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Detailed
Information:
In case you are wondering, yes these lights are manufactured
by Aitec, an overseas company that specializes in making
lights for re-branding. The Diamond version of their
lights show significant quality improvements over the
previous versions of these lights (known as the Collimator
Lights). The biggest change is in the beam quality,
which is much improved.
Both lights are made from machined and anodized aluminum
with knurling around the center of the body for grip.
The AT3100L has significantly greater texture. In fact,
tightly gripping the light will leave a serious waffle
impression in your hand! One thing is for sure, you
won't drop it! The heavily textured 3100L is larger
in diameter but they are both the same length.
AT3100L
texture
The bezel contains a a reflector which does a very
good job of collecting the light from the Luxeon III
emitter. Both lights project a very nice beam with no
real artifacts and a generous spillbeam. The Luxeon
III LEDs are heatsinked nicely with the aluminum body
of the light, as they should be, so there should be
no damage to the LED as a result of heat generated in
their use. As is to be expected, the Luxeon III LEDs
are virtually shockproof so dropping the light will
not cause a blown bulb and they should last thousands
of hours before replacement of element. You'll probably
wear out the light or lose it before the LED needs replacement.
Both models use a rear click switch on the tailcap
which is has a rubber cover and protrudes slightly.
The rubber cover of the switch is surrounded by a silver
ring. Both switches work easily and provided both tactile
and audible indication of activation (they "click".)
These switches would be considered "reverse click".
The light turns on after you hear the click and you
release the button.
All potential points of water entry are sealed for
water resistance with either a rubber seal or an O-ring.
If it gets wet, shake it off and keep going. Inspect
it later for water entry and dry it out if necessary.
To change the batteries, just unscrew the tail cap.
The batteries are in a carrier that looks like a battery
all by itself. Put the batteries in the carrier with
the negative toward the little springs (two batteries
go one way, one goes the other.) Drop the carrier in
with the positive nipple first and replace the tailcap.
Nylon sheaths and wrist lanyards are included with
both lights . The sheaths are of good quality and could
be attached to the belt either vertically or horizontally.
What I Liked: Water resistant,
Seem pretty tough, Bright, Easy battery change, Lightweight,
Great beam.
What I Didn't Like: No regulation,
so output diminishes over time.
Other Things I Noticed:
Conclusions: Great general purpose
lights. Nice and bright, no bulb to blow, and tough
enough for most folks. The AAA unregulated power source
for a Luxeon III just doesn't seem like the best choice.
AAA batteries really aren't that great at powering a
Luxeon III which has high current draw and will drain
the AAA cells pretty quickly. However, they are less
expensive to replace than 123A batteries, which are
often used to power Luxeon III lights. Good little lights
for the car, purse, briefcase, etc.
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