Advice on small Luxeon LED light

Hi folks,

I'm about two years behind on the current state-of-the-art with small-size LED flashlights. Before bothering you all I checked old threads, but things move so fast and there's so much information, that I can't tell if the light in the thread from 6 months ago is still a good choice.

What I'm looking for is a small bright Luxeon LED light ... as close to keychain size as possible, though I'm sure given my requirements list it will be a size above keychain size. Here's the description:

MUST:
- Be as small as possible: Must be smaller than a SF E1e
- Run on CR123A or smaller (i.e., CR2 works)
- $150 max, preferably less

HIGH WANTS:
- Clickie switch
- Multiple light levels
- Bright for size, bias towards spot preferred but flood okay.
- Good regulation for reasonably flat, predictable discharge

LESS IMPORTANT:
- Runtime (I actually bias towards brightness, but if I can get multiple run levels, maybe I can have it all)
- Perfect white color
- Perfect beam shape


I've noticed a bunch of new lights since I paid attention to this particular lighting space. For example, the JIL looks nice, running off CR2, although there are multiple options of that light (which I don't understand), and I believe there are lots of other good competitors as well. I think this light hits all my "musts", but misses some of my "high wants".

Thanks in advance!

Joe

Hi Joe:

I'd recommend the Surefire L1 (latest version, with the TIR optic), although it's a little longer than you specified. It's regulated on high, and the low is through a resistor in the tail cap. Doesn't have a clickie tail cap though.

My next recommendation, would be the Surefire E1L, with a McE2S two stage tail cap. The E1L comes with the clickie tail cap, but the McE2S gives you two levels of output similar the the L1's, in a shorter package than the L1.

Or you could put the Surefire KL1, with TIR optic, on a CR2 Aleph body, with the McE2s tail cap, for a shorter flashlight, with shorter runtime.

All of the above have the same Luxeon III emitter, and the TIR optic, so the output is the same. Very focused spot light, which can be opened up with the F04 beam shaper, if the need should arise.

My preference would be the L1, even though it's longer. It's two stage tail cap can be locked out, whereas the McE2S tail cap can't be locked out. Also, the regulator is optimized for one cell only, and you should get a slightly longer runtime.

oldgrandpajack

Thanks OGJ, they are both interesting lights. However, I really am firm about the size being in the "must" column -- I want something that I can carry comfortably, and the L1 is way too big (cool features notwithstanding) and even the E1L is too big for me. I have at home an E1 body w/ KL4 on it (essentially same size as E1L), and for me it's not comfortable for front-pocket carry. Hence interest in lights that are a good deal smaller than the E1*, but I want a whole lot more oomph than a bona fide keychain light (e.g., Arc AAA) so I know I'll have to go bigger than that. Something like an HDS on the large side, down to a JIL or smaller.

Joe

Hey Joe,

I don't have much experience compared to most here, but it terms of size, brightness and versatility, the HDS U60 is light years ahead of anything I've ever had. The Basic 60 should be $150, upper end of your budget. I've ony had mine minutes, and just read the manual last night. Already easily working it to on/off in primary (ten lumens) toggled it down to low (lowest?) and latched on the high setting (high is quite impressive even in a room with daylight and lights on). It's not given me any errors yet, but I've not done any of the 10 clicks yet. Based on what I've seen, I think these are about the basic settings, and that's a good amount of brightness options already. My opinion mighgt be biased, I love this thing like it was my child, and I've never used an Arc or Firefly or anything.

