which 9v one to buy, Safelight or Pak-lite?

[LED_Thrift]

I see that Safe-Lights are now $12 at Glow-Bug.com!

 

[abvidledUK]

Pak-Lites fit directly onto a 9v battery.

Will they also fit onto a 9v battery box, ie one that contains 6x1.5v batteries ?

Or is the moulding not ok for this ?

What is the lowest voltage they will work at, would they work at 6v?

Some Pak-Lites show RT on high as 30 hours, some as 75 hours, why ?

Are the 30 hour ones brighter ?

Low mode shown as 600 hours, just how bright / useful is this.

Pak-Lite owners, pls give me your thoughts and experiences..

Pak-Lite v PaLight, which is brighter ?

 

[abvidledUK]

OK, took the plunge and bought one of each.

Pak-Lite basic, SafeLight Companion, Safelight Superbright.

Pak-lite, basic model, 9v PP3 clip on, vastly overpriced for what is effectively two white leds in series across a 9v battery, with switch.

No electronics at all, in the basic model I bought, stops working at around 5v.

I found the "6+ hour Glow In The Dark Cap" feature nearly useless, dim after a few minutes, after being in sunlight most of day.

Quite nicely made, very simple, but about 4x too expensive, IMHO.

No mounting facility provided as supplied, does fit nicely in mouth though.

(Careful where you have put down the Pak-Lite before)

It only weighs 1.5oz, with battery, slightly more than the PP3 on it's own.

Very small and compact. (Easily lost ?)

You can make the same yourself, with an old Duracell Alkaline 9v, remove the battery clips, which are in a nice cupped plastic moulding, invert, solder a couple of LED's across, pot up with araldite, filler, or what have you, and clip on and off PP3 9V battery for switching.

..........................................................


Now then, the Safelight Companion / PALight Superbright series, totally different ballgame.

Quality, solid construction, excellent build quality, and electronics that allow the PP3 9v battery to work down to less than 1v.

Focussed beam, spot / flood, depending on model, (Companion / Superbright), choice of output levels, strobe, and the most useful, always on, night finder mode.

Magnetic / belt clip included. Also, very easy lanyard attachment.

Waterproof to some extent, with rubber housing for mechanical and rain protection.

Feels substantial, undoubtedly it will last far longer than the Paklite in everyday use. Weighs more, 3.9oz with battery.

But it is the electronics where the SafeLight / Palight really scores.

I am absolutely won over by the SafeLight, it doesn't cost a lot more than the Paklite, but is in quite a different league.

Doesn't cost too much to run either, I thought it would, around 3p (5c) per hour.

..........................................................

Both torches had similar illumination with brand new batteries, but the Pak-Lite dimmed from the beginning, whereas the SafeLight output was fairly consistently higher for much, much longer. Electronics.

Output of both initially was measurably similar to 5 led head lamp, or key chain light, slightly less than 12 led Ghost2, and SMJLED PR2 2xAA.

Needless to say, I have now ordered several more of the Safelights, both models.

 

[thunderlight]

Some observations:

I have 1 e-lite, several survivals, 1 safe-light companion [the one with the lantern head], and a recently purchased super-bright.

I edc the e-lite. The e-lite and survival are strictly throw -- very little spill. The safe-light companion has the throw as well as the lantern head which produces a sort of spill which lights up an area, but doesn't extend the spill to a large distance. You have to see the companion to understand this effect.

I don't like the super-bright at all. I don't consider it to be super bright and it has no throw whatever and a truly horrible blue tint that is somehow exaggerated by the design of the super-bright. If I were to purchase just one, I would purchase the companion. This is the best design in my opinion. However, I like the e-lite and the survival, partially because of their campy appearance and their pocketability.

The companion and the super-bright are not, in my opinion, pocketable, but make for unobtrusive belt-carry with the clip. Invariably, the magnet will fall off after a short time. This has happened with my companion and my super-bright.

 

[nikon]

The Superbright uses the new Nichia CS LED, which is why it has the blue center.

I vastly improved my e-Lite and SAFE-LIGHT Companion by discarding the lenses and changing the LEDs to very white 26kmcd LEDs.

I dislike the always on, night finder mode on the e-Lite. Anyone know if it can be switched off?

