# Maxa beam flashlight ..?



## bickford (Jul 18, 2011)

Hello everybody,

Surfing on the forum i have seen many pictures of a huge flashlight (very powerful).

I have made a research on google and I have gone on this website :

http://peakbeam.thomasnet.com/item/...es-motion-picture-maxa-beam-package/mbpkg-mp?

What do you think about this product ? the quality compared to polarion, the price ...

Some beamshot perhaps ?

Thanks !

Nicolas


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## BVH (Jul 19, 2011)

*Re: Maxbeam flashlight ..?*

The Maxabeam is a top-of-the-line quality Xenon flashlight. So is the Polarion. However, in my opinion, they are two very different lights. The Maxabeam produces 1/2 or less Lumens than does the Polarion but it "throws" that light much much further than does the Polarion. The Polarion produces a tremendous amount of light and illuminates a much wider field of view, but closer in than does the Maxabeam. They are not too far apart in their cost. There are tons of threads here in CPF with beamshots of the two lights. Searching will yield so great information.


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## bickford (Jul 19, 2011)

*Re: Maxbeam flashlight ..?*

Ok BVH i will search on the forum for beamshots  Thanks !

I dont know if the company sells his products to the France... I have writed them yesterday.

Nicolas


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## Walterk (Jul 19, 2011)

*Re: Maxbeam flashlight ..?*

In this link to (pdf) a PeakBeam brochure are some beamshots.
Plenty of sellers in the UK, Germany and Netherlands. From the US could be cheaper anyhow, despite taxes and freight.
You do need a considerable allowance if you want to buy new.


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## bickford (Jul 19, 2011)

*Re: Maxbeam flashlight ..?*

Hello Walterk , thank for your answer , I have contacted a french dealer , I am waiting for prices... surprise !!...

I havent seen the list of UK / GERMAN delars ? where is it ?

Do you have this flashlight ? what do you think about it ?

thanks !

Nicolas


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## Walterk (Jul 19, 2011)

Well I like and at times need throw, then there is no competitor on the market with same ease of handling in small package.
So; Yes, I am very pleased with the light. The user interface is nice, only ackward thing is that 'continous high mode' is a (probably expensive) option from factory.
There is a 'work-around' by keep pressing the button to the side after you programmed the high mode to be momentarily.
The narrow to very narrow beam is very pleasant, flood is not that appealing because of the dark center.
For wider beam I have read you should acquire the optional 'partly diffusion lens'.

I can't compare to a Polarion. I can't afford a Polarion AND a Maxabeam. For me the choice was obvious.
I've got mine second hand on E-bay, and am waiting for my Lipo AHR32133 cells before I can see how it really performs. (Cheap Nimh package died on me)

When you buy new make sure it is a G3 version, not old European stock, its with the latest firmware and clearly more bright (I've read 85W instead of 75W).

For beamshots: search on CPF
For shops: google ' Maxabeam shops' Not all shops have prices listed, probably wont even be in stock for a lot of them.
For prices: google ' Maxabeam shops' within domain 'co.uk' 
Google for 'bright guy maxabeam' or something when you want to see some USD prices, consider contacting Peak Beam directly.


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## bickford (Jul 20, 2011)

Thanks very much for your answer 
I have contacted brightguy I am waiting for a reply of them...

Nicolas


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## bickford (Jul 21, 2011)

I received this answer tonight ...

" 
Nicolas,

Maxabeam lights cannot be shipped out of the US, they are a controlled item by ITAR.

Jodi 
Blue Line Gear "

I am a little surprising ...


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## troller_cpf (Jul 22, 2011)

PM sent...


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## Walterk (Jul 22, 2011)

Silly people

Edit: you can ask this guy from France from the MB enhanced reflector thread.


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## troller_cpf (Jul 22, 2011)

just like with the Hellfighter from Surefire...


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## Echo63 (Jul 22, 2011)

troller_cpf said:


> just like with the Hellfighter from Surefire...


 
And night vision gear, and due to the IFF Led the SF helmet light, and the energizer military lights.

