Quick Review, P-Rocket from Shining Beam

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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P-Rocket from Shiningbeam

Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★


Summary:

Battery: 18650
Switch: Reverse with 2nd (Forward) supplied
Modes: 3 Lo-Med-Hi
LED Type: XM-L T5 Neutral white
Lens: Glass
Tailstands: Yes
Price Payed: $44
From: http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-97/**NEW**--P-dsh-Rocket-XM-dsh-L/Detail
Date Ordered: 3-day delivery to USA

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-97/**NEW**--P-dsh-Rocket-XM-dsh-L/Detail

Pros:

-Neutral white beam bordering on warm. Shiningbeam says it is an XM-L T5, 4B bin.
-Quit bright, more than I expected; 2.6A (H) .75A(M) .1A (l) Low is pretty bright, about like an incandescent Maglite. With Rev Jim's 18650's On a red Ultrafire 3000mAh 18650, I got 2.81 (H ), .81( M) and .13(L) Darn close to the advertised claim of "* Current output: 140mA on low, 1000 mA on medium and 2800 mA on high"
-Regulated current
 -No blinky modes!
-Very smooth beam (VLOP reflector, almost smooth), emitter perfectly centered, huge hotspot with very bright spill.
-Nice HA III finish, not high gloss, more of a smooth satin finish.
-Double O-rings in front, single O-ring at tailpiece
-Comes with extra switch (forward clicky) and O-rings, lanyard and nice belt holster.
-Clean, square, and well-lubed threads
-Excellent fit and finish,nice knurling, tailstands perfectly.
-Works with 18650 as well as 2xCR123 batteries
-Good memory function
-Thick and nicely heatsinked
-Ships fast from USA
-Did I mention bright and wonderfully smooth beam with a nice color to it?

Cons:

-Need deliberate soft-press to change modes (could be a pro as well, you can't 'skip' past modes by accident)
-Expensive
-For the money, has a generic look to it, and "P-Rocket" ranks just barely above FandyFire in terms of flashlight names, IMO.
-Front bezel is OK, but I would have preferred a smooth stainless steel bezel
-Not easily dismantled, I didn't pursue it, seems to be glued. But I can't see any reason to mod it so that's OK with me. Might be a simple 3-piece that needs to have the pill removed after removing the cover around the emitter.

Here is the "flip" side of the P-Rocket. Knight Rider? Doesn't that logo look like one we were discussing a couple months ago? So I'm not sure if P-Rocket is the model and Knight Rider is the mfg, who knows? Palight logo?

The Very Light Orange Peel (VLOP) reflector

I posted a thread awhile ago asking if anyone else here has this light, and I got zero responses. Since I enjoyed my last Shiningbeam purchase so much (S-mini) I decided to order this one and try it on for size. It is also in keeping with my current "buy one $40-50 light instead of two $20-25 lights" philosophy.

Build Quality ★★★★★

No issues with build or quality of the host, switch or emitter. Emitter is nicely centered, has 'anti-roll' feature, switch is easy to use. Note; the switch takes just a bit more of a deliberate press then some of the hosts I'm used to. It makes it a little easier when changing modes to not skip a mode, because you have to give it more of a push than most of the lights I have. Once you are used to it, it works nicely.

You can shake it hard and hear the battery inside, at least with Rev Jims's 18650's. On an Ultrafire 3000mAh protected cell, you can't hear a thing when you shake it; nice and tight fit.

Features / Value: ★★★★★

Solid light, no function issues, works like it is supposed to.

Battery Life:

Unknown, didn't do runtime test. I would expect about 40 minutes on Hi

Light Output: ★★★★★

The warmer tint makes the light seem brighter than it is. Although Shiningbeam's website says it is 810 lumens, I'm guessing it is more like 675L. But the tint brings out more detail and color compared to a cooler bin. Also, the hotspot on this light is big, and just sort of blends into the spill, which is also bright.

Check out this mouseover. Our old friend, the Manafont Ultrafire XM-L is the one you get when you mouseover the image. My aim was a little different than the original MF XM-L, sorry. But you can still get a good comparison.

Summary: ★★★★★

It is hard not to like just about everything on this light except the price, at least compared to other budget lights.

Bottom line, its not a low-budget light, but it also isn't in the $75+ range either. At $47.75 less a CPF discount of 6%, its close to the AA Xeno that a lot of folks here own (OK, i'ts about $10 more). But it is a lot of flashlight for the money, and I'm glad I got it. Neutral white beams have a certain appeal the more I play with them. They don't have the WOW factor that bright cool beams have, but they are easier to look at and bring out more detail and natural colors in what you shine them at.

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Nice review for something different.

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Great review, troop ;) I think it's a not-so-budget light, and looks like it offers the same as SF L2 + MF UF XML drop-in. So thats why nobody else bought it. But I have to admit that it's a nice looking light (with simple body but still) :) I like that FW clikie is included also. Excellent pack. BTW, I see 4 o-rings in front :O (2 black and 2 orange). (UPDATE: ok, those black rings are part of the body. NVM)

4

So would you say the output/beampattern is similar to a P60 type light?

Dang Troop, wish I could afford your 2x the price philosophy!! ;)

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I just knew you were going to buy this light . I'm glad you like it . It looks like a solid buy from my favorite dealer .

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lol, I follow the same philosophy, fish :bigsmile: Buy 1 light for $30 instead of 2 for $15 each :bigsmile:

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nice review troop!

good to see some not so budget light reviews here.

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The AA Xeno T5 3C NW actually costs $31 shipped, for the record. In a different light segment, of course. Nice thick head! Think it's about 3mm.

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lol...well in that case I already do it too! I buy one $15 light instead of two $7.50 lights. :) haha..

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I like that design for heat transfer plus you can use it in candle mode (with a bare emitter, no reflector), which you can't do with a P60.

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LOL, same dollar amount spent, you just end up with half as many lights...

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I have the SST50 version and I never liked it. To me it just feels cheap. I think for me its the lack of real knurling and overly styled body. I hate the bezel. Its a bit bigger than a typical p60 but it does have a better design (pill threaded into body) and a slightly bigger and deeper reflector.

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Nice light I really wanted that one, but can't afford it so I got some of the emitters instead. Here is a white wall shot to compare them.

XML T5 Neutral White 4B XML T6 1A tint

http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-106/**NEW**-Cree-XM-dsh-L-T5/Detail

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I also have the SST50 version and although I don't use it much I've never thought of it as cheap. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of crenellated bezels (what are they for exactly, apart from breaking open walnuts?).

Still, the body is solid, the levels are well spaced and the beam is a good mix of flood and throw.

Each to his own of course.

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I purchased a camoflaged neutral P-rocket from Shiningbeam , along with a couple of Trustfire 18650s and a charger .

The plan is to gift them to either my brother or brother-in-law .

I love everything about this light except for the body style .It's a bit bland . But the beam is nice , tint is great , and it is small and comes with the right accessories .

I give this light a 10 . ( And kinda wish I wasn't giving it away .)

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I've got one of these and really like it. Functions perfectly as a helmet light while night riding. Size is good if a little heavy. Good amount of throw but still provides some useful flood and bright enough that it isn't washed out by my rather bright bar light.

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I've been giving mine a lot of use, and it has held up well. It's one of my favorite lights, not for its looks, but for its beam.

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Then keep it, and give him a camo 504B from DD. :)

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"Tis Better To Give Than To Receive ...

some of the time , anyway...

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Think of it as a present HE'S giving YOU.....

.....that he doesn't know about.