 

[TORCH_BOY]

Safe-Light for sure

 

[abvidledUK]

I consider the SafeLight Superbright with it's wider beam, to be ideal for indoor, room illumination.

The Companion perhaps gives a bit too much of a spot for general indoor use, so is better outdoors.

The Pak-Lite, indoor wide beam, no focus, just two bare led's.

I think what I would like would be the clear top of the Companion, with the wider beam of the Superbright, for indoor use, and the opaque body of the Superbright with the tighter beam of the Companion for outdoor use.

There is a mod elsewhere to make the Companion (and similar models, Palight etc) tighter beam, by substituting the SMT LED with a normal proud LED, perhaps I'll consider that at some later point.

However, my main reason to buy, is the night time glow, standby for blackout facility, of either Safelight. Also for camping etc, where the torch may be dropped.

For general, high output illumination, other torches are more suitable.

 

[paulr]

By the way, I agree with you about the cost of the Paklite, but now that you have it, you might as well spring for an Ultralife lithium 9v battery (around $7 on this side of the pond). They have quite a bit more energy and a flatter discharge curve than an alkaline 9v battery. In the Paklite's low mode, you should get completely ridiculous runtime, like months nonstop.

 

[abvidledUK]

By the way, I agree with you about the cost of the Paklite, but now that you have it, you might as well spring for an Ultralife lithium 9v battery (around $7 on this side of the pond). They have quite a bit more energy and a flatter discharge curve than an alkaline 9v battery. In the Paklite's low mode, you should get completely ridiculous runtime, like months nonstop.

The Paklite Basic I bought doesn't have a low mode, off / high only.

I've actually gone the other way with 9v battery now, using Zinc Carbon 30p (50c) cheapy battery to see how it performs, output and duration wise.

There's no battery compartment to leak into, if battery fails / left on too long. But then the PakLite seems to cut off around 5v, a function of the LED's forward voltage requirements.

I have read somewhere that 9v lithiums are no real advantage on long term, low current applications.

Energizer specs though give 9v lithium twice capacity and RT at 30ma ish, continuous. Perhaps less advantage with intermittent use.

Main advantage I think would be weight, Lithium at 35 grams, Alkaline at 45 grams. And of course the extended shelf life of the lithiums, but if it's not being used for 15 years, what's the point ?

 

[paulr]

I think low mode on the fancier Paklites is around 1 mA. The 9v lithium cells have a real advantage at that level.

 

[Haz]

Found this light from torchworld

a poorman's pak-lite for AUD $7.70 or USD $5.80

[edit] i should also mention, these require a bit of soldering to put together

 

[NutSAK]

That would be a nice addition to a PSK (assembled, of course). You could fold the LEDs over for a very small form factor.

 

[Haz]

That's a good idea with folding the led over, another good thing about this unit, is that you can easily upgrade the led when you want to.

 

[abvidledUK]

Quick test:

Any old LEDs in series across 9v PP3, no resistor:

4 = nothing
3 = 5ma
2 = 44ma
1 = 96ma, then blue, then

 

[geepondy]

I just received a Pak-lite super bright and can add my two cents. It is very compact and is easily pocketable or thrown in a knapsack as the name suggests, unlike the Safelight which has moved away from it's Palight heritage in the size department. With the two LEDs on high, it's brighter then the safelight producing a much wider beam (not that I would consider the Safelight to be narrow) and has better color rendition then the Safelight (more warmer). For those who like really low lows, the low is really low, just bright enough to read by. I would think it will last tons of hours in low mode. It is a rugged unit, and the switch although small for big hands, feels solid and I'm sure it will hold up fine over time. However with the battery itself being the main body, I can't imagine it being very weather proof in harsh conditions, unlike the safelight so this probably may not be your best choice for a stranded in the woods emergency light. In short, I like it and think it definitely has a purpose although it's not an attractive bargain at the price point it is selling for. I like my Safelight as well and it certainly is a better deal but it carries quite a bit of real estate for a nine volt light and I can't consider it pocketable. I have a couple of original Palights which are much more pocketable but have a lousy blob beam compared to the newer Safelights.

