Opinions on Elzetta lights

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:10:55.000Z

BurningPlayd0h:

mmalive:

The lights seem pretty steep. Considering most use CR123A vs 18650. The outputs are somewhat low as well. These would be in Surefire class. Due to being over priced with low outputs.

Outputs are low because these lights stay within the safe current draw for CR123 cells. Most of the “normal” brightness rating you see for these emitters are them being over-driven too, so the lower max outputs are to ensure long lifespan and reliability.

Correct, as one of their blogs shows the Amp draw difference from the P3X to the Charlie, Bravo and Malkoff model.

The Surefire’s were drawing more the the cells rated max Amps at first, although I believe that was to get 1,300 lumens out of the light turn on and still get 1,000 lumens out of the light at 30 seconds. To me, I do not like that. Yes, I own P2X Tactical, P3X Tactical Titan and Titan plus , PLUS all my Surefire WML’s.

Mean while I currently own ZERO Elzettas but will soon and I love their Constant output of at or above 900 lumens for about one whole hour.

Meanwhile, Surefire starts about 1,300 lumens and then decides to run a quick drop to about 650 lumens after just a few minutes. I will try to look up their graph

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:12:33.000Z

Lightbringer:

BurningPlayd0h:

Of course with no food, water or electricity we will all have a plentiful supply of CR123 batteries…

Wellp, thanks to vipon, I got a 16pak and 20pak of ’123s not that long ago…

Use them sparingly, or not at all if their dates are good.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:13:52.000Z

BurningPlayd0h:

mmalive:

The lights seem pretty steep. Considering most use CR123A vs 18650. The outputs are somewhat low as well. These would be in Surefire class. Due to being over priced with low outputs.

Outputs are low because these lights stay within the safe current draw for CR123 cells. Most of the “normal” brightness rating you see for these emitters are them being over-driven too, so the lower max outputs are to ensure long lifespan and reliability.

100% correct my friend!!!

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:24:08.000Z

delusional:

I got two bravos and a charlie. All with my name and phone number engraved on them. I always tell people “If you get an Elzetta, you won’t be sorry… Until the day you lose it., at which point you will be quite sorry indeed.” That’s why I put my number on them, one of my bravos was returned to me after being lost for two weeks. There’s still a few decent people still out there.
I had had some bad experiences with nitecore, and went searching for better reliability just at the time the bravo/charlie thing first happened. This means my elzettas are pretty close to as old as they get, going on six years now. At least one of them has been with me, all day, every single day since I got them. I believe the construction job I do is just about as punishing an environment they could be in. The amount of water and dust they have to put up with is extreme. I do a lot of plumbing, and it’s more than adequate for the purpose.

The flood lens (LENS, not reflector) is completely awesome for close up work. It surpasses ANY other system of reflector or diffuser. I cannot say enough good things about the flood lens. It must be experienced to see just how good it is. The throw lens on my Charlie is also extremely nice. In my opinion it’s these lenses that keep Elzetta a hair above Surefires of the same brightness.
Forget waterproof, you can take any Elzetta apart and put it back together WHILE IT’S UNDER WATER. One time an idiot dropped one of my bravos into a bucket of latex paint, I didn’t even think twice, I just hosed it off and put it back in my pocket. It pays to keep the threads screwed down tight, but the head tends to not light if it’s even a little loose… so it’s always tight. But it wouldn’t matter if it was a little loose.
Tough? I used to tell people, “Go ahead, throw it down the street as far as you can.” AND THEY DID. Five times it was thrown, I had to file off a small burr once. No damage to the light but it does hurt the batteries, so i had to stop throwing it.
No, they are not the brightest, but that’s really the point. You are not overdriving the battery, the LED, or the electronics. Long runtime! How often do you really need more than 650 lumens? Take it easy, cowboy. Just today I left it running under a dishwasher and went out to the truck for half an hour. It was barely warm. Still had enough battery to finish the install. I get about 75 minutes on a 3400 ma/h battery, and 60 of those minutes are at near full brightness.
The only thing that’s a little wonky is the high-low switch. It’s not perfect but it does hold low well, after you fidget with it for a second or two. The only time i use low is when the battery is low, and i need stretch time.

