Great review , old4570 .
Price is around $30 via cnqualitygoods so it is positioned head to head against the Xeno E03. I just got my review sample yesterday. I've been using it so I've had time for a good impression but I won't have the time to do the review this weekend due to a lot of family things going on. Throw is impressive for a 1xaa. If you want throw in a compact light, this is towards the top of the 1xaa class. Definitely best thrower in the 1xaa class that I've ever used.Outthrows my LD20 Q5 when I use a 14500, but again the overall output is a bit more. It heats up very fast on high with a 14500, so I wouldn't run it long. The fact the low works very well with both nimh and 14500 is a plus, but pwm is noticeable. It wasn't bothersome to me, but if you are really sensitive to it, I can see it being an issue. Clip is really solid.
I was out last night chasing [ following ] the cat with mine and the PWM was barely noticeable ..
I watch the cats legs as she runs along [ medium ] and only just notice it , barely . Really had to look hard for it [ Some people seem more sensitive to it than others ]
Thanks for the review, old4570
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/balder-se1-xpe-r3-325-lumens-edc-flashlight-p-230.html
$25.95
Oops, sorry, I missed this review Old. Very well done as usual! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd. Thanks a lot!
So how do you feel about the life of the LED running on high with 14500 most of the time? Not running at extended lengths of time, but rather just the times that it is used would mostly be operating on high. Would XM-L (even XP-G) driven at these levels in this light be much more stable? I'm still trying to figure out the appeal of an XP-E in this type of light if XP-G would be a more well-rounded emitter for a 1xAA.
One more thing: Run time? I'm curious how high mode run time stacks up to the XP-G and XM-L 1xAA alternatives.
Well , Id be a lot happier with lower current and the XP-E [ 14500 ] I would think 1A would offer over 200L so the fact that its doing 1.8A and sagging to 250ish within 30 seconds , tells me the emitter is doing it hard ..
1A and maybe 220 ish would be so much better ...
The XP-G should handle it better , and the XM-L - would be a walk in the park and more Lumens ..
The XP-E might throw better , but do you buy a AA light for throw ? [ Actually some people do ]
Its not a bad light , and I really like it on the AA , but I think its wanting a XM-L emitter in it ...
For now I will leave it alone , but as soon as Im done with school , I may pop in a XM-L emitter .
If I was good at modding already I wouldn't have a problem buying this light and swapping for an XM-L in the near future. But I'd rather not bust up nice lights in the process of learning. If I buy it now hoping to mod when I acquire the skills I'll probably have lost interest by then. It's so frustrating coming across great lights like these only to be let down by something important such as an over driven (or under driven) old emitter. I appreciate the purpose of an XP-E, but I certainly don't need it for a 1xAA, EDC light. That's why I was wondering why they'd go with that emitter for what seems to be an otherwise well crafted and well thought out light. Are they simply trying to save some pennies.
Great job as usual Old.
XP-E lights driven at 1Amps will only get warm, my Skyray S-A5 is perfect, it only pulls 1Amps when the battery is at 4.0v. Anything higher and it puls more than 1Amps which is bad for the emitter.
I just got it for $20 shipped from CNQG so now I don't mind hanging on to it for a bit until I'm capable of swapping the emitter :)
Not sure , the reason for the XP-E , if they were going for more throw - ok , but it does say in the description , easy to upgrade emitter .
I have been using it a lot around the house on a Nimh , and it works well , I think the cheapest retailer now is like $20 shipped , so Balder or other AA ??
Damn , Id have to say Balder . At $20 shipped , its a great buy .
Yeah, I didn't balk at the $20 price drop from CNQG. I snatched one up right away. :)
At least I would just be changing the emitter since the driver is already pumping hard enough. Maybe I'll be happy with the light as it is. I'm not too worried at $20 for a quality light :)
Not good. After nearly 5 days I'm notified the SE-1 isn't in stock and I'll have to wait until next week if I still want it. I ordered it the same day the price was lowered, or at least that was when this forum first noticed it. Not only does the website not reflect this status, I have to wait this long to find out after placing my order. There sure wasn't a problem taking my money :) I wonder if they filled orders that were placed after mine. I doubt it sold that quickly after lowering the price, considering I placed my order shortly after. It's a bit frustrating and not very professional.
order placed for the XML version, thanks for the heads up how2.
Received my XP-E from CNQG today. It worked for about 30 seconds and now doesn't come on at all anymore. It started to flicker and then stopped working completely. I tried cleaning the threads and I inspected all that I could but there doesn't appear to be anything wrong visually. Crappy.
Too bad because when he did actually ship it the speed was the best I've ever got from China.
EDIT: I didn't even notice at first but there are absolutely no brand markings on this light. There are no markings whatsoever.
Bummer about the (nearly) DOA arrival man... I'm no tech expert on the lights but I'd make sure the contacts are clean and all the other things like that, that might be causing a problem.
Any suggestions to what I should do specifically? I cleaned it thoroughly with alcohol. Ric already responded and asked if I could return the light for a replacement. I'm not going ship a $20 light back to China, especially during the holiday season.