- Joined
- Oct 3, 1998
- Messages
- 4,842
With the Princeton Tec Blast & Rage so cheap on campmor.com (close to
wholesale), I decided to pick 'em up and see where they fit.
UKE 2AAA side-by-side: Bright small hot spot that's a bit
spider-shaped. Due to the clear bezel, plenty of light leaks out from
the sides, which could be good or bad.
Princeton Tec 2AAA Blast: What an impressive little light! Bigger lamp
assembly than the UKE 2AAA (more on this later). Slightly bigger,
brighter, and smoother hot spot than the UKE 2AAA. In addition,
there's an inner-corona that's pretty large, at ~1/3 brightness of the
hot spot, and then the regular corona. This light isn't too far off in
total light output from the E1! At $5, 1/10 the price of the E1.
Surefire E1: Typical Surefire "tactical" light pattern, very tight
very bright and smooth (although mine has one dark spot) hotspot,
surrounded by a uniformed-color corona. The hotspot is brighter and
smoother than the Blasts, and total light output is greater, but not
by as much as I thought it'd be! Note thought that I've been using
the E1 a bit, and the battery isn't quite new, unlike all other lights
tested.
Princeton Tec 4AAA Rage: Damn good light output! I assume the Rage's
lamp assembly is supposed to look like the Blast's: hot spot, bright
inner corona, dimmer outer corona. But my lamp assembly has blended
the hot spot and inner corona into one big, pretty bright,
not-too-smooth hot spot, surrounded by the corona. In fact, in pure
candlepower measurements, my Rage isn't as bright as the smaller Blast
or E1 -- however, measured in lumens, it is definitely a step up.
Although I'd rather have the hotspot/inner-corona/outer-corona
behavior, my Rage is growing on me. Indoors, the extremely broad beam
lights up a whole room. For comparison, when all the lights above have
about an 8"-12" hot spot, my Rage's giant hotspot is about 48"!
Shining the E1 and Rage across the street at my neighbor's boat, the
E1's tight beam would brightly light up the wheel of the trailer that
the boat is sitting on, while the Rage would light up (more dimly) the
entire boat, top-to-bottom and front-to-back! I wish the beam was
smoother, but I'm starting to like it, since I already have plenty of
tight-beam lights. I get the feeling that my Rage is an anomaly
though, or indicative of a quality control problem.
UKE 2L: Still the winner here, big bright hot spot, not as smooth as
the Blasts or E1s but not so bad either.
Commentary:
I divide lights of this size into 4 categories, which are increasing
probability that I'll have the light on me:
1. Carryable on a keychain (e.g., photon): none tested.
2. Comfortably carryable in the watch pocket of my jeans: UKE
2AAA. Because of this, it will probably get much more carry than the
Blast, even though the Blast is a more impressive light.
3. Comfortably carryable in the pockets of my jeans or dockers: Blast
and E1. Because I have the E1 already, I'll probably give the Blast
to my stepdaughter. However, the fact is, at 1/10 the price, the
Blast is not a bad choice for a small bright light for those that
don't want to spend a lot.
4. Comfortably carryable in a jacket pocket or fanny pack: UKE 2L and
Rage. I'll likely give the Rage to my wife, and I think it'll make an
excellent trail light and general use light. I'll hold onto the 2L, I
like the lithium batteries and the brightness. I very much like both
these lights, although I wonder if I got a bad lamp assembly on my
Rage.
Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
wholesale), I decided to pick 'em up and see where they fit.
UKE 2AAA side-by-side: Bright small hot spot that's a bit
spider-shaped. Due to the clear bezel, plenty of light leaks out from
the sides, which could be good or bad.
Princeton Tec 2AAA Blast: What an impressive little light! Bigger lamp
assembly than the UKE 2AAA (more on this later). Slightly bigger,
brighter, and smoother hot spot than the UKE 2AAA. In addition,
there's an inner-corona that's pretty large, at ~1/3 brightness of the
hot spot, and then the regular corona. This light isn't too far off in
total light output from the E1! At $5, 1/10 the price of the E1.
Surefire E1: Typical Surefire "tactical" light pattern, very tight
very bright and smooth (although mine has one dark spot) hotspot,
surrounded by a uniformed-color corona. The hotspot is brighter and
smoother than the Blasts, and total light output is greater, but not
by as much as I thought it'd be! Note thought that I've been using
the E1 a bit, and the battery isn't quite new, unlike all other lights
tested.
Princeton Tec 4AAA Rage: Damn good light output! I assume the Rage's
lamp assembly is supposed to look like the Blast's: hot spot, bright
inner corona, dimmer outer corona. But my lamp assembly has blended
the hot spot and inner corona into one big, pretty bright,
not-too-smooth hot spot, surrounded by the corona. In fact, in pure
candlepower measurements, my Rage isn't as bright as the smaller Blast
or E1 -- however, measured in lumens, it is definitely a step up.
Although I'd rather have the hotspot/inner-corona/outer-corona
behavior, my Rage is growing on me. Indoors, the extremely broad beam
lights up a whole room. For comparison, when all the lights above have
about an 8"-12" hot spot, my Rage's giant hotspot is about 48"!
Shining the E1 and Rage across the street at my neighbor's boat, the
E1's tight beam would brightly light up the wheel of the trailer that
the boat is sitting on, while the Rage would light up (more dimly) the
entire boat, top-to-bottom and front-to-back! I wish the beam was
smoother, but I'm starting to like it, since I already have plenty of
tight-beam lights. I get the feeling that my Rage is an anomaly
though, or indicative of a quality control problem.
UKE 2L: Still the winner here, big bright hot spot, not as smooth as
the Blasts or E1s but not so bad either.
Commentary:
I divide lights of this size into 4 categories, which are increasing
probability that I'll have the light on me:
1. Carryable on a keychain (e.g., photon): none tested.
2. Comfortably carryable in the watch pocket of my jeans: UKE
2AAA. Because of this, it will probably get much more carry than the
Blast, even though the Blast is a more impressive light.
3. Comfortably carryable in the pockets of my jeans or dockers: Blast
and E1. Because I have the E1 already, I'll probably give the Blast
to my stepdaughter. However, the fact is, at 1/10 the price, the
Blast is not a bad choice for a small bright light for those that
don't want to spend a lot.
4. Comfortably carryable in a jacket pocket or fanny pack: UKE 2L and
Rage. I'll likely give the Rage to my wife, and I think it'll make an
excellent trail light and general use light. I'll hold onto the 2L, I
like the lithium batteries and the brightness. I very much like both
these lights, although I wonder if I got a bad lamp assembly on my
Rage.
Joe
jat@cup.hp.com
