Torchlight hobbyist? Anyone??

[Zephirum]

It is me again, sorry for asking so many questions. cos i am a newbie in this . I see many type of reflectors, some blurred ones, some smooth ones and some even half smooth-half blur, does all this different reflectors affect the light you will get? i notice that all surefire models have the "blurred" (maybe there is a term for it???) reflector so i presumed that "blurring" the reflector and give you good light?



Question 2: For those LED torch that use Alkaline AA/AAA, can I replace the Alkaline with NiMH rechargeble (like in cams )? Will it affect the performance or worse, damage the torch?

 

[morganoh]

According to my experience the rechargable will not affect the performance

The Alkaline and Nimh batt gave the same brightness on my led lights

Question 2: For those LED torch that use Alkaline AA/AAA, can I replace the Alkaline with NiMH rechargeble (like in cams )? Will it affect the performance or worse, damage the torch?

 

[Andy Ho]

It is me again, sorry for asking so many questions. cos i am a newbie in this . I see many type of reflectors, some blurred ones, some smooth ones and some even half smooth-half blur, does all this different reflectors affect the light you will get? i notice that all surefire models have the "blurred" (maybe there is a term for it???) reflector so i presumed that "blurring" the reflector and give you good light?



Question 2: For those LED torch that use Alkaline AA/AAA, can I replace the Alkaline with NiMH rechargeble (like in cams )? Will it affect the performance or worse, damage the torch?

1) Some refer to the blurred reflector as orange peel reflector and some call it textured reflector. The texturing on the reflector allows for a smoother beam, usually with a very good ability to flood. But textured reflectors usually suffers in the "throw" department. Assuming if you compare a smooth and a textured reflector of the same diameter side by side, and with similar bulb and battery power, the textured reflector will suffer from less throw but with more flood light that is very smooth compared to a smooth reflector. Surefire lights are meant for tactical uses and in many tactical cases a good flood is preferable for illuminating the entire room than a throw light. Surefire beams can be considered perfect but if flood is not what you need then I would suggest you take a look at Streamlight or Pelican. I am not implying that Surefire lights can't throw or illuminate far. They sure can but because throw and flood revolves around a reciprocating relationship, Surefire thus designed the reflector in such a way that there is a balance between flood and throw. The others generally concentrate either in the throw or the flood arena.

2) So far, not a single AA light that I know cannot handle NiMH batteries.

 

[twiki]

Hi All,

I haven't gone through the entire thread, but there are enough familiar names here to make me think that I'm on CPF and not CS!

Hi Andy. Hi Casey. Hi Morgan.

See you on CPF.

TWIKI aka CANUCKLE

 

[Zephirum]

1) Some refer to the blurred reflector as orange peel reflector and some call it textured reflector. The texturing on the reflector allows for a smoother beam, usually with a very good ability to flood. But textured reflectors usually suffers in the "throw" department. Assuming if you compare a smooth and a textured reflector of the same diameter side by side, and with similar bulb and battery power, the textured reflector will suffer from less throw but with more flood light that is very smooth compared to a smooth reflector. Surefire lights are meant for tactical uses and in many tactical cases a good flood is preferable for illuminating the entire room than a throw light. Surefire beams can be considered perfect but if flood is not what you need then I would suggest you take a look at Streamlight or Pelican. I am not implying that Surefire lights can't throw or illuminate far. They sure can but because throw and flood revolves around a reciprocating relationship, Surefire thus designed the reflector in such a way that there is a balance between flood and throw. The others generally concentrate either in the throw or the flood arena.

2) So far, not a single AA light that I know cannot handle NiMH batteries.

good explantion of reflector. thks a million Andy. so ithink i have to get the smooth reflector torch cos I need to shine far during trekking. presently i am looking at nuwai QIII. went down to sheares but they said they dun sell nuwai. any shop selling nuwai q3? is there anyhting similar to nuwai q3. actually where on has a better throw, luxeon iii or xenon incandesant?

 

[amlim]

Hi, any idea where this is available in Spore? And the price?

Thanks!

you can get from morganoh.. see his post above

 

[amlim]

good explantion of reflector. thks a million Andy. so ithink i have to get the smooth reflector torch cos I need to shine far during trekking. presently i am looking at nuwai QIII. went down to sheares but they said they dun sell nuwai. any shop selling nuwai q3? is there anyhting similar to nuwai q3. actually where on has a better throw, luxeon iii or xenon incandesant?

you can buy from morganoh... see his post above...

