The firefly mode still seemed to work well, when I tried it… but all the other modes got significantly brighter.
It works on a 14500, but then it seems to go directly from firefly to medium, and that means I don’t get my favorite mode (~3lm). So, no 14500 for me.
It’s still firefly, but brighter (maybe 2X to the eye, but you can still look directly at it). Each mode is brighter.
After using it for about 7 weeks, my L3 L10-219 has probably become my most-used light. There’s nothing particularly impressive about it, really… plain form factor, unimpressive maximum output, off-center LED, short battery life compared to other AA lights, etc… but it gets a lot of things just right. (also, I haven’t been able to wear my H51 much as a necklace lately, so I’ve needed a handheld light instead)
The 4500K 92CRI tint is just right, and easily better than anything else in my collection.
The 0.09lm firefly mode is just right. I’m a bit photosensitive though, so YMMV.
The 3lm low mode is just right, and I use it a lot.
The 30lm medium mode is just right.
The physical size and shape are just right for me to hold and use comfortably, or to hold in my mouth. Also comfy to hold on to during a nap or movie or while fidgeting.
The beam pattern is almost “just right”. The outer edge of the hotspot goes all the way to the inner edge of the spill’s drop-off (except on one side, due to an off-center emitter). Reflector-based lights have a beam intensity pattern shaped like a hill sitting on top of another hill, but on this one the plateau ring around the top hill is almost nonexistent.
As a simple twisty with O-ring, grease, good machining, and plenty of threads, I don’t have to worry about water getting inside. It’s good in a shower or pool.
After adding Super Lube, it twists easily but doesn’t threaten to twist on its own.
No PWM.
I’d love a turquoise model, or even better, a purple one… and longer runtimes… and a centered emitter… and rounded edges by default so I wouldn’t have to file down sharp corners… and an included metal D-ring sized to fit entirely inside the tail… and a non-clip-on clip (threaded through the tail?)… and it’d be nice if the twist action connected body pieces together instead of crushing the battery… but it’s still my favorite light lately.
Agreed. This is the one aspect of this light I REALLY dislike. It just makes the light seem, well, cheap. And it takes away from the rest of what is otherwise a well-made light. If a budget light like the Tank 007 can have a real tailspring and screw down all the way without crushing the battery, why can’t this one? Yes, it would make the light a tad longer. But I find that perfectly acceptable if it makes for a more durable light. And I would gladly have paid a couple more bucks for it.
I agree too. I also don’t like the brass showing through the gap (should be body color) and I’m not fond of the lanyard setup either. I really wish Olight would make an i2s with a L-M-H UI and the high comparable to the L10.
(Edited out double post)
It’s not perfect, but I’m still infatuated with the 219 version.
I actually find that the flaws of this light kind of spoil its usefulness as an EDC light, at least for me. The foam ‘spring’ and the fact that you have to be somewhat gentle twisting the thing to avoid crushing the battery mean that turning it to a decently bright mode is kind of a slow and clumsy affair. ESPECIALLY if your light is equipped with a moonlight mode (which gives you one more mode to go through). On the other hand, on high, the light provides pretty decent brightness (at least with the Cree emitter). I would DEFINITELY put it at the rated 120 lumens. This is enough brightness for a night hike down a dark trail. Yet it allows you to enjoy the night in a way that you can’t with a brighter light. So in those situations where an XM-L would just be obnoxiously bright, this light would actually make a GREAT hiking light. Of course, it’s also small and light. And you can carry around four extra AA batteries almost without even knowing it.
I acknowledge the flaws listed here, but to me they are minor. I still love my 4mode nichia L10. One of my very favorite lights.
Has anyone noticed any changes or revisions over the last 6 months? Might order another…
FWIW, I took mine apart to see if I could. I’m thinking I’ll order a XP-G2 model in the color I want, and swap the pills so I can get the Nichia 219 pill into a body with a better color. Not sure what I’ll do with the XP-G2 one afterward.
The pill is glued in, and difficult to remove. I had to wrap it with leather and use a large plumbing wrench to unscrew it. Be sure to remove the O-ring and lube first.
When I put it back together, I managed to fix the centering of the emitter by jamming a sliver of paperboard between the side of the plastic centering guide and the pill. No more dark crescent on one side of the beam, but there is now a barely-perceptible mach band between the edge of the hotspot and the beginning of the spill — so it’s still not quite a perfect beam.
Another difficulty I had in re-assembling it is that the lens O-ring kept wanting to squish out over the lens, which I suspect makes it far less waterproof. I didn’t find a great solution to this, but pushing it back with a plastic fast-food knife seemed to work well enough. I haven’t tested it underwater yet. I’m worried though, because this is my favorite light to use in wet places and I may have just made it unsuitable for that sort of thing.
Also, after re-assembling, it’s much much easier to unscrew the pill, so I’m a bit worried that it might loosen over time by accident. I added a bit of “Super Lube” PTFE grease to reduce the chance of water getting in, which also makes it easier to unscrew, but even without that I no longer needed the wrench to open it.
