The Reaper
02-26-2004, 17:10
Let's talk about lights.
These are my latest lights, picked up at the SHOT Show.
The only void here is a very powerful light for searching, and I have a Surefire 9P with the High Intensity lamp (not pictured) that I use for that purpose.
The Photon Fusion:
I use the Fusion as a head lamp primarily, though it makes a decent handheld flashlight (the lamp can easily be moved from the center of the battery pack to the end), a table lamp, which can be aimed by use of the flexible head, or as a bike lamp. It has six white and one red LED, and can be cycled through a variety of intensities. It takes three AA batteries, which can be found almost anywhere. It can be found for $60 or so, which is quite reasonable for what you get.
http://www.photonlight.com/fusion/index.html
(from their web site):
The Photon Fusion® brings versatility and function together in a new design. Incredibly energy efficient with a powerful full spectrum beam, the Photon Fusion illuminates your work or play area with a clear shadow free light. Electronic switching offers users a choice of three levels of brightness, three levels of strobe, and an auto shutoff. The secondary "Hyper-Bright" button will give you instantaneous full, steady light. Light is produced by six powerful LED's (light emitting diodes). The water resistant Photon Fusion is also a hand flashlight easily disconnected from the head strap. This design allows convenient hand or table top use. The adjustable indexed head provides for a focused beam that will stay where you direct it. An easily replaceable lens guarantees the ability to always have the brightest possible light. Quick and easy AA battery change enables worldwide use. Runs on Carbon, Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, or Lithium cells. All contacts are gold-plated. Bike taillight/headlight use is possible with optional mounting bracket. The Photon Fusion is designed for long life and rugged use by the serious user.
Fusion light array never dims! Instead of dimming as the batteries lose their strength, the advanced circuitry built into the Fusion keeps the light at full brightness until the batteries are almost completely dead. The only down side to this technology is that you may have little warning that the batteries are near the end of their life. The Fusion won't leave you in the dark, though. When the batteries can no longer provide enough power for the level of brightness selected, you may simply switch to a lower setting and continue to use the light.
Your world is larger than a sheet of paper. Typically, light output measurements of a flashlight are taken by calculating the amount of light projected onto a spot about the size of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. The Fusion has been designed for real-world use by real people, and produces a broad beam of bright light to give you full peripheral vision, without any of those annoying rings of shadow that come from focusing a typical flashlight bulbs. Because of this even beam of light, the Fusion makes an awesome work light.
The Surefire L1:
The Surefire L1 is my pocket or Level 1 Load Light. It is under 5" long and weighs less than three ounces. They are in short supply because of their popularity. They are 1xDL123 3v. battery powered, computer chip controlled 1 watt LED light. The LED will probably outlive us, and the lithium battery has a ten year shelf life. They have a low power setting which is bright enough for reading, and will allow the light to run for 50 hours, or a 15 lumen high intensity setting which will drain the battery in 2 hours. The settings are controlled by the button on the base, a light push gives you the low beam, a complete depression gives you the high beam, and screwing the cap in will leave it on constantly. It has a scalloped bezel, so that you can see if you have set the light down with it on. A pocket clip (which will also go on the brim of your hat) is built in. The light comes in white (general and full color discrimination), red (preserves night vision but renders blood invisible), blue (which highlights blood as black), or green (generally okay, does make vegetation disappear) LEDs. The L1 can be found for as little as $95 or so.
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/932/sesent/00
There is a two cell L2, and a 5 watt 2 cell L4.
(from their web site):
Constructed of aerospace grade aluminum with a rugged military specification hard-anodized finish, and powered by a single lithium battery (10-year shelf life), the L1 LumaMax features a one-watt LED (Light Emitting Diode) and the extended runtime typical of LED flashlights. The L1’s digitally controlled two-stage switch allows the user to choose either a low-output beam for close-up work or a high-output beam for full power applications -- simply depress the tailcap switch halfway for the low beam, continue depressing to activate the high beam. Twist the tailcap to achieve constant light on either beam setting. The L1 also features digital current regulation circuitry to match the LED's current requirements with the battery's output to maintain a more consistent level of light output for the useable life of the batteries (as opposed to unregulated lights, which are subject to a steady decline in light intensity beginning shortly after activation).
The L1 produces useable light for up to 50 hours on the low-beam setting; high-beam runtime is approximately two hours. Unlike most LED flashlight manufacturers -- who inflate the light output and usable runtimes of their LEDs -- SureFire provides realistic output and runtime specifications based on scientifically obtained measurements. Although any LED -- including those produced by SureFire -- can continue to produce negligible light output for over 50 hours, the amount of "useful" light produced is of a shorter duration.
