Review: Balder SE2 - 1x18650 XM-L 3 mode

[Lensman]

Thanks old, very helpful review as always.

[old4570]

Balder sent me a new SE2 to review , I will test regulation differently .. The other one was a continuous run , so heat sag would have been a factor , I will try and eliminate such with the new light .. Review will be posted on the week end ...

[phantom23]

@old4570

Yes - better than most lights priced around $35 ..

No, as bad as most $35 lights - unregulated.

@old4570

So what you needed to look at , was the output @ the voltage , and ignore the time …

The variable not accounted for was heat sag , the light got very warm doing this to about 3.7v ..

I am ignoring the time. It wasn't heat sag, it doesn't affect brightness so much. At 120C degrees heat sag is just 20%, not 50%.

@old4570

So a few things that need to be taken into consideration =

1/ Battery used for test was very low capacity to speed up test .

2/ Variables are voltage and output , not run time ...

3/ Heat related sag , one would need to set up some sort of water cooling or something to minimize the effects of heat ! Because light output increased nearly 50L if the light was allowed to cool down [ time consuming ]

4/ So yes , I would say above average or good regulation ..

5/ if you were to stretch out the graph to 250% - 300% and end at 346L , that might represent a run with a Samsung or LG or Panasonic or the new Sanyo.

1,2. Yes, that's why I haven't said a word about runtime. I'm talking about discharge curve - very characteristic for unregulated lights.

3,4. Heat sag can't be so big without damaging the emitter. Brightness decreases because there's no regulation.

5. Yes, I agree. Unregulated run with one of those cells.

@old4570

6/ Start [ Nice cool light ] 4.2v @ 630L then as the light heats up there is heat sag , the longer the light runs , the more sag as the heat builds up . END 3.39v @ 346L last measurement taken . the battery sagged bellow 3v or to 3v and the over discharge kicked in ,

So the run was from 630 to 346 , so it put out good light all the way [ if 346 is not good @ 3.39v I dont know what is ] ...

So at the end its still doing 50% of max output ..

Yes, 346lm is still plenty of light. But 50% loss means it's unregulated. Not regulated at all.

[old4570]

@phantom23

@old4570

Yes - better than most lights priced around $35 ..

No, as bad as most $35 lights - unregulated.

@old4570

So what you needed to look at , was the output @ the voltage , and ignore the time …

The variable not accounted for was heat sag , the light got very warm doing this to about 3.7v ..

I am ignoring the time. It wasn't heat sag, it doesn't affect brightness so much. At 120C degrees heat sag is just 20%, not 50%.

@old4570

So a few things that need to be taken into consideration =

1/ Battery used for test was very low capacity to speed up test .

2/ Variables are voltage and output , not run time ...

3/ Heat related sag , one would need to set up some sort of water cooling or something to minimize the effects of heat ! Because light output increased nearly 50L if the light was allowed to cool down [ time consuming ]

4/ So yes , I would say above average or good regulation ..

5/ if you were to stretch out the graph to 250% - 300% and end at 346L , that might represent a run with a Samsung or LG or Panasonic or the new Sanyo.

1,2. Yes, that's why I haven't said a word about runtime. I'm talking about discharge curve - very characteristic for unregulated lights.

3,4. Heat sag can't be so big without damaging the emitter. Brightness decreases because there's no regulation.

5. Yes, I agree. Unregulated run with one of those cells.

@old4570

6/ Start [ Nice cool light ] 4.2v @ 630L then as the light heats up there is heat sag , the longer the light runs , the more sag as the heat builds up . END 3.39v @ 346L last measurement taken . the battery sagged bellow 3v or to 3v and the over discharge kicked in ,

So the run was from 630 to 346 , so it put out good light all the way [ if 346 is not good @ 3.39v I dont know what is ] ...

So at the end its still doing 50% of max output ..

Yes, 346lm is still plenty of light. But 50% loss means it's unregulated. Not regulated at all.

You cant expect regulation @ 3v

I just completed testing regulation on the newer SE2

[luvbelly]

I have been curious about this light since first reading about it enough so that I just ordered one. Having no experience with this company I know it's a throw of the dice. I am as far from an expert as one can get but when the light arrives I'll offer up some opinions on build quality and real world useage.

[phantom23]

I was right - even though new SE-1 is brighter (=more heat), there is no heat sag at all. It means didn't sufferfrom it either. Which means it was unregulated at all.

[ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS]

I just got this light below. What is the difference between it and this one here? Is it just comestic differences? It's a very nice light.

[skytop]

My main frustration with the SE-2 is the tail button sequence. Since there is NO mode memory, each time you turn on the SE-2, it starts at a different luminosity mode which is always lower than last time it was used. Then you must click, click, click, click, click… That just stinks.

Very poor mode design of an otherwise well built light. Back it goes.
Update: I exchanged it for the BD-2 which has mode memory!

[ryansoh3]

Thanks for the review. It indeed is a nice light, despite some minor issues.

So many to choose from, so little money….

Cheers!