Photon Proton Pro: Under appreciated?

[Lightman2]

I own and have used this light regularly as a backup since I first got one. However today LRI makes tiny keychain lights with infinite brightness settings for around $10. They use cr2016 batteries, are much brighter than the Photon Pro and the beam is much smoother.
Mine has an electronic switch and a stated run time of 12 hours. I like to keep it clipped to the sheath of whatever I am carrying.

Sorry I am lost here or is it I am that tired. The Pro uses 1 x AA. I have two Pro's, 1 x REX (which is a great light albiet low run time) and 5 x standard model 1 Photons and 1 x Freedom. None of the CR2016 or 2032 lights are as bright as the Pro. I think for keychain lights (miniaturised) you cannot beat a Photon Freedom. But as much as I like the Pro the switch is a little to hard to locate so I was happy when I got my Zebra light SC51. I will say however that Photon has a lifetime warranty on all products and I have tested that with 2 issues and there were no questions asked. Their customer service and desire to help customers is second to none and probably the best there is.

 

[joe1512]

Its 40 dollars for an outdated light with outdated emitter. Im sure it is fine and all, but CPF typically DOES focus on the "sexy" lights with new emitters and lots of lumen capability, or custom made ones.
I mean, who wants to talk about normal old lights? But at least the normal maglites and such are cheap.

This one is expensive, low output, fairly low efficiency, unregulated, and just doesn't have any real features that make it appealing, vs the newer better lights.

 

[TIP AND RING]

Had mine modded with a XPG and little green led. Love the thing. Fourty dollars is cheap, to me. The mod cost more than the light. Still cheap, to me. And well worth it,to me.

 

[appliancejunk]

Here is a link:
http://www.photonlight.com/products/Photon-Freedom-Micro-LED-Keychain-Flashlight.html

My pro is also 115 lumens and this is much brighter. Battery Junction has nice discounts on these.

Seems they still have the nice discount. How can I be sure that I'm getting the latest greatest updated model and not a older model of the Photon Pro?
When was the last time they made any changes to the Photon Pro?

 

[gcbryan]

Seems they still have the nice discount. How can I be sure that I'm getting the latest greatest updated model and not a older model of the Photon Pro?
When was the last time they made any changes to the Photon Pro?

It's been several years since the last change so you'll get the "latest" I'm sure. It went from a lumen output of 85-115 or something like that.

 

[Lou Minescence]

I've pulled my Proton Pro out recently and have been using it a lot more. It's actually a pretty unique light and seems under appreciated for some reason...I rarely see it mentioned anywhere.

I just had the AA lithium that was in it go out and I was surprised at how bright it was down to the end. The light isn't regulated but I guess that's just the nature of lithium batteries.

I've also recently opened up the head and cut some diffusion material and dropped it between the reflector and lens. It comes with a SMO reflector and a XR-E (I believe) anyway it has the typical Cree rings when used with a SMO reflector. It's a small enough light that I don't really use it as a thrower so with the diffusion material it's become much more useful (to me).

It's got a ring on the tail so it can either be used on a key chain or worn necklace style under the shirt (or clipped of course). It's got a button on the side with infinite brightness (hi to low). It also has a red LED and in that mode it ramps low to high.

I had forgotten that there is a way to engage it in 3 minute auto shut off mode. It also has beacon/SOS/rapid flashing and Morse Code modes.

Total length is only the length of 2 AA's (only uses 1 however). I think I purchased mine for about $40. It also has a GITD o-ring between the lens and the reflector.

For those who do care more about having a small light that throws it does that pretty well too.

I don't know why I don't hear more about it these days. Perhaps it's just because it isn't new anymore but I thought I'd mention it in this post for those who may not have heard of it.

It wasn't all that popular when I bought mine but it was a post like this that first let me know that there was such a beast

For me this makes a good backup light for hiking/camping or doing anything outdoors. I still mainly use a headlamp but having this on a necklace in a camping situation makes it a pretty versatile light. Since it gets down to .2 lumens in white mode it can run for a long time even though it only uses 1 AA battery. It can get even lower in red LED mode.

+1 .......... I neck lanyard carry mine. It is a great little light. I have found it priced from $37.95 to $69.95. I'm surprised the company has not released a larger version of this light. They seem to focus on keychain style lights.

 

[baterija]

I still love mine but it's got it's tradeoffs. It's a unique interface with the side switch and control for the 2 LEDs. It's got it's issues though and if you don't like the choices in the UI or don't use the red... well then it's just unique not useful.