If you really want a very small CR2 light with flat regulation, 2 regulated levels and under 150$. There is CR2 Ion, but it uses 1W Cree lamps which should theoretically put out around 60 lumens at 350 ma. But there is a catch, it's still in preproduction phase. The production of the prototypes at the new shop has begun yesterday. If you could wait a few months, you could buy it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif. One thing is sure, it's a lot smaller than E1E.
Here's an old prototype picture for size comparison, the CR2 Ion is right next to the AA battery



Here is the link if you are interested, with more updated pics and specifications:
Link to CR2 Ion

pokkuhlag, See, I told you I was behind. I was vaguely aware that there are other LEDs out there besides Luxeons that put out more light than the standard 5mms ... So my "must" list is really more of "minimum of LS 1W performance, prefer Lux III performance". Two of those CREEs at 60 lumens (at company spec; assume real life is more like 40s, but still great).

Thanks to torchman as well for the verification that the HDS's are impressive.

Joe

Hi Joe!

Another option that meets practically all of your requirements is the Nuwai Q3. Actually, heavily modded it meets your needs. Two-stage modifications are easy enough to find as are PIC-based complex multi-level mods. But, the latter requires a rechargeable Li-Ion CR123 instead of the more common primary cell. There are also any number of drivers that can be put in there for brighter, longer running output. Finally, these lights have Type 2 anodising but one CPFer has some HAIII versions on his site.

A break down in parts might go something like this (I'm guessing) for a two-stage mod:

- $29 for the Q3 $29
- $45 to upgrade the Luxeon (TYOJ), heatsink (via ViRen) and lens
- $20 to upgrade to a two-stage tailcap (couple of options here)
- $20 to upgrade the driver (MadMax+ ?)

Yes, that's $85 worth of mods to a $30 light but it will be smaller than a Surefire L1, you get a clickie tailcap and the emitter and driver are known entities.

Jon

HDS?

if you are flexible about the clickie, McGizmo has a bunch of lights that fit the discription...

I don't dislike CR2s, but they decreased capacity really doesn't compensate for the decrease in size IMHO.

If your two years behind you'll want to check out the new Arc-AAA, just an FYI.

As for larger lights? I'd try to hunt down a FF2. The CR2 pack and reflector mod make it the king of size / upgrading.

Ditto to the above for Don's lights: Check out the PD and the Aleph 2. Both offer excellent value for the money.

And one last vote for the RAW. Insane size!

Hi Joe, I see your name quite often over at ETS. I usually check out the threads there every week. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink2.gif

I believe the CR2 Ion is close to what you want and meets most of your requirements except for the Clickie and spot. I am looking forward to getting mine.

Thanks to everyone for the above suggestions, I'll consider them all.

Love the CR2 Ion. One question: since the CR2 Ion isn't out yet, we can't compare beamshots and the like with the JIL, but are there any comparisons that can be made? Predicted brightness based on current draw and LED? Size comparison? Thanks again

At this moment, no comparison can be made. The brightness lvl's and current draw will hopefully be measured by various reviewers once the prototypes or CR2 Ions are done. It is known that the high lvl will use 350ma and low lvl will use 30ma of current draw.
This is a flood light, it's using conus reflector. So don't get your hopes up high for lux readings.
For a beamshot with the new reflector:


For size comparison, click this link for CR2 vs FF2 size

That's all the info there is now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Updates will be posted in the CR2 Ion thread. Its link is in my previous post.

Joe for a small rugged dependable do most of it light , give the McLux III-PD a look . It's become my basic EDC lite , I wont even try to describe it , check out McGizmo's forum .

I would recommend a 4stevens modified Orb Raw. Its very small Lux3 modded to be two stage that vastly extends its usefullness and on full it is very bright. It uses rechargeable CR2's that can be ordered with it.

how much $ is the cr2ion goin' run?
can you polish the conus reflector for better throw?

CR2 Ion is going for under 150, it's now estimated at 145$ for the HA version. There will be other material used, but those are higher priced. The conus reflector will have nickel plated coating. So you don't need to polish it up, but looking at the bezel design. You can remove the bezel, so you can reach the reflector. But I don't know if the reflector can be removed from the light engine. The last time I heard about it, the light engine is the reflector too. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, this was about 6 months I read about it in the older CR2 Ion topic.