ARC AAA Premium/Limited Edition

C

cmc

Joined
Oct 24, 2001
Messages
70
I'm thinking of picking up one of these, along with a kydex keychain rig. Are the "Premium" and the "Limited Edition" the same thing?. Any thoughts on where to get the best price? And any comments - positive or negative - in general?
 
I have bought two "premium" LE arcs, there is so little difference in performance, mostly cosmetic, I don't think it's worth the extra $$.

I think it goes like this premium means perfect cosmetics, LE usually means perfect cosmetics plus a special tint LED.

Sometime you can gets arcs for around $15 look on the dealer section
of www.candlepowerforums.com
 
Here's the deal...

Arc AAA regular (old) used B1S or B2S Nichia LEDs and was black.

Arc AAA Limited Edition (LE) (old) used only B1S Nichia LEDs and was the raw HA color rather than black with "Limited Edition" inscribed on it.

This year, Arc was having difficulty finding the same quality LEDs so they lowered the quality and effectively raised prices.

Now...

Arc AAA Standard uses B2S(or R) and B3S(or R) and is the raw HA color. The higher numbers for tint (second number) indicates that its more bluish than it used to be and the R is one brightness level lower.

Arc AAA Premium uses B1S or B2S and is the raw HA Color. The Premium also has "Premium" inscribed on it. Other than that, it is the same.

So...if you can find a dealer that doesn't sell many Arc AAAs, you want a black one. Why? Because it will probably cost less because its an old model and its superior to the newest "Premium" model. If you are buying a newer style one, the Premium will have a slightly warmer color and maybe be slightly brighter. If you want to spend double on it, thats your decision, but I wouldn't recommend it for most people.

Mark
 
I just received one of these this week. I don't know if it will hold up as well but the beam is a little better than my standard Arc AAA. Heretofore the only CMG Sonics I had seen had a Type II anodized finish, which stratches easily. This one is Type III and should stay unharmed.

Very nice light for the money.
 
Well, if anyone's interested, here's a beam comparison as well as run time plot by a member of CPF, looks like in terms of runtime the Arc AAA gives you a better run for your batteries...
 
I have two Arc AAAs; a Premium, recently acquired, and a plain Jane Arc AAA which I have had for about a year.

The Premium is a nice little light, of course, but I think my regular Arc AAA is actually brighter. So ... I don't really see the advantage of buying a Premium AAA, and, if I had it to do over again, would probably not spend the extra money to get one.
 
Thanks for all my info. My next question is this. I see that Triple Aught Design have the "regular" Arc AAA, but only the turquoise version (they've sold out of white). Any thoughts on the pros/cons of turquoise over white?
 
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