Brinkmann Legend LX, retail $19.95 (www.wallmart.com)
Available only at Wall-Mart stores
Last updated 02-08-08
The Legend LX is Brinkmann's latest entry in the flashlight scene. It is designed to be a tactical flashlight for those with budgets for ordinary flashlights.
This little powerhouse packs a surprisingly potent punch for its size, owing to a 5+ watt high pressure xenon lamp and a pair of high energy
lithium DL123 batteries, providing the 6 volts needed by the lamp.
Housed in a sturdy and small all-aluminum body, the Legend features an adjustable focus reflector, rubberized grips, and a tailcap mounted
on/off/blink switch.
Size Reference
The first thing you need to do is get the Legend out of its maximum security plastic prison - its package.
It is unbelievably difficult to open. You *will* need a box knife or very sharp and sturdy scissors for this.
And if you don't want to hack up & mutilate the instruction card, the only way to do this is go along the raised edge. Once you have slit about half
of the pack, you'll be able to get to the goodies tightly locked away inside.
Ok, so you finally have the light and the included set of Sanyo CR123A lithium photograph batteries.
Unscrew the tailcap until it comes off. Place the batteries inside the light, button end (+) facing towards the head.
Then screw the tailpiece back on and tighten until it stops. Another quick twist to be sure it's on there and you're done.
The Legend is equipped with a rather stiff action tailcap switch. It's so stiff, you may want to hold the light with a modified grip.
Let's snap some pictures... *click*... *click*... off to the fotomat we go, and:
Left: How one might hold & activate a tactical type flashlight. The thumb operates the button. Right: How you must hold the Legend in order to activate & deactivate it. The switch is very stiff.
As you can see, you have to hold the Legend a little differently and turn it on & off with your forefinger.
The reason is because the switch is very stiff, and it is recessed into a cavity in the tailcap which the thumb simply cannot reach.
But once you have it turned on, you can hold it any way you like; and the momentary "silent signalling" action of the switch does work with a
a more conventional fist grip as shown on the left.
The LX is focusable. To change the focus (beam width), turn the flashlight on, and turn the head clockwise or counterclockwise until you get the beam you want.
The Legend LX feeds from small but powerful CR123A lithium photograph batteries. Two come with the light.
Unscrew the tailcap, and put both batteries in the barrel with the button end (+) facing the flashlight head.
Then screw the tailcap on until it stops.
Battery life will be measured, but estimates of 60-70 minutes of intermittent runtime per set are realistic.
These batteries can be expensive. Prices vary widely by region; in some areas they're $8 a pair, while in others they've been seen as high
as $14 & change for a single battery!! So it pays to shop around.
For these tests, my supplier for these things is Texas Tactical Supply.
Here you can find Panasonic brand 123 batteries for only $2.49 apiece!
The bulb is a miniature high-intensity xenon fill with a bi-pin style base and straight coiled filament for excellent focusability.
A normal PR flange base lamp usually has an arc-shaped filament that tends to focus less uniformly.
When the bulb goes, change it by unscrewing and removing the head, pulling the old bulb straight out of its receptacle, inserting a new bulb straight down into the receptacle (handle it with kleenex or toilet paper when doing this, so finger oils do not contaminate the glass bulb), screwing the head back on, and adjusting the focus to suit your needs.
Though there is no official documentation, rumor has it the lamp is between 5.2 and 5.4 watts.
Time to measure and see what happens:
With good (brand new to slightly used batteries), the bulb draws 1,200 milliamps. This figures to 7.2 watts (6 volts * 1.2 amps).
This sags fairly quickly to 1,140 milliamps, or 6.84 watts. Now, because the battery voltage will also drop a bit when loaded (this is not measurable due to the construction
of the flashlight), you can probably be safe in saying it's 6 watts even with fresh batteries.
Testing is just getting underway.
For now, here's a random assortment of beam shots from the adjustable focus Legend LX to keep you occupied while-U-wait. :)
These pictures show the Legend being used 10 feet from a target.
One picture at a very wide focus, the other at its narrowest focus.
Spectrographic analysis of the incandescent light blub in this flashlight.
Beam cross-sectional analysis. Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.
UPDATE 02-01-04:
Through several third-party sources, I have heard the Legend LX is now non-focusable. Although the focus is supposed to be preset to a narrow angle, I've read at least one report stating that the LX was not set to this focus. Maybe it was just the bulb, or maybe the QC person at Brinkmann was an egg roll short of a poo poo platter when that particular LX went by his workstation.
The mechanism behind the new fixed-focus design is not known, nor is the method used to change the bulb.
UPDATE 05-12-05:
I heard through an email tonight, the following:
I found the bulbs at Academy tonight, $3.76 a pop here in Austin Texas. The model # on the back of the package says 802-1055-0
This of course refers to the replacement bulbs for the Legend LX.
A telephone number was also furnished: 1-800-468-5252.
PROS:
Feels good in the hand
Very high brightness for its size
CONS:
Batteries can be regionally expensive
Switch can be hard to operate
Head diameter is largish for some users
MANUFACTURER: Brinkmann Lighting
PRODUCT TYPE: Lithium tactical-style torch
LAMP TYPE: Halogen, wattage as of yet unknown
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Fully adjustable spot to flood
SWITCH TYPE: Snap action pushbutton on tailcap
BEZEL: Stippled reflector, clear plastic lens. Twist-focus mechanism.
BATTERY: 2 DL123A (CR123A) lithium
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown
WATER RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: To be determined
ACCESSORIES: Sanyo lithium CR123A batteries
WARRANTY: Lifetime, except rubber grips & abuse/misuse.
SIZE: 5.5" long by 1.36" wide (at widest point)
WEIGHT: 4.55 oz. empty; 5.9 oz. full
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.
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.
Size Reference
