Flashlight was purchased : for twenty something aussi bananas from one of the online merchants not fleabay .
So what I have is a SolarStorm SC01 , 1xAA or 1x14500 with a reported ( more later ) 3 modes , lo to high with hidden flash .
I have to say the build quality looks to be excellent , so far nothing to complain about : ( Nothing )
Lents look at performance first :
Nimh 1 ) Lo - 0.1A - 12Lumen , Hi - 0.83A - 110L
Nimh 2 ) Lo - 0.1A - 13L , Hi - 0.83A - 118L
Nimh 3 ) Lo - 0.1A - 13L , Hi - 0.83A - 122L
Alkaline ) Lo - 0.1A - 14L , Hi - 0.85A - 126L
Dry Cell 1 ) Lo - 0.09A - 9L , Hi - 0.7A - 65L
Dry Cell 2 ) Lo - 0.1A - 12L , Hi - 0.84A - 100L
Lithium ) Lo - 0.1A - 14L , Hi - 0.85A - 136L-110L
So let me explain , there is very little if any heat related sag , in this light what I was seeing was voltage related sag . As you switch the light into high , it takes while for the battery to stabilize its power output , as the voltage drops under load so does the output until a sustained voltage is reached .
Hidden Mode :
Well , strobe is not really hidden ( there is apparently a hidden mode , more soon ) . So to access strobe just turn on the light ( single click ) and then double click and the light should be strobbing away like a sick little puppy . Just click one more time to exit strobe mode and the light will still be in the mode you were in originally .
Lo - High :
To change modes is easy , the light operates in a sequence : Click once to turn it on , click one more time for high and then again to turn it off .. ( Thats it )
Ramping Lo :
You have some control over Lo mode . Turn the light on , your in low mode . Then click again but hold the button down ( dont let it back up ) .. The light should ramp up to start with until it flashes . When it flashes its as high as it will ramp , but not quite as high as in high mode . To go down just push and hold again , but it will not ramp down . It will simply start from the lowest and ramp up again , so if you want it low , you will need to be quick .
Super secret mode : ( moon mode )
I dont know if anyone has actually mentioned the moon mode ? Anyhow here we go :
When you go to turn on the light , push and hold the button down for about 2 seconds , the light should now start in moon mode .
Moon mode - 0.04A - 4L
To get out of moon mode just click once and the light will turn off .
Electronic switch :
There is an initial 0.06A current drain , but then it goes into hibernation and my MM cant detect any current .. It only takes a few seconds to go into hibernation , and to bring it out just a light touch on the switch does the job and then there is a detectable 0.06A current for a few seconds before the switch goes back into hibernation .
Conclusion :
From my limited time with the Solarstorm SC01 , I have to say this is a lot of light for the money . If you are a AA fanboy or girl and you dont have this one in your collection . So far I have nothing , nada zip , negative to report .
So far its all good . Ok on AA's it does not have insane output , but for the current draw its acceptable . I havent tried a 14500 ( no longer a 14500 fan ) , and Im not sure I want to bother as it works well with just a decent NIMH ( AA ) . So far this light is pushing all the right buttons for me , and as long as nothing goes wrong id say we have another very good AA flashlight to chose from , and this one is definitely on the budget side of $$ .
If anyone else out there owns this light , push the button and hold for about 2 seconds and see if you get moon mode ...