Anyhow I'm doing an experiment. People have posted how much more efficient the Safelight is, in regulation and getting the most out of the 9V cell. I am both leaving my Safelight with a slightly used I believe "heavy duty" battery and the Pak-lite with the included Duracell alkaline running all night, both in the high mode. No light meters but I have a pretty good idea of what the beams look like now and I'll compare in the morning or longer if necessary and see how they hold up over time. Are there any pak-lites or Safe-lite runtime charts?

 

[Sub_Umbra]

...Pak-lite SUPER bright runs for 30+ hours on high, and 600+ hours on low using Alkaline and 80+ hours on high, and 1,200+ hours on low using lithium.

Safelight has 20+ hours on high, 100+ hours on strobe, and 1 year on glow mode.

I receive these info from the lighthound website.
Which one do you think i should buy if i only choose one?

I don't know anything about Safelight but we use various Pak-Lites all the time. We run all of them for free on used batteries pulled from smoke alarms and body mics. You should still get ~125 hrs on low in a Pak-Lite from a battery pulled from a smoke detector after six months use. If you use just a few smoke alarms you should never have to buy a battery for a few Pak-Lites.

They do a pretty good job of fully draining a 9V battery -- about a third of the pulled Duracells we drain in Pak-Lites drain so low that some of the individual cells poke halfway out through the bottom when they're done.

Note that the low output on both the Pak-Lite Original (Military) and the new Super are the same. If you use the dim setting most of the time (as we do) you can get the Super and have the higher output for those few times you need it without having much impact on your runtime.

My favorite Pak-light is the turq.

 

[abvidledUK]

I found the Pak-lite basic would only work down to around 5v, whereas the Safe-light Companion worked down to less than 1v, off a 9v PP3 alkaline, ex smoke detector battery, and gave over 26 hours useable light, starting at 5.3v.

Didn't do RT on Pak-lite, as only had one depleted 9v.

 

[geepondy]

Ok, so they both ran for 24 hours although as mentioned not really a fair test as the Safelight has a "heavy duty" carbon zinc cell while the Pak-lite has a Duracell alkaline. At the end of the 24 hours, the Safelite is pretty dim. The high is about as bright as the dim on fresh cells but the light and all functions are still fully operable. The Pak-lite although somewhat dimmer then was originally is still reasonably close to original intensity. I don't have a light meter but I would guess it hadn't reached the 50 percent mark quite yet at least as how my logrithmic eyes perceives it. I remove the batteries and measure the open circuit voltage. The cell in the Safelight measures 4.3V while the one in the Pak-lite measures 7.2V. I swap the batteries. The Safelight now is much brighter while the Pak-lite does not come on at all. So this gives credence to Advidled's finding that the Pak-lite voltage cuts off much earlier then the Safelight. However this would not deter me from buying the Paklite as I got 24 hours runtime plus I'm sure it would still go a while longer. In fact I put the batteries back in their original lights and I'll let them continue running on.

Anyhow I'm doing an experiment. People have posted how much more efficient the Safelight is, in regulation and getting the most out of the 9V cell. I am both leaving my Safelight with a slightly used I believe "heavy duty" battery and the Pak-lite with the included Duracell alkaline running all night, both in the high mode. No light meters but I have a pretty good idea of what the beams look like now and I'll compare in the morning or longer if necessary and see how they hold up over time. Are there any pak-lites or Safe-lite runtime charts?

 

[geepondy]

I ended the experiment as I decided both lights put out light long enough on one cell then I could ever imagine needing in a single session and yet on high, none the less. I sucked it up and bought a $10.99 lithium 9V battery from Radio Shack for the Pak-lite. So the price of the original light and now the lithium battery, makes it a $35 two 5mm led light, an expensive proposition indeed. But the battery is built like a tank. It is a brand called "ultralife", www.ultralifebatteries.com and if ever one needed an exposed battery to be the flashlight case, this is the one. Very solid metal outershell that encompasses the whole cell including the bottom. The light will now be used as a car glove compartment light, replacing my Inova X5, two of which have now failed me (both of them flicker problems). I feel the Pak-lite will nicely compliement my Streamlight Polypro 4AA Lux which sits underneath the seat and is good for throw.

 

[geepondy]

I didn't realize a suggestion to use an ultralife lithium battery was posted earlier. But here is a datasheet and according to the data sheet for low current devices, it blows away an alkaline.
http://www.ultralifebatteries.com/images/products/U9VL-J/U9VL-J_charts_lg.gif