4 ms·

This is really out of date (January 2011). If you are interested, good website / forum to check from time to time is http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ http://

This is really out of date (January 2011). If you are interested, good website / forum to check from time to time is http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ My personal favorite LED lights are ZebraLight -- the tints are pretty consistent, and the regulation is top notch. The SC600 is amazing - a nice lighweight, floody, 1x18650 light awesome for trail-running at night in the mountains - great to see all the eyeballs watching from the hills. I'm hoping soon the CRI of these emitters will get better. It was hard seeing rattlesnakes with CRI=65, but they blended in anyhow :( Warmer tints of the XM-L had CRI 75 but that still isn't very good.

baddox 12y ago
http://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight http://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight is also a fairly active community.
ChuckMcM 12y ago
I was reading the datasheet of the Cree XT-E [1] which is > 90 CRI at warm-white and still 130 lumens per watt. Perhaps when they start showing up in flashlights you'll get better at seeing the snakes. Although for rattlesnakes (which we looked for in the dark as kids) a UV light is much better since they (and scorpions) glow when exposed to UV spectrum. [1] http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/LED%20Components%20and%20Modules/XLamp/Data%20and%20Binning/XLampXTE.pdf http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/LED%20Components%20an...
bcook 12y ago
CPF is great. I originally found CPF when I was Googling the most powerful (flash)light ever and found this thread; http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?92396-1kW-Xenon-Arc-Tank-Light http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?92396-1kW... Click that link and tell me that doesn't make you chuckle. Now I just need a tank... Edit: It has been a couple of years since I paid attention, but finding a Cree (flashlight) LED with a high-CRI is tough. My HDS has a Cree with 90+ CRI with a 3700k tint which is somewhat rare. Nichia made the best high-cri with more preferable 4400k+ tints.
- jonah 12y ago
  I'll see your 1kW arc and raise you an 800 million candlepower arc light.[1] I got to see it in action and talk to the owner, Bob, about it for quite a while a few years ago. Really nice guy and an incredible piece of history/machinery. These lights were used as part of the coastal defense system to spot and highlight approaching enemy aircraft. One fascinating thing are the pre-radar trackers used to drive these lights. They used man-in-the-loop and automated stereo visual and aural systems to locate the incoming planes.[2] [1] http://www.victorysearchlights.com/#see http://www.victorysearchlights.com/#see [2] http://www.victorysearchlights.com/victory2.html http://www.victorysearchlights.com/victory2.html
  - bcook 12y ago
    Wow, thanks for that link. Gotta love old-school military tech. Trying to illuminate an airplane... I do not want that job.
jedmeyers 12y ago
I agree that in most applications, especially outdoor related, having higher CRI is much more useful than having, say, +30% lumen output. That is why I try to select flashlights with neutral / high CRI LEDs. My current go-to torches which happen to be also latest acquisitions: - Surefire P6 body; bored to accept 18650 battery with McClicky upgrade and P60 / Nichia NVSL219B drop-in from customlites.com. Very bright with a nice hotspot. I use it to do a walk-around check of a small Cessna before flying at night. You don't want to miss those missing rivets. - EAGTAC D25C Clicky Ti. Not a fan of a reverse-clicky but a moonlight mode is very useful in low light situations when it's crucial to preserve night vision. And it's also small and has a nice clip to carry around. - Fenix FL50 headlamp. Accepts CR123 and AA batteries and has a nice beam pattern. Two of those have Nichia 219 which I think is an awesome LED if you need good color rendering.
- detaro 12y ago
  Fenix FL? I only find an HL 50?
dsego 12y ago
Similiar to zebra and also great quality for price are armytek and spark-light.

baddox 12y ago

http://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight http://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight is also a fairly active community.

ChuckMcM 12y ago

I was reading the datasheet of the Cree XT-E [1] which is > 90 CRI at warm-white and still 130 lumens per watt. Perhaps when they start showing up in flashlights you'll get better at seeing the snakes. Although for rattlesnakes (which we looked for in the dark as kids) a UV light is much better since they (and scorpions) glow when exposed to UV spectrum. [1] http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/LED%20Components%20and%20Modules/XLamp/Data%20and%20Binning/XLampXTE.pdf http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/LED%20Components%20an...

bcook 12y ago

CPF is great. I originally found CPF when I was Googling the most powerful (flash)light ever and found this thread; http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?92396-1kW-Xenon-Arc-Tank-Light http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?92396-1kW... Click that link and tell me that doesn't make you chuckle. Now I just need a tank... Edit: It has been a couple of years since I paid attention, but finding a Cree (flashlight) LED with a high-CRI is tough. My HDS has a Cree with 90+ CRI with a 3700k tint which is somewhat rare. Nichia made the best high-cri with more preferable 4400k+ tints.

jonah 12y ago
I'll see your 1kW arc and raise you an 800 million candlepower arc light.[1] I got to see it in action and talk to the owner, Bob, about it for quite a while a few years ago. Really nice guy and an incredible piece of history/machinery. These lights were used as part of the coastal defense system to spot and highlight approaching enemy aircraft. One fascinating thing are the pre-radar trackers used to drive these lights. They used man-in-the-loop and automated stereo visual and aural systems to locate the incoming planes.[2] [1] http://www.victorysearchlights.com/#see http://www.victorysearchlights.com/#see [2] http://www.victorysearchlights.com/victory2.html http://www.victorysearchlights.com/victory2.html
- bcook 12y ago
  Wow, thanks for that link. Gotta love old-school military tech. Trying to illuminate an airplane... I do not want that job.

jedmeyers 12y ago

I agree that in most applications, especially outdoor related, having higher CRI is much more useful than having, say, +30% lumen output. That is why I try to select flashlights with neutral / high CRI LEDs. My current go-to torches which happen to be also latest acquisitions: - Surefire P6 body; bored to accept 18650 battery with McClicky upgrade and P60 / Nichia NVSL219B drop-in from customlites.com. Very bright with a nice hotspot. I use it to do a walk-around check of a small Cessna before flying at night. You don't want to miss those missing rivets. - EAGTAC D25C Clicky Ti. Not a fan of a reverse-clicky but a moonlight mode is very useful in low light situations when it's crucial to preserve night vision. And it's also small and has a nice clip to carry around. - Fenix FL50 headlamp. Accepts CR123 and AA batteries and has a nice beam pattern. Two of those have Nichia 219 which I think is an awesome LED if you need good color rendering.

detaro 12y ago
Fenix FL? I only find an HL 50?

dsego 12y ago

Similiar to zebra and also great quality for price are armytek and spark-light.