Led Lenser and Exped Gear Fail on trip

[mickb]

Hi guys, two probs, thanks for any help.


1.P7 Led Lenser, last week wouldn't turn off fully, always had a faint beam coming from the bulb. Also would not turn on with battery cap fully screwed in place, I needed to loosen it and jiggle it to activate the beam. Discovered there was a lump of grey dust/corrosion stuck on the inside of the metal housing, and grey dust all over the batteries and contacts. Funnily they were only a couple months old and torch had not been used much. I cleaned all of it off and replaced batteries but problem persists. Obviously I have beggared something in it? Its a heavy torch anyway I could always use this as an excuse to get a lighter one, however would still like it working to sell it off at least.

2. Exped SIM Lite 3.8 CM 2010 model, bought from a retailer last week. First week out with it and 2nd day sleeping it deflated, will not stay inflated more than half an hour or so. I left it in direct outback sunlight for almost a day accidentally( tarp blew down in wind) whilst I was out fossicking. Not sure if this could have effected it? Have tried the old tire tube method in the tub, cannot find any airbubbles. Valve also looks fine and closes properly. Retailer said it can only be one or the other and that these mats are checked at the factory by being blown up for 72 hours. However if this is a 2010 model clearance was it checked at the factory 5 years ago? Thanks for any suggestions.

[McGinnis]

I had the same issue with a P7. I RMA'd it via BCF and it was repaired. Works well now.

[mickb]

Thanks I might try that. Someone suggested corrosion is my fault for leaving batteries in. I'll wear that, but would have thought for the money of a p7 it should not be a problem over 2-3 months. I have an old army right angled torch that has never been without batteries and a kitchen draw full of kids cheapo $5 led torches the same.

[keithy]

Thanks I might try that. Someone suggested corrosion is my fault for leaving batteries in. I'll wear that, but would have thought for the money of a p7 it should not be a problem over 2-3 months. I have an old army right angled torch that has never been without batteries and a kitchen draw full of kids cheapo $5 led torches the same.

The grey dust is most likely residue from a leaky alkaline battery. The acid (potassium hydroxide usually) really does some internal damage. Even if you've managed to clean the visible damage, the connections may be corroded and not making full contact. I've had that happen to a few torches before, some like the symptoms of yours. One of them the acid ate through the anodising so the torch wouldn't turn on at all. I've now switched to Low Self Discharge NiMH batteries, which has a different chemistry that doesn't release gas and cause leaks while discharging.

You should try the suggestion of getting a warranty repair if possible. Although it probably is a good excuse to get a newer brighter and smaller torch!

I've found that alkaline batteries aren't what they used to be. I never used to have issues with duracells leaking, but in the past five years or so, have noticed more duracells leaking and damaging equipment. I've opened up many toys from my nieces and nephews where the duracells leaked. Apparently some battery companies may replace the battery if it leaks before it's "use by" date, but I've never bothered following it up. I've now bought my sister NiMH rechargeables for her kids toys.

[mickb]

Thanks Keith, sounds like it spot on then. Regards batteries and tech gear yes appears to be a sign of the economic times. Company profits are down so making us buy more replacements keeps profits up, as you say most folk don't chase small warranty claims. I am finding more and more a high end item goes on the blink and I am reaching for a cheapo backup that has been sitting in a draw for 15 years yet still works, until I can get the new one working again.

You mentioned a newer brighter option than a P7, any suggestions on that, possibly a lighter weight unit as well?

[wayno]

black diamond infinity pack, not made anymore although they have another range of packs with the same belt but heavier materials
the pivoting belt rubbed against the pack body and wore holes through the pack....
i've patched it with sailmakers tape and will see how that holds, i've found its usually pretty robust tape, not sure if i'll try any other tape if it fails or see if i can get it professionally patched

[mickb]

Hi wayno I think you meant to post on the other thread

[wayno]

Hi wayno I think you meant to post on the other thread

the thread is about gear fails.. its on topic accoring to the subject thats why i posted it here

[rslt]

Both myself and a friend had the same problem with a P7, tried getting a replacement butt cap from the aus supplier but all to no avail. Tried fixing it but ended up ruining it and threw it in the bin.
Got a wolf eyes sniper II. Incredible torch. Bit heavier though but worth every gram.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[keithy]

You mentioned a newer brighter option than a P7, any suggestions on that, possibly a lighter weight unit as well?

Back when there weren't many options for LED torches, LED lenser were a good option, but these days, they are only have a splash proof waterproof rating, and use unregulated drivers, and officially can't use NiMH cells (even though they do work for the most part), can't tail stand and are a bit on the pricey side.