The bit that gets me though, is I can go and buy most of them (the Maxabeam and SF helmet light, and probably a beast with a special order) from the local agents, at a greatly inflated price.


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## bickford (Jul 22, 2011)

Walterk said:


> Silly people
> 
> Edit: you can ask this guy from France from the MB enhanced reflector thread.


 
I have contacted this guys but no answer for now ...


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## PeakBeamSystems (Jul 22, 2011)

Hello!

Just wanted to jump in here quickly to say that the Maxa Beam is actually not ITAR restricted, however our dealers in the U.S. are typically not authorized to ship outside of the U.S. so this may have been why Jodi from Blue Line Gear just assumed it was an ITAR issue.

Peak Beam has an exclusive rep in France. I spoke with them on Tuesday and asked that they extend the same exact CPF discount to French CPF members as Peak Beam would in the case of a direct sale. I'm sorry to hear that some members are running into situations where the international price seems greatly inflated. If you ever have a concern about MB pricing abroad please feel free to contact me directly.

Thanks,

Annie
[email protected]


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## HKJ (Jul 22, 2011)

PeakBeamSystems said:


> Peak Beam has an exclusive rep in France.



Europe is a bit more than France and most people outside France does not speak or read the France language, where can they get their Maxa Beam from?
Sorry about the rant, but that is a common problem in Europe when using a few dealers with exclusive contracts. EU is 27 countries and that does not cover all countries in Europe.


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## PeakBeamSystems (Jul 22, 2011)

HKJ -- absolutely understood. I referenced France because that's where Bickford is located. If you send me a PM or email I would be happy to refer you directly to the rep that handles Denmark.

Annie


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## bickford (Jul 22, 2011)

PeakBeamSystems said:


> Hello!
> 
> Just wanted to jump in here quickly to say that the Maxa Beam is actually not ITAR restricted, however our dealers in the U.S. are typically not authorized to ship outside of the U.S. so this may have been why Jodi from Blue Line Gear just assumed it was an ITAR issue.
> 
> ...



I have made a simulation for the Maxa Beam Package MPBKG-B : between usa dealer or with french dealer 

The difference is at least 700 $ . USA dealers are much cheaper...! (with taxe/shipping and duty counted of course  )


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## JulianP (Jul 23, 2011)

I find US retailers generally much cheaper than local retailers (Australia). And that is not restricted to buying US products. I think it is generally due to healthy competiton in the US and well-developed online businesses. 

Here is Australia, like Europe, exclusive distributors consider their products a licence to make money. Asian online businesses are giving local distributors a headache by selling often inferior products at a fraction of the price of US products. The irony is that the US retailers would generally win out, but they are not allowed to compete with overseas distributors. For example, I cannot buy a Surefire flashlight here for a reasonable (US) price. I have not even considered buying a Polarion or Maxa Beam, but I might next time I travel to the US.


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## petersmith6 (Jul 23, 2011)

good look getting it back, the might be an import tax.


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## ma_sha1 (Jul 23, 2011)

If you don't mind a used Maxa Beam, which will save you a lot of money, I might be interested in selling mine. 

I have a Gen II Maxa Beam that has been upgraded heavyly. the lamp has been upgraded to a new Gen III lamp, 
the performance doubled over stock Gen II, it now measured 6.1 Million CPs (Stock Gen II is the 6 million model, which usually measures around 2-3 Million cps. See this link for some Maxa Beam lux measurements.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ated-Short-Arc-amp-HID-spotlight-Lux-readings

Another major upgrade is Custom Lifepo4 battery pack, which I took the stock MaxaBeam NICd battery, cut it open and installed 
a 6.6AH Lifepo4 battery pack, kept the Thermo protection circuit & installed a Digital Volt Meter with independent switch (Judico 10A switch), the new battery is safer, half the weight of NiCd battery & lower profile, so the whole unit is smaller, about 1" lower profile which is very noticible, now its even more compact.

Comes with a Lifepo4 smart charger, which plug into the Battery using a custom battery charger port.

