BalefireX said:
In terms of minimag mods, have you considered a SMJLED mod? It should have far more output than the Nite-ize and gives 30 hours runtime to 50% brightness on Energizer Lithium AAs.
12 bucks for the LED module and Drop in reflector replacement from:
http://home.mchsi.com/~lambda_lights/smjled.htm
I have Minimags running Nite-ize and running SMJLEDs, and want to expand on this a bit. The two different setups actually compliment each other pretty well. The SMJLED with focus better, throw better and often give a smoother flood. The SMJLED needs the lithiums to get that monster runtime/brightness, but I think running it on alkalines would even out the comparison a lot. There has been some discussion on CPF that the Nite-ize might give a little longer total runtime though because the circuit can still run the leds at a lower voltage than the SMJLED can function at. I have not personally tested it, but I plan to soon.
Here is a link to the SMJLED webpage :
http://home.mchsi.com/~lambda_lights/smjled.htm
If I was going to buy just one I would go with the SMJLED, but at this price point ($5 for one and $12 for the other) I say buy both. :thumbup:
I EDC a Fenix L1P and love it. IMHO it is just about the best crossover between cost/form factor/cheap-to-feed/output. I run mine on NiMH rechargables and it will easily give me 2-3 hours of very bright useable light on a single cell. I have mine on my keychain and have been carrying it that way for about a month. The anodyzing is not as hard as on a Surefire and is wearing on all the edges, but it is holding up better than a Maglight would.
Here is a review of the L1P at flashlightreviews.com :
http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/fenix_l1p.htm
I will probably pick up an L2P to check out. I also have been very impressed with the UKE eLED as great short range working or walk around light. Runs for roughly 8 hours on 4 AAs and puts out maybe 15ish lumens. I put a disc of write-right film on the lens and it smoothed out the beam artifacts and makes a very nice soft flood of light.
I have several MiniMags with custom parts in them. Ledean on CPF will bore one out to use an oversized 20mm reflector. Take that light and drop a 'sammich' with a boost circuit and a luxeon led into it and you have a beast that will shame a 3/4/6d Mag depending on the led, current regulation, etc. I have one MiniMag set up like this running a 3 watt u-bin luxeon that is slightly brighter and much whiter than my E2e. Runtime is less than an hour, but when I need light it is hard to beat. I have a couple other with tamer circuits that will give 3ish hours of bright light, so the trick is to decide what balance of bright/runtime that you want and by the sammich that matches.
Here is a link to the CPF forum devoted to 'The Sandwhich Shoppe'. You can learn a lot about the various options for MiniMag upgrades here.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=38
Discussion of MiniMag mods in general on CPF:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=104639
There are tons of threads on CPF discussing the merits of the L1P and L2P.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=103588
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=100968
Hope that this helps.
Danny
