Outdoor Gear - LED Flashlight Review

Info good LED flashlight reviews give you and some they Don't

Find comparison of cool LED flash light concepts and some related stuff. Flash light reviewers I checked couldn't prepare me for a minor surprise. Ya don't learn if ya don't try. Am learning all right.

Favourite LED flashlight designs

Inova X series	Eternalight series	RaV'N Party Light	NEW: Newton laser flash
Source: Thinkgeek	Source: Techass	Source: Photonlight	Source: Physlink
Series concept: "Light-salt shaker"	Series concept: "Miracle" all purpose	Series concept: Modular from "Photon Micro-Light" inventor David Allen	Series concept: Combines light-salt shaking and laser beam

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LED flashlight features ...

That you DON'T find at most reviewers

Will the white light remain white...?

A reliable L E D flashlight houses bright LED units usually rated for 50-100,000 hours. The white light is achieved from two components. The main part is actually a blue LED (no not white). The other component is white phosphor.

The (blue) LED component is going to last probably several years (if not too many power spikes are there in it's lifetime.) But the other component won't last nearly as long. The white phosphor might lasts only a few thousand hours before starting to faint. And faint it will - due to photochemical degradation.

So at the end of the day, the brightness of a LED flashlight will stay, while the whiteness will fade away... Brightness is also linked to the light range of your flashlight.

Learn a bit more LED basics and some hidden problems
of the white LED diode >>

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Brightness and range

The other unfortunate quality of a led flashlight is that its range is not as long as say a good old xenon flashlight. In this department xenon flashlights still outshine LED flashlights.

There is this other misconception that the more the LED units, the brighter the LED flashlight should be. This I reviewed just recently. Just checked out quite a few of the newest ones on our local computer-swap. To my absolute surprise, a flashlight with just one bright LED unit could throw a longer and brighter beam, than another with a bunch of less powerful units next to it. Even though the less powerful one was packed with a neat number of LED units.

The take-home lesson...? Just because a LED flashlight has many units, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily going to be so much brighter or throw a longer beam.

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Wanna know more?

Luckily, there are complete nutcases (LED nutcase is good nutcase!) out there who eat sleep and drink LED light and Led flashlight reviews.

Leddie's #1 LED flashlight review tragic:

He is a dedicated LED flashlight enthusiast and a self-titled technology nut. The site is like a maze of info - quite overwhelming. The editor comes accross as a lovable character with a boarish humor.

Here are some handles not to get lost there:

Tip: If you get into the left frame of the framed version, (bit awkward those frames) scroll down to LED flashlights listed in 2 categories. The top category is based on the various types of batteries: (1) C & D Cell; (2) AA, AAA, AAAA & N Cell; (3) Coin & Button Cell; (4) CR123A Lithium; (5) CR2 Lithium; (6) 9V Transistor, Rechargeable, Solar, & Other. Yet another way to browse is by the category below that, which is based on different bulb types. (Then there is also a general review format in his "punishment zone.")

Hairy place: The "Punishment Zone", where "LEDs come to die."

Leddies #1 LED flash light reviews

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Leddie's #2 LED flashlight review tragic:

Brock's flashlight pages here. Less detailed than Craig's but still plenty juicy stuff here.

Leddies #2 LED flash light reviews

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Leddie's #3 LED flashlight review tragic:

Found another good reviewer Chuck, and had a good look at his reviews. This also alerted me to some new ways of comparing, so he gets the third place so far. He he reviews one of his favorite the Eternalight EliteMax LED flashlight from TechAss. Visit other Eternalight like the Rave'n - which I happen to like - for some more.

Tip: he also reviews comp parts, so I preselected a direct link. if you go back to reviews, you have to pan to the flashlight part in that column.

Leddies #3 LED flash light reviews

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Leddie's #4 LED flashlight review tragic:

This is an all-round technology / gadget review site not just LED flash lights. But some LED flashlight reviews have a surprising amount of info.

Tip: You need to scroll down all the way to lighting.

Leddies #3 LED flash light reviews

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Hey, you can read these LED flashlight reviews till the cows come home.

Take home lesson ... if any

Bottom line? If ya want to get your hands dirty with some cool LED flash light stuff, don't just research the reviews and then research and then research some more. Because if you get one, even if the simplest and the cheapest, you'll see something new. (Although probably the cheapest is not the best idea...)

Bottom line ...
LED flashlights are different. You won't see what you don't try...

Related Articles, Resources

Comparative Mag Lite flashlights has my review about "Mag light MAGology" and some models conversion path to LED.

White LED basics covers some problems you need to know about the white beam of your LED flash light and looks at some future directions.

Learn the various color temperatures and the different fluorescent coloration effects.

Learn more about Compact Fluorescent Bulbs.

About long life incandescents bulbs.

Learn more about LED bulbs as flood lights here

Comparison based on typical initial light output and lifetime

Photonlight official site
http://www.photonlight.com
Thinkgeek official site
http://www.thinkgeek.com
Techass official site
http://www.techass.com

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