Which infinite variable output light do you prefer?

That's what bothers me about these control ring lights. The ability to start in moonlight and quickly go to high is appealing, but I fear I'd wreck one quickly if I carried it backpacking...I carry my light in an external mesh pocket...with dirt getting behind the control ring. It's a moot point really because all these control ring lights are heavier than I'd want to carry on long backpacking trips.

The RRT01 is now $85 and V11R is $75 at FT.com. That kind of puts the decision in a different light ( :slight_smile: ). From being ok priced $50ish lights they now gone up around 50% over night :expressionless:

I’ll pass for now.

Saw on CPF that some guy got what looks like an updated RRT-01 with XM-L2.

I’ve had my V11R almost a year and I’m still a big fan. The grease finally wore out and made the ring easier to turn like everyone said it would, but I actually like it better this way.

Definitely. And terrible timing, too. I was just about to order one as a gift, but adding $30 to the price made that less appealing… I ended up ordering it from wallbuys instead, since they haven’t been MAP’d yet. $51 is a lot nicer than $85 for this item. I hope it will arrive without any issues and I hope it’ll be just as good as the one I got from FastTech.

sunwayman looks cool. just for the appearence,

I don’t get it… is it late (2012 or even 2013) or did you mean 2014?

sorry i meant 2014

FWIW, the RRT01 I got from wallbuys is the newer model, with the yellow box and XM-L2 emitter. The box rates it at 600 lumens instead of the previous model’s 500 lm. I’m not sure if their entire stock is the new model, or if they pick one at random for each order.

In addition to the new emitter, it feels like the control ring moves a little more smoothly, the reflector texture is very slightly finer-grained, the tint is cooler, and it looks slightly brighter on maximum. Both have very nice beam patterns.

The main downside I see on this new unit is that the head and tail on mine are different colors, with the tail anodized a somewhat lighter grey than the head. Probably just luck of the draw though. It should still make a great gift.

Also, the cooler emitter tint may be less desirable — compared to a 3C Convoy S7 I’ve got, the new RRT01 looks a little cooler and a little greener. So, probably a a 2* tint (2C? 2T? 3B?). The older RRT01 looks more like a 4* (4B? 3T?) tint. Both are cooler than my 4500K Nichia 219.

In either case, it’s a very nice light and I’ve been EDC-ing mine instead of my SC52 (which now primarily gets used as indoor mood lighting).

I was looking at the new Nitecore SRT3 as a possible competitor to the RRT01 or V11R, but so far I don’t see much point unless you need the red/blue modes or you need both a clicky and a screw-on clip. The SRT3 costs more (due to retail vs discount pricing), is significantly longer, and doesn’t really add anything except relatively weak color modes. With a 16340 battery, it’s the size of a fully-extended Sipik SK-68, and with the AA extender, it’s a bit longer than a 18650 tube light like the Convoy S3. Disproportionately large for its battery type, but it otherwise looks nice.

What about the SRT7?

IMO, the SRT7 looks fun… but it’s disappointing that the color output is weak and sloppy. It seems a bit large for my taste too, roughly the size of a C8. And it doesn’t go particularly low, down to 1.3 lumens according to selfbuilt (and I like ~0.1 or so). (btw, check out selfbuilt’s review if you haven’t already)

However, it looks like it might have the best “visually linear” output control of any light on the market, and it looks like a great option if you want a variable-output C8 with some extras.

I might consider getting one if it ever goes on a really, really good sale… but for my purposes, my XinTD C8 is probably plenty.

I’d go with the SWM. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but I haven’t had the best of luck with Jetbeam.

There is no such thing as an infinitely variable flashlight, amongst other thing an infinitely variable flashlight would require an infinite power supply.

I think that Bak meant is stepless variable output.
In that case I prefer the Roche M170 but it lack the magnetic ring and it’s not the same form factor.

Wow, this is a pretty old thread. I wonder if Bak ever got a light.

I have a V11r, RRT-01 and SRT3. I still prefer the RRT-01. I just like the simple twist the ring to control the light. No need to push a button. Very easy UI.

I also picked up a JA-10, but the button only interface isn’t quite the same thing as a control ring. Control ring is the best for lights with variable output levels.

There are an infinite amount of numbers between 1.0 and 2.0. I mean, there’s the obvious 1.5 in between, but then 1.25 and 1.75 between those, and 1.125, 1.375, 1.625, and 1.875 between those, etc… Infinite.

Of course, there’s an even bigger infinity between 1.0 and 5.0, and an even bigger amount between zero and, er, infinity.

Technically, an analog stepless output is still not infinite though… because there are a finite number of positions we can actually turn the control ring to. I tried to count one day how many different levels I was physically able to access, and the number was only two digits. Pretty far from infinity, if you ask me.

Plus, I suspect that either the ring sensor or the output driver probably has a maximum effective resolution… much like how pictures from a film camera can only be blown up so big before they get blurry. It may be analog with a resolution only theoretically limited only by individual molecules in the film, but an average 35mm analog camera still won’t give me sharper pictures than a 24 megapixel digital SLR.

Unfortunately we’re talking microprocessor controlled circuits which are not analogue. There are finite steps.

I haven’t taken this item apart, but not all circuits are digital. Granted, most of them are these days… but I’m not ruling out the possibility.

At max brightness there is a measurable number of photons coming from the light, so the theoretical maximum number of steps is from zero photons to the lights max output, a huge number but not quite infinite

That’s a good way to explain the theoretical maximum “resolution” of a light. :slight_smile:

I’m guessing its effective resolution is relatively low though; dozens or hundreds of levels at most.

I haven’t really used my RRT01 much lately. It’s a sweet little light, but I find that it’s too wide to hold comfortably, I compulsively check and re-check to make sure it’s turned all the way off, and I apparently prefer having known output levels. I use fixed levels to gauge how night-adjusted my eyes are, and to get an idea how long I can expect the battery to last, but the RRT just leaves me wondering.