The other issues I have with the Led Lensers are that they roll easily, have poor heat sinking, and have no function memory.

Coming from a 4xAAA battery torch, there are other options that use a single AA that are similar or brighter than the P7, and have a similar or greater throw difference, and are significantly lighter (my current single AA torch outputs around 150 lumens for about 2 hours and weighs around 65g with a NiMH AA battery). I think the P7's output was around 150-200lumens, the P7.2 output bumped it up to around 320 lumens.

I am about to do a review on a single AA torch I've had for about a month now, but these are some single AA torches that I had been considering:
Fenix E12, Nitecore EA11, Olight S15, Nitecore Sens AA, Zebralight SC52, Sunwayman R10A.

There are other options as well, these are just the ones I was looking at, and all of them are well under 100grams (a single AA torch with battery is around 60grams). If you go to a two x AA torch, those manufacturers also do models with 2xAA, and the output/runtimes are increased.

They all have their pluses and minuses - and some can use Lithium ion 3.7V 14500 batteries as well. For me, my criteria was:

• single AA, ability to use 14500 would be nice
• IPX7/8 waterproof
• output of at least 100lumens,
• low mode would be nice,
• mode memory also nice,
• belt clip included or available (which helps when using with a headlamp holder),
• can tail stand so I can use as a lantern with a diffuser
• focus zoom would be nice, but the focus mechanisms usually have an impact on the waterproof rating.
• physical lockout to prevent battery drain/accidental pocket switch ons

If you want to go up to 4xAA torches, and candlepowerforums has a good roundup of these options out there. These are larger torches though, about the size of, but a bit thinner than a beer can. These can weigh a little more than the P7, but can output significantly more, up to 900lumens. Here is the thread on CPF: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... php?393409

Most of these manufacturers are emerging Chinese LED torch/charger companies that make some good kit, but local distributors may be hard to find, and those that do tend to charge more than buying it from Hong Kong/China directly. If you go the overseas buying route though, you generally take care of warranty issues yourself.

For Zebralight, locally simon mentioned here viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18044&start=30#p274623 that he was now a distributor for their products, and further down in the thread there is another retailer mentioned who stocks the ZL SC52W locally as well.

[mickb]

Hi wayno I think you meant to post on the other thread

the thread is about gear fails.. its on topic accoring to the subject thats why i posted it here

Actually its not on topic, as the OP this was a separate thread to get help with two specific problems I am having.

The gear fail thread you are after where everyone is contributing is above mine.If you had read the actual conversation of the thread this would have been pretty clear

[GPSGuided]

Actually, it's not clear to me either that this is a 'private' thread. I also thought it was an open discussion thread. In any case, in a public forum, messages are subject to various interpretations. Unless the opening message is well written and clear, any complainers really should host their own blog instead.

I was going to post something too but couldn't think of any gear failure that was interesting.

[wayno]

sorry about that but, nope that wasnt clear at all the heading makes it look like another general thread about gear failure, and should people have to read through a thread to pick up its intent?
i only look at the active threads list that throws up the latest topic rather than sifting through specific sub threads, often dont have time to sift through all the threads so the active topic one works for me...

[mickb]

Actually, it's not clear to me either that this is a 'private' thread. I also thought it was an open discussion thread. In any case, in a public forum, messages are subject to various interpretations. Unless the opening message is well written and clear, any complainers really should host their own blog instead.

I was going to post something too but couldn't think of any gear failure that was interesting.

Mate I don't read every comment on thread either, but checking the OP's first post is usually a good habit . That said I don't mind if people want to add their gear fails to this one, I only mentioned it to wayno as thought he might have wanted his post to be in the actual gear fail thread that has all the coverage. I have changed the title anyway to avoid confusion

[GPSGuided]

Mate I don't read every comment on thread either, but checking the OP's first post is usually a good habit . That said I don't mind if people want to add their gear fails to this one, I only mentioned it to wayno as thought he might have wanted his post to be in the actual gear fail thread that has all the coverage. I have changed the title anyway to avoid confusion

Is it even worth getting all uptight about it? There's nothing to 'mate' about here. It's a bit too late to edit the title and the original post.

On a forum and for a thread, the more participants being involved the more likely there'll be some useful comments. Excluding and nitpicking is the surest way to close the door on a thread and turn it stone cold.

[mickb]

You mentioned a newer brighter option than a P7, any suggestions on that, possibly a lighter weight unit as well?