Battery - One lithium 123A 3.0 Volt with 10-year shelf life
Output/Runtime - High beam runtime approx. two hours with 15 lumens maximum output. Low beam runtime approx. 50 hours
Construction - CNC machined aerospace-grade aluminum. Hard anodized finish for extreme corrosion and wear-resistance. Pyrex® lens with anti-reflective coating, removable stainless steel pocket clip, O-ring sealed
Length and weight (with batteries) - 4.75 inches / 2.9 ounces
Flawless beam, no dark spots or rings
LEDs available in white, red, blue, and green
Patented lock-out tailcap feature allows the light to be locked in the off position to prevent unintentional activation during storage or transportation
Weatherproof and lightweight
The Photon Fredom:
The Photon Freedom is my key ring or dog tag chain light. It is tiny, efficient, economical, comes in a variety of colors, and is always there whern I need it. It is perfect for small tasks, and I have actually used it to find my larger lights when I have misplaced them. I keep a red one on my dog tag chain, and a white one on my key ring. It also comes in other colors, including IR and UV, should you need that sort of capability. It too, is a computer controlled LED lamp. It is similar in function to the Photon III, but instead of having to click through the menu, ramps up and cycles through automatically. It has a completely variable ramp up and ramp down settings, you release it where you want it to stay. It has a fast, medium, and slow strobe, as well as an SOS flashing mode. The mount allows you to clip it to anything 1/2" or less, and point it wherever you wish. It also comes with a tiny snap link for attaching and detaching from zipper pulls, key rings, etc. It uses 1 or 2 coin batteries, depending on color, and battery life is from 18 hours or so on the highest setting to almost 60 hours on the low setting, and can be had from $12-$20 or so. It is brand new and there is not much info out there about it, including the company's own web site.
http://www.photonlight.com/products/photon_3.html
(covers the Photon III, Freedom page to follow)
(from the web):
The new Freedom Micro Light has variable levels of intensity plus a flashing strobe. Each function is activated by pressing the side of the light once to turn it on, or holding pressure to ramp the intensity up from dim to bright, or back again. The variable intensity levels are valuable for conserving battery power, preserving night vision, or just to avoid disturbing others. The light is water resistant and comes with a hands-free clip for cap bill or clothing attachment.
Features smart circuit, single button on/off operation, quick release ring, 4 beacon modes, water resistant, and easy battery replacement. Hands free multi-purpose Photon Clip included for a limited time. Clips to cap, pack, clothing, etc., rotates 360 degrees horizontally and 180 degrees vertically.
Hope this was of value.
TR
Left to right is the Photon Fusion, the Surefire L1, and the Photon Freedom (with pocket/shirt/hat clip and snap link). The CRK Sebenza is a large folder and is provided for size reference.
These are my latest lights, picked up at the SHOT Show.
The only void here is a very powerful light for searching, and I have a Surefire 9P with the High Intensity lamp (not pictured) that I use for that purpose.
The Photon Fusion:
I use the Fusion as a head lamp primarily, though it makes a decent handheld flashlight (the lamp can easily be moved from the center of the battery pack to the end), a table lamp, which can be aimed by use of the flexible head, or as a bike lamp. It has six white and one red LED, and can be cycled through a variety of intensities. It takes three AA batteries, which can be found almost anywhere. It can be found for $60 or so, which is quite reasonable for what you get.
http://www.photonlight.com/fusion/index.html
(from their web site):
The Photon Fusion® brings versatility and function together in a new design. Incredibly energy efficient with a powerful full spectrum beam, the Photon Fusion illuminates your work or play area with a clear shadow free light. Electronic switching offers users a choice of three levels of brightness, three levels of strobe, and an auto shutoff. The secondary "Hyper-Bright" button will give you instantaneous full, steady light. Light is produced by six powerful LED's (light emitting diodes). The water resistant Photon Fusion is also a hand flashlight easily disconnected from the head strap. This design allows convenient hand or table top use. The adjustable indexed head provides for a focused beam that will stay where you direct it. An easily replaceable lens guarantees the ability to always have the brightest possible light. Quick and easy AA battery change enables worldwide use. Runs on Carbon, Alkaline, NiCad, NiMH, or Lithium cells. All contacts are gold-plated. Bike taillight/headlight use is possible with optional mounting bracket. The Photon Fusion is designed for long life and rugged use by the serious user.
Fusion light array never dims! Instead of dimming as the batteries lose their strength, the advanced circuitry built into the Fusion keeps the light at full brightness until the batteries are almost completely dead. The only down side to this technology is that you may have little warning that the batteries are near the end of their life. The Fusion won't leave you in the dark, though. When the batteries can no longer provide enough power for the level of brightness selected, you may simply switch to a lower setting and continue to use the light.
Your world is larger than a sheet of paper. Typically, light output measurements of a flashlight are taken by calculating the amount of light projected onto a spot about the size of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. The Fusion has been designed for real-world use by real people, and produces a broad beam of bright light to give you full peripheral vision, without any of those annoying rings of shadow that come from focusing a typical flashlight bulbs. Because of this even beam of light, the Fusion makes an awesome work light.