I hope Jake / SBFlashlights will offer the 219 models in more colors soon. I’d like to have one factory-intact with all glue and seals and such in a color I like. Regardless though, still planning to order a XP-G2 and swap bodies.
BTW, as a side note, don’t put much pressure on the tail lanyard hole. It doesn’t take much force to bend it. I tried to fashion a tail clip out of a paperclip, using that hole as an anchor point… and even the force of bending a paperclip through it was enough to damage it. Thin aluminum is soft.
Also, totally unrelated… I find it amazing how much people’s eyes differ… I find the 0.09lm firefly mode very useful, and mostly use either that or the 3lm low mode. Low seems about right for walking around outside at night, and it amazes me that anyone would want the 120lm high mode for hiking. To me, that seems more appropriate for biking, or perhaps a bit excessive even on a bike.
Then again, I basically can’t go outside much during the day because it hurts my eyes even with sunglasses. So, I realize I’m weird.
Alot depends on where you’re hiking (or biking). For walking down a sidewalk or even a smooth dirt path in a relatively well lit area, 3 lumens is fine. But for a hike down a rough, rocky dirt path on a moonless night in the mountains far from any kind of artificial lighting, you’re probably going to want more.
Hmm. I usually find the opposite. The more well-lit an area is, the more lumens I need to light my way. On a moonless night far from civilization, I find 3 lumens to be plenty for walking or hiking. Unless I’m trying to see to the other side of a valley or something, in which case I pull out a 1000-lm C8.
The times I need the most lumens are when I’m biking on paved roads with street lights and cars. Even ~900lm seems weak then, though on dark empty dirt roads I find 30 to be just fine.
I don’t mind the brass showing, and I’m OK with the foam donut too.
This is the Arc-AAA polished close to perfection; multiple modes, and the color rendition of the 219 is way better than the ugly blue of a Nichia CS.
It’s not much bigger than the Arc even though it takes AA batteries.
If there is one thing I’d change for certain, it’s the sharp points of the half-round cut in the body tube. If they machined a little bit off those points, and anodized it in a few more colors, it’d be the ultimate AA light (to me).
Agree (almost) completely . . would like a Match style clip . . . if they could do that right off those sharp corners it would be very fine.
A sturdy (but removeable or optional) clip would be great. I don’t have one, but I hear the one option some have tried is shit.
So, I ordered a XP-G2 model to swap pills with, in order to get the 219 into a better-colored body (turquoise / light green). It showed up today. The swap was relatively easy, now that I have a strip of leather and a pipe wrench to break the glue.
The XP-G2 model is apparently an older one from 2012. It had a longer gap of exposed brass between the head and the tail, and the reflector was actually screwed in instead of simply dropping in. It also gives a brief bright-ish flash when turning on in firefly mode, then quickly drops down to a firefly level. The XP-G2 emitter was significantly off-center, but that was fixed simply by swapping the pill into a different head. Lastly, its main O-ring was barely holding together by a thread so I swapped in one of the two spares included with the light.
Differences between the two models (2012 XP-G2 and 2013 Nichia 219):
Otherwise, they’re pretty similar. I filed off the sharp corners on the tail within minutes of opening each one.
I also got a clip, just to see what it’s like. It’s okay, I guess, but I don’t plan on using it on my nice new green model with freshly-swapped Nichia 219 emitter; it’ll go on the older brown XP-G2 which already has a fair amount of body damage. As an anti-roll device, the clip would be nice… but I don’t want it scratching up the body of my new light. Also, to allow tail-standing, the clip must be installed on the knurled part of the body; the smooth tail is too short so the end of the clip sticks out.
I’ve been meaning to mention this for at least a couple weeks, but I noticed that the anodization on my green L3-L10 (2012 model) is fading. It was rich and smooth when the light arrived, but less than a month later a lot of the color has faded. Here are some pictures (click for bigger versions):
This shade of turquoise is a relatively subtle color though, so look what happens if I change its hue by 60 degrees to show how the same fading would look in blue: (all I changed was hue, nothing else)
I’ve been treating the light exactly the same as the brownish “natural” finish on my 2013 model light, but the brown one hasn’t faded at all. (as for how I treat it, the worst it has been exposed to are skin oils and a few showers)
What could cause this? Do the 2013 models have better anodization? Is the difference because of color? Individual variation due to the anodization technique? Too thin of a coat on some places? (the head and tail still have full color, but the body is fading)
Wow and that is supposed to be HA-III anodizing? I would send the pics to sbflashlights.
The anodizing is definitely sub-standard in my opinion, and the overall machining I would only rate as acceptable, but the driver and Nichia emitter are top notch, and make this probably my most carried light. I put the orange XP-G2 version in the bag of shame and now I just carry the natural finish Nichia 219 version. I only got the natural finish because they emailed me telling me that the black one was out of stock and asking for a substitution. I’m glad I picked the natural finish.