Any Photon microlight owners?

A

Allen E. Treat

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Oct 4, 2001
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I just got mine today from Cutlery Shoppe ($12.50) in turquoise.
I love it! No knife / gun owner should be without this handy widget!

AET ;)
 
I have a Photon II (blue light), and it IS a pretty handy little bugger that carries very well in the watch pocket of my Levis.:).
 
I have a Red Photon II just like the pilots, great little light! hehe

James
 
I have an Inova myself...best flashlight i've ever owned...next to my surefire e2e...;)
 
I carry a white Photon III around with me everywhere...even to bed! I use the light most on the way to/from the loo at night :).
 
I carried a green one and got my wife the turquoise model. Of course I switched batteries to get the max light output from my green Photon. For those of you who are going "huh?", if you take the single watch battery out and replace it with two thinner batteries of the same diameter, you get a greater light output from your Photon.

I've recently switched to the ASP Sapphire keyring light because it puts out a lot more light than my Photons. I highly recommend this to you folks who are looking for something better. The ASP comes with a lifetime battery/bulb replacement warranty too.
 
Originally posted by misque
I've recently switched to the ASP Sapphire keyring light because it puts out a lot more light than my Photons.
Click to expand...

I started out with a couple of ASP Sapphires and switched to Photon IIs because they were brighter. I sure someone over at http://www.candlepowerforums.com/ could answer the question objectively, but my experience has been the opposite of yours.

The good news is that both are excellent lights. I haven't had or heard about any reliability problems with either.

--Bob Q
 
Hmmm...I was unaware of a Photon II.
Is it the same size as the original Photons?
How about price? I'm always looking for something better too. Maybe this is something I need to check out.;)
 
The Photon II is almost identical to the Photon I except for the addition of a tiny off/on switch in addition to the big temporary on switch of the original.

As far as I know the light levels and other specs are the same for the I and II.

There is also a Photon III that incorporates digital circuitry to provide more options, but some people have reported that they are too easy to accidentally turn on so that they run down in your pockets. I like the II well enough that I haven't tried the III yet.

--Bob Q
 
Until the F__KIN valet at the LAX Hilton stole it from my key ring. I wanted to get the scum fired, but I couldn't prove which valet had taken my keys when I dropped the truck off. Luckily I had only given him the removable section of my keyring with the ignition key, the alarm remote and the Photon on it.

I'd have been even madder if he'd got the Arc AAA LE that resides on the other part of my keyring. I love that light. I have yet to replace the Photon partly because I'm not sure what color to get this time.

I think Photons and Inova microlights are some of the best holiday gifts. Everybody needs a light, even if they don't realize it until months after you give them one. I especially like to give the
SAK Executive/Inova gift sets for non knife/light folks.

So what color would you get and why?

jmx
 
The early model IIIs had some QC problems. I'm sure anything you get now is fine. The IIIs have additional features like flashing-strobe etc. I'd stick with the model IIs--they work great.:)
 
The brightness depends on which color LED you get. They have different beam angles, and different brightness. Regarding the Photon I and the ASP, their main drawback is the fact that they have only momentary on switches that you have to keep pressing. If you are concerned about preserving your night vision, then green is the best color to get. Your rods, which are responsible for night vision, are very receptive to green light. This means you can use a lot less light to see what you need (this is why the military is switching to green lights from red ones). It is the brightness of the light that ruins night vision, not the color. Since your eyes perceive objects better under green light, you can use dimmer light. This makes the Photon III your best option, because you can set it to a dim, medium, or bright mode as the constant on setting. You can always press the momentary switch for immediate brightest setting. I have a white Photon II, and a green Photon III. I love the III.

Mike
 
How long do the batteries last for y'all? I got some cheapo LED lights and the batteries died in a month. Should I spring for the brand name lights or just get new batteries?
 
yah the photon lights are pretty good, they are always there since their on your keychain, and i don't feel like carrying a surefire all the time so it's good to know you'll have some light when you need it, and it's brighter then a maglite solitaire, i've compared the two at full battery and the photon is brighter and smaller, the thing with led lights in general is that they are bright but only at the source so they don't illuminate as good as other bulbs
 
I love my Photon 2 also. I wear it on the same neckloop as my EKI Lagriffe. I alwaya have a AA flashlight on my belt with the Leatherman, so the neck carry is nice and subtle, always there since the Lagriffe is always there. It has come in real handy when I dropped my AA light and could not find it untill I pulled out the Photon.:o One can never have too many lights or knives!:D ;)
 
Well forumite(s), it seems we're all
just a bunch of practical type(s); a
late friend of mine, Bob Beimler
( Nam Vet/POW/NavySEAL ) told his daughter to keep a flashlight in her car. It's just a case of "You'll never know when you're in the dark";)
glockman99, as an LEO, you definitely
need one (along with your other issue
gear;)) No matter which mini ( or maxi ) light you choose forumite(s)
you can't go wrong. Take it from this ol' footsoldier. ;)

AET ;)
 
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