 

[Andy Ho]

Hi Zephirum,

You are never wrong getting a Nuwai QIII. Try contacting Morgan Oh, his prices are very reasonable. I would like to warn that Nuwai QIII is not really a throw light though but a very good LED light for walking and trekking purposes. The QIII has a very nice flood beam and though utilizing a 3 watt LED, it is about the same brightness as a 1 watt LED Surefire KL1 on E1e body.

As some of you here might already know, I am crazy about Pulau Ubin and I go there almost every Saturday night. A minimum light set for use in Ubin consist of an LED flood light for walking and cycling, and a decent incandescent light for the throw beam. In my package, I carried at least a Surefire E1e with KL1 LED conversion head and an M3 with MN11 high output lamp assembly. At times I would bring along an M2, L5, G2Z, E2e, or E2D as a spare. You can have a similar package at a cheaper price too. Your choice of Nuwai QIII is a good one at only 1/3 the price of a Surefire E1e + KL1 + clickie switch attached (QIII is built in with a reverse clickie switch whereas E1e is not).

Why do I recommend incandescent for throw light? Basically, incandescent consist of plenty of infra red and light in the red spectrum. These presence of red spectrum pulls out details very well and makes spotting things a breeze in long distance. The second reason is that incandescent still beats LED hands down in terms of value per watt and lumens. No LED lights that I know and have seen so far comes close to beating a solid good incandescent light.

Hope that helps.

 

[Andy Ho]

Hi All,

I haven't gone through the entire thread, but there are enough familiar names here to make me think that I'm on CPF and not CS!

Hi Andy. Hi Casey. Hi Morgan.

See you on CPF.

TWIKI aka CANUCKLE

Hi Canuckle,

Thanks for the Hi

Andy Ho

 

[Zephirum]

thks again Andy.

Will check out with morganoh. I will want to have one LED and one incandesant with good throw. Which is the best sub $200.00 throw light you recommend? And which LED has the longest throw? Actually, as you torch hobbyist likeyourself, how much throw do you consider a good throw? 100M? Looks like I am going to spent a bomb on torch light... :cry: :cry: bu nvm as long as the light serve the purpose well which is impt for safety sake.

Hi Zephirum,

You are never wrong getting a Nuwai QIII. Try contacting Morgan Oh, his prices are very reasonable. I would like to warn that Nuwai QIII is not really a throw light though but a very good LED light for walking and trekking purposes. The QIII has a very nice flood beam and though utilizing a 3 watt LED, it is about the same brightness as a 1 watt LED Surefire KL1 on E1e body.

As some of you here might already know, I am crazy about Pulau Ubin and I go there almost every Saturday night. A minimum light set for use in Ubin consist of an LED flood light for walking and cycling, and a decent incandescent light for the throw beam. In my package, I carried at least a Surefire E1e with KL1 LED conversion head and an M3 with MN11 high output lamp assembly. At times I would bring along an M2, L5, G2Z, E2e, or E2D as a spare. You can have a similar package at a cheaper price too. Your choice of Nuwai QIII is a good one at only 1/3 the price of a Surefire E1e + KL1 + clickie switch attached (QIII is built in with a reverse clickie switch whereas E1e is not).

Why do I recommend incandescent for throw light? Basically, incandescent consist of plenty of infra red and light in the red spectrum. These presence of red spectrum pulls out details very well and makes spotting things a breeze in long distance. The second reason is that incandescent still beats LED hands down in terms of value per watt and lumens. No LED lights that I know and have seen so far comes close to beating a solid good incandescent light.

Hope that helps.

 

[caseytan]

Hi All,

I haven't gone through the entire thread, but there are enough familiar names here to make me think that I'm on CPF and not CS!

Hi Andy. Hi Casey. Hi Morgan.

See you on CPF.

TWIKI aka CANUCKLE

Hi Canuckle

hehe, haven't been to CPF for months now... focusing on photography more than flashlights. oh wait... my tigerlight is still with Nerd :sweatsm:

 

[Andy Ho]

thks again Andy.

Will check out with morganoh. I will want to have one LED and one incandesant with good throw. Which is the best sub $200.00 throw light you recommend? And which LED has the longest throw? Actually, as you torch hobbyist likeyourself, how much throw do you consider a good throw? 100M? Looks like I am going to spent a bomb on torch light... :cry: :cry: bu nvm as long as the light serve the purpose well which is impt for safety sake.

Well, it is very hard to answer this question as I am not entirely sure what is your exact usage and wants. Do you need to throw up to 100m? Do you want a small light? Do you mind one bigger? Battery types (AA, AAA, or CR123)? As I said, for me LEDs are used mainly for walking and throw is not really a criteria but flood is.

