Flashlight Comparison (2 Black Bear Products)

[JohnKSa]

Well, I'm not going to go so far as to call this a review since I haven't done tests on battery life, etc. But there is some useful information here.

Here are the flashlights I'm going to compare.

Standard Maglite 6 D Cell

Black Bear "Search & Rescue" (Looks like a Maglite 4 D Cell) (11 high-output NiMH AA Cells)

Maglite 3 D Cell with a Luxeon 3 Watt LED replacement Bulb

Aitec 3 Watt LED 3 C Cell Flashlight

Black Bear "Bear Cub" (Looks like a Maglite 2 C Cell) (2 Li-Ion 3.7V Rechargeables)

Coast 3 Watt LED 3N Cell Flashlight

Surefire 6P​

The Maglites and the Surefire got new batteries for the test, the S&R and the Bear Cub batteries were charged within the last two days and had not been used an appreciable amount. The Aitec and the Coast 3 Watt hadn't had enough use since the last battery change to matter significantly. Anyway, I just threw them in because they were handy.

Here's the lineup.

Then I did some comparison shots with the beams shined on a blank white surface in a dark room. Distance from lens to wall was about 10 feet with all the flashlights.

I used the 3 DCell Maglite with the 3 Watt Luxeon as sort of a comparison standard for the heck of it. You'll notice that it appears very white when compared to the other LED flashlights but very blue next to the incandescent bulbs.

You can see that the Luxeon/Maglite definitely is going to win the throw contest in this 3Watt LED shootout. It's also a bit brighter than the other two. The little Coast is actually pretty impressive for its size, but try finding N Cells sometime...

Here are two standard flashlights for comparison with the 3Watt Luxeon/Maglite. It definitely holds its own against the Surefire (especially when it comes to throw, but even in terms of light output). The 6D Dell Maglite clearly has a bit of an edge in this shot.

Ok, now what we've all been waiting for! These two shots compare the Bear Cub with the Surefire in the first shot and the 6 DCell Maglite in the second.

The Bear Cub is noticeably brighter than these competitors and is concentrating it's light output into a tight beam.

Well, how about some real competition for the Bear Cub? (Continued in next post.)

 

[JohnKSa]

This shot compares the Black Bear Search & Rescue to the Bear Cub. The S&R is putting out around 850 Lumens to the Bear Cubs 180 or so. Not really a fair comparison, but the Bear Cub stands up well. Note how the Luxeon/Maglite 3W is definitely out if its league.

And one more with the Bear Cub vs the Search & Rescue with a standard 6D Cell Maglite for comparison.

Again, it's not hard to tell that the 6 DCell Maglite is outclassed while the Bear Cub is still washing out the photo in the center of the beam. The S&R just puts out a phenomenal amount of light. I don't have anything that comes close.

Ok, a few particulars.

With the exception of the Black Bear custom flashlights and the 3 DCell Maglite which has a drop-in Luxeon 3 Watt LED replacement bulb, all of the other flashlights are stock.

The Black Bear "Search & Rescue" is a converted 4 D Cell Maglite that uses 11 rechargeable, high output NiMH AA cells in conversion containers to drive the VERY bright bulb. According to the maker, this flashlight will run about 1 hour on a full charge. It comes with charged batteries, a charger and a spare bulb. Spare bulbs are also available from Black Bear.

The Black Bear "Bear Cub" is a converted 2 C Cell Maglite that uses two 3.7V rechargeable Lithium batteries to power a Xenon Magnum Star bulb. That's a bit more voltage than that bulb would normally see, and the output is correspondingly higher. That's why the pictures show that it actually outperforms a 6 Cell Maglite both in light output and throw. The flashlight operates for 1.5 hours on a full charge, and the Lithium Ion batteries don't self-discharge like NiCad or NiMH batteries do when sitting. The beam is surprisingly tight out of this flashlight--the reflector and bulb just work well together. It comes with a spare bulb, charged batteries and a charger as well. Spare bulbs are available from Black Bear or can be purchased where Maglite products are sold.

Here are more thorough descriptions of the Black Bear flashlights.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=125447

Pictures by Lisa (credited upon request).

 

[hso]

Why the oval distortion to the Black Bears?

 

[JohnKSa]

I adjusted them for the tightest beam I could get. In both cases that resulted in a beam that wasn't round. You can get a beam that's round, but it will usually have the typical Maglite dead spots in the center. My 6 Cell adjusts to a better round beam without dead spots than any other stock Maglite I have owned.

I did the same kind of adjustment with the 3WLuxeon/Maglite but in that case I got a very tight beam that's also round and with no dead spots. I've seen others comment that the Luxeon 3W drop-in for the Maglites tends to be like that.

For some reason, the shape of the beam is exaggerated in the pictures--it's not really as apparent to the eye. I think it has to do with the limited dynamic range of the camera. To the eye, the beams aren't as distinct as they are in the pics. The pics show only the main beam of the light as if they cut off at the edge of the main beams, but the secondary beams are very obvious to the eye. For example, the S&R, has a very bright secondary beam that covered the whole area of the picture. You can see a bit of the effect of the secondary beams when the joint between the wall and ceiling is visible in some of the pics.

Lastly, shining the beam on a flat, white surface really highlights the beam shape. I've used these lights a bit, and you never notice that the beams aren't round when actually using them.

 

[JShirley]

Thanks, John. I hope to have a test conducted with the BC and the 951 II within the next two nights.

John

 

[JohnKSa]

Great! I'll be looking forward to it. I've been learning about rechargeable batteries and chargers and in the process I may have dorked up (technical term) the set of AA batteries I used in my S&R for this test. I'll use your results as a sanity check!

 

[ABTOMAT]

You can't get round beams in lights with large filaments, due to the light source being oblong. Even Surefire hasn't beaten that.

