tec40

Does anyone else use this light? I upgraded to the xpr113 bulb from radio shack and I think this light is amazing. wouldnt this make it as bright as a 4 cell mag? I was looking over the other lights but most the bulbs are to costly and need to be special ordered online. if my bulb burns out in this I can run down to radio shack and grab a new one. Lately I've just been into led lights (especially the attitude) but when I'm outside my tec40 gives me much better range. Its useful for checking over the yard at night if you hear something outside. I was also thinking of a surge but that just makes more bulk and needs a special bulb. with nimh cells and the easy to find bulb this is my favorite incandesent light. how well will this light compare to future luxeon star flashlights? any other opinions on the tec 40?

I have one with just the original lamp. For the money, this flashlight puts out a lot of light, with a 'Surefire like' beam. And it's very compact for a 4AA flashlight. Princeton Tec has really come out with some good lights lately: Blast, Rage, Surge, Attitude.
Pity Mag Instruments, with all their millions, doesn't spend a little on R&D for new flashlights. How lang has it been since they came out with a *new* light? I can vaugly remember waiting for the 2AAA Minimag to be available, but theat has to be at least 15 years ago.

I stopped at Radio Shack today to pick up three Xenon bulbs for my 3 cell lights. I put one into my 3 C Maglite. It's great!

Then, I took the other two out of the bag. What's this, two 4 cell Xenon bulbs? Rats! They must of had two of them on the wrong hook.

Now I'll have to go by tomorrow and pick up two more. Come to think of it. I guess I'll need to pick up a couple of new 4 cell PR bulb type flashlight for my other two bulbs.

I have 2 of Tec40s with upgraded lamps for quite sometimes, it's bright for 4 AA flashlight. I would recommend using rechargeables AAs as it runs brighter for longer time than alkalines. It's always be one of my backup for bad weather night hiking.

Alan

I can't think of a smaller or brighter 4 cell light. It is a nice light.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gandalf:
Pity Mag Instruments, with all their millions, doesn't spend a little on R&D for new flashlights. How lang has it been since they came out with a *new* light? I can vaugly remember waiting for the 2AAA Minimag to be available, but theat has to be at least 15 years ago.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

i dont understand why they cant include a krypton or xenon bulb for the minimags...i dont even think they sell an upgrade bulb for it. are the big mags still coming with krypton instead of xenon? I'm actually starting to not like mag lites...they have so many cheap ways of giving there lights a boost but they ignore it, and why cant they just make the solitare with a led? its worthless the way it is now. i think if mag made a small led light that worked well most the usa would have one.

its amazing how much further outdoors the te40 goes than my led lights, but yet indoors my attitude actually puts out more cleaner and usable light.

it's another economics question: if you're making good money shipping outdated flashlights everywhere why change them?

It's hard to fault Maglite for making a quality (relative to cost) product that sells well. It's another case of the public-at-large lagging behind on awareness of technology. Until someone begins to take a major share of the market away from them with a technologically superior product, they'll keep "dancin' with the one whut brung 'em". As to the xenon lamp for Mini-mag, check out brinkmanncorp.com for the Nexstar bulb. They are a marked improvement for the Mini-mag, putting a $10 flashlight into the realm (brightness-wise) of much more expensive lights. I still use a Mini-mag with Nexstar bulb and lithium AA batteries for backpacking because the light is reliable, weather-resistant, relatively bright with a good runtime in cold weather, and best of all, relatively cheap to replace when you eventually accidentally lose one at a campsite.

i know about the nexstar bulb, i meant i dont think mag sells an upgrade bulb for their lights which is silly. I have 2 mini mags and a 3 cell maglite. they are good lights, but they could be so much better just by changing what bulb they use. of course if your a flashaholic converting your mag to a led light or finding a better xenon bulb is no problem. but the general public doesn't really care because it works like it is. i bet if mag sold higher power bulbs under their name and a led replacement lamp to fit their existing lights they would sell like hot cakes.

Yes..I agree they are dropping the ball. They really shouldn't offer an "upgrade bulb, though. They should come stock with them...with their economies of scale, it would probably cost less than 50 cents a unit extra to generate a superior product.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brock:
I can't think of a smaller or brighter 4 cell light. It is a nice light.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Brock...I thought the Streamlight Pro-Polymer was brighter...is that not the case? And the UKE4AA was smaller...or did you mean smallest/brightest combo...

