Dec
26, 2006: FlashlightReviews.com
and the Author are going cutting way
back on the reviews in the new year.
Review samples will only be accepted
and reviewed by very special invitation
and will be few and far between. Email
to the author may not receive a reply.
I'm sorry, but my full time job, family,
and a waning interest have taken their
toll and as a result I will not be updating
FlashlightReviews.com very frequently
from now on. The web site will remain
running and available as long as funding
is available via donations to pay the
server costs.
FlashlightReviews.com
is, and always has been, a one-man-show.
It has been my hobby and has kept me
busy, and my readers entertained (I
hope) for over 5 years now. I truly
hope that the information everyone has
gained from this site (and that new
readers may still gain) has been helpful
and useful.
Come
back and visit once in a while - the
Recently Reviewed lists above may have
an occasional addition, or a new brief
article may be added when you least
expect it!
-
Doug P.
Dec
24: Posted the Fenix P1D and P1D-CE
review. The P1D-CE is the way to go
if you can spare the cash. The Cree
LED in the CE model appears to be nearly
twice as efficient as the Luxeon LEDs,
producing twice the output for nearly
the same run time. Lumileds better get
moving and catch up as it looks like
Cree is positioning themselves to take
a good chunk of their market share at
this rate. An LED with twice the efficiency
means half the power consumption, which
can be a big factor when used in both
small portable applications like a flashlight
and in large LED light boards as well.
Dec
22: A couple quick questions and
answers:
Hey Doug! Your Lumen
calculation estimates based on your
LightBox numbers seem way off from what
the manufacturer of X light says the
Lumen output is. Why?
My suggestion to you is to ignore
the manufacturer's light output ratings
on almost any light you buy. They
don't all use the same standard for
measuring "lumens" even
though they use the same unit. They
never tell you how they arrived at
the number of "lumens" they
advertise and no two manufacturers
may use the same method. As a result,
the lumen figure between two manufacturers
really isn't comparable. For example
are the numbers they give:
The "lumens" of the bare
bulb using the flashlight power supply?
The "lumens" of the bare
bulb using a laboratory power supply?
The "lumens" coming out
the end of the flashlight?
The predicted maximum "lumens"
of the bulb that the manufacturer
claims based solely on mathmatics
and not real-world tests?
The estimated "lumens" of
the bulb that they calculated out
for the most optimal condition of
the power supply in their flashlight?
The Lumen calculation
estimates used on my site are just that
- estimates. I can make no guarantee
to their accuracy. However, the calculation
factor is based on real Lumen output
tests done by an independent third party
and in many cases the calcuation appears
to predict fairly accurately the actual
lumen output of the light tested. Plus,
the LightBox test has the advantage
of being the SAME test performed in
CONSISTENTLY the same manner on all
the lights I test, regardless of manufacturer.
It always tests the amout of light actually
coming out of the end of the flashlight.
What about Wattage? Can we use that
as a comparison for the output? I have
a 3 Watt LED bulb in my Mag so it should
be brighter than any 1 Watt LED light,
right?
Wattage is actually a description
of how much power a device uses, not
how much light it produces. My electric
portable heater is rated at 1500 Watts,
but it produces very little visible
light (just an orange-red glow).
The amount of output you get from
an LED depends on the voltage and
current it has access to. An underdriven
3 Watt bulb can easily put out less
light than a properly driven 1 Watt
bulb. The Watt ratings are usually
describing the manufacturer's optimal
scenario for powering the device.
That's all. Unless the numbers are
just made up for marketing purposes,
which is often the case in "SUPER
8 WATT LED" type lights you see
on eBay.
Dec
17: Received the Fenix P1D and P1D
CE lights for review (by special arrangement).
I'll work on them soon.
Took
a vacation with the family and one of
our excursions included snorkling in an
underground lake in a cavern. We used
the UK
Mini Q40 eLED Plus with great success
as it was able to illuminate the bottom
35' away without trouble. The light was
powered with the Amondotech Titanium
"Power Enduro"AA cells.
Unfortunately I left the camera behind
so we do not have photos...
Dec
03: I just tried the Power Enduro
cells from Amondotech after over a month
in a drawer following a full charge. They
powered the digital camera beautifully
and still register about 60% on my ZTS
meter. I'm not sure why the meter calibrates
them at 60%, but the Eneloop also read
60% as well, so this may be the norm for
these types of low-self-discharge cells.
For
everyone sending e-mails, I am not responding
to each and every one, but I am receiving
them. Thank you!
I
received the parts for the Pila 3W two
123A cell review, and received a new LumaRay
light. Reviews posted. Special arrangements
were made in advance to receive and review
this light during my break period.
The
last paid advertisement was pulled down
today. Thank you to all of the folks who
have advertised in the past! I do not
have plans to accept any further paid
advertising at this time. Funding to keep
this site up and running will be strictly
through Donations.
The
"MOST POPULAR REVIEWS ON THE SITE"
list was updated for Jan-Nov.
