ShipWreck
05-07-10, 22:51
There is no other place to post this but in the Freestyle Section, really. I did this short review for a flashlight forum, but thought I'd paste it here, as some may find it useful...
Coleman Max 110 Lumen light (Spot/Flood option):
My fav light is my LED Inova XO3 - it is super bright. But, I really didn't feel like dropping $50 on another flashlight - especially for one I'l likely only use for 2-3 minutes every night. So, I started looking at other less expensive possibilities...
Yesterday, I purchased a Coleman Max 110 Lumen AAA flashlight at Wal-Mart. What made this one interesting is that it has an option to go from spotlight to floodlight.
I needed a light for when I am outside locking up my dog in his kennel at night. The section of yard he is in is like a long dogrun - so while not extremely wide (14 feet wide), this part of the yard is long. I tried out this light last night, and it does exactly what I need it to do outside. This is MUCH better than the 3W AAA Brinkman LED I was using previously. In spotlight mode, it lit up the area that I needed to see. I want to be careful not to run into any snakes/spiders/scorpions at night - which is why I need a bright light.
I use the spotlight function outside. Inside, the flood option is pretty nice. You basically have no hotspot at all in flood mode. But, the edge of the light cone opens up a bit, and the light is consistent all the way thru. You have no single bright area, but the entire light cone is exactly the same. It is an interesting feature - but mainly one most useful in an indoor environment (like a single room).
Here is a pic of the new Coleman Max.
The claimed stats are:
110 Lumens
3 hours of battery life
125 meters
Water Resistant
I also like the pointed area around the reflector. It's sort of like some of the Surefire lights with the front edges.
(sorry, but the package got ripped when opening it)
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/mistershipwreck/light2.jpg
-------------
Coleman Max 115 Lumen light:
Today, I decided that I wanted to replace my old Xenon Brinkman two 123 battery light. It has served me well for years, and before all these new LED lights came out, its the typical kind of small tactical style light we all used to use. I even used to have this light mounted on a PS90 with scope rings a few years ago.
I bought the very last spot-to-flood Coleman Max on the shelves yesterday (and another Wal-Mart didn't have any). However, I saw another AAA Coleman Max model hanging on the peg. It was of similar size (I didn't want a tiny, tiny flashlight - I like a larger reflector). And, it advertised 115 lumens. I thought I'd give it a shot, and I picked it up this evening.
The stats are:
115 lumens
84 meter distance
6 hours of battery life.
This light works well. I bought it for indoor use, if things go bump in the night inside. It lights up a room well enough. The halo of light isn't quite as wide as my old Xenon Brinkman, but it's almost as wide. But, what is noticeable is that the edges of the light halo are brighter than the old xenon Brinkman. The xenon Brinkman has some dark areas in the halo. This LED Coleman's halo is consistent, like most LED lights.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/mistershipwreck/max2.jpg
-------------
Comparison between the two:
Now, to compare the two Colemans with each other. The 110 Lumen light (spot/flood light) has a brighter hotspot. It's also a noticably brighter light, and it shines further outdoors - which is what I bought it for (the listed stats give it a longer range too).
Indoors, however, the 115 Coleman Max lights up a greater area of a room. The diffused light around the hot spot is brighter on the 115 lumen Coleman Max light than it is on the 110 lumen light. So, it's better for lighting up an entire room (instead of just a smaller area), but admittedly it doesn't shine as far of a distance as the 110 spot/flood Coleman. And, the hotspot itself is a little dimmer on the 115 lumen light..
At first when comparing the two, I was tempted to take back the newer 115 lumen light, as it didn't seem as bright as the 110 lumen (spot/flood) light I bought the day before. But, I took the time to do some indoor/outdoor comparisons of both lights before I finally made up my mind.
The newer 115 lumen Coleman light would not have satisfied me for my outdoor purpose, had I bought it first. But, I like that the tailcap switch on it allows for temporary activation w/o pressing the switch all the way to lock it on. That works great for my purpose of being an indoor "bump in the night" light. I like that feature, as it's been on all of my old xenon tactical lights (A streamlight Scorpion and two of the same Brinkman Xenon lights). I need not turn it permanently on - but just hit the button temporarily to quickly pulse the light as needed.
The 110 lumen spot/flood Coleman doesn't do that. One must click the switch cB]completely[/B] to make it work. So, for my indoor purpose, that doesn't work as well. But for my outdoor use, it doesn't matter. I'm just out locking up the dog with it.
So, each light works well for its intended purpose. Both were around the $25 mark at Wal-Mart.
I love my Inova XO3, and it's brighter than both, and shines further. But, it is $50. The Inova is my everyday carry light. But, I keep it in the closet at night. And, I wanted to replace two old lights with better ones - lights I use for special purposes. For the money, I am satisfied.
I was tempted to order a Fenix TK20 today online for my nightstand light, but it's $50 I didn't want to spend. And, if I did want to spend it, I may have just bought another Inova...
So, I took a chance on this. For the price, both lights are good. If not for the taillight issue, I think I'd rather have 2 of the 110 Lumen spot/flood lights. But, the difference in the tailcaps does matter depending on the intended use.
