 8 hours at a time, you might prefer a longer run time of the D batteries, and accept the fact that it is a little heavier. But that is not a positive or a negative, just your choice. AND (I hate starting sentences with the word "AND" but anyway . . )millions of people have already made that choice, by having already purchased 3D and 4D maglites!
And, let's face it. To quote from Craig's site, a 3 or 4 D or C cell flashlight is "easy to feed". Batteries are available anywhere, and are usually inexpensive, with long run times. That is important to a lot of people.
(I think that Nite-Ize sells a "sling" for the Mag light, it might be a thing to consider . . .)
Is the Trilight going to replace my LGI for my daily walks? No! BUT, is it a light I want around the house? YES!
Now, I want to talk a moment about what InReTECH goals are. Their name stands for Incandescent Replacement Technologies. Their business plan (as I see it) is to offer drop in replacements for the millions and millions of mini-mags, and maglites that already are in service throughout the world. I tried out the stock light of the 4D mag before dropping in the Trilight, and I was surprised on how even and white the beam was. While still pretty narrow, it was acceptable. I think maybe we need to re-visit the standard mag light and it's light output. It was much better than what I remember it being several years ago. Not as nice or big or bright as the Stinger HP or the Surge, but acceptable (maybe a C+ or a B-). What a "big" goal, to replace all the stock bulbs with one of their modules. A pretty lofty goal, but nobody would argue that their modules are superior to the standard bulbs found in mag products. I hope they are successful. Another one of their products, a 2AA drop in module for the mini-mag, while not the brightest 2AA Luxeon Star flashlight, is MUCH better than the standard bulb that comes with the mini-mag. I think that their products should be compared to their incandescent counter parts.
After comparing the two lights, the stock 4D mag, and the Trilight, I had to ask myself, what light would I rather have, the stock 4D mag, or the Trilight, and I had to answer, "without a doubt, the Trilight".
My only complaint, and I discussed this via e-mail with Mike, is the color of the light. The light color was that very light hint of green, that we read about so often with the Lumiled Luxeon Star. In actual usage, I had no complaints about the color. After all, I am not comparing the "hues of red" between two First Growth Bordeaux's. I could see that my bricks were red, the cement between the bricks was white, my paint was white, my grass was green, and my fence and trees were brown, and my dog was white and brown! As we all know, the color variation of the Luxeon Star is a problem that all Luxeon Star manufactures have to deal with.
EDIT: On the way home, I was thinking about my review, and needed add this, as I don't think I emphasised this point strong enough, and I base MY purchases based on what other people write, and I want those reviews to be accurate, so I strive to write an accurate review also.
Do I wish that the color was whiter? Yes, of course I do. I would rather this light have that snow white color that the Nichia LED's have become known for. I think that the variable color of the Luxeon Star could give the LED industry a bad name. But is it InReTECH's falt? NO. Does it affect the actual use of the light? Not really, but a whiter color would show off uneven terrain better, like shadows and dips, with more contrast. I am hoping that within the next 12-18 months, that Lumileds will get this problem fixed (no proof, just a gut feeling, and believe me, I have a big gut!
END OF EDIT
The other question here, is "Will Joe Average purchase a 90.00 drop in module for a maglite?". Now, that is almost a dumb question to ask here on CPF, were several hundred of us, just spend over a hundred dollars on a 3 or 4 inch flashlight, and we refer to 75.00 lights as "a bargain!", or "a good deal"! I mean, would this sell if it were on a shelf at Wal-Mart or your local hardware store, or sporting goods store. At first I thought "No", but then, if I never heard of CPF, and saw this 90.00 module, it would bug me, until I saved up enough to buy it! So, yes, I do think that there are lots of people out there who do want something better out of their mag-light.
Well there, I am done!
And We didn't even mention that the run time of the Trilight is much longer than the incandescent bulb that it replace, and that it is unbreakable and shock proof unlike the standard bulb, and that it has an almost unlimited "bulb" life! (ok I just did mention it, but all of us CPF flashoholics already know this!
Also, I meant no disrespect to Maglight, Streamlight, Mr. Bulk, and InReTECH by comparing their products against each other. While my 4D Trilight currently is the BRIGHTEST LED light that I own (or in my possession, actually, I do have to return it!), I am fully expecting that I will go home, and find my customized, hand made, limited production Mr. Bulk NexNeedle in my mailbox, and am fully hoping that THAT will become my brightest LED light!
This review is 4 pages long in MS Word! Thank God I wasn't going to write a "long" review!
