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The Advancedmart 3-Watt non-Luxeon LED light runs on a single 123A lithium cell,
uses a boost circuit to regulate power and drive the LED, is aluminum, and uses
a tailcap clickie switch. I'm a touch confused about it being a "Non-Luxeon" LED
since it has "Lumileds" printed clearly on the LED module. Regardless, it produces
good light for a reasonable period of time.
Body description: The body of the light is made of aluminum with a
forest-green anodized finish. The head and body have a variety of
notches, grooves, and plateaus machined in for both aesthetic purposes
and for grip. The tailcap has checkering for ease of grip when changing
out the batteries and the tailcap switch is flat and partially recessed.
Bezel/Head: The head is fairly large in diameter to accommodate the reflector.
The reflector is large enough to capture the light from the LED and produce a
concentrated spot of light. Inside the head is the "Non-Luxeon" 3W LED
with the driver circuit contained below. We'll take a closer look at this
LED later in the review. There is a plastic lens on the very front of the light.
Output description: The white light produced by the
LED is a high color temperature and produces good color
rendition weighted toward the blue end of the spectrum.
A very slight tint is detectable when compared against
a near sunlight-white source, but this tinting is not
noticeable during normal use. Output is in the form of
a pretty tight spot with a wide dim spillbeam. This beam
is really one of the most useful, allowing the user to
spotlight fairly distant objects while still providing enough
spill-light to see the area directly in front of the user.
Beam at one meter at target center.
Runtime Plot: Using a 123A lithium cell, this light will
reach 50% starting output in about 2 hours. Not too bad considering
it is producing about the same light as a common 2-D cell flashlight
with just one little battery.
Runtime
completed with "Titanium"
brand batteries. More information on runtime plots is
available HERE.
Switch description: The switch is a rubber covered reverse-clickie.
Press until it clicks to turn it on, then press gently to blink. Press
until it clicks again to turn it off. The button is flat, has a square
texture pattern, and the light can actually stand on the rubber button. There
is a ridge around the switch which helps prevent it from being accidentally pressed
inward to the point of activation. It makes a firm audible "click" when used.
The switch can be "locked out"
Seals / Water Resistance: An O-ring seal protects the tailcap, lens and
the head from the entry of water. The rubber clickie switch cover
also produces a good seal. It gets a "dunkable" rating.
If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible
without tools and let it dry before using again.
Ergonomics: Although small, it is not thin in diameter. The
various textures on the light provide for good grip. It is a little
large to just drop into your pocket
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: One 123A cell powers the light. I would
recommend Titanium
brand cells for $1.00 each (here's
a review) or BatteryStation
or Surefire
brand cells for less than $2 each. I would not recommend purchasing
these cells at retail stores since they cost $10 a pair
or more in most retail stores!
To change out the battery: unscrew the tailcap, drop
out the old cell, place in a new cell observing proper
polarity. Reattach the tailcap and you're ready to go.
Accessories: A nylon finger lanyard is attached to the tailcap.
Important things to note: Advancedmart tells me that this is
a "non-Luxeon" LED. Here is what it looks like:
Looks kind of like a Lumileds Luxeon to me... but something just isn't right...
The word "Lumileds" looks a bit rough relative to another 3 Watt
LED I have sitting on my desk. So let's flip it over and look at the bin numbers...
Interesting... No bin numbers... Bin numbers are always on the bottom of
Luxeon LEDs. So the question is: Is someone producing
cheap copy "Luxeon LEDs" that are designed to look like a Lumileds product, but
aren't, or is this made by Lumileds and isn't labeled the same... More investigation
is needed. If the former, this could be very troubling. People may be paying
for genuine Luxeon LEDs in some products and are getting a cheap knockoff instead
without knowing it. Advancedmart was very clear that these are NON-LUXEON LEDs, so kudos
to them for being up-front and honest about it.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Tough/impact resistant, Semi-regulated/good battery life,
Bright, Easy battery change, Lightweight, Stands up
What I Didn't Like: Nothing significant
Other Things I Noticed: LED of unknown origin and quality.
Conclusions: Really, it's a great
little light. Good output for general use, small and
compact, and the switch is very nice. The DC-DC boost
circuit works admirably to keep the light going for
about 2 hours and it maintains good output throughout.
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