About this time you’re wondering if I’m getting paid, and the answer is no. I’m just an extremely satisfied customer. After six years, what’s not to love?
If you’re collecting, I could see passing it by. But if you’re going to trust your life to a light…
I say again: If you get an Elzetta, you will not be sorry… until you lose it.

More:
I got all of mine bored by Overready, but going forward I’m not so sure they’ll be doing it forever. You might be stuck with the Bones light if you don’t want 123’s.
Never really cared exactly what the emitter is, it’s 650 lumens of great tint and just about the highest CRI there is, You can rest assured that Elzetta is not using jenkem emitters.
Elzetta’s spokesman, Dave Barnett, is also just about as good as it gets. Highly recommend going to Elzetta’s blog page and he will clarify any concern you have. The two “beam” vids are must-see.

I think you and I are like minded. I agree with everything you have mentioned. Remember everyone, sometimes it is not about sheer lumens but coming home alive. With a quality built illumination tool that is rarely rivaled.

Then there is the other side of the coin, BLF. Yes like a 100 USD D18 light that does 14,000 lumens for 20-30 seconds then goes to 2,000 lumens . Bright and fun yes, But give me that Elzetta OR Surefire to get me back home in one piece.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T00:48:40.000Z

This explains it well. I can’t even imagine what many of the Chinese manufacturers are doing. Pushing LED’s past max, making them smoke or burn out, or maybe I can. Since the reliability is like flipping a coin on some brands. They are toys though so I understand it, and trust me the D18 I will buy it, but Emisar is one of the finer Chinese companies no question .

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-28T01:18:27.000Z

ChrisGarrett:

They’re a top notch weapons’ light for critical applications, like SureFire.

If you’re not into the ‘shooty’ stuff, or have firearms, there are probably better/cheaper choices out there.

Chris

Sounds like you have has bullets whiz over your head and possibly pistols in your face as well. The shooting stuff, I am trying to move away from , but addictions are hard to break when offered to you on a GOLD platter, Just have you make it back alive…

Igor · 2019-03-28T02:17:46.000Z

delusional:

I got two bravos and a charlie. All with my name and phone number engraved on them. I always tell people “If you get an Elzetta, you won’t be sorry… Until the day you lose it., at which point you will be quite sorry indeed.” That’s why I put my number on them, one of my bravos was returned to me after being lost for two weeks. There’s still a few decent people still out there.
I had had some bad experiences with nitecore, and went searching for better reliability just at the time the bravo/charlie thing first happened. This means my elzettas are pretty close to as old as they get, going on six years now. At least one of them has been with me, all day, every single day since I got them. I believe the construction job I do is just about as punishing an environment they could be in. The amount of water and dust they have to put up with is extreme. I do a lot of plumbing, and it’s more than adequate for the purpose.

The flood lens (LENS, not reflector) is completely awesome for close up work. It surpasses ANY other system of reflector or diffuser. I cannot say enough good things about the flood lens. It must be experienced to see just how good it is. The throw lens on my Charlie is also extremely nice. In my opinion it’s these lenses that keep Elzetta a hair above Surefires of the same brightness.
Forget waterproof, you can take any Elzetta apart and put it back together WHILE IT’S UNDER WATER. One time an idiot dropped one of my bravos into a bucket of latex paint, I didn’t even think twice, I just hosed it off and put it back in my pocket. It pays to keep the threads screwed down tight, but the head tends to not light if it’s even a little loose… so it’s always tight. But it wouldn’t matter if it was a little loose.
Tough? I used to tell people, “Go ahead, throw it down the street as far as you can.” AND THEY DID. Five times it was thrown, I had to file off a small burr once. No damage to the light but it does hurt the batteries, so i had to stop throwing it.
No, they are not the brightest, but that’s really the point. You are not overdriving the battery, the LED, or the electronics. Long runtime! How often do you really need more than 650 lumens? Take it easy, cowboy. Just today I left it running under a dishwasher and went out to the truck for half an hour. It was barely warm. Still had enough battery to finish the install. I get about 75 minutes on a 3400 ma/h battery, and 60 of those minutes are at near full brightness.
The only thing that’s a little wonky is the high-low switch. It’s not perfect but it does hold low well, after you fidget with it for a second or two. The only time i use low is when the battery is low, and i need stretch time.