Anyway, the TEC 40 is great...but I like the 4AAA version (the Rage) better...it's not as bright, but the size is far more convenient.

In fact I just ordered six rages yesterday. Enough to spread around work, my car, and my pockets, and have some to give away for the holidays.

By the way Brock, any chance of your getting a 2AA Streamlight Pro-Polymer? I'd love to get your thoughts of how it compares to the Bison.

I'm still disappointed by the TEC 20, and would love to find a 2AA flashlight that I like...(the only one I own is the TEC 20...except for one or two really cheap ones...) The light output isn't great, and it's not very comfortable to hold compared to the TEC 40, which being twice as long is much more comfotable to grip (and better looking).

I am not Brock, I think Brock meant Tec40 with upgraded bulb that we have been talking. I have tried very hard and couldn't find upgraded bulb for SL4AA. I love its tailcap switch. With SL4AA standard bulb, the upgraded TEC40 get you more light. SL4AA still get the brightest small hot spot.

Alan

Magic: I dont have much to compare it to but I have the Pro polymer AA. I think its a great little light myself - non adjustable beam and tail switch. It seems very bright to me and casts a fairly white well-defined spot. The beam quality isnt anything like what youll see on a 6P but it doesnt seem bad for a cheap light. Also it seems to have good throw. It is definitely whiter and brighter than the TEC-20. Has a nicer beam too. Tec 20 is much more waterproof for sure. I felt like I needed to work out more after screwing the head down on that thing.

Magic, yes the Streamlight is a bit brighter, well actually the beam is just a bit narrower. But yes I was thinking in terms of smalles/brightest. I will have to look for a 2AA pro, who has them the cheapest? I have been saving my pennies for a new Surefire that will be somming out

I own both the Streamlight 4AA and Pelican (Browning version) Stealthlite 4aa. The Stealthlite gets the nod on brightness but only marginally (it has a VERY tight beam). I prefer the Stealthlite because it can be operated one-handed. Others may prefer the tail-cap intermittent switch on the Streamlight. The Streamlight does have a partially-faceted reflector which helps smooth out the beam. Based on my experience with my Princeton Tec 20, I really couldn't recommend the Tec 40 without a reflector upgrade (optional wide beam reflector available @ brightguy.com).

I have been running the Tec 40 with the extra bulb I bought with my Surge for the last several weeks. It makes the light much brighter. I like the Tec 40 a lot more this way. It gives off an amazingly tight and bright spotlight beam. I'm hoping to find a PR base with a socket for the bi pin bulbs, but no luck yet. My conversion consists of the bulb directly soldered to the base and it's shoddy.

For general purpose I prefer the broader beam of the Surge. I wish they made a smaller one with just 4 batteries. I would love to see the head on the Surge mated with the Tec 40 body.

Thanks a bunch alpg. I'm headed there now. I also didn't know you could get a wide beam for the Tec 40 since I've always bought them locally at ****'s sporting goods, and they're all narrow beam. I would still say a better reflector is needed though (definitely needs to be faceted). I'm looking for the right one to modify and glue in over the present one I have now. That with the better bi pin lamp should make a good light a lot better.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alan:
Why don't you simply order one with wide beam reflector in the first place? They're of same price, aren't they?

Alan<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, unfortunately, they don't offer the Tec 40 stock with a faceted reflector. It's offered only with the smooth reflector (narrow beam), but the faceted reflector can be ordered optionally @ brightguy.com

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Guy Guyer:
I have been running the Tec 40 with the extra bulb I bought with my Surge for the last several weeks. It makes the light much brighter. I like the Tec 40 a lot more this way. It gives off an amazingly tight and bright spotlight beam. I'm hoping to find a PR base with a socket for the bi pin bulbs, but no luck yet. My conversion consists of the bulb directly soldered to the base and it's shoddy.

For general purpose I prefer the broader beam of the Surge. I wish they made a smaller one with just 4 batteries. I would love to see the head on the Surge mated with the Tec 40 body.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, the Surge light would be much brighter but at considerably reduced runtime, as it is designed for for the series/parallel 8AA arrangement of the Surge. You're only running 4AA's in series in the Tec 40, so your available amps are reduced by half. It just depends what you like...shorter run-time/brighter or longer run-time/dimmer