The Surefire L1:
The Surefire L1 is my pocket or Level 1 Load Light. It is under 5" long and weighs less than three ounces. They are in short supply because of their popularity. They are 1xDL123 3v. battery powered, computer chip controlled 1 watt LED light. The LED will probably outlive us, and the lithium battery has a ten year shelf life. They have a low power setting which is bright enough for reading, and will allow the light to run for 50 hours, or a 15 lumen high intensity setting which will drain the battery in 2 hours. The settings are controlled by the button on the base, a light push gives you the low beam, a complete depression gives you the high beam, and screwing the cap in will leave it on constantly. It has a scalloped bezel, so that you can see if you have set the light down with it on. A pocket clip (which will also go on the brim of your hat) is built in. The light comes in white (general and full color discrimination), red (preserves night vision but renders blood invisible), blue (which highlights blood as black), or green (generally okay, does make vegetation disappear) LEDs. The L1 can be found for as little as $95 or so.
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/prrfnbr/932/sesent/00
There is a two cell L2, and a 5 watt 2 cell L4.
(from their web site):
Constructed of aerospace grade aluminum with a rugged military specification hard-anodized finish, and powered by a single lithium battery (10-year shelf life), the L1 LumaMax features a one-watt LED (Light Emitting Diode) and the extended runtime typical of LED flashlights. The L1’s digitally controlled two-stage switch allows the user to choose either a low-output beam for close-up work or a high-output beam for full power applications -- simply depress the tailcap switch halfway for the low beam, continue depressing to activate the high beam. Twist the tailcap to achieve constant light on either beam setting. The L1 also features digital current regulation circuitry to match the LED's current requirements with the battery's output to maintain a more consistent level of light output for the useable life of the batteries (as opposed to unregulated lights, which are subject to a steady decline in light intensity beginning shortly after activation).
The L1 produces useable light for up to 50 hours on the low-beam setting; high-beam runtime is approximately two hours. Unlike most LED flashlight manufacturers -- who inflate the light output and usable runtimes of their LEDs -- SureFire provides realistic output and runtime specifications based on scientifically obtained measurements. Although any LED -- including those produced by SureFire -- can continue to produce negligible light output for over 50 hours, the amount of "useful" light produced is of a shorter duration.
Battery - One lithium 123A 3.0 Volt with 10-year shelf life
Output/Runtime - High beam runtime approx. two hours with 15 lumens maximum output. Low beam runtime approx. 50 hours
Construction - CNC machined aerospace-grade aluminum. Hard anodized finish for extreme corrosion and wear-resistance. Pyrex® lens with anti-reflective coating, removable stainless steel pocket clip, O-ring sealed
Length and weight (with batteries) - 4.75 inches / 2.9 ounces
Flawless beam, no dark spots or rings
LEDs available in white, red, blue, and green
Patented lock-out tailcap feature allows the light to be locked in the off position to prevent unintentional activation during storage or transportation
Weatherproof and lightweight
The Photon Fredom:
The Photon Freedom is my key ring or dog tag chain light. It is tiny, efficient, economical, comes in a variety of colors, and is always there whern I need it. It is perfect for small tasks, and I have actually used it to find my larger lights when I have misplaced them. I keep a red one on my dog tag chain, and a white one on my key ring. It also comes in other colors, including IR and UV, should you need that sort of capability. It too, is a computer controlled LED lamp. It is similar in function to the Photon III, but instead of having to click through the menu, ramps up and cycles through automatically. It has a completely variable ramp up and ramp down settings, you release it where you want it to stay. It has a fast, medium, and slow strobe, as well as an SOS flashing mode. The mount allows you to clip it to anything 1/2" or less, and point it wherever you wish. It also comes with a tiny snap link for attaching and detaching from zipper pulls, key rings, etc. It uses 1 or 2 coin batteries, depending on color, and battery life is from 18 hours or so on the highest setting to almost 60 hours on the low setting, and can be had from $12-$20 or so. It is brand new and there is not much info out there about it, including the company's own web site.
http://www.photonlight.com/products/photon_3.html
(covers the Photon III, Freedom page to follow)
(from the web):
The new Freedom Micro Light has variable levels of intensity plus a flashing strobe. Each function is activated by pressing the side of the light once to turn it on, or holding pressure to ramp the intensity up from dim to bright, or back again. The variable intensity levels are valuable for conserving battery power, preserving night vision, or just to avoid disturbing others. The light is water resistant and comes with a hands-free clip for cap bill or clothing attachment.
Features smart circuit, single button on/off operation, quick release ring, 4 beacon modes, water resistant, and easy battery replacement. Hands free multi-purpose Photon Clip included for a limited time. Clips to cap, pack, clothing, etc., rotates 360 degrees horizontally and 180 degrees vertically.
Hope this was of value.
TR
Left to right is the Photon Fusion, the Surefire L1, and the Photon Freedom (with pocket/shirt/hat clip and snap link). The CRK Sebenza is a large folder and is provided for size reference.