These are nifty lights. Just a little of what's been collectively developed over on CPF. I've been meaning to make some, but you know how projects go... Might take a crack at one of the 2000+ lumen mods when I get the chance.

 

[black bear]

ABTOMAT,

Please let me know when you tackle one of those 2,000 plus modifications.
I have been working on one of the 2,000 lumens plus projects, as a stunt they produce a lot of light that thanks to the large filaments of the bulbs in the 50 to 100 watts is spread in a flood all over the place.

The MAG 951 II will throw much farther.

The initials results I got with a Westinghouse 75 watts T-4 bulb, were good in the lumens department (with a lot of flood) but the light turns very hot after 3 minutes, and cook off the springs that push the batteries after 5 minutes.
The springs get so hot that they loose the temper and collapse, the batteries break contact and the light stop working.
These springs have worked properly in the 1050 lumens light for 45 minutes continuously and in the 852 lumens for one hour, but they fail after 5 minutes in the 2,000 lumens light!!??



The light gets so hot after 4 minutes that become uncomfortable to hold.

The only batteries AA Nimhs capable of producing the necessary amperage are the cbp1650 (actually 1400 mah) with such a low capacity the light will not work for more than a few minutes (9 or 10 if I can make a high heat resistant battery carrier)
These batteries are flat topped and require nipples made out of tiny magnets.

For the extra 1,000 lumens that can not be properly focused I don't think it is a good idea to put up with the dangerous excessive heat and very short runtime of the 2,000 lumens modifications.

Mica shields have to be used to stop the heat of the bulb to migrate into the switch and melt the solder.



To impress somebody for a few minutes the light is okay, but as a working flashlight they are very impractical.

Best regards
black bear
(Juan C.)

 

[ABTOMAT]

Heck, never said it would be practical. I've been thinking about making a new front end/switch carrier to handle the heat of the 1200+ lumen bulbs. Or just a whole new body with a simple SF-style twistie. Maybe something with a different battery layout for higher current. Gotta use my basement machine shop for something. Seemed like those would be fun to experiment with after doing some Mag85's like your "951."

About the spring issue. They don't pass current all that well on their own. Maybe taking a page out of industrial equipment would help--use the spring only for pressure and a copper braid for juice.

 

[VWTim]

In that bear cub, you should try a Pelican Big-D low bulb. This is what's called a Roar of the Pelican, or ROP on CPF. I've also got a hotdriver setup and a bored host sitting here waiting for CBP's to get back in stock. 2800 lumens should have a nice giggle factor.

 

[black bear]

VWTim,
I did try the 3854 low bulb from Pelican, the batteries don't have enough amperage to move it.
I can move higher bulbs with unprotected batteries but they are very dangerous to recharge and use.

We all should keep pushing for AW to make available the C format in Lithium Ion and get more runtime, and maybe higher amperage in protected batteries.

Best regards
black bear

 

[JohnKSa]

I just bought a battery tester and, as I suspected, the batteries from my S&R are reading only 60% charged. So take the S&R pictures with a grain of salt. I don't believe the batteries were really at full capacity during the test due to an error on my part.

 

[VWTim]

Hmm, I thought I had heard of people using the Pelican Low bulbs with protected cells, but I must have misread, or people were using cells that weren't really protected as seems to be happening a lot lately. Aren't the new AW protected cells rated for higher discharge?
Some Li Ion C's would be great, make my Tri Lux a lot nicer

 

[black bear]

VWTim,
Yes, you are right! I have read in CPF that a certain web-site is selling umprotected batteries as protected.
This can be very dangerous when charging or if over discharging just a little bit, it can ruin the cell

It is better to buy from a reputable provider such as AW in CPF that understand well these batteries.

black bear

 

[JShirley]

John,

Haven't gotten around to full test yet. When I was doing some shots a couple of nights ago (with Oleg taking the pics), I did a couple of illustration shots showing how necessary lighting was, by pics of drunk holding bottle and opener vs. pics of armed intruder.

Oleg, being Oleg, he couldn't help but take the "intruder" shot and play with it a little...

The "problem" is, the Black Bear 951 II with the current (flood) reflector, is so bright and floody that most viewers can't seem to tell I'm being illuminated with a flashlight at all!

John

 

[JohnKSa]

I finally did a runtime test on the S&R. It's providing about 64 minutes of full brightness runtime on a full charge!

Should have mentioned this in the first post.

The Black Bear Search & Rescue puts out 850 Lumens. The BearCub puts out 220 Lumens.

 

[black bear]

Nice review and pictures John, thank you.


RECENTLY I HAD CHANGED THE MANE OF MY M@G 951 II FLASHLIGHT TO BOREALIS, AS THE MAG COMPANY HAD ADVISED ME THAT "MAG" IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.

SO, THE BOREALIS IS THE SAME FLASHLIGHT THAT I HAVE BEEN OFFERING IN THIS FORUM FOR OVER A YEAR AND A HALF.

THANKS TO ALL MY CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT

BEST REGARDS
BLACK BEAR

 

[Kevlarman]

Juan, did Mag strongarm you into changing the name of your product?

Heck, "mag" could be short for anything:
magnum
magazine
magnetic
magnesium
etc.

Pick one that isn't "Mag Instrument"

 

[JohnKSa]

Just trying to put up a fight can easily bankrupt a small business.

Here are some samples of common sense at work.

A college team forcing a highschool team to change the way their mascot is drawn.

A restaurant forced to change it's name from the "Pink Cadillac" by a movie company.

And I believe that Leupold made XS Sights (Formerly Ashley Outdoors-- or AO Sights) change their name because Leupold claimed that AO (Adjustable Objective) was trademarked by them.