I walk my dog nightly, off the leash, for at least an hour, at night, with a friend, who has three dogs, and we walk in several locations, and some of the areas are completely without ambient light, and some have some ambient light. She usually carries a Streamlight Stinger HP, and I usually have a Mr. Bulk LGI, and a Brinkmann Legend LX that I modified to have a SureFire P61 bulb ( http://thelightsite.cruxial.com/mods/legendlx_p60.htm ). So, any light that I bring for comparison purposes has a "tough act to follow". (And I DO bring other lights, I mean, hey, I'm a flashoholic!)
I was going to write this review as an active discussion, like a real time conversation, as we discussed the Trilight, as we were walking our dogs. HOWEVER, I do not have time to adequately write the review this way, as I have to go to her house, and pick up her other two dogs, as she has been called out, with Murphey, a Certified SAR Border Collie, to search for the Human remains of the Space Shuttle Astronauts. She called me as she was on route to the search area, and, while I can't fully describe the tone of her voice, she was very nervous, or apprensive, as, it is one thing to read or watch it on TV, but another thing to actually be involved in the search for the Astronauts. Murphey is certified in finding Human Remains, and it is a somber occasion any time he has to "go to work".
Just to let yall know, she is a volunteer, as is everyone on her team.
Here are their web sites for your info:
http://www.ghsd.org/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GHSDTX/
InReTECH sent me a sample of their TRILIGHT for review (drats, I have to give it back, but knowing me, I will eventually buy one!) I loaded it into my 3D Maglite, where my Super6 (another InReTECH drop in module, 6 Luxeon Star LED's with no optics) ( http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003033#00 0000 ) currently resides. In comparing the construction of my Super6 (which I like!) to the Trilight, I noticed some nice improvements. Instead of a plastic body, the Trilight is made of a metal body, and instead of just resting in the Maglight, it is screwed in. Very professional, and tight. The Trilight came with detailed instructions on how to install, and it took me longer to read the instructions, than to actually install the Trilight.
The batteries in my Mag were fairly new (I thought), as I used them "only" to test my Super6. I took it with me, to go walking with my dog, along with my LGI and Joann's Stinger HP.
Of course I turned it on before hand. It gave a nice, wide solid light. It lit up my "great room" (living room and dining room) nicely. Well, in walking for an hour, the Trilight performed very satisfactorily, but not stellar. The other lights that we used were preferred by both of us, to the Trilight.
Well, knowing the guys at InReTECH, and the fact that they are pretty "fanatical" about their products, I wanted to see if I could make this thing brighter. I remember getting an e-mail from Patrick at InReTECH saying how his Trilight was "stuck" in his Mag 4D.
"4-D", I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if . . ."? Well, I ran off to Wal-Mart, and purchase a Maglight 4D, along with a 4 pack of fresh, Raovac Maximum Plus batteries.
I got home, and installed the Trilight in the 4D.
What happened next?
To quote Emeril Lagasse, BAMM! KICK IT UP A NOTCH! BAMM BAMM! KICK IT UP ANOTHER NOTCH!
The Trilight went from "OK" to BAMM! It almost literally "came alive"! The Trilight easily became the brightest and widest LED light that I own. If my friend didn't have to go and search today, I was going to show her the "BAMM" of this light! The difference between 3D and 4D was like, well, Night and Day! (Pun Intended!)
I took it out to my backyard, and my back fence is about 175 feet long. I found that the light could easily light up the other side of the fence, if I stood about 140 feet away from the other side. Using the Trilight to look at my house, I was amazed on how wide, yet bright a field of light, this light produced. (Sorry, no digital camera to take pictures).
Can you "officially" use a 4C or 4D light to power the Trilight? Well, you will have to ask InReTech, but here is a quote from Mike at InReTECH on that subject:
"I use my TriLight in a 4D as well; you need to measure the current since battery combinations are different it should be under 1.1A"
While the maglite 4D is not a "hiking light", it is the type of light that I would want to have, when I KNOW I am going to need lots of light for a long time. The kind of light you would want to have in your vehicle, or toolbox, or to keep around the house, for when you need a heavy-duty light, but still prefer the light of an LED to an incandescent. And we ALL KNOW about the robust-ness of the maglite body!
That is an important statement, so I will re-state it. While very powerful, the Trilight is NOT going to light up objects 300-500 feet away, like my friends Stinger HP. I would use it for things, like inspecting a car, or truck or plane. It even puts out more light than my Mr. Bulk LGI, and I say that with a little sadness, because my LGI is my single most used light. A hand picked Luxeon Star, tweaked to be as bright as possible, it is a nice light, for the lucky few that were able to get one.
Is the 4D form factor in a light right for you?
