TEKNA Splash-Lite

[Rob Babcock]

40 lumens, 10+ hours; would be curious to see if that was a flat regulated portion, then declining output after that ?
Personally, I /love/ 40 lumens - I still recall the "glory alleluia's" in the Malkoff subforum when we got our 'M61N 4L' GB deliveries.

I haven't looked into output & runtimes recently for 1xCR123, is that good or just reasonable these days ?

Edit: Honestly; the more I think about these, the more I realize how great they would be for lightweight 'stash lights' here&there in outdoors gear.
Am totally cool with the 1xCR123 fuel source, functioning as high-capacity backup lighting.

It appears that the ratings are pretty much unchanged- I remembered or read wrong. These new colors look great, I will likely pick up a couple soon. I do think maybe the landscape has changed a bit since I bought my first ones though; I feel there are a lot more options now for good quality budget LED lights. The Splash Lite might not be as competitive as it was as I've found a few good budget options over this last year. Still, it's a known quantity with a good track record so I'd have plenty of confidence keeping them in my kits.

 

[Kestrel]

Thx Rob for those beamshots; yep that is classic Ye Olde SSC P4. :ironic:
Really hoping the XP-C model will have an improved beam. And there is always diffusion film as a fallback option.

[...] These new colors look great, I will likely pick up a couple soon. I do think maybe the landscape has changed a bit since I bought my first ones though; I feel there are a lot more options now for good quality budget LED lights. The Splash Lite might not be as competitive as it was as I've found a few good budget options over this last year. Still, it's a known quantity with a good track record so I'd have plenty of confidence keeping them in my kits.

Yes the translucent red put me over the edge on these - I like the fact that they will stand out in black ditty bags, and also that I can see the cell inside. And I /love/ single-mode lights. :thumbsup:
I would happily pay $30 ea for a US-mfg light with a good track record, compared to something whiz-bang that may not work in a few years of sitting around & being ignored.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Yeah, that's my take as well! I might have to try a blue and a red.

 

[nightshade]

I hope the XP-C looks better :sick2:
Very quick and dirty beamshots.
Original 222 Incan, in all its focused glory

https://imgbb.com/

Warm white 222 led :

https://imgbb.com/
Approximately 2 ft from galley wall. Sorry, no patience at all for photography and it shows.

 

[nightshade]

I would happily pay $30 ea for a US-mfg light with a good track record, compared to something whiz-bang that may not work in a few years of sitting around & being ignored.

100 percent agree! :twothumbs

 

[Kestrel]

Delivered to my mailbox at home, 8 minutes ago.
That's a nice beam from your 222, nightshade.

 

[Kestrel]

Well, huh; all four of them sure look to be SSC P4's me - having owned a few of them, I kinda know what those look like, lol.
Beam quality ranges from good to poor - some rings and an off-color center spot for one. Focus is good for these, no donut.
A little oily overall, incl. some on the inside of the lens. Head assembly doesn't look too difficult, so that will be cleaned.
Domed lens, so diffusion film isn't really possible. Floody overall, which is great.

They are still keepers as I imagine they'll serve their purpose quite well, but was hoping for a little more of a tech update honestly.
Will probably call tomorrow to ascertain the status with the emitters though.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Nice! I'll probably order a couple after Thanksgiving (don't want packages showing up while I'm out of town).

 

[bykfixer]

The owner is a CPF member. Scott@Tektite. He is a vintage flashlight buff.

 

[Kestrel]

So after thinking on these for a while, I decided to contact the company to look into a refund or exchange - based on the product description specifying the XP-C emitter when I placed the order.
And I really don't like SSC P4's.

I happened to check the web page, and I see that the product description mentions 100 lumens rather than 40, for the same run time of 10 hours.

I know we shouldn't complain about extra lumens, but 100 lumens might be too much for a general purpose emergency light ?
I'm guessing that they just kept the driver unchanged, and we're seeing the additional output from the bump in lumens-per-watt.

I do like how simple these single-mode lights are, and the decreased weight compared to my prior daypack light (SureFire T1A).

I'll update this thread based on what I hear back from TT.
Best regards,

 

[marinemaster]

Interested on what they say also.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I'm curious as well.

 

[Kestrel]

So yesterday I rec'd a very quick reply back (like an hour), saying a refund is no problem; just send them back with the invoice.
No mention of exchanges, but I'd assume that would be an option. Or maybe I should keep it simple & just wait a while before re-ordering.

The odd thing is that I recall seeing "XP-C" on the website description when I placed my order in November, but now that they updated the output (to 100L) there is no mention of the emitter.

Continue to be undecided as to what to do - will almost certainly return the two with the worst beams, but it's not life or death either way really ...
Beam quality wasn't the dealbreaker, but it's also a bummer knowing that I have the obsolete emitter when they are producing a more up to date version - I've never liked P4's and have been able to almost completely move out of them for my other lights.

Hope I'm not sounding too picky & hard to please here.

 

[nightshade]

Just a thought , exchange them for the incandescent version (15.00 each, IIRC) and install a warm white 222 led lamp in each. The P4 and XP emitters will never be good contenders with the original reflector.
I've lately been using one, with a fishing sinker, as a late night line marker for fishing in Lake Pontchartrain . Still a sturdy design and pure nostalgia for me.

 

[Kestrel]

It's just that one of these four have a perfect smooth beam, centered hotstpot, no rings at all. A second is 'ok', but the others, not so good.
So depending on the assembly, it is possible - phase of the moon, Sagittarius rising, what ?

 

[marinemaster]

So the version that you ordered what the invoice say 100 lumens or no ?

 

[Rob Babcock]

All of my older LED ones have very poor beamshots, but it doesn't bother me too much considering the role I use them in. Still it's not like they're super cheap! The beam should be better for $30.

 

[marinemaster]

Had one many, many years ago i think i bought from rmsk but returned due to beam.
If the newest 100 lumens has a better beam i may consider.

 

[turbodog]

So what's the deal with the emitter? Is he selling old/new stock at the same time?

 

[Kestrel]

So what's the deal with the emitter? Is he selling old/new stock at the same time?

That's my guess, but I can't be certain.
I shipped mine back on Saturday; kudos to them in that I'm already seeing a refund credit this morning (Wednesday).

I would have been tempted to exchange to the 100 lumens (XP-C?) version if they had suggested that option; but since not, I didn't want to bother asking about that.
I'm really not in a rush here; I could easily wait a year & then submit another purchase.

I feel a little bad for their inconvenience, but I'm not about to add any SSC P4 lights to my inventory these days sorry.

Overall impressions though; I really like their red color, light weight, and simple single-mode for an emergency bag; and the fact that the light houses a CR123 which I often need to reload my SureFire Minimus headlamp (which I use quite a bit while camping).