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The Trooper II is a variation on a theme that I've
seen a lot lately. Three AAA cells in a carrier powering
a 3 Watt LED. *Yawn*... The only unique thing about
this light is the fact that the LED is NOT a Luxeon
LED, but made by another manufacturer.
Body: The body is pretty common stuff. Anodized
aluminum, knurled for grip around the head, body, and
tailcap, yadda, yadda, yadda. It uses the now common
"post in a ring" system on the tailcap for
attachment of the lanyard, but it really can't stand
on end well with the lanyard attached anyway. My recommendation:
throw the lanyard away. Junk.
Bezel/Head: The head is where it gets a little
weird. A number of manufacturers are now creating high
powered LEDs. Although the quality doesn't quite compare
with Luxeon LEDs, the output is pretty decent. It's
not pretty, just pretty decent. In this case the light
is bluish with some weird yellowish rings, but more
on that later. The reflector is smooth plastic and the
lens is plastic as well. The LED sits on a white painted
heat sink and the lens on the LED die is of the "low
dome" or "batwing" variety for those
of you who are interested.
Output: The white light produced by the LED
is a high color temperature and produces fair color
rendition weighted fairly strongly toward the blue end
of the spectrum. The combination of the low dome LED
lens and the smooth reflector results in a fairly tight
spot but with some strange colored rings - bluish and
yellowish alternating - in the beam. It's not all that
annoying but it is noticeable. Intensity of output is
pretty good, and considering the price (listed below)
it isn't bad at all.
Beam at one meter at target center
Runtime Plot: Expect a little less than an hour
and a half before you hit 50% of your starting output.
This is a typical 3-AAA cell runtime plot. After 3½
hours you'll definitely want to change out the cells.
All-in-all, not too shabby.
Runtime
completed with Duracell brand batteries. More information
on runtime plots is available HERE.
Switch: Another yawn... Typical reverse clickie.
Click for on, after it is on you can press for blink.
Click again for off. It is fairly well protected from
accidental activation by the contour of the head and
the body.
Seals / Water Resistance: This light actually
has some pretty good seals. Good thick O-rings at all
connection points, and you can take the light apart
at 3 places - tailcap, tube below the switch, head just
above the switch. The O-rings seem to be very slightly
lubricated and there is an O-ring just behind the lens.
If it gets wet inside, just disassemble as much a possible
without tools and let it dry before using again.
Ergonomics: Very little to mention. The tailcap
opens without any difficulty, the switch works fine,
and it's too big to really put in your pocket comfortably
unless you have really big pockets. Putting batteries
in and out of the AAA carrier it has to use is a bit
of a pain in the fingernail, but hopefully you won't
be changing them out too often.
Size compared to a common 2AA aluminum light
Batteries: Ahhhhh... the lovely little battery
carrier. Yuck. I hate these things. Put in two cells
+ up and one cell + down. Put one in wrong and it won't
operate. Break the carrier or lose it and it won't operate
either. I know why manufacturers use these things, but
I really don't like them. Why do they use them? Because
the 4.5V produced by three AAA cells lets you power
the LED without adding an expensive-to-develop-and-build
boost circuit. I'd much rather they use two AA cells
and a boost circuit but that gets pricey. Oh well. It
works, and it works just fine in this case.
Accessories: The only accessory is a mandatory-disposable
wrist lanyard. Seriously - throw it away. Replace it
with something better if you really need a lanyard.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Good battery life, Bright, Easy battery change, Lightweight,
Stands up
What I Didn't Like: Unusual color
to the beam. Battery carrier.
Picky Little Things: Did I mention
the lanyard is crappy? Thought so.
Conclusions: Really not a bad little
3W LED light. Good battery life, good output, good quality
and fair design. It's not a junker, but it's not trophy
shelf quality either. I'd say it would be good for general
household use, car use, tailgating, backyard or car
camping, that sort of thing. I wouldn't take it spelunking,
hiking, or backwoods camping, but that's just my opinion.
Good price, though, for a 3W LED.
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