Photon II or III in mini kit?

Sesoku

Sesoku

Joined
Oct 19, 1998
Messages
498
I like the idea of conserving battery life by changing the light intesity of the photon III, I was just wondering if it is more prone to accidentally turn on than the photon II. I know it has an auto shut off, I was just curious how many people have had experience with the photon III. I have several photon II's and like them, but I was thinking of trying a III. I also was wondering about battery life between the different colors, I was thinking that I would choose yellow because it seems to be in the top range of battery longevity. Is this correct? I think the website said 120 hours for yellow and red.
 
Goin to the club and doing a dance with light tricks? Get the III

Want to impress everybody with the WOW factor of your new toy? Get the III

Want a good lightweight light to keep in you kit, carry on your key ring and just generally have around? Get the II.
 
I second that vote!
The constant on switch makes it more handy than the III.
Wesley
 
Same here, the Photon III eats batteries you could wind up with an empty Photon III when you need it.

Has happened to me!

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
 
Thanks guys, that was kind of what I was leaning toward. Was I correct that the yellow color has one of the longer battery lifes?
 
Originally posted by Bagheera
Same here, the Photon III eats batteries you could wind up with an empty Photon III when you need it.

Has happened to me!

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
Click to expand...

It's happened to me too, more than once - Bought a White III to replace my Red II (which I can't find <grumble>), and I WISH I had bought the II

Charlie
 
K.I.S.S. seems to apply strongly here. For my minikits, I actually prefer either the Photon I or the ASP Mirage, partially because of their water resist feature.

Mike
 
Hi Sesoku,

Of the two photons, I line up with the rest of the recommendations for the Photon II over the Photon III.

However, for the same price as a Photon you can get an Inova mini-LED light (not the X5 model) that offers several distinct advantages:
  • Waterproof.
  • Slide on/off switch, so accidental turning on of the light is practically eliminated.
  • Shrouded LED to prevent scratches from other objects in your pocket or mini-kit.
  • Available in translucent plastic case that releases some of the light in pretty much a 360x360 degree dispersion that is handy for general ambient lighting of a tent or short-range signalling. For long-range signalling (up to a mile IIRC) you would "aim" the LED at the target same as any other light. The Inovas are also available in an opaque plastic case that allows you to light the path in front of you, while the shrouded LED won't blind you with light striking your eye.
  • Battery change is achieved with only a sharp point to pry up the fitted cover (SAK awl would work). No need for a tiny screwdriver like the Photons require.
  • Pretty much same size as Photon II - same width & thickness, less than 1/4" longer.
  • To my eyes, the Inova mini-LED appears to be as bright as ASP Sapphire LED lights in white and red LED.

HTH,
Greg
 
Thanks for the comparison Greg, I will check it out!! The waterproof feature sounds nice.
 
Greg,
Do you know a site that has these for sale? The ones I could fine look like they are only momentary on/off models, I don't see any with a sliding switch. Also how are thier battery lives compared to the photons?
 
Well I have two Photon III's one that works great and one that eats a set of batteries in under a week. That one will be going back some time but I just have not gotten to it.

I would recommend a Photon II and for battery life I would stick with yellow or red but I prefer red since it seems brighter to me.

Also you might want to look at the new Innova microlights, they now have a on/off switch along with the instant on switch. They strike me as being as good as a Photon II but at half the price.


Cheers
 
Originally posted by Sesoku
Greg,
Do you know a site that has these for sale? The ones I could fine look like they are only momentary on/off models, I don't see any with a sliding switch. Also how are thier battery lives compared to the photons?
Click to expand...
Hi Sesoku,

I get mine at local gun shows. Here's the contact info of the guy I get mine from:
Jeffrey Semensow
21st Century/Nitu Company
18826 NE 65th Street
Vancouver, WA 98682
Cell phone: (503) 572-1292
NOTE: that Vancouver is in Washington state, not the one in British Columbia.

Another thread where I gave my opinion of the Inovas, plus CMG Infinity light:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=193782
As noted in that thread, I haven't had to change batteries yet, so I can't speak to total runtime for a set of batteries in the Inovas lights.

1SKS has the Inova solid color case lights for $9.50 and the translucent ones for $12.50.
http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/store/inova.html

- Greg -
 
Got a couple more Inovas at the gun show yesterday and was reading the display cardboard. It said that the Inovas have BOTH momentary-on and constant-on switches. So I fooled around with one and found that the momentary-on switch is under the big grooved pad on the side opposite the slide switch.

I just spoke with Kevin at 1SKS and verified that the ones they stock have both types of switches, in spite of the fact that the webpage I linked above only says that they have momentary switches. So 1SKS is a good online place to get the Inova mini-LED lights at pretty good prices.

His price for the Inova X5 (5 LED light) ain't bad either. When I ordered mine from the local distributor at the show, he indicated that Inova is scrambling to meet large quantities of the X5 going to the military. So if the X5 is grunt-proof enough for the military to issue, it's going to be more than tough enough for anything I can throw at it.

(edited to add) The runtime of a battery in the Inova mini-LED light is reported to be 3 days (72 hours) constant-on.
 
Thanks for the infor, Rokjok. Do you know if the run - time of the Inova batteries varies according to the LED color, similarly to the Photon microlights?
 
The ones I have have both switches. Yes, the momentary is thumb activated on one side, and the other side has the constant-on slide switch.

Good prices....

Mike
 
Nathan, There wasn't any distinction made in the comment I heard between runtimes for various color LED models. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see some degree of variance, simply based on the historical track record of battery longevity vs LED color. How much variance I couldn't venture a guess on since I have no data in hand from either my own experience or from the manufacturer.

People, get thee hence to the link from ThatMGuy and buy some of the translucent ones he's got for sale! :) Two for $10 is a very good price for these handy little gadgets!! So what if they're out of the package?? You weren't planning on buying lights and leaving them IN the package forever, now were ya? And how much of the 100,000 hour life of the LED could he have used up?? I'd be jumping on about four of them from him, except that I'm already fat on red LED lights and am concentrating on white and blue ones. Now head on over there and stimulate the economy a bit. ;)

- Greg -
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top