About this time you’re wondering if I’m getting paid, and the answer is no. I’m just an extremely satisfied customer. After six years, what’s not to love?
If you’re collecting, I could see passing it by. But if you’re going to trust your life to a light…
I say again: If you get an Elzetta, you will not be sorry… until you lose it.

More:
I got all of mine bored by Overready, but going forward I’m not so sure they’ll be doing it forever. You might be stuck with the Bones light if you don’t want 123’s.
Never really cared exactly what the emitter is, it’s 650 lumens of great tint and just about the highest CRI there is, You can rest assured that Elzetta is not using jenkem emitters.
Elzetta’s spokesman, Dave Barnett, is also just about as good as it gets. Highly recommend going to Elzetta’s blog page and he will clarify any concern you have. The two “beam” vids are must-see.

I’d love to see pictures of your lights!

junkyardbiker · 2019-03-28T03:21:59.000Z

There are very few lights out there that I trust to work everytime no matter what, and even fewer that withstand weapon recoil or getting bashed against equipment and structures, but again I reccomend the ASP Triad series or a custom P60 module built by Nailbender or PFlexPro. Cant beat the price point on those compared to a Malkoff or Elzetta especially when Im buying them myself for duty lights. As much as I would love to own those, its a risk losing stuff.

The_Last_Katun · 2019-03-28T04:36:10.000Z

CREEXHP70LED:

I think you and I are like minded. I agree with everything you have mentioned. Remember everyone, sometimes it is not about sheer lumens but coming home alive. With a quality built illumination tool that is rarely rivaled.

Then there is the other side of the coin, BLF. Yes like a 100 USD D18 light that does 14,000 lumens for 20-30 seconds then goes to 2,000 lumens . Bright and fun yes, But give me that Elzetta OR Surefire to get me back home in one piece.

I try to be a little ready for anything; the expenses are many (from the provisions to the maintenance of a lot of equipment); for the lighting I have to stay on the budget and for my protocol I have 3 flashlight for daily use, always present on me, and 5 in case of rapid departure from the home (or even from the city); I tried to optimize them and make them better, rational, without many modes (3 out of 5 have only one mode, but different intensity) and focusing on redundancy; because a single flashlight, however good, could get lost, fall and be irrecoverable, and many other things.
3 out of 5 use the P60, so each one is also a replacement for the other; all 18650 (but if I use a flashlight I have 4 spare batteries).
For the “durable” flashlight I have two simple Ultrafire 503b SS (one in use, the other for spare parts), the P60 module is tropicalized, components immobilized and coated with paint; the led is glued (as well as being welded, of course). frontally they have a 3mm mineral glass (it comes from spare parts for diving watches, there is no o-ring gasket, there is paste for the engine head) and also the tailcap has undergone some changes. In use will be: one made of steel, three made of aluminium and one made of plastic (let’s not underestimate plastic, it has many interesting features, such as, for example, being safely introduced into a high voltage switchboard)

flashlights before modifications

junkyardbiker · 2019-03-28T12:26:46.000Z

P60 is king for me, the prices these days of a quality built module allows me to have several different styles and a single host ready to swap out in seconds, even of I choose to have multiple hosts a Solarforce is cheap and solid enough for anything. The option of primaries or 18650 is a major plus. Theres no excuse for settling on a light that almost is exactly what you want anymore. The most expensive high output P60 from Skylumens is just over a 100 bucks and is right up there in quality with a Malkoff Id bet. Im ordering parts from Mtnelectronics to build a copper quad P60 that should be the equal of my D4 with some helpful emails from Richard. Once built and potted I can have as simple a UI as I want with single mode, or change groups and have an EDC. All well under 100 bucks in price and quality I would trust my life with. I also machine some of my own hosts out of billet aluminum so thats a major plus hahaha

BurningPlayd0h · 2019-03-28T15:24:14.000Z

Elzettas are neat, but FYI their flood lens is just a regular pebbled TIR optic. If you have any other tube lights like the A6 or S2 you can install one in it and many other brands such as Olight and Armytek use them stock as well in their floody lights.

