LED Torch Review 28 led vs luxeon

Hawk Tuah

Hawk Tuah

Hawk Tuah

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Ok, a while ago I asked for advice about an LED torch I was looking at. I'm not talking about £100 torches. I'm talking about the kind of torch you can pick up off ebay for around £10. The type of torch I'd imagine the majority of people would buy.

Ok, so the two torches in question are a 5w luxeon type torch and a 28 LED torch. I've had the 28 LED torch for a while now. In fact this is my second one. Its a good size, it lasts a long while and I really like the way it illuminates. However with the newer luxeon, I was interested to find out which was better, so now I have both torches I though perhaps one or two of you might find this useful.

First off, the luxeon type is a little larger than the 28 led torch. The LED torch gets away with being smaller because it doesn't need a reflector. When you take the reflector off the luxeon, they are very similar in size, but then the luxeon is more like a candle than a focused beam.

ledside800xz4.jpg


ledvertical800vd3.jpg


Straight on you can see the different types of bulbs.

ledfront800ac0.jpg
 
Now for the light beams. First here is the 28 LED torch. As you can see it has quite an even amound of light in a relatively unfocused pattern. This is very useful for general use.

led28led800lk7.jpg


Here is the beam from the luxeon. You can see a very different pattern from this torch. The focused beam is far brighter, but it only covers area. There is also a relatively bright halo which may be useful.

ledluxeon800vc8.jpg


Here you can see a comparison with the two beams together. The two torches have very different characteristics. You can see how much brighter the focused beam of the luxeon is. However the 28led gives a good spread of light.

ledsbeamcomparison800nb9.jpg


I suppose which one you prefer is down to which lighting pattern you think best suits.
 
def led, Led's give a much better working zone of light. I would prefer that to a large area of semi darkness. Also I Imagine the Led batterys last far longer.

I've got a few led ones myself there great.
 
When I was in Japan I did an overnight ascent of Mt Fuji and all I had with me was a crappy 2 led free torch thing I got from Microsoft after going to some tif forum thing there. Stupid friend said "nah we won't need a big torch" or something along those lines :(

But the little thing was pretty good and I'd have been pretty much stuffed without it, so I'm probably going to get an LED torch at somepoint :)
 
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AcidHell2 said:
def led, Led's give a much better working zone of light. I would prefer that to a large area of semi darkness. Also I Imagine the Led batterys last far longer.

I've got a few led ones myself there great.
Click to expand...
You realise they're both LEDs?
 
It's a comparison of single large LED vs. lots of smaller ones, with the result being spot vs. flood. Buy one of each for different uses, right tool for the job and all that.
 
blitz2163 said:
luxeon is a type of superbright led iirc
Click to expand...

Yeah it is. they usually come in 1, 3 and 5W versions.

Bug One did you get the luxeon from the bay in the end?
 
Yer.

These are the two torches in question. I chose this particular luxeon because it ran off 3 aaa batteries. Dont want to have to invest in a whole new charger and battery set. Got loads of good rechargeable aaa's already.

28 LED Torch - £5.38!

Luxeon Type LED Torch - £6.98!

Its amazing how cheap these things car, considering the work that must go into making them, then flying them half way across the world.
 
Good timing, i'm in need of another torch.

Had a 3w luxeon torch which was totally amazing for the amount of light it gave out. Then i broke it, so i bought another one. Which was utterly pants and gave out a feeble light.

This tells me i had a dud and didn't just get lucky with the first one i had.

Cheers! :D
 
Just ordered a 21 LED torch for £2.80 delivered :cool:

They do a 100 LED one for £9 and a 128 LED one for £12.50.
 
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Cree XR-E > Luxeon

and I hate to break it to you, but that torch probably has a fake Luxeon in there. Real 5W luxeons have a larger spot of light. Looks like you got some good torches for the money tho... How long did they take to arrive? 1 weekish? I think I've used the same seller before. :)
 
MikeHunt79 said:
Cree XR-E > Luxeon

and I hate to break it to you, but that torch probably has a fake Luxeon in there. Real 5W luxeons have a larger spot of light. Looks like you got some good torches for the money tho... How long did they take to arrive? 1 weekish? I think I've used the same seller before. :)
Click to expand...

I agree here, seeing as a luxeon LED would cost way more than the torch on its own, let alone the system behind it. There is a reason Luxeon torches from well known brands cost so much.

Did you post in the other thread Bug One posted before he bought the torch? We had this conversation in that thread too. :)
 
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