They are great, it’s part of a set of 4 bought maybe 25 years ago. Can’t remember where I got them but IIRC they were a generic brand, way better than the generic ones of today.
IMO for the XANES dimming would be nice, but isn’t really needed, the COB ring light serves as the “med” mode.
Plus I will typically have another light, for me the XANES is a “back up” light that resides always in the car.
I would gladly give up dimming for the red flashling mode. If the Nebo Big Cryket had a flashing mode for the red light it would be a good competitor for the XANES as an auto/emergency light, otherwise I still like the XANES better for the car, regardless of the dimming feature. As I’ve stated previously the red flashing mode on the XANES makes it viable as a roadside emergency light, to use as an electronic “road flare” if needed.
Personally I’d rather use NiMH cells for a car light.
First, because they don’t suffer when fully charged.
Second, because they don’t suffer in heat.
Third, because they are cheaper. Here each 48g cell costs as much as the light. Have one inside, another spare…that becomes expensive.
But I’ll be watching for deals on this light, maybe I’ll get one too.
All of my flashlights use Li-ion’s and I use the heck out of them daily for years and years, I’ve not had any suffering that I’m aware of.
.
For anyone who want to use them this light will run on 3x AAA NiMH.
.
I guess that depends on where you live. Here in the Northeast USA I leave Li-ion’s in my car all summer and have never had an issue with heat, at least not that I’ve noticed.
.
Of course this light does not require to use 48G’s, that was only an idea for a higher capacity option. It works fine on a regular lower cost 18650, for instance 2600mAh Samsung 26JM ICR18650 ($3.27 ea.)
Cheaper or not depends on the person and what cells they have already. For me NiMH would be more expensive because I’d need to go purchase them vs the many Li-ions that I already have. (I do have some AAA Eneloops but I’m using them for something else)
The batteries I’m using in my XANES cost me nothing, they’re 2000mAh Samsung 22F laptop pulls (12pcs.) salvaged from a recycle bin. :partying_face:
I’m not saying Li-ion is better or worse, I’m no expert on batteries, just relating my personal experience YMMV. NiMH may be an excellent choice for this as an auto light, especially if you already have them, I don’t think it requires much current, but I haven’t tried it on AAA’s to see if it’s output is lower.
I am curious how run time would compare with NiMH vs Li-ion’s, my AAA Eneloops are 750mAh each, so 3x would be 2250mAh, would that provide the same run time as a 2250mAh Li-ion?
.
There’s a lot of listings for it on Aliexpress, but the lowest right now is $9.96
There’s even a THORFIRE branded one, in the THORFIRE “Official” Store.
I can’t be sure from the pics but I find the dome on fake cree XMLs is usually hard while it’s fairly squishy on the real XML. I am not saying go and poke random leds but that is how I can tell. If I can’t tell from looking at it. If you have a real t6 around you might able to tell by looking at them side by side.
How’s the tint the lattice bright usually have a crud tint? But this may have changed.
I don’t have a lux meter currently, I’ll reply again after I do some more comparing with some other lights to get a closer estimate.
It definitely could use a “boost” I’d like to know how that could be done, I’ll try to post a better photo of the driver in case someone might be able to advise on that.
.
The problem is I can’t see it that well, I’ll try to get the bezel/lens off and try to get a closer look, I’m sure it’s not real Cree but I wanted to know how to tell, others are saying they can tell by looking at my photos I’m just wondering what they’re seeing.
.
Overall it’s s a pretty good white tint, not that angry blue, it’s a cool white but I’ve seen a lot worse. To pick it apart, beaming on a white wall at about a 4 Ft. distance I see a slightly yellow-ish hot spot, surrounded by a slightly purple-ish corona, and slightly bluish in the spill. I’ll try to add some white wall shots later and a comparison for tint.
Hopefully I can get the bezel off, then I’ll see if an emitter swap will be possible, it would be fun project to upgrade the main LED for a nicer tint. The white COB is already leaning towards neutral, it’s noticeably warmer than the main LED…