Note - I am using rechargable NiMH AA batteries in bith, which should give me better performance.
Coleman Max 110 Lumen light (Spot/Flood option):
My fav light is my LED Inova XO3 - it is super bright. But, I really didn't feel like dropping $50 on another flashlight - especially for one I'l likely only use for 2-3 minutes every night. So, I started looking at other less expensive possibilities...
Yesterday, I purchased a Coleman Max 110 Lumen AAA flashlight at Wal-Mart. What made this one interesting is that it has an option to go from spotlight to floodlight.
I needed a light for when I am outside locking up my dog in his kennel at night. The section of yard he is in is like a long dogrun - so while not extremely wide (14 feet wide), this part of the yard is long. I tried out this light last night, and it does exactly what I need it to do outside. This is MUCH better than the 3W AAA Brinkman LED I was using previously. In spotlight mode, it lit up the area that I needed to see. I want to be careful not to run into any snakes/spiders/scorpions at night - which is why I need a bright light.
I use the spotlight function outside. Inside, the flood option is pretty nice. You basically have no hotspot at all in flood mode. But, the edge of the light cone opens up a bit, and the light is consistent all the way thru. You have no single bright area, but the entire light cone is exactly the same. It is an interesting feature - but mainly one most useful in an indoor environment (like a single room).
Here is a pic of the new Coleman Max.
The claimed stats are:
110 Lumens
3 hours of battery life
125 meters
Water Resistant
I also like the pointed area around the reflector. It's sort of like some of the Surefire lights with the front edges.
(sorry, but the package got ripped when opening it)
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/mistershipwreck/light2.jpg
-------------
Coleman Max 115 Lumen light:
Today, I decided that I wanted to replace my old Xenon Brinkman two 123 battery light. It has served me well for years, and before all these new LED lights came out, its the typical kind of small tactical style light we all used to use. I even used to have this light mounted on a PS90 with scope rings a few years ago.
I bought the very last spot-to-flood Coleman Max on the shelves yesterday (and another Wal-Mart didn't have any). However, I saw another AAA Coleman Max model hanging on the peg. It was of similar size (I didn't want a tiny, tiny flashlight - I like a larger reflector). And, it advertised 115 lumens. I thought I'd give it a shot, and I picked it up this evening.
The stats are:
115 lumens
84 meter distance
6 hours of battery life.
This light works well. I bought it for indoor use, if things go bump in the night inside. It lights up a room well enough. The halo of light isn't quite as wide as my old Xenon Brinkman, but it's almost as wide. But, what is noticeable is that the edges of the light halo are brighter than the old xenon Brinkman. The xenon Brinkman has some dark areas in the halo. This LED Coleman's halo is consistent, like most LED lights.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/mistershipwreck/max2.jpg
-------------
Comparison between the two:
Now, to compare the two Colemans with each other. The 110 Lumen light (spot/flood light) has a brighter hotspot. It's also a noticably brighter light, and it shines further outdoors - which is what I bought it for (the listed stats give it a longer range too).
Indoors, however, the 115 Coleman Max lights up a greater area of a room. The diffused light around the hot spot is brighter on the 115 lumen Coleman Max light than it is on the 110 lumen light. So, it's better for lighting up an entire room (instead of just a smaller area), but admittedly it doesn't shine as far of a distance as the 110 spot/flood Coleman. And, the hotspot itself is a little dimmer on the 115 lumen light..
At first when comparing the two, I was tempted to take back the newer 115 lumen light, as it didn't seem as bright as the 110 lumen (spot/flood) light I bought the day before. But, I took the time to do some indoor/outdoor comparisons of both lights before I finally made up my mind.
The newer 115 lumen Coleman light would not have satisfied me for my outdoor purpose, had I bought it first. But, I like that the tailcap switch on it allows for temporary activation w/o pressing the switch all the way to lock it on. That works great for my purpose of being an indoor "bump in the night" light. I like that feature, as it's been on all of my old xenon tactical lights (A streamlight Scorpion and two of the same Brinkman Xenon lights). I need not turn it permanently on - but just hit the button temporarily to quickly pulse the light as needed.
The 110 lumen spot/flood Coleman doesn't do that. One must click the switch cB]completely[/B] to make it work. So, for my indoor purpose, that doesn't work as well. But for my outdoor use, it doesn't matter. I'm just out locking up the dog with it.
So, each light works well for its intended purpose. Both were around the $25 mark at Wal-Mart.
I love my Inova XO3, and it's brighter than both, and shines further. But, it is $50. The Inova is my everyday carry light. But, I keep it in the closet at night. And, I wanted to replace two old lights with better ones - lights I use for special purposes. For the money, I am satisfied.
I was tempted to order a Fenix TK20 today online for my nightstand light, but it's $50 I didn't want to spend. And, if I did want to spend it, I may have just bought another Inova...
So, I took a chance on this. For the price, both lights are good. If not for the taillight issue, I think I'd rather have 2 of the 110 Lumen spot/flood lights. But, the difference in the tailcaps does matter depending on the intended use.
Note - I am using rechargable NiMH AA batteries in bith, which should give me better performance.