On Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:26:15 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Don
Foreman quickly quoth:

On Sun, 07 Oct 2007 05:15:48 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sat, 06 Oct 2007 23:17:45 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm,
Richard J Kinch quickly quoth:

Larry Jaques writes:

It's definitely a good upgrade for $4.82.

Have you compared to the Mini-Maglite that comes with a Luxeon LED?

No. I already have a superlight (tactical which runs on 123 batts) and
wanted something that _sipped_ electrons. I imagine that the Luxeon
is similar and puts out gazillions of Lux, too, besides guzzling
batteries by the handful.

A Luxeon can run on any current from a wee trickle to max rated. The
mini-mag AA's use a 3-watt Luxeon but they don't run at 3 watts and
they're about the same on batteries as an incandescent minimag AA. I
don't like minimag AA's because they're too long for convenient
pocket carry.

Mine's a 2AA and is still pocketable. I had forgotten that most of
the Luxeon-fitted devices also incorporated the power saving
electronics. Then again, none of that comes cheap. You're talking with
a man who owns a Scotch wallet.


If one or more conventional 5mm white LEDs running at 20 to 50 mA is
"enough", there is no advantage to using a power LED (Luxeon or Cree)
except perhaps in a light whose power level can be adjusted to suit
the need. Conventional LED's don't need a reflector or collimator,
power LED's do.

Agreed.


I carry a very small pocket light that has 4 power settings. Most of
the time I use "low". I use it daily, sometimes several times a day,
but seldom for very long. A single 123 cell lasts me at least a
couple of months. At max power it is as bright as most tactical rail
lights but battery life would be about an hour total.

That's about what my tac light does, but I seldom use it.
Flashlighting is one of the tool sections I don't go crazy over. In
fact, my most often used light is a $2.50 Gordon headlamp from HF. I
have them all over the house and in several of my toolbags for use
anywhere. You must have a grand or three tied up in LED lighting, not
to mention the sweet little bike light you made for your daughter (or
was that the other Don? You all look alike on the Internet.

--
Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire
is that which he exercises over himself.
-- Elie Wiesel