 

[Diablo_331]

I picked up a Photon Pro for 30ish USD about 2.5 years ago. I loved everything about it. It was a user and it was abused. The first thing to go was the rubber boot on the switch. The outer edges started to flake and fall off. No biggy as the light still functioned fine until it eventually started acting weird. Sometimes it wouldn't turn on or off. I figured the switch was going bad. I would have to hit it in the palm of my hand to get a response from the switch until that stopped working.. Then it was on to hard surfaces and I knew it would die from this abuse. It eventually stopped working completely.

This was my perfect work light! I haven't heard anything about this little jewel until now. Does anyone know if they fixed the switch? I would buy another in a heartbeat if it would only last...

 

[baterija]

Diablo... LRI has a lifetime warranty as long as it's not abuse. If you still have the old one...

http://www.photonlight.com/pages/Photon-Guarantee-and-Warranty-Service.html

 

[gcbryan]

I picked up a Photon Pro for 30ish USD about 2.5 years ago. I loved everything about it. It was a user and it was abused. The first thing to go was the rubber boot on the switch. The outer edges started to flake and fall off. No biggy as the light still functioned fine until it eventually started acting weird. Sometimes it wouldn't turn on or off. I figured the switch was going bad. I would have to hit it in the palm of my hand to get a response from the switch until that stopped working.. Then it was on to hard surfaces and I knew it would die from this abuse. It eventually stopped working completely.

This was my perfect work light! I haven't heard anything about this little jewel until now. Does anyone know if they fixed the switch? I would buy another in a heartbeat if it would only last...

I've had mine about that long so I'm not sure if anything has changed since then but when they made their last improvements supposedly they started using an improved rubber for that switch button. I think the switch itself was not changed however.

 

[seanwilliams78]

I think the Icon Rogue 1 is a tough competitor to this light, personally...the machining is beautiful on it!

 

[baterija]

I think the Icon Rogue 1 is a tough competitor to this light, personally...the machining is beautiful on it!

:thinking: Not sure I see the comparison. I'd see a D11 as a close competitor for those drawn to the ramping UI but not interested in the red capability or side switch on the Proton Pro. Not really much out there that covers more than a chunk of the Proton Pro's unique functionality.

I have to admit an emotional bias slips in at the idea of comparing a light I am fond of, warts and all, with the Rogue that almost universally makes me :sick2:. Guess that's just a sign of how wonderful it is having lots of choices so we can all find what works.:thumbsup:

 

[kaichu dento]

:thinking: Not sure I see the comparison. I'd see a D11 as a close competitor for those drawn to the ramping UI but not interested in the red capability or side switch on the Proton Pro. Not really much out there that covers more than a chunk of the Proton Pro's unique functionality.

It would be hard to think of a worse comparison than the Rogue 1 and the Proton Pro. Like you said, maybe the ramping of the Nitecores; maybe the red emitter of the 85r, and maybe the compactness of the EZ-AA, but the Proton Pro package hasn't been emulated anywhere that I've seen.

Wish they'd come up with a floodier, warmer version, which would have me buying another, but even without the changes, they remain uncontested for their particular piece of ground.

 

[torcher]

Since I collect lights this one particularly gets my interest because of Photons role in bringing good keychain
lights to the masses . I dig the user interface and have purchased two thus far(gave one to father in law) ,
I wish the price was lower as I paid 70 for the first one and 37 for the second (no time to shop around being it
was late December) I like that it's different and small with no memory and still ramps down . The red led is a plus
though I rarely use it , I love AA lights though they are hard to hold on to because they are prime recipients for
gifts because of their size and battery type . I would like to have at least three of these for future stash.

 

[Apex007]

I still keep my Proton Pro in regular rotation as my EDC. Despite not having been updated in years, it's still a fantastic light. Extremely happy with mine. Button wore down and LRI fixed it quickly at no charge. Great customer service.

 

[kaichu dento]

I've long thought about getting another one to have a better emitter installed and the UI is still an excellent design.

 

[regulator]

It would be interesting to see an upgraded version and what enhancement they might make. I have really come to appreciate having a red light option since getting the Nitecore EC2.

 

[Moonshadow]

Agree, an upgraded version would be great - they wouldn't need to change much either:

1. XP-G2 with about 200 Lumens

2. Get rid of the PWM

3. 660 nm (i.e actually red) for the red LED instead of the orange 630 nm

That's all they need to change.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

I'm using an old holster from an early Photon Proton to hold an MBI HF 10440 body with a Nichia Zoomhead.


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[kaichu dento]

Agree, an upgraded version would be great - they wouldn't need to change much either:

1. XP-G2 with about 200 Lumens

2. Get rid of the PWM

3. 660 nm (i.e actually red) for the red LED instead of the orange 630 nm

That's all they need to change.

That sounds just about right and I think they could really put the light back on the map with just those simple upgrades.

Sure, they'd have to re-engineer the engine itself, but the payoff could be substantial.