Cheap Keychain light: Xnova 8 vs. Ghost II vs. ???

Seems to be some rivalry in the LED forum between these two lights. Some people claiming the new version of the Xnova 8 is much brighter than the old. Some people claiming that the output is not that great and the Ghost II is better.

Both of these lights look cool to me. There's also the 12 LED version on LightHound. Xnova 12? And if the Xnova 8 is so much brighter than the previous version, why isn't the Xnova 12?

I'm looking for a keychain light that will put out some decent light. Runtime is not a big concern, batteries are cheap. I want as much light as I can get out of a cheap keychain light. The Fenix is out of my pricerange right now and I really want a cheap keychain light to replace and/or compliment my River Rock 2AAA.


THoughts??

Just saw a review of the Ghost II here..

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/amart_ghost2.htm

The runtime plot leaves something to be desired. Looks like it only runs at above 75% for a half hour or so and as it's doing that it's dramatically dropping off the whole time. Is this thing underdriven by the batteries?

Well now i'm looking at Emilion's 7Star 7X7mm flashlight. Says it's a 3XAAA. And I read in another thread that it's pretty bright. The listed 3AAA specification doesn't make much sense... looks like a 1AA or 1AAA light from the picture..

Here is Quickbeam's review of the new Xnova 8
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/sz_8led_1aa.htm

InfidelCastro, you must have BIG pockets to consider these 2 lights for your keychain. I did carry my Xnova 8 for 2 weeks before I decided it is a tad too big and heavy for an emergency light. Beware the bigger head of the Ghost II.
A lumpy bezel digging into one's thigh is not comfortable.

Some people claiming the new version of the Xnova 8 is much brighter than the old.

Click to expand...

I also got that impression from the forum.
Read this
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=98909

Not all "new" Xnova 8 seem to be all the same, unfortunatly

Well, I don't have any non-modified 5 LED XNovas anymore so I can't do comparison beamshots but I have a few of the latest (reverse polarity) 8 LED XNovas and they are impressively bright - about 80% as bright as the Nite Ize dropin which uses two AA cells rather than one. If you want a budget keychain light, they also make a 1xAAA XNova that would be dimmer, but more suitable for a keychain in my opinion.

As far as the 7x7mm light... I have one of those too. They are definately larger than the XNovas. I'll try to take a pic sometime and they are most definately a 3xAAA light. I like it, but again, wouldn't put it on a keychain. Very bright... probably five times as bright as my brightest XNova and whiter.

The 7x7mm is too BIG for a keychain light.
Unless you are Paul Kim. Then it is too small.
Click on the link in the 1st post to see the picture.
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=95183&highlight=paul+kim

Check out the size of the 7x7mm in Craig's hand.
http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/third/7mmflite.htm
If the size is acceptable you can get it here. It is one bright sucker.
http://emilionworkshop.com:3072/osc...d=224&osCsid=a4fbdaa1277ba3b18c82b5903af16562

Here are some pics that will hopefully help. This is the 'latest, brightest, greatest' XNova and the 7x7mm light from Emilion. Beamshot is from about 2 feet.

Sorry for the crudness of the backgrounds... I didn't really put a lot of time into them.

Hey Cratz2, which torch is which of the beam shot pic?

The 7x7mm is the brighter one.

The Xnova 8 will fit in a pocket.

The 7x7mm needs a pouch. Mine fits nicely in a Nite-ize mini Pock-its.

Comparing the 8LED/1AA Xnova to the 12LED version gives a very clear picture.

From Quickbeams site: 8LED-9.50 output; 12 LED-3.90 output.

About 2 1/2 times more lumens with the 1AA/8LED !

These days, I think that all of the brightest-in-class multi-LEDs are using 23,000 mcd LEDs. For example, the 19-LED Quake II and 21-LED MEK. I'd venture that the new 8LED Xnova does, too, but not the Ghost II. It's probably still using 12K mcd LEDs.

I keep waiting for the 35,000 mcd LEDs to appear in these Chinese multis. What's the delay? Price?

cratz2 said:

The 7x7mm is the brighter one.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I thought the brighter one might be the Xnova. Looks like I might have to get one of these 7x7mm.

Paul_in_Maryland said:

These days, I think that all of the brightest-in-class multi-LEDs are using 23,000 mcd LEDs. For example, the 19-LED Quake II and 21-LED MEK. I'd venture that the new 8LED Xnova does, too, but not the Ghost II. It's probably still using 12K mcd LEDs.

Click to expand...

Paul,

I don't see any reason to think that the brightest-in-class lights have brighter LEDs than many of the less bright lights. I think differences in LED drive current alone account for the differences in brightness. The new-style Xnova 8-LED, for example, is about 2.5 times as bright as the Ghost II, but a battery lasts more than 3 times as long in the Ghost II.

I must say that I was also comparing the two since I was going to place a wholesale order to give as holiday gifts. In the end, I chose the Ghost II over the Xnova mainly because of two reasons.
1)Build Quality
2) Boost Circuit seems more efficient in the Ghost II.

The Ghost II is just a nice little light. Build quality is great for a light that can be bought for under 5 bucks wholesale. Comes in colors, also uses rechargables, etc.

Doing testing with margainal batteries also showed that the Ghost II would light and run when with the same battery the Xnova would not light.

Good luck in you quest - but at these prices, you can buy both and give them away if not satisfied.

InfidelCastro wrote: "Seems to be some rivalry in the LED forum between these two lights. Some people claiming the new version of the Xnova 8 is much brighter than the old. Some people claiming that the output is not that great and the Ghost II is better."

Both would be too big for my keyring - but that's simply a personal take - I find even the legendary ArcAAA too big for my keyring -
yet there were lots and lots of people who did and do use it on a keyring.

I really do like the Xnova 8 New, I have 3 - all purchased from LightHound (and I've been told that the "Best Quality" ones sold by Dae are the same) - all 3 of mine about the same good brightness - please take a look at this comparative review with side-by-side beamshots -

8LED 1AA "Xnova" New vs. Old

However there is one major issue that you may need to be aware of -
my first two Xnova 8 New (blue) both had very loose fitting tailcaps -
I don't think they are really suitable for attachment to a keyring.
The third (really good looking) "pewter" one that looks like hematite/silvery-black - has a better fitting tailcap - but still too loose for my liking for attachment to a keyring.

Geologist said:

In the end, I chose the Ghost II over the Xnova mainly because of two reasons.
1)Build Quality
2) Boost Circuit seems more efficient in the Ghost II.

Click to expand...

Do you know if you had the better kind of Xnova? I find the build quality of the Xnova to be just fine - no worse than the Ghost II. And it works well with rechargeables. What makes you think the Ghost II has a more efficient boost circuit? flashlightreviews.com's run-time plots and output numbers do not suggest there's much difference in efficiency.

I've been thinking about that tailcap. I dont' think it would be too big for me personally. But I think the tailcap would come loose pretty often and I'd lose the thing or something. I wish the turn on was at the head rather than the tailcap. Anybody know any lights like this?

Screw in the tailcap nice and tight. Then turn the light on and off by twisting the head against the battery tube.