Back when there weren't many options for LED torches, LED lenser were a good option, but these days, they are only have a splash proof waterproof rating, and use unregulated drivers, and officially can't use NiMH cells (even though they do work for the most part), can't tail stand and are a bit on the pricey side.

The other issues I have with the Led Lensers are that they roll easily, have poor heat sinking, and have no function memory.

Coming from a 4xAAA battery torch, there are other options that use a single AA that are similar or brighter than the P7, and have a similar or greater throw difference, and are significantly lighter (my current single AA torch outputs around 150 lumens for about 2 hours and weighs around 65g with a NiMH AA battery). I think the P7's output was around 150-200lumens, the P7.2 output bumped it up to around 320 lumens.

I am about to do a review on a single AA torch I've had for about a month now, but these are some single AA torches that I had been considering:
Fenix E12, Nitecore EA11, Olight S15, Nitecore Sens AA, Zebralight SC52, Sunwayman R10A.

There are other options as well, these are just the ones I was looking at, and all of them are well under 100grams (a single AA torch with battery is around 60grams). If you go to a two x AA torch, those manufacturers also do models with 2xAA, and the output/runtimes are increased.

They all have their pluses and minuses - and some can use Lithium ion 3.7V 14500 batteries as well. For me, my criteria was:

• single AA, ability to use 14500 would be nice
• IPX7/8 waterproof
• output of at least 100lumens,
• low mode would be nice,
• mode memory also nice,
• belt clip included or available (which helps when using with a headlamp holder),
• can tail stand so I can use as a lantern with a diffuser
• focus zoom would be nice, but the focus mechanisms usually have an impact on the waterproof rating.
• physical lockout to prevent battery drain/accidental pocket switch ons

If you want to go up to 4xAA torches, and candlepowerforums has a good roundup of these options out there. These are larger torches though, about the size of, but a bit thinner than a beer can. These can weigh a little more than the P7, but can output significantly more, up to 900lumens. Here is the thread on CPF: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... php?393409

Most of these manufacturers are emerging Chinese LED torch/charger companies that make some good kit, but local distributors may be hard to find, and those that do tend to charge more than buying it from Hong Kong/China directly. If you go the overseas buying route though, you generally take care of warranty issues yourself.

For Zebralight, locally simon mentioned here viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18044&start=30#p274623 that he was now a distributor for their products, and further down in the thread there is another retailer mentioned who stocks the ZL SC52W locally as well.

Thanks Kiethy, great post! Has opened up a new world to me. gee its tempting to get one of the 4 AA models at that power but I have to stay a bit lightweight. Might settle for whatever gets most horsepower in a 1" body so I can still use it with my hunting mounts.

[mickb]

Mate I don't read every comment on thread either, but checking the OP's first post is usually a good habit . That said I don't mind if people want to add their gear fails to this one, I only mentioned it to wayno as thought he might have wanted his post to be in the actual gear fail thread that has all the coverage. I have changed the title anyway to avoid confusion

Is it even worth getting all uptight about it? There's nothing to 'mate' about here. It's a bit too late to edit the title and the original post.

On a forum and for a thread, the more participants being involved the more likely there'll be some useful comments. Excluding and nitpicking is the surest way to close the door on a thread and turn it stone cold.

'Mate' clearly you are the one doing the nitpicking and getting up tight here. Not sure why you even posted in the first place. I made a comment to help another bloke out, (which had nothing to do with you anyway) then clarified and changed my thread title to avoid confusion. The first post is the same as it was from day 1, had you read it
As to people contributing to a thread and useful comments, you are the only person here who has not actually posted anything on the subject matter.

[GPSGuided]

Because solutions have already been suggested prior. Thread drift is natural in a public forum and until the edits to the original post and topic, it was clear how it all developed.

[mickb]

Because solutions have already been suggested prior. Thread drift is natural in a public forum and until the edits to the original post and topic, it was clear how it all developed.

The original post was never edited, just the title, to assist those who apparently drift a little more than others

[keithy]

Thanks Kiethy, great post! Has opened up a new world to me. gee its tempting to get one of the 4 AA models at that power but I have to stay a bit lightweight. Might settle for whatever gets most horsepower in a 1" body so I can still use it with my hunting mounts.

The smaller 1xAA torches are generally narrower than 1" in the tube usually 0.79" or 20mm, although some have 1" head diameters like the Nitecore EA11 reviewed at CPF here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... m-14500-AA. or the Olight S15 http://www.outdoorswarehouse.com.au/pro ... Torch.html.

Olight make a gun mount that fits 0.79" (20mm) diameter torches http://www.batteryjunction.com/olight-gun-mount.html, but I've not seen anyone selling that locally.