I see a lot of hearsay in this thread about some Chinese manufacturers vs others but no real evidence of WHY some brands are claimed to be more durable or higher quality. It it’s not potted, it’s not potted. Simple as that.

elbakan1 · 2019-03-30T17:10:10.000Z

ChrisGarrett:

texas shooter:

A few of my fellow deputies carry them and regard them highly. For work or duty use these are in the top pick list. CR123A’s aren’t an issue as they can be found for a buck a piece or less and have a 30 year self life. The Bones model is 18650 ready.

Most of the quality Panasonic CR123As made in the USA and Japan, as well as the Sanyo~Japan sourced cells, have an expiry date of 10 years, not 30 years, but yeah…they should be a monetary problem for ‘departments,’ or people buying Elzettas.

It’s like the Ferrari owner worrying about tires, or an oil change.

Chris

elbakan1 · 2019-03-30T17:21:48.000Z

[quote=elbakan1]

[quote=ChrisGarrett]

texas shooter:

A few of my fellow deputies carry them and regard them highly. For work or duty use these are in the top pick list. CR123A’s aren’t an issue as they can be found for a buck a piece or less and have a 30 year self life. The Bones model is 18650 ready.

Most of the quality Panasonic CR123As made in the USA and Japan, as well as the Sanyo~Japan sourced cells, have an expiry date of 10 years, not 30 years, but yeah…they should be a monetary problem for ‘departments,’ or people buying Elzettas.

It’s like the Ferrari owner worrying about tires, or an oil change.

Chris.

I beg to differ. I have 15 years old CR123A still going. 3.20V. from 3.30v.
Also, the Panasonics made in Japan are better than the ones made in the US.
The only ones I recharge. But that’s another can of worms.

The US plant was built for Surefire batteries. Who insists in 1300mAh.

Cheers.

texas_shooter · 2019-03-30T17:39:25.000Z

[quote=elbakan1]

ChrisGarrett:

texas shooter:

A few of my fellow deputies carry them and regard them highly. For work or duty use these are in the top pick list. CR123A’s aren’t an issue as they can be found for a buck a piece or less and have a 30 year self life. The Bones model is 18650 ready.

Most of the quality Panasonic CR123As made in the USA and Japan, as well as the Sanyo~Japan sourced cells, have an expiry date of 10 years, not 30 years, but yeah…they should be a monetary problem for ‘departments,’ or people buying Elzettas.

It’s like the Ferrari owner worrying about tires, or an oil change.

Chris.

I beg to differ. I have 15 years old CR123A still going. 3.20V. from 3.30v.
Also, the Panasonics made in Japan are better than the ones made in the US.
The only ones I recharge. But that’s another can of worms.

The US plant was built for Surefire batteries. Who insists in 1300mAh.

Cheers.

Panasonic says this about their CR123A’s “Shelf life up to 10 years when stored at 68°F (20°C) 90% capacity” So for those of you that have survived eating something past their “Use before” date codes I’ll say again. It’s a 30 year shelf life battery.

The_Last_Katun · 2019-03-30T22:50:11.000Z

I remember when I started collecting flashlights, a test to which I submitted them was the washing machine; a washing cycle and I saw where I had to intervene to make them better. Over the years I know from experience what I have to do, but sometimes I put them back in the washing machine.
I have only one short film of that period, it is from 2010.
Ah! I remember that I also put a small flashlight in the blender, it gave me indications on break points due to violent, continuous and destructive impact

Terry_Oregon · 2019-03-30T23:57:03.000Z

By coincidence, I ordered my first Elzetta last week (Bones), with optional floody lens, and quickly did some runtime graphs. The Bones is designed to also work with an 18650. Although Elzetta claims the output is highly regulated, that's ONLY using CR123 batteries.

