LED vs. Incandescent

[aflineman]

I still like my Streamlight Task light. The best of both worlds. 3LED and an incan. You switch between them, depending what you need. Works great for and everyday light.

[Pepper]

I think that the LED is starting to come into it's own. Reflectors are becoming much better from what was out there (at least what I saw) only a couple of years ago, and the new higher wattage LED's are very good, from what I've seen. However, I'll agree with the above, if you need a light to "reach out and touch" something far away, incan seems to be the only option, at present.

 

Just a prediction from someone only minutely informed, I think that LED's will do wondrous things in the next few years...

[shannon]

I have owned all the higher end Surefire LED's at one time or another, and have been playing with the gladius for a month now. I like the LED lights more than the incans but one downfall is that a LED is washed out by ambient light. They are not as good for piercing through shadows that are created by amibient light. So far out of all the LED that I have had the Surefire L4 has been my favorite with the Gladius comeing in second.

 

Edited November 10, 2005 by shannon

[hkriflenut]

I have owned all the higher end Surefire LED's at one time or another, and have been playing with the gladius for a month now. I like the LED lights more than the incans but one downfall is that a LED is washed out by ambient light. They are not as good for piercing through shadows that are created by amibient light. So far out of all the LED that I have had the Surefire L4 has been my favorite with the Gladius comeing in second.

 

 

 

That's the one of the only things I hate about LED light.

[shannon]

It is a downside for sure but still I find my self selling off my Incans and getting more LED lights.

[Gmountain]

I love my Surefire E2E and carry it every day, but during the hurricanes I switched to an L4 and used the heck out of it. The LED's just have outstanding battery life, and really shine (sorry) in that department. If I was going to have to depend on a light for a long time I'd definitely go LED. I like the incandescent for throw, but life wise it's LED.

 

The L4 is pretty bright, fwiw.

[black bear 84]

Hi guys,

I am not guru of lights, just a guy with too many flashlights, LED's and incandescents, and an opinion.

This is not even fresh, I did this piece for another Forum 3 months or so ago.

But right or wrong that is what I think about this issue of LED's versus Incandescents.

 

LED's and Luxeons are great lights. I have a bathtub full of them and I keep getting more, like yesterday when I ordered a Nuwai Q III. I have some of the best Luxeon III ever made by the best modders in CPF, lights with Surefire E2e bodies and PR T heads with Down Boys 917 and TYOJ bins.

 

 

 

My first Luxeon was a Surefire Digital Lumamax L-4, a 5 watts Luxeons with a fantastic wall of light for such a small light (just a tad bigger than the E2e)

 

But as much as I like them, they can not supplant the incandescent from a good flashlight company like Surefire or Streamlight.

They don't throw as far as the incandescents do (an E2e will throw farther) and by the lack of the red spectrum they lack definition.

I have a raccoon feeder at 25 yards from my window. I do all kinds of experiments shinning incandescents and Luxeons at the animals out of that window. At that distance, even when the Luxeon III lights show that the animals are there, the lack of definition in comparison with the G-2, 6P, or C3 etc is outstanding.

LED's tend to blend the animals with the background and the viewing is poor, even using my PR T's heads.

 

If you take Luxeon V or III in any kind of weather you will quickly learn how poor performers they are in conditions of Rain, Fog, Snow and Smoke. Smoke is the reason why firefighters will not use them due to the poor penetration.

Smoke, Fog, Rain, and Snow are the reasons why the US Army will not use them as weapon lights or even as handhelds.

 

Surefire M-4 using the turbo head will easily reach up to 100 yards ditto and more for the Surefire M-6 Guardian with the 500 lumens lamp, and my own MAG 951 with the 951 lumens will easily reach 200 yards. No Luxeon light in existence today will get that far or put any serious amount of lumens at any long distance.

 

I have a piece of my fence 78 yards away (by laser rangefinder). I have put one of my black bear mounts with their deep black "light-drinking" fur, and only certain incandescents can show that the bear is there, none of the Luxeon III’s will do it for me.

 

Besides, we have the issue of reliability. Yes because the bulb doesn't burn they are reliable in the bulb department, but electronics can fail. If this happens when you are in the wilderness or the field you will have to rely on another flashlight to keep you going.

My own survival kit has an E2e with spare lamps and several batteries with a Z-52 LOCT switch (I also dislike clickies as I have repaired three of them on my own lights).

I can stack my survival on that light as nothing can go wrong that a change of batteries (10 years shelf life) and a new bulb cannot cure.

 

I have dropped my L-4 and it stopped working, needing a trip to Surefire to fix it. So that is why for outdoor adventures I will not take any LED or Luxeon unless I am also carrying an incandescent with spare bulbs.

 

Under my rifles: for a good throw I have TACM III with remote pressure pad switch; they throw much father than Surefires with 2 and 3 batteries due to their bigger diameter smooth reflector.

 

 

Incandescents are here to stay and are not becoming obsolete because Luxeon lights out there are getting a big piece of the flashlight market.

When professionals, rescue people, firefighters and Police need a serious illumination tool they reach for a good quality incandescent light.

 

All this, of course, is IMHO.

black bear

[cmoth]

I think we're all in for a surprise. Surefire's work with Arc lighting will probably make the whole argument a mute point but until then this is what we have.

 

I have both. I have three diferent LED lights; two photon micro-lights and a G2 with a KL3 conversion head on it. Awesome light, great battery life, no bleed out or halo. I use it everyday, several times a day for searches and general nav. However, if I have anything serious to o I havea Surefire M3 Combatlight with the 225 lumen lamp. I strobethe light and use it sparingly. Since I haven't used it off and on all day, it has more than enough run timefor when it becomes serious. pplus, since I also have an ITI M3 weaponlight mounted on my G21, I can alternate between the two and only use the M3 Combatlight when a identify someone who doesn't need to see anymore.

 

The PD just bought the new Streamlight SL-20XPs with the LED / Incan combo. Not bad but, one of the same companies Twin-Task lights would be about the same amount of light in a much easier to carry package.

 

What I really want is a Surefire 9AN combo. It lookslike what I've been needing. Now ifI didn't have to sacrifice a kidney... :oh yea:

Edited December 19, 2005 by cmoth