At the moment I'm flip flopping between the Jetbeam BA20 and the Shiningbeam Caveman. Any thoughts either way? Anyone own both? Also, if I go for the Caveman, am I better off getting the T5 for $40 or the T6 for $48? (I was also looking at the new mini maglite pro+ initially, but that may just have been nostalgia...)
I'm relatively new to LEDs so I've been lurking for a while, reading up and educating myself. I currently have a few mini maglites recently converted to LED, a couple of SK68 clones, and several other cheap lights. Now I'm trying to figure out what's next. I'm set on the 2xAA format, and I don't want to spend much more than ~$40.
I have a BA10 and the Caveman, both very nice lights. I personally would go for the Caveman, in T5 (warmer tint), it is an all around great light. BTW, the Klarus ST20 is also a good light. It has an advantage over the other two in that it has a moonlight-low.
I have several similar 2 AA lights including the Fenix E21, Klarus PA2, and Jetbeam. I like the Klarus the best overall. I got it from DD for $21 on sale.
I also have 2x Fenix E21, Klarus P2A, SF L2R , Romisen N3. The Klarus P2A remains output champion in my selection, but many voiced their discontent about the smooshy long travel switch. I am personally not that bothered by that, as is functions fine besides that minor flaw. But if you are sensitive to that kind of stuff ... watch out. The Klarus P2A and the Jetbeam BA20 are siblings with many similarities.
hehe. me too. i also have the Cletus PA2. the smooshy long travel switch (known from older Pa2 and Ba20 versions) was remedied in the current production version of Cletus Pa2. the tail switch is completely different now and much better, no more smooshy or swooshy or what haha. threads are square-cut now.
there seems to be some tint lottery (the tints of my Pa1 and Pa2 are different, both premium xp-g r5 emitters duh)
i dont have cavemen or jetbeam, but i like the klarus. it's a heavy torch, loaded with 2x Eneloops the kitchen scale states 138g (grams) good luck sent from my iphone using tapatalk
So the emitters are now premium green or premium purple? ;-) I think it is hard to guarantee that all the stuff on the market is already the new batch. They don't have a distinctive name like V2.0, or do they?
mix6 is premium purple, p-series is premium green ;) please could you reveal some figures of your Pa2 serial number ;), mine is very high. i got mine from DD. distinctive name no, but there *is* a klarus sticker on the back of the retail package which shows a mini 3x3 (or 3x4) table/matrix of number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, with the "2" being marked.
I got the Caveman T6 a few months ago - only my second decent light at the time, and hadn't a clue about T5 or T6. It's brighter than my Fenix LD20, and simpler (no disco modes). I like it, but now think I'd prefer the T5. Just got the T6 as it was brighter (even though I now realise I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference). Well made light, I got it on the strength of comments on this forum.
I have a Caveman, Klarus P2A, Jetbeam BA20, Klarus ST20, Quark AA2 Tactical and a Romisen 2 cell light. I'm a big fan of 2AA lights. Far and away, the Caveman is my favorite and it and the Quark are noticeably higher quality than any of the others. The Caveman is a little larger and heavier than the others but not so much as to be a problem. All the lights have about the same output, throw and brightness but the Caveman has a little better spill because of the XML and the larger head. The Klarus ST20 is my second choice but it's no match for the Caveman.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I read ALL the reviews, both here and on CPF. That's how I narrowed it down to these two possibilities. They were all quite helpful.
Based on some of the feedback to my question, however, I'm starting to 2nd guess my decision to exclude the Klarus versions. I decided to go for the BA20 over the P2A based on the fact that they are manufactured by the same company and the BA20 is higher max Lumen (typical Noob error?!).
The ST20 might be interesting though if it is 30% off. Unless of course that is just to clear out the old version that had issues... If so, it is less tempting. How would I find out?
If I understand correctly, the T5 is more neutral as opposed to the T6 which is a colder white. Right?
I thought that I read something about the wrong version of the T5 making their way into the current generation and that's why they are being sold at a lower price. Can someone explain? Thanks. I obviously still have much to learn.
i am not happy with P2A brightness. My P1A is brighter (and has real ;) premium tint) with 1x 14500. the BA20 should be brighter than the P2A, true.
even brighter is Quark X AA². none is brighter on 2x Eneloop AA (with their runtime efficiency) than the 4sevens (integral brightness). think of Quarks (~40$ on sale with natural green tints hehe, see the many sales offer threads on cpfmp and bfl) before you look after Jetbeams or Klaruses.
Jetbeam is labeling their version just a bit more optimistic than Klarus, I believe. I think it was Chidwack, who wrote that his Klarus was actually a bit brighter than his Jetbeam. The main reason I took the P2A over the BA20 was the price difference, when it was on sale on Dinodirect and the clip direction which is better for pouch carry. Since Chidwack pretty much has all the mentioned lights, he is probably the most qualified to compare them. The Caveman does indeed look like the champion on paper and in the reviews I read, but it is slightly more expensive and more importantly slightly larger than the rest.
I ordered the Klarus P2A and the Jetbeam BA20 at the same time from GG. I accually bought 3 lights at that time. I was going to buy 3 BA20 but when I talked to the guy at GG he recommended the Klarus. He said they were almost the same but he liked the clicky on the Klarus just a little bit more. I ordered two BA20 and one Klarus and when they arived, I compared them and the Klarus was slightly brighter and threw just a little better as well as having a clicky that feels just a little more solid. There is hardly a dimes worth of difference but if I had to choose, I would take the Klarus P2A. I later bought a Klarus and like it better than the P2A or BA20 because of the front button and more modes. Don't judge the brightness of the lights because one states it has a few more lumens. It doesn't always show up that way.
Of the 2AA lights I have, I rate them this way. On a scale of 1 through 10. One being not good at all and 10 being the best, this is how I would rate them.
Caveman 9.5
Klarus ST20 8.0
Klarus P2A 7.1
Jetbeam BA20 7.0
Quark AA2 tactical 7.9 This light get high ranks for quality and multiple modes. However, I don't use it as much as some of the others which I actually like to use better.
The only reason I don't give the Caveman a 10 is because it doesn't tailstand which is a feature I really like. I made my own adapter that allows me to tailstand that light.