I
have added runtimes to the following reviews:
Pelican
Little Ed 3610
Pelican
2400 StealthLite
Pelican
Super SabreLite
DB-K2
Mag drop-in LED
and
NiMH runtimes to the following:
LRI
Proton
Civictor
V1
Fenix
L1S
Huntlight
FT-A2
Nov
20: The noise is starting
to increase on the web about the new Sanyo
Eneloop batteries. These are a new
breed of rechargeable batteries that come
fully charged and
hold their charge for months without use.
I don't know much about them yet, but
they are a new
NiMH technology that allows for very
low self discharge rates. This means that
you can use them in devices that sit around
in between uses without the batteries
self-discharging away all their energy
like regular rechargeables. I don't know
about you folks, but if I leave newly
charged rechargeables in a drawer for
1-2 months they're essentially dead. These
new cells are advertised to keep their
charge for over a year (only -15% in 1
year).
Found these at Wolf Camera
This
could very well be the next big leap in
battery technology. Imagine all batteries
being rechargeable, but fully charged
(or nearly so) right off the shelf. Why
bother with alkalines ever again?
However,
Sanyo isn't the only company producing
low self-discharge rechargeable cells.
Rayovac is prducing a new "Hybrid"
battery in AA and AAA that I found at
Walmart, but not on the Rayovac website.
Found at Wal-Mart
Their sister company, Varta, is producing
"Ready2Use" cells (care
to bet that they're the same as the ROV
Hybrids?).
Amondotech.com
has the Titanium
"Power Enduro"AA and AAA
cells, another low self-discharge
cell.
From AmondoTech.com
I
have a charged set of Titanium
"Power Enduro" AA that I
have left sitting around for a few weeks
and I'll see how they perform soon.
Sure
all of these cells have a slightly lower
mAh rating than normal NiMH cells, but
what good are those extra milliamps if
they self-discharge away in a matter of
days?
Nov
12: I have posted a pile of reviews.
Some of them Mini-review format, some
full format. Only one review left, pending
parts from Pila which I'll get done once
those parts arrive. I am now taking a
well-deserved vacation from reviewing
any new items, except by special arrangement,
until the end of the year.
Just
like "New Coke", I didn't like
the rating symbol change to "Points"
so they are back to Stars. No other changes
to the reviews or their ratings, just
replaced the symbol.
Nov 11: I am working on all of
the reviews, but some will be using my
"Mini-Review" format to get
them all done. This is a compromise to
get the information out there as quickly
as possible. Some information may be missing.
I expect to revisit them at a later date
to fill in the gaps. Once all of the pending
reviews are posted I will be taking an
extended break from reviewing.
Nov
05 : No, I still don't have any reviews
done. Sorry. I'm taking it real easy for
a while after getting so many reviews
done the last several months. I just can't
keep up the pace.
For
those of you who complained, I have added
a quick and dirty Ounces
to Grams converter for conversions
of the weight in the reviews, which will
be available via a link on new reviews
and is also accessable from the QA menu
at page top.
Oct 28: Several notices:
Glow
in the dark O-rings are now available
again from a different CandlePowerForums
member. Please read the thread for
information.
The
Lightwave
company is no longer making flashlights.
If you want one, get them while you can!
Received
a Camo Arc AAA from FlashLightShop, 4
lights from Action-Lights.com and 20 (!!!)
lights from Flash-Lights.com. Plus the
3 lights already waiting in the queue,
plus I know several more are on the way...
Holidays are coming up and I have several
other things occupying my time (you know,
"minor" stuff like my full time
job, my family, etc.), so it's going to
take quite some time to get this all done.
Please be (very) patient!
Oct
22: Two previews added for the LumaPower
products. These are still undergoing revision
by the maker, but are worth a look. Enjoy!
Oct 17 : I apologize for any confusion
this may have caused. I had to change
the name of the rating symbol recently
from Stars to something else, and my first
choice was "Spots". That didn't
sound all that good, so we're going with
"Stars" as the name for the
new rating system instead. All pages should
be updated
Oct 15 : After some prompting,
I completed a second runtime test on the
Fenix E0 Dart. Apparently the runtime
test I initially produced turned out a
bit different than that which others have
done. Some users have noticed their E0
had dirty contacts and suggested that
this could have been the culprit. I cleaned
the contacts with isopropyl alcohol, coated
them all with contact protector and re-ran
the test. The result was much more regulated
time and slightly more overall runtime.
After
numerous requests, I will start adding
the country of origin, if known, to the
review summary table at the bottom of
each new review. I am NOT planning on
going back and adding this information
to every review completed to date, only
new reviews.
Oct 13 : Quick update in the Wolf-Eyes
6M review. I mistakenly described the
Surefire body compatible Li-Ion cell as
a 18500, when it actually should have
said 17670.
I have also gotten numerous feedback messages
about the MiniMagLED 2AA and 3AA lights
and how much people like them. Although
not top-of-the-line LED lights, they are
very bright for their size, run on regular
alkaline cells, and are much better overall
than the standard Minimag.
Oct 12 : Been busy over the last
week getting the reviews done. Enjoy!
Oct
09 : Happy Columbus Day! I have not
been idle since my last post. I have photos
of all the lights pending review, have
completed the runtimes and use testing,
and had a few surprises along the way:
designation in the main reviews index
list of All Lights by Manufacturer. I'll
try to update this list each month.