Care for a Light?

Flashlight doesn’t the same as it used to be. The shape and the function change along with development of technology. Modern flashlight can literally produce so much of luminance with relatively low electrical consumption. There is a lot of literature available on the internet for those who would like to seek the history and the advancement available today.

Back two years before it’s the first time I surprised what I saw in this page (http://fonarevka.ru/indexen.html). I thought this kind of luminance only can be produced from high voltage alternate current power with huge bulb. But what available on that page is so little bulb with astonishing brightness which will even blind human eyes out. Accordingly to the power and heat produced, the flashlight body itself is also evolving, from cheap plastic to various of metal alloy, particularly aluminium. The size ranges from a little bit bigger that single AAA battery to about 25 cm. the light can illuminate object from a meter to more than 200 meters with still solid focus.
And here I am with few Lights to share :)

The middle one is my first light. No brand light and very cheap (about $1). Made of quite thin aluminium. Measured length is about 10 cm with diameter bit greater than AA battery. LED color neutral white tend to warm. The brightness is okay for a single AA battery run. Not really a good product, the tailcap switch failed within couple weeks of rare every day carry usage.

The second one is the bigger. I am already hungry for more brightness. So this light has more robust body with built in attack bezel crown. The reflector is smooth thin aluminium. There is a brand of the LED driver, but I can’t tell since the item is currently in used by my GF. Quite bright with cool white but tend to bluish color. Use 3 x AAA battery in single container. The quality is much better even though having no brand. The price is about $4 at that time.

The smallest one named MXDL 3W. It is indeed a branded flashlight; you can find it on any online shop especially from China mainland. Use Philips Luxeon LED, produced bluish white. Very small reflector can illuminate about 2 meter in front with no hotspot. It is all floods. Powered with single AAA battery, the size is real small, only Length 8.5 cm x Diameter 1.8 cm. It also has clip but a little bit hard to use. The body is thick aluminium, very solid, and the thread is equipped with convincing o-ring. The switch mechanism is twist. This light serves as very compact and useful EDC light for lighting short distance object. I still have it on my bicycle. Pay only about $3 to have it.

Enough with the playing LED, so I look for a real useful light. Searching and doing some reading at CPF, I decided on my first serious LED Light which is Skyray SR-5. Basically it is a copy of Lumen Seraph. Using P60 drop in module with Cree XPG-R5 LED with cool white color temperature and have 3 modes (high, low, strobe). The hotspot is tight and quite true white but still difficult to open the mist of the night. It is a thrower, the light still can be seen at 50+ m distance but no hotspot anymore. Powered by single 18650, the run time for high mode is about 2 hours, before it automatically change to low mode which will be almost forever to discharge the battery. I never encounter the light is totally dead on low mode even I after 24+ hours of usage starting from high mode. The body is feel so nice on hand, solid and firm, the thread is quite nice although not yet grease from the manufacturer. The physical appearance is almost the same as Lumen Seraph but only missing 1 o-ring on the tail thread (should be 2 rings there). The smooth reflector is peeling off on the top which contacting with the bezel crown, a little minus on this one. I carry this light everyday with me because of the compact size yet, throwing light. For the real comparison, the illumination on low mode is still brighter than my second no-brand light. To enhance the thermal dissipation, I put a processor thermal paste and alumunium thin foil around the drop in module to fill the gap with the body. Works pretty well. Cause of having this light, I begin to have more 18650 battery cell and charger, thus the next light is arrived :D

I was hoping SSC P7 LED is brighter than XPG R5. It is a quad core LED on single die. Aurora AK-P7 has 2 modes only. I have a high expectation when decide to buy this light, especially since the manufacture rating is 900 lumens and the price is double than SR-5. The body is the best from all, very solid, very neat finishing, the threads are real smooth. The head is glued but to release the driver still can be done from the bezel. But 2 major problems make me not happy. First, the low mode is using resistor hence there is no battery saving while running on low lumens. Second, the tailcap switch is miserable, causing the light to be flickering and sometime off by itself. And by default, out of the box, the light brightness is disappointing, very dull. It is a flood light with black hole in the hotspot cause of the quad core design. After months of usage, and the switch became worse, I sent it for repair to a fellow on local flashlight forum. What he did is re-soldering the connection and a little bit cleaning. Now the light performs as it should be. With fully charged 18650, the light is bright, but after drop 2 volt, the light becomes dull. The color temperature is neutral white.

My last light is on my room actually because of reference. When repairing my aurora, the fellow suggests that Cree XM-L is much brighter than SSC P7 or P9. Even it is better to use triple XM-L than single Luminus SST 90 LED. So afterward, I begin to hunt this kind of light. Trustfire T1 with Cree XM-L T6 LED. I intentionally pick dual 18650 cell power to support the runtime and the voltage needed by the LED for maximum performance. And I also pick big reflector, because I really want a solid throwing illumination for far away object. So then I buy this light, 25% cheaper than aurora, but you should see the ray. It’s like light sabre, you can see the beam line. Very solid and a very good thrower, I still can see the hotspot on 100+ m distance. The body itself is solid alumunium but the thread is little rough. It has an extension to allow using 2 cells. I see a lot of other branded light also using the same body, so I guess it is a generic body. It has 5 modes: high, medium, low, strobe, sos. The medium is about the same brightness with the high mode SR-5. It is hot and fast burn time. In short distance, we can see the black hole in the hotspot. I guess it because the reflector. I still haven’t a chance to really test the burning time. Maybe later. But this light certainly not disappointing at all, in fact, I would like recommended for those who seek a budget light but big performer.

Here is the beam profile, on the white wall from about 2.75 m distance.
Left to right: Trustfire T1, Skyray SR-5, Aurora AK-P7. Aurora is the most pitiful one.