As a start, I would recommend you to look at Pelican M6 Lithium under the Black Knight version for throw. They have it in both incandescent and LED. Look at the incandescent version as I think the LED ones are nothing great to hype about. This light have very good throw with a narrow pencil beam. Best for use in jungle as the pencil beam penetrates leafy foliage better. A floody beam will get reflected back to the user from the front most foliage, thus making it hard to see beyond. Surefire lights are good but occasionally I have problems seeing through the foliage at what is behind because it has a slightly floody beam.

You can try Streamlight too. Look at models like TL2 and TL3. TL2 uses 2 CR123 batteries and TL3 uses 3, is more powerful but longer. For Streamlight, learn not to trust the Lumens rating by the manufacturer as they tend to over rate it. As a guide, minus off 30% from the listed lumens rating. If they advertise it at 100 lumens, then assume it is 70. The other one you can look at is the rechargeable version called the Strion. Unfortunately it is very hard to acquire a spare rechargeable battery. Last but not least is the Scorpion. A very old model but well liked by many and is now replaced with TL2 as mentioned above.

The other question you posted was regarding throw. Everyone of us has a certain criteria or expectation for throw so it is very hard to say. I don't measure distance but instead prefer to use visual. If it lights up the whole stretch of path then it is good. All Surefire lights I have can throw reasonably well but there are other cheaper models that throw better.

As for LEDs, stick to Nuwai QIII.

Take note that the lights I recommended all use CR123 lithium batteries. I think that it would be better to standardise all the batteries for a good reason. As incandescent needs a lot of power to run, you will realise that there are still plenty of juice left to run in a Nuwai QIII or Surefire E1e + KL1. I usually collect them for use as reading light or walking around in the house. The other reason to standardise the batteries is personal. I don't like to carry so many different types of batteries in a hike or trek as it is very cumbersome.

 

[xeno]

As for LEDs, stick to Nuwai QIII.

Take note that the lights I recommended all use CR123 lithium batteries. I think that it would be better to standardise all the batteries for a good reason. As incandescent needs a lot of power to run, you will realise that there are still plenty of juice left to run in a Nuwai QIII or Surefire E1e + KL1. I usually collect them for use as reading light or walking around in the house. The other reason to standardise the batteries is personal. I don't like to carry so many different types of batteries in a hike or trek as it is very cumbersome.

May I know where I could get the Nuwai QIII ?

 

[amlim]

May I know where I could get the Nuwai QIII ?

you didn't read further up? contact morganoh... :thumbsup:

 

[Nerd]

Hi Canuckle

hehe, haven't been to CPF for months now... focusing on photography more than flashlights. oh wait... my tigerlight is still with Nerd :sweatsm:

:sweatsm:

There's one more range on the 9th and 10th of Nov. After that one, I'll send the light back to TL sans LA (which I've modified). It is definitely the body of the light that has problems accepting a charge from the charger. I think I'll send the charger with the broken cradle back for a x-change as well. When it comes back it should go straight to your home. PM me your address. I'll mail you the LA too.

:angel:

 

[caseytan]

:sweatsm:

There's one more range on the 9th and 10th of Nov. After that one, I'll send the light back to TL sans LA (which I've modified). It is definitely the body of the light that has problems accepting a charge from the charger. I think I'll send the charger with the broken cradle back for a x-change as well. When it comes back it should go straight to your home. PM me your address. I'll mail you the LA too.

:angel:

oh really ? TL has agree to take it back ?

thanks man, let me know the cost of shipping, i'll pay you back for it
:lovegrin:

 

[Zephirum]

Getting either the Inova T3 and Inova XO3 or Pelican M6 LED as Andy recommended, insrtead of Nuwai Q3. I believe these are LED with good throw rite? according to my own reading from reviews and CPF ppl. Does Sheares carry Inova or Pelican lights? If not, where got sell Inova/Pelican locally?

 

[amlim]

Getting either the Inova T3 and Inova XO3 or Pelican M6 LED as Andy recommended, insrtead of Nuwai Q3. I believe these are LED with good throw rite? according to my own reading from reviews and CPF ppl. Does Sheares carry Inova or Pelican lights? If not, where got sell Inova/Pelican locally?

Sngarms sells pelican M6 LED but the price is ex...

 

[Zephirum]

Sngarms sells pelican M6 LED but the price is ex...

thks! Any other places besides sngarm :thumbsd: :thumbsd: :thumbsd: ? will nv step into that shop ... :angry:

 

[Andy Ho]

thks! Any other places besides sngarm :thumbsd: :thumbsd: :thumbsd: ? will nv step into that shop ... :angry:

If you don't mind waiting and risking a little, you might want to order from Battery Station for the M6 LED. According to what I gather, Battery Station is a very reliable dealer. Only thing you need worry is the freight security.