what's the advantage of the X5 blue over the X5 white?

is there any advantage to the blue LED X5 over the white, or is it simply personal preference?

i have a X0, but have been considering an X5 as a battery-sucker for cells the X0 is finished with (and also because i really like the Inova X series), and i really like the durability

since i have my homebuilt UV Minimag which fills my UV obsession, i'm not fixating on the UV X5 anymore, i prefer to buy at brick-and-mortar stores as i hate paying shipping, and waiting for the product to arrive, i'm more of an instant-gratification kinda guy....

there are no Target stores close by (closest is in Concord, NH, an hour away, a little far to drive for "just a flashlight") and the only other source for Inova lights is my local Discovery store in the mall, and all they have are the white and blue models....

am i missing anything by not getting the blue model?

oh, as an aside, i just realized that at this moment, i have 3 flashlights on me, my X0 and a Nite Ize modded black Minimag both in belt holsters, and my UVMag in my pocket...

give it to me straight, i can take it, am i a flashaholic?

Some hunters us blue lights as a safety measure....animal eyes do not reflect with a blue light. Less chance of being mistaken for a deer at night using a blue flashlight.

None.

Everyone in my unit was issued a blue LED Inova X5 when we deployed to the sandbox. I hate this light. It is far too bright for reading navigation charts, kills your night vision, REALLY stands out when it is on.

Get the white light version!

When I am (finally...) sent home, mine will get Nichia CS's swapped into it.

Adam

MacTech said:

is there any advantage to the blue LED X5 over the white, or is it simply personal preference?

am i missing anything by not getting the blue model?

give it to me straight, i can take it, am i a flashaholic?

Click to expand...

I think it's mostly personal preference, but the color may also depend on what you're going to use it for. If you need to distinguish colors, you must use a "white' light. But if you want to be seen, then the blue light will probably stand out better.

In theory, blue LEDs are brighter than white ones, but I couldn't tell any difference conparing the two lights at the store. (I bought a white X5 at the local Discovery Channel Store, because I had a % off coupon there...)

The X5 has a big, bright, flood-like beam (or a BIG hotspot, depending how you describe it) -- a lot more light than I would have expected from just 5 LED's. I like the light a lot, but the included holster is only so-so; I replaced it with a Maxpedition 4" Tube Sheath which fits it perfectly.

MVB

The blue version works great for crossing streets at night. I don't know if people think it's the blue of a police car light or what but they sure do slow down and pay attention to me! Other than that and finding dayglo marks I really think the blue is kinda worthless.

I get headaches from using blue LED's; they're also scary bright (or we perceive them that way), so you can't use them for closeup work. YMMV.

Last night I went to the Discovery store to check out the X5 blue and white lights....

the blue seemed brighter, but every one of them seemed to have artifacts in the beam, wheras the white had a nice, even light fill, no hotspots, no dark patches, nice, uniform light

so i went with the white version, very nice light, well constructed (makes my Nite-Ize equipped minimags feel like crap), however i was a little dissapointed (or maybe impressed....) that the NI Minimag is *almost* as bright as the X5, the NIMag has a tighter hotspot, but overall beam intensity is almost identical, kinda' depressing that a $5 drop-in puts out almost the same light level as a dedicated $40 flashlight

makes me more impressed with the return on investment on a NIMag, the NIMag may be a little rougher around the edges, but it's got great light output per dollar

still, i prefer the X5 over my NIMags, and since i have better EDC lights now, i'll be retiring the minimags to other duties.....

i'll pop some NIMH batteries in the NIMags, pop one in my PowerBook's bag, put one in the car for emergencies (right next to the 3-LED cranklight), keep the stock incan minimag as an "electric candle", and carry around my UVMag with me, because it's a darn cool light, and my first true "hacked" light, so i'm unduly proud of it

so, looks like my EDC lights will be my Inova X0 and X5 (X5 for close-in work and as a battery sucker, X0 for distance and anything that needs a bright spot of light) and the UVMag (for showing off, and checking for counterfit bills at work)

I have heard and wanted to know if it is true that the blue LED light makes blood shine differently than the white and is better for tracking deer after dark. Is this true? If so, I will definitly get one.

The blue has more cool factor. Blue LEDs are major attention grabbers.