To start off, I now know what you small die, thrower enthusiasts are excited about. I find it amusing I’ve discovered this in a 3*AAA light with an old Cree LED… an impulse purchase from Lowe’s ($11.99). Unfortunately, I discovered a hollow pill upon dis-assembly but that is really the main draw-back about the light and I demonstrate a way to cure that.
The pros:
smooth bezel and tail cap;
combination smooth and orange peel (plastic) reflector;
reflector is the same size that comes in this popular light;
reflector will fit an XM-L, if you dare;
rubber grip;
believably water tight with o-rings in the right spots;
tight spot, of course, but nice spill as well;
Not a warm tint but not cool either;
1.3 mA on high with a laptop battery pack pull (Sanyo 18500);
Even with alkaline batteries, the output is better than 130 lumens (spec on package).
Here is the light:
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This post is mostly about an excuse to use some new tools and an idea (likely an inspiration from reading Old-Lumens’ posts) to use a copper end cap as a heat conductor.
So, here’s to new tools (not shown is my new cordless drill):
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And tinkering with the idea:
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Ultimately, the tinkering led me to discover I needed to make a flip of the new part:
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Because the battery tube couldn’t be threaded to the head with the new pill enhancement:
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And a comparison of size to other popular models:
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There are better lights for the price but 3*AAA format lights are comfortable and cheap enough for handing over to the brood for a little dark time exploration.