Google the other manufacturers I mentioned, and have a look at their 1xAA or 2xAA model torches. There might be something that suits you there.

Or you could go into the world of rechargeable lithium ion (18650) torches. The output for weight is pretty good, but you need new chargers and batteries. But the outputs are significantly higher than for AA or AAA torches.

[wayno]

did i mention I carry a head torch in my pack when i'm not using it? black diamonds, havent broken yet

[mickb]

Kieth thanks again. I ended doing some surfing and predictably my wallet will suffer from it in the near future.
I was deciding on the lightweight bushwalking option, but one unit that sucked me in that may be able to combine that with hunting for me is the Microfire M2C. Combined IR, white light, UV, Red light LED torch. ( I can make use of three of these light types). Have you heard of these, most of the google searches come back in german. Also the retailer ledtorch?

http://www.ledtorchshop.com.au/categori ... olour.html

[keithy]

Not heard of MicroFire myself. Usually I stick away from Chinese made "insertnamehere" and add "Fire" to the end named companies as they are trying to get some of the familiarity built up by the American made Surefire company. But for the MicroFire, it seems they do make some better quality stuff:

The M2C has a mini review over at CandlePowerForums (incidentally a good place to ask about torch or battery related queries):
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... Multicolor

[andrewa]

FWIW, I've had 2 Ledlenser headlights fail on me, both out of warranty, so I now "rely" on the cheap Chinese copy headlights, which are about 20% of the cost, and have yet to fail for me.

With the Exped, have you tried turning it over in water to find the leak? If the bubbles are coming out underneath, you may not see them. Also, the leak needs to be under quite a bit of pressure to see where the air bubbles escape.

A

[mickb]

Thanks, leak discovered at last, I needed to take a better look in future.

Still tossing up on the torches. Have been on candlepower forums and deciding where I want to put money down.

From basic led lenser replacement to lightweight option I ended moving to trying to get a few different functionailities into the one unit.


White light option
IR option
Red Filter kit
Gun mountable with remote tail switch.

Options are
Nightcore CI6- lots of features at a low cost which sort of worries me..NC gets occasional poor reviews on candlepower from what I can see.
Surefire Vamp 2, Surefire according to the forums the benchmark of durability, minimal features( which I prefer) 2-3 X cost though, not sure has remote tail switch option
Microfire above as mentioned, seems to be around the Nitecore specs wise.

[Hiking Noob]

I was given a LED Lenser head torch as a present and it is great for mechanical work/going under house etc but for hiking it sucked, as there is no protection over the button it just turns on in your pack so every day you gave to remove or flip a battery.

I got my first LED lenser torch close to 10 years ago and it was great, I sent it through the wash numerous times and it still worked, was dropped from first floor lunch room to concrete and still worked, dropped in to numerous puddles or drain tins of coolant and oil and ended up running for about six years.

I use Fenix torches now which are good but don't seem as well built, they do weigh less and don't cost as much so they are fine while I'm not working as a mech.

[Aidan]

Thanks, leak discovered at last, I needed to take a better look in future.

I think I read a comment some where in here that suggested warm to hottish water made it easier to spot bubbles form leaking sleeping mats.

[mickb]

Thanks for those other replies gents. Well I went and bought a light, decided to trial an Armytek Wizard V2 headlamp from this shop
http://www.liteshop.com.au/content/army ... d-headlamp
Its a self contained headlamp, very lightweight also can be deatched and used as an LED torch. Works great its really quite impressive, 6 light levels up to 1050 lumens, but living and learning its probably a bit overkill for my headlamp uses mainly being camp chores.So I am actually going to sell it and drop down to a cheaper AA powered unit. Anyone interested in a week old torch going cheap see the market forum.

[Hiking Noob]

I don't know much about LED drivers but I wonder how they get 1.5hrs runtime at full power from a 2.7AH battery if the LED is a 10W unit?

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

I can't recommend the Zebralights highly enough.

Have two - H501 (a much older model) for bushwalking, and SC51 - also a slightly older model, for work

Both have been bulletproof. Excellent output, runtimes, workmanship.

Don't waste your time on alkalines. They leak, and will be outperformed by NiMH in anything other than low drain applications (such as powerful LED torches).

Head over to candlepowerforums for more information on popular lights. I'd highly recommend you invest in a bunch of eneloops and a quality charger like the MAHA C9000. It's a big initial expense to equip with NiMH, but you'll never have to buy batteries for a long time, nor have them leak and ruin expensive equipment. Plus, it's much better for the environment.

Be wary of cheap, crappy eBay NiMH cells - stick to Eneloops.