Elzetta claims the following:

It generates 650 lumens in steady regulation

What they don't say - is that the steady regulation ONLY occurs if you use CR123 batteries. As you can see in the runtime graphs below, if you use an 18650, the regulation slopes down from beginning to end.

Also, the Texas Ace Calibrate Lumens Tube measured 555 lumens, not 650. And, if using the optional floody lens, it dropped down to 340 lumens (a dissapointing 39% drop in output). I may use the DC-Fix diffusion film, which in the past, has only dropped the output of my other lights by about 10-12%.

Relatively good regulation for about an hour using the two supplied Battery Station CR123. I exceeded Elzetta's listed runtime by 3 min.

Orbrtonix protected 10A 18650 (3,500mah)

Samsung INR18650-25R (capacity tested at 2,471mah)

Igor · 2019-03-31T06:33:29.000Z

[quote=elbakan1]

ChrisGarrett:

texas shooter:

A few of my fellow deputies carry them and regard them highly. For work or duty use these are in the top pick list. CR123A’s aren’t an issue as they can be found for a buck a piece or less and have a 30 year self life. The Bones model is 18650 ready.

Most of the quality Panasonic CR123As made in the USA and Japan, as well as the Sanyo~Japan sourced cells, have an expiry date of 10 years, not 30 years, but yeah…they should be a monetary problem for ‘departments,’ or people buying Elzettas.

It’s like the Ferrari owner worrying about tires, or an oil change.

Chris.

I beg to differ. I have 15 years old CR123A still going. 3.20V. from 3.30v.
Also, the Panasonics made in Japan are better than the ones made in the US.
The only ones I recharge. But that’s another can of worms.

The US plant was built for Surefire batteries. Who insists in 1300mAh.

Cheers.

You recharge CR123 primaries???

I also have 15 years old Energizer CR123 still going. My guess is the L91 (AA) uses the same technology as CR123 and after 10 years they were still good and the manufacturer decided to print the labels with 20 year shelf life, I don’t think they changed anything in manufacturing to make them last longer. Probably the same with CR123 except they still come with 10 year shelf life printed. But, 30 years? I don’t know.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-03-31T16:30:10.000Z

Terry Oregon:

By coincidence, I ordered my first Elzetta last week (Bones), with optional floody lens, and quickly did some runtime graphs. The Bones is designed to also work with an 18650. Although Elzetta claims the output is highly regulated, that’s ONLY using CR123 batteries.

Elzetta claims the following:

It generates 650 lumens in steady regulation

What they don’t say - is that the steady regulation ONLY occurs if you use CR123 batteries. As you can see in the runtime graphs below, if you use an 18650, the regulation slopes down from beginning to end.

Also, the Texas Ace Calibrate Lumens Tube measured 555 lumens, not 650. And, if using the optional floody lens, it dropped down to 340 lumens (a dissapointing 39% drop in output). I may use the DC-Fix diffusion film, which in the past, has only dropped the output of my other lights by about 10-12%.

Relatively good regulation for about an hour using the two supplied Battery Station CR123. I exceeded Elzetta’s listed runtime by 3 min.

Orbrtonix protected 10A 18650 (3,500mah)

Samsung INR18650-25R (capacity tested at 2,471mah)

Thanks for the review. I think it did very well. If you compare it to a Surefire and how fast they drop.

Did you get the 555 lumens with CR123A cells or the 18650 ?

Terry_Oregon · 2019-03-31T17:41:39.000Z

Did you get the 555 lumens with CR123A cells or the 18650 ?

18650. Using CR123s gives about 20 lumens higher - no significant difference. I suspect the better regulation on the CR123 is because of the higher voltage.

CREEXHP70LED · 2019-04-05T19:55:45.000Z

Yes, these lights seem far superior to Surefire.