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Reviewer's
Impressions:
The CMG Bonfire Blaze is a marked improvement over using
a candle to light your tent at night. The long life of the
red LED option and the ability to clearly see colors using
the white LEDs makes this a worthwhile step up to the original
Bonfire.
The fit and finish of the Blaze are acceptable. There are
slight gaps in some of the seams of the light. The lens fits
on smoothly, but the rubber cover on the switch end fits loosely,
although it is reasonably secure. The cutout on the side of
the light is designed for compatibility so that the same light
body can be used on their motion-sensing lantern, the Phoenix.
The cutout is molded into a separate plate which appears could
have been replaced by a convex curved plate at the factory
to better match the shape of the body. When turned on, light
can be seen projecting back into the body and out though small
gaps in the seams of the unit. These gaps could be areas of
water leakage.
Quality of the Blaze appears good and it is reasonably durable.
If dropped it withstands the abuse well, but I would use some
care to avoid beating it up too much since the body has glued
seams which could be weaker areas in its construction. Since
it is not designed with rough use in mind, this should not
be a problem provided it is "used as directed".
Output is very good. The red LED does a very nice job of
providing the light you need without totally destroying your
night vision. The white LEDs provide great light output and
are more than adequate for finding your way around a dark
tent or a dark room. The added fact that the white LEDs allow
you to have full color recognition is a welcome addition to
the Bonfire line of products. Now you can consult your map
inside your tent without having to search for another light.
Just flip the Blaze from red to white and all of the markings
and delineations stand out in full color. Previously, with
the original Bonfire, it would have been necessary to find
another light since the yellow LEDs allow for poor color recognition.
The Blaze does not have a "beam" per se, but the
light is concentrated directly under the lantern with a reasonable
spread of light out to the sides. The cover can be removed
and the white LEDs bent slightly outward to spread their light
out a little better than the "straight down" configuration
they are in from the factory.
Water resistance is acceptable if the lantern is in its
"lens down" configuration. Water runs over the top,
down the sides, and onto your sleeping bag, reminding you
to seal that hole in the top of your tent.... If it gets wet
on the inside, remove the batteries and allow it to dry completely
before it is used.
The switch may be a little difficult to use until you get
used to it. I found it necessary to press with my thumbnail
to get the switch to respond through the rubber cover. Some
people may want to remove the cover completely to use the
light. Please be aware if you do so that the light will have
no water resistance whatsoever until the cover is replaced.
The lanyard can be a little tricky to install. Here's the
trick if you have one - pull it until the loops touch. Grab
the loops and start pulling outward until you make a circle
of cord large enough to fit the end of the light body into.
Turn the body of the light so that the loops are on the sides
of the light and tuck the cord near the silver stays on the
loops into the grooves. Now pick the light up by the other
end of the cord.
Possible areas of improvement? There are a couple in my opinion.
There is a lot of empty space inside the light. If I were
given the opportunity to redesign the Bonfire lights [enter
fantasy mode now], I would try to use a smaller body design,
possibly based on a one-piece tube to eliminate the seams
on the light. Build the circuit board into the bezel end and
just have the tube for the batteries - either just 2 batteries
or four in a series-parallel configuration to double the runtime
of the unit. The tubular design would also allow both the
plastic tailcap on one end and the diffusing lens/circuit
board/bezel on the other end to be threaded in place and sealed
with O-ring thereby greatly improving water resistance. Lanyard
holes or grooves could be molded into the tailcap and the
bezel could be designed so that turning one way would activate
the red LED, the other way would activate the white LED, and
the center would be off. Of course this is just a flight of
fantasy since CMG would have to scrap their entire design
completely and what I have recommended would probably be much
more expensive to accomplish. Within the bounds of the current
design, I would at least roughen the surface of the metal
battery cover to make it less slippery. I found it almost
impossible to change the batteries when the fingers were slick.
+ + + Pluses: Acceptable water resistance,
Impact resistant, Red LED: long battery life, White LED: Good
color rendition & step up circuit, Lightweight, Stands
up
- - - Minuses: Not waterproof, Lanyard
a little tricky, Switch requires a little practice
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