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Reviewer's
Impressions:
I'm sorry to say that I was initially a bit underwhelmed
by the Trek 4. The Lightwave
2000 is its nearest competition and they are quite similar,
so I will make some comparisons between the two in this review.
They both have 4 LEDs, both run on 3 AA cells and twist the
bezel for on-off. They are both of similar size, shape and
weight.
The very first thing I noticed was that the Trek 4 puts out
significantly (~ 9%) less light than the Lightwave 2000, as
you can plainly see in the beam pictures above. After a little
bit of pondering, I noticed that the Trek 4 puts out almost
an identitical amount of light as the older Lightwave 2000
bezel (found in my Lightwave
Illuminator review), before they were upgraded to the
current production run. This makes me think that perhaps Lightwave
had chosen to upgrade the LEDs in their product while Tektite
has not kept up with their compeition in this one area. In
my opinion, this does take away from the functionality of
the light a little bit, but the Trek 4 makes up for it in
other areas.
As for durability, I would rather have the Trek 4 with me
in a tough spot. The fact that it is SO watertight and that
the Lexan lens surrounds and protects the LEDs makes a good
point for having this light with you if you are involved in
any watersports such as white-water rafting, diving, etc..
A concern I had with the Lightwave 2000 is that the bezel
turns so easily I would be worried about it being lost or
turning itself on in a pack. This is not a problem with the
Trek 4 It is important to note that the Trek 4 cannot even
be turned on with one hand. This is the result of the tight
seal used to make the light watertight. The bezel needs to
be tightly gripped to twist on and off. This task is actually
much easier to accomplish if you remove the rubber bezel cover,
exposing the ribbed Lexan bezel.
Removing the rubber bezel cover also allows a lot of light
to spill out of the sides of the bezel which is good for peripheral
lighting and for making it easy to see the light's user in
the dark. Replacing the cover keeps the light out of your
eyes. An interesting feature of the cover is that even with
it on, you can see a ring of light coming from the back of
the bezel when the light is on. This serves well as an indicator
that the light is on if it is set down on its bezel with
the rubber cover on.
Out of all of the AA hand-held LED lights in my collection
this is probably the one I would most likely take with me
on a camping trip just because the chances of it being damaged
to the point of failure are so small.
+ + + Pluses: Very tough, very waterproof, protected
LEDs, removable rubber bezel cover, strap attachment points,
lanyard
- - - Minuses: requires 2 hands to operate the switch,
not quite as bright as other similar LED lights.
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