Well, for me, I am going to take my 4D back to Wal-Mart (I saved the receipt), and will exchange it for a 4C. Without knowing the specifics, I know that I will be sacrificing run time for a lighter light. That works better for me. BUT, if you were "in the warehouse" or "on site" or "in the field" for 8 hours at a time, you might prefer a longer run time of the D batteries, and accept the fact that it is a little heavier. But that is not a positive or a negative, just your choice. AND (I hate starting sentences with the word "AND" but anyway . . )millions of people have already made that choice, by having already purchased 3D and 4D maglites!
And, let's face it. To quote from Craig's site, a 3 or 4 D or C cell flashlight is "easy to feed". Batteries are available anywhere, and are usually inexpensive, with long run times. That is important to a lot of people.
(I think that Nite-Ize sells a "sling" for the Mag light, it might be a thing to consider . . .)
Is the Trilight going to replace my LGI for my daily walks? No! BUT, is it a light I want around the house? YES!
Now, I want to talk a moment about what InReTECH goals are. Their name stands for Incandescent Replacement Technologies. Their business plan (as I see it) is to offer drop in replacements for the millions and millions of mini-mags, and maglites that already are in service throughout the world. I tried out the stock light of the 4D mag before dropping in the Trilight, and I was surprised on how even and white the beam was. While still pretty narrow, it was acceptable. I think maybe we need to re-visit the standard mag light and it's light output. It was much better than what I remember it being several years ago. Not as nice or big or bright as the Stinger HP or the Surge, but acceptable (maybe a C+ or a B-). What a "big" goal, to replace all the stock bulbs with one of their modules. A pretty lofty goal, but nobody would argue that their modules are superior to the standard bulbs found in mag products. I hope they are successful. Another one of their products, a 2AA drop in module for the mini-mag, while not the brightest 2AA Luxeon Star flashlight, is MUCH better than the standard bulb that comes with the mini-mag. I think that their products should be compared to their incandescent counter parts.
After comparing the two lights, the stock 4D mag, and the Trilight, I had to ask myself, what light would I rather have, the stock 4D mag, or the Trilight, and I had to answer, "without a doubt, the Trilight".
My only complaint, and I discussed this via e-mail with Mike, is the color of the light. The light color was that very light hint of green, that we read about so often with the Lumiled Luxeon Star. In actual usage, I had no complaints about the color. After all, I am not comparing the "hues of red" between two First Growth Bordeaux's. I could see that my bricks were red, the cement between the bricks was white, my paint was white, my grass was green, and my fence and trees were brown, and my dog was white and brown! As we all know, the color variation of the Luxeon Star is a problem that all Luxeon Star manufactures have to deal with.
EDIT: On the way home, I was thinking about my review, and needed add this, as I don't think I emphasised this point strong enough, and I base MY purchases based on what other people write, and I want those reviews to be accurate, so I strive to write an accurate review also.
Do I wish that the color was whiter? Yes, of course I do. I would rather this light have that snow white color that the Nichia LED's have become known for. I think that the variable color of the Luxeon Star could give the LED industry a bad name. But is it InReTECH's falt? NO. Does it affect the actual use of the light? Not really, but a whiter color would show off uneven terrain better, like shadows and dips, with more contrast. I am hoping that within the next 12-18 months, that Lumileds will get this problem fixed (no proof, just a gut feeling, and believe me, I have a big gut!
END OF EDIT
The other question here, is "Will Joe Average purchase a 90.00 drop in module for a maglite?". Now, that is almost a dumb question to ask here on CPF, were several hundred of us, just spend over a hundred dollars on a 3 or 4 inch flashlight, and we refer to 75.00 lights as "a bargain!", or "a good deal"! I mean, would this sell if it were on a shelf at Wal-Mart or your local hardware store, or sporting goods store. At first I thought "No", but then, if I never heard of CPF, and saw this 90.00 module, it would bug me, until I saved up enough to buy it! So, yes, I do think that there are lots of people out there who do want something better out of their mag-light.
Well there, I am done!
And We didn't even mention that the run time of the Trilight is much longer than the incandescent bulb that it replace, and that it is unbreakable and shock proof unlike the standard bulb, and that it has an almost unlimited "bulb" life! (ok I just did mention it, but all of us CPF flashoholics already know this!
Also, I meant no disrespect to Maglight, Streamlight, Mr. Bulk, and InReTECH by comparing their products against each other. While my 4D Trilight currently is the BRIGHTEST LED light that I own (or in my possession, actually, I do have to return it!), I am fully expecting that I will go home, and find my customized, hand made, limited production Mr. Bulk NexNeedle in my mailbox, and am fully hoping that THAT will become my brightest LED light!
This review is 4 pages long in MS Word! Thank God I wasn't going to write a "long" review!