Gen II Max Beam before lamp upgrade:






The New Gen II lamp on Top. The Lamp upgrade is not plug & play, to achieve perfect focus, 
I modified the lamp socket slightly, which in turn moved the arc chamber location by about 3-4mm.





Upper right corner is the new battery, you can see how small it is. Peaks Beam just started 
selling a LiFep04 version of battery, I thing retail about $650 in the US & it's bigger and won't have a digital volt meter.





This beam shot was taken with my other 6Million CP Gen II Maxa Beam when it was stock,
it was about 2.3 Million CPs. (That light was sold a while ago).
FYI, most of the used Maxa Beam seen for sale are gen II, which usually does 2-3 million cps,
often have mechanical issues and with a dead or dying NiCd battery pack. The one I have now
doubles the performance, smaller, lighter and with fresh LiFep04 safet battery set-up is performing flawless.





Send me a PM if interested, I am willing to ship international if buyer willing to take the shipping risk,
as there's is no tracking & insurance, just custom declaration, but I can ship battery separate to reduce the risk.


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## Echo63 (Jul 23, 2011)

PeakBeamSystems said:


> Hello!
> 
> Just wanted to jump in here quickly to say that the Maxa Beam is actually not ITAR restricted, however our dealers in the U.S. are typically not authorized to ship outside of the U.S. so this may have been why Jodi from Blue Line Gear just assumed it was an ITAR issue.
> 
> ...


 
Good to hear there is no ITAR issue, it is just a torch after all (I know calling it just a torch is like calling a bugatti veyron just a car)
Is there any peak beam products that are ITAR restricted items ? I would assume the IR filters would be restricted in some way.
Also is there a list of distributors in different countries ? I'm in Australia and will hopefully be looking for some accessories 



JulianP said:


> I find US retailers generally much cheaper than local retailers (Australia). And that is not restricted to buying US products. I think it is generally due to healthy competiton in the US and well-developed online businesses.
> 
> Here is Australia, like Europe, exclusive distributors consider their products a licence to make money. Asian online businesses are giving local distributors a headache by selling often inferior products at a fraction of the price of US products. The irony is that the US retailers would generally win out, but they are not allowed to compete with overseas distributors. For example, I cannot buy a Surefire flashlight here for a reasonable (US) price. I have not even considered buying a Polarion or Maxa Beam, but I might next time I travel to the US.


 
Have you tried the marketplace ? 
All of my recent Surefires have been bought from other CPF members, my M4 was a third of the cost of buying one here in Oz, and looked almost brand new, my M6 had a few minor dings and scrapes (very hard to notice but it had been used) for a similar price.
Shipping is normally only 15 or so dollars for an average sized light


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## Walterk (Jul 24, 2011)

Does anyone have a partial diffusion filter in possesion / at hand by chance?
Is it etched glass or is there more to it? (is there any significant structure, glass, plastic, plastic foil ? )


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## DM51 (Jul 24, 2011)

bickford said:


> Some beamshot perhaps ?


To whet your appetite: *MaxaBeam vs. the Moon*


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## troller_cpf (Jul 25, 2011)

Also here... 
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...hthunter-One&p=3676624&viewfull=1#post3676624


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## LuxLuthor (Jul 25, 2011)

DM51 said:


> To whet your appetite: *MaxaBeam vs. the Moon*


 
Good to see you are always trying to be helpful. LOL! Torturing that poor guy....but that is the best demo thread I have seen on the "Mighty Max."


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## ma_sha1 (Jul 25, 2011)

One more link with Maxa Beam long-distance beam shorts, except that Maxa Beam is the bottom performer here:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Short-Arcs&highlight=moon+blaster+beam+shots


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## bickford (Aug 4, 2011)

A small movie of a maxabeam.
Test has been done with a maxabeam of a friend (I dont have a maxabeam !)



The beam shot will come later ... !

BICKFORD


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## karlosk98 (Aug 4, 2011)

bickford said:


> A small movie of a maxabeam.
> Test has been done with a maxabeam of a friend (I dont have a maxabeam !)
> 
> 
> ...




I found a video of the beam in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFwpJozgQHA


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