*** VERY IMPORTANT!!!*** As of 07-06-07, the Lightwave company is no longer manufacturing flashlights!!
The Lightwave 2000 is a black plastic flashlight which uses three "AA" batteries and has four (4) bright white LEDs in the head.
When you see the Lightwave in your flashlight drawer or glovebox, it looks like an ordinary, disposable, breakable cheap-ass flashlight, but that's where the similarity ends.
Instead of a traditional bulb and reflector assembly, the business end of this stout & robust light is equipped with four LEDs arranged in a diamond-shape.
The light also feels sturdy, and is packed with "O" rings and other waterproofing materials.
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This light uses 3 common "AA" alkaline batteries. Since this was a loaner, I don't know if it comes packaged with them or not.
If not, then put them in (see below) and you're ready to roll. Twisting the head clockwise turns the light on; turning it the other way turns it off.
Simple, and trouble-free.
This light shines a bright, bluish-white beam of light, more blue in the center and more white at its edges. It is more than bright enough to flash around a room or in the tent at night or to change a flat with.
It is bright enough that it can replace those incandescent flashlights around the house. It is also bright enough to use, candle-style, to light up a whole room even if you're plunged into instant darkness and don't
have time to adapt. By "candle-style", I mean holding the light with the head pointing up, shining on the ceiling. The room's illumination is coming from the flashlight's light spot being bounced off the ceiling.
The Lightwave 2000 is waterproof (not just weatherproof), and as such is a good candidate for bringing to that next camping or boating trip.
There is no traditional slide switch to get bumped or have go on inside your bag, running the batteries down before you reach your destination.
The website says the four LEDs are digitally-controlled by an IC, but I didn't see any evidence of one on the bottom of the circuit board. Using a spanner wrench, I removed the
board only to find the board is part of a "module" of sorts, comprising of the board itself, the LEDs, and several plastic rings & discs, all cemented together with a white silicone
RTV of some sort. This is clearly part of the light's extensive waterproofing, so I didn't mess with it. I put it back together, still unsure of whether an IC chip is on the other side of the board or not.
(Update - I've been told the circuitry is an array of resistors, so the LEDs do have some protection from those nasty strong batteries).
To change the batteries in this light, just unscrew the head, dump out the expired batteries, and drop in three new ones, button (+) end pointing up.
Screw the head back on, and you're good to go. This is an operation you should be able to accomplish strictly by feel, so you should be able to do it in
the dark if need be. No tools are needed; just remember to pick up your dead batteries and dispose of them the right way.
The battery life is exceptional, rated in the hundreds of hours. You can read printed text with it even after over 300 hours of burning continuously.
The brightest operation though, will be in the first 50 or so hours of your battery life. Try that with an ordinary flashlight, and see how often you have to run to
the store, or how fast your wastebasket fills up with all those dead batteries.
This is another light that is built to take it. The plastic case is thicker than the ones on most other flashlights, so it will easily survive those everyday bumps and bruises.
The LEDs are slightly recessed into the head, so they should survive all but the most bizarre accident. You can leave this light standing upright on its LEDs without worry that you'll scratch or mar the LEDs.
The light is also water resistant, and submersible to 3 feet. Although it't not for scuba diving, it will do fine for most other outdoors activities.
Both the body and the head have a ribbed texture to them, giving you some grip and the ability to turn it on and off even when wearing gloves or if your hands are cold and wet.
Beam image. Note the nice bright, even beam from this 4-bulb lite.
Spectrographic analysis of the LEDs in this flashlight. Ocean Optics USB2000 Spectrometer on loan from TWO-CUBED.
The flashlight body has a sturdy hole on the base for attachment to a lanyard, ring, or other means for hanging & carrying. It comes with a small lanyard, but it's too small to put around your wrist.
Use it for a hanging loop instead.
The usefullness of this light is only slightly hampered by the fact that it won't stand up on its tail. In order to use it like a candle and have it shine on the ceiling hands-free, place it in a drinking glass or (ahem) a candleholder.
UPDATE 05-22-00
I find myself really liking this light, despite the difficulty I have turning it on and off. Its usefullness is helped along by its brightness; it can easily replace any flashlight
in your flashlight drawer for 90% or more of what a flashlight usually gets used for. Only when you need to penetrate darkness for hundreds of feet, might you still
need that 6-D Mag Lite. This light does just about everything else.
The day I have to return it will be a very sad day indeed.
UPDATE 05-27-00
The more I use this light, the easier the head is to turn. Apparently, this light is like a good pair of shoes: both need to be broken in a little before they become
comfortable.
Here are some of the uses for which I have found satisfaction with this light:
Lighting my way around the house after bedtime.
Raiding the refrigerator at 4am.
Searching through dark closets.
Shining it under furniture to look for things.
Using it, candle-style, to light an entire room.
Using it to grab someone's attention at a great distance.
Inspecting glass insulators for bubbles & embedded objects.
Searching for small objects (like pins or electronic components) dropped on carpeting.
TEST NOTES:
Battery life testing continues, but they aren't running down noticeably even with frequent, daily use after nearly a month.
Since this light was loaned by a website visitor and he wishes it still be intact when I return it, no serious thrashings, tub tests, or other punishments will be inflicted upon it.
UPDATE 09-04-00:
I have received some very disturbing reports of failures involving this flashlight; they seem to entail a bad contact forming between the base of the LED board and the (+) terminal
of the battery; and possibly some loss of connection or corrosion problems in the metal contact strip running up the side of the flashlight from the base.
Since I do not have access to a Lightwave 2000 any longer, I cannot verify these claims first-hand, and cannot change the product rating until or if I do.
UPDATE 12-30-01:
I am currently testing a new sample of the Lightwave 2000.
This version (so far) seems to have addressed last year's "bad contact" problem, and the sample is not giving me any problems or showing excessive wear.
A steel overlay on the bottom of the PCB takes care of this - earlier versions only had the solder traces. So the update for 09-04-00 shown above should be relegated to the past
and is no longer a valid complaint.
The new sample is also much easier to turn on and off than the previous unit (tested in mid-2000) was. So there are some really noticeable improvements between today's Lightwave 2000 and
last year's.
UPDATE 09-19-02
I have been provided with yet another brand new sample of the Lightwave 2000 (improved from the 2001 unit), which I've used to provide new photos and beam shots. The sample will be tested and any significant changes noted.
UPDATE: 01-11-08
My stepmother needed this flashlight to "keep around the house", so I no longer have it for testing or comparative analyses.
I believe...no, I'm CERTAIN that it is the older model.
PROS:
Reasonably bright for 4 LEDs
Good battery life
Water resistant
Tough & durable.
CONS:
Won't stand on tail unassisted
Lanyard is too small
MANUFACTURER: Lightwave Industries
PRODUCT TYPE: Small handheld flashlight
LAMP TYPE: LED, White, 5mm
No. OF LAMPS: 4
BEAM TYPE: Central hotspot with soft fall off
SWITCH TYPE: Twist bezel on/off
BEZEL: Textured bezel, no lens
BATTERY: 3 AA cells
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
WATER RESISTANT: Yes
SUBMERSIBLE: Yes, to 3 feet
ACCESSORIES: Thin wrist lanyard
WARRANTY: 3 years, including LEDs
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.
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