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Reviewer's
Impressions:
For a single white LED light, the Impact 2 is really quite
impressive. It is very small, fits in the hand well, can be
clipped to your pocket, and casts a nice bright spot of light.
If you are used to "normal" incandescent lights
with their beam throw, this would look familiar in the way
it casts a "hotspot" of light at the subject. This
is quite different from other LED lights which send more of
a flood of light into the surrounding area.
Fit and finish of the light is very good. The lens and reflector
came out of the package unmarred and without dust or fingerprints.
The body is nicely formed and the bezel fits tightly on the
body. If you have a strong grip you can turn the light on
and off one handed, otherwise it does take two hands to turn
it on and off.
Quality and durability are very good. There are no filaments
to break and the body is practically indestructible. You can
do almost anything with this light. The only slight concern
is the convex lens which protrudes so far forward that it
almost touches the surface the light is on when set down face
first. Use caution when out camping to avoid marring the lens.
Place the light on its side, not its face. The pocket clip
may appear to be something to be concerned about, but in reality
it is surprisingly strong and I think it would take quite
a bit of effort to actually break it off.
Output is surprisingly good for a single LED light. Since
all of the light is projected into a tight spot (but not so
tight as to make it unusable), you can actually use it at
a decent distance, unlike many other single LED lights. For
comparison, I was able to make out the same detail at the
same distance using either the Impact 2 with its projection
system, or the Tektite Expedition 300 - a 7 LED light with
no specialized projection system. Of course, the Expedition
300 lit up a larger surface area while the Impact 2 only lit
a tight circle. It is just slightly dimmer than its big brother,
the Impact.
Beam quality is good. The center of the beam is white with
a bluish thin ring surrounded by a wide band of dim light.
Surrounding this are several very faint rings which become
almost unnoticeable at a distance. The hotspot is slightly
smaller and dimmer than the Impact, and the surrounding rings
are more visible.
Water resistance is excellent with an advertised depth rating
of 500 feet. Since Princeton Tec specializes in dive lights,
I would never worry about getting this light wet.
The biggest factor for considering this light is, I believe,
the battery life. Since 4 AAA batteries are driving only a
single white LED, you can expect several DAYS of light from
this device without having to worry about a battery change.
It's not very bright, but the spot of light it creates is
about as bright as the output from lights boasting 7 LEDs
and a much shorter relative battery life.
The only possible improvement to the light would be a regulator
circuit to give constant output. But when you have 3 days
worth of light off a set of batteries, why bother....
(Rating updated April 2003 to reflect ongoing testing
and update to rating system.)
+ + + Pluses: Waterproof, Tough/impact
resistant, Long battery life, Easy battery change, nice pocket
clip
- - - Minuses: Not exceptionally bright
(only 1 LED), Cannot stand on end
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