Review: Balder SE-1 [ 1xAA - 14500 - 3mode ]

For review I have the Balder SE-1 , Link to manufacturers page

I would like to thank Balder for making this review possible . [ And thank you Martin ]

Product description from Balder :


SE-1


Features:


1. Extreme competitive Price.

2. Strong metal clip.

3. Compact size and light weight, suitable for EDC (every day carry).

4. Mil-Spec Type III Hard Anodized finish.

5. Made from Aluminum alloy, really strong.

6. Water proof to IPX-8 standard.

7. Fully-regulated circuit, Broad input voltage (1.0V - 4.2V) and battery compatibility (i.e. alkaline, NiMH, 14500) .

8. Precision Aluminum reflector (Orange Peel) .

9. Simple operation. High-Medium-Low. No SOS and strobe modes.

10. Tactical switch for momentary on.

11. Prominent runtime.

12. Anti-reverse protection.

13.Can be updated to XPG R5 or XML T6 LED


Specifications:


1. Dimension: Head diameter 24mm, Tail diameter 24mm, length 102mm

2. Cree XPE R3 LED

3. Lumen and runtime:

Single AA:

Maximum output of 120 lumens for 1.2 hours

Minimum output of 3 lumens for 50 hours


4. Material: Aircraft Aluminum Alloy T6061

5. Weight: 40g (without battery)

6. Water proof to IPX-8 standard

7. Battery: single 14500 or AA

8. Accessories: O-rings, user’s manual, tail cap, holster (optional accessories)

Initial impressions :


The light arrive in a sturdy plastic case and was well packaged , and on initial examination the light appears the be very well made . This impression was confirmed when I began to unscrew the tailcap and head , the tolerances are tight , and the O rings are nice and tight without being overly so . There is no battery slop when shaking the light vigorously , and the machining - knurling and finish look to be very well done [ no flaws found ] .


There is PWM [ med and low ] but its faster than the BD-1 and quite a few other lights , so if you dont like real slow PWM , then the SE-1 might be more to your liking . I have to say , I was impressed with the SE-1 on taking it out of the box .


Performance :


Lets start with AA , Nimh


Rayovac 4.0 Nimh @ 1.42v , High = 2.32A - 100L , Medium = 0.79A - 33L , Low = 0.06A - 1L [ Low is the same with all AA's ]

Recyko @ 1.42v , High = 2.32A - 100L , Medium = 0.79A - 35L , Low = there all the same

Sony @ 1.38v , High = 2.22A - 97L , Medium = 0.76A - 32L


Alkalines

Alk-1 @ 1.5v , High = 1.62A - 76L , Medium = 0.57A - 27L

Alk-2 @ 1.55v , High = 1.95A - 92L , Medium = 0.68A - 32L


Dry Cells


1/ @ 1.6v , High = 1.2A - 54L , Med = 0.44A - 18L

2/ @ 1.56v , High = 1.4A - 63L , Med = 0.51A - 22L

3/ @ 1.59v , High = 1.04A - 30L , Med = 0.42A - 12L


Cheap Lithium AA


1/ @ 1.78v , High = 1.9A - 96L , Med = 0.68A - 33L




14500 Li-ion [ @ 4.1v ]


Now I dont like trying a fully charge Li-ion in a new AA light , as you never know what might happen , the good news is = Nothing , no smoke or funny odors from a smoked driver . The bad news is , the SE-1 really drives hard , too hard I dare say .


14500 Trustfire Flame @ 4.1v , High = 1.8A - 305 warm start - sags to 256L within 30 seconds , Medium = 0.53A - 99L , Low = 0.02A - 2L


I have to say , with the 14500 , the light is over driven , medium and low are fine , but I would just like to see the 14500 limited to 1A on high , especially with the XP-E emitter , or the other way to go would be to XM-L the little light . [ That would be something ]


14500 beams ... Hi - Med - Low and two angles in my back yard

Conclusion :


Well made

Smooth threads

Nice finish [ no flaws found yet ]

Very good clip

OP reflector

Does not tailstand

Easy to operate [ Forward clicky - 3 modes - no junk modes - always starts in high ]

High Quality Knurling

No battery slop

very nice beam [ White ]

Does have PWM in med and low - but faster

O rings really seal well

Driven hard on a 14500 [ To hard ]


I have to say I'm impressed with the SE-1 from Balder , it may not look much smaller than the BD-1 , but once its in your hand , you can really feel the difference , same goes for when its riding in your pocket , you feel the difference , the SE-1 is smaller - lighter - and makes more sense for anyone contemplating a AA flashlight . I think the BD-1 would be the 14500 option or light of choice and the SE-1 if you mainly use AA batteries , and occasionally use the 14500 . Well that's my humble opinion , but aside from the current draw on high [ 14500 ] I am very impressed with the SE-1 and cant find anything to really fault , a very strong performer and I give it 9 out of 10 .


Now a quick note on the clip , if you leave it in place , it should function perfectly well , and offer trouble free service , but if you remove it and start to stress it in ways it was not designed to handle , then quite possibly you could break it . So it makes good sense to just leave it in place and be happy , and if you don't want it there , just remove it and put it somewhere safe . With the clip on the light , I have been pulling on it , pushing it this way and that , and have found nothing to concern me , so .

A shot from the top @ the emitter

Looking at the back of the head

Inside the tailcap

Body tube , looks like the Pill might be glued in

My cat [ Tikki ] , she got jealous when I was taking pictures of flashlight , so jumped up on the little dresser draws , blocking the flashlights from the camera ..

I went outside and spent some quality time with her right after taking this picture .

TY for the review!

Now go and have fun with some pussy! :)

Do you know what the extremely competitive price are? I cant find it at the website.

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.

The XML version is out for $23 including shipping.

order placed for the XML version, thanks for the heads up how2.