NOVIGEAR SL2 FLASHLIGHT

Novigear SL2 Flashlight, retail $27 (http://cgi.ebay.com...)
Manufactured by Novigear (www.novigear.com)
Last updated 02-25-08




This is a good looking, nice feeling 3-C cell Luxeon LED flashlight in an almost all aluminum case. The only non-metal parts visible from the outside are the rubberised pushbutton on/off switch, and the optic of the Luxeon LED.

Speaking of the Luxeon LED, it's using what I believe is an NX-01 collimator, so it's probably a low-dome ("batwing") LED, not a high-dome ("lambertian").


SIZE



Load the flashlight up with batteries first (see below), and then it should be ready to use.

Press the rubberised button on the side of the head firmly until it clicks and then release it to turn the light on, and press/release it the same way again to turn the light off.

For momentary (signalling) use, press the button less firmly (before it clicks) and hold it like that to get light, and relieve pressure on the button to get dark.



To change the batteries in your Novigear SL2 flashlight, unscrew and remove the tailcap, and throw it away...O WAIT, YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead. ;-)

Remove the three cells from the barrel, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Place three new C cells in the barrel, button (+) positive end first, then firmly screw the tailcap back on. Aren't you glad you didn't get rid of that tailcap now? ;-)

Current consumption measured at 253mA on the DMM's 2A scale.

The sample I'm testing would not come on, and it was soon determined that the tailcap was not making proper electrical contact with the barrel; unscrewing and tightening it several times was the cure.




The photograph directly above shows the business-end of the flashlight, showing the Luxeon's optic and the reflector. The reflector is there for cosmetic purposes only, and has no optical function in this flashlight. So if it becomes dirty, don't worry about it.

The flashlight is weather resistant, but not waterproof. When the tailcap was removed, the flashlight was relieved of batteries, and then the barrel was suctioned on, air was rather easily able to enter somewhere through the head. Looks like it's coming in through the flashlight's bezel, not through the switch. The tail end holds a vaccume, so water should not get in through there. So while it's probably OK to use it in rainy or snowy weather, you should try your darndest to keep it out of streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, lakes, oceansides, docks, puddles of chinchilla pee, snowbanks, mud puddles, sinks, tubs, toilets, fishtanks, dog water bowls, or other places where water or water-like liquids might be found. If you know or suspect it got dredged, take the head and tailcap off, remove the batteries, and set the parts in a warm dry place for a day or two and you ought to be alright. If it fell into seawater or if something peed on it, douche the parts in fresh water before setting them out to dry.

There is no protective window over the Luxeon's optic, so please try not to scratch this optic up, as you cannot replace it.

The flashlight appears to be quite durable. I beat the poor thing against a steel rod 10 times (five times on the barrel and five times on the head), and did not cause it to malfunction. So it should easily be able to withstand typical flashlight accidents, like being dropped, hitting it against a rock face or car door frame, and the like.

The flashlight has knurling (texturising) on the body, so retention (the ability to hold the flashlight when your hands are cold, wet, or oily) should not be a problem.

The one thing I noticed right away about this flashlight was that it was dimmer than I expected from a Luxeon LED flashlight. This isn't necessarily bad, but I did notice it. The current consumption on brand new batteries was 253mA. Standard current for a white Luxeon LED is 350mA. So it really is dimmer, but the battery life will be longer.



Beam photograph at ~12".
Measures 94,000mcd on a Meterman LM631 light meter.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of the LED in this flashlight.


ProMetric analysis
Beam cross-sectional analysis.
Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.



TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay, and was received on 04-23-04.
I purchased the flashlight at this link. When the link expires on 07-15-04, you can go to the View seller's other items link, and see if they're still selling this flashlight.


UPDATE: 00-00-00



PROS:
Feels really nice in the hand
Sturdy aluminum construction


CONS:
LED is dimmer than expected
LED has a slight but noticeable greenish tinge
No window or lens protecting the LED optics
Not very water-resistant, definitely not submersible
Tailcap may not be electrically conductive unless you screw with it


    MANUFACTURER: Novigear
    PRODUCT TYPE: Medium sized handheld flashlight
    LAMP TYPE: 1.2 watt Luxeon Star LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: Central hotspot with dimmer, wide ring outside that
    SWITCH TYPE: Pushbutton on/off/momentary on head
    BEZEL: Acrylic optic inset into metal bezel
    BATTERY: 3x C cells
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 253mA
    WATER RESISTANT: Splash-resistant at minimum
    SUBMERSIBLE: No
    ACCESSORIES: None
    WARRANTY: Unknown/TBA

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Star RatingStar Rating





Novigear SL2 Flashlight * www.novigear.com






Do you manufacture or sell an LED flashlight, task light, utility light, or module of some kind? Want to see it tested by a real person, under real working conditions? Do you then want to see how your light did? If you have a sample available for this type of real-world, real-time testing, please contact me at ledmuseum@gmail.com.

Please visit this web page for contact information.

Unsolicited flashlights, LEDs, and other products appearing in the mail are welcome, and it will automatically be assumed that you sent it in order to have it tested and evaluated for this site.
Be sure to include contact info or your company website's URL so visitors here will know where to purchase your product.


WHITE 5500-6500K InGaN+phosphor 
ULTRAVIOLET 370-390nm GaN 
BLUE 430nm GaN+SiC
BLUE 450 and 473nm InGaN
BLUE Silicon Carbide
TURQUOISE 495-505nm InGaN
GREEN 525nm InGaN 
YELLOW-GREEN 555-575mn GaAsP & related
YELLOW 585-595nm
AMBER 595-605nm
ORANGE 605-620nm
ORANGISH-RED 620-635nm
RED 640-700nm
INFRARED 700-1300nm
True RGB Full Color LED
Spider (Pirrahna) LEDs
SMD LEDs
True violet (400-418nm) LEDs
Agilent Barracuda & Prometheus LEDs
Oddball & Miscellaneous LEDs
Programmable RGB LED modules / fixtures
Where to buy these LEDs 
Links to other LED-related websites
The World's First Virtual LED Museum
Legal horse puckey, etc.
RETURN TO OPENING/MAIN PAGE
LEDSaurus (on-site LED Mini Mart)



This page is a frame from a website.
If you arrived on this page through an outside link,you can get the "full meal deal" by clicking here.