# 4Sevens Preon 1 (1xAAA) Comparison Review



## UnknownVT (Dec 15, 2009)

Once again through the very kind courtesy of 4Sevens I have a bunch of Preons on hand for this review....

Bunch?

Size:





well at least one in every color plus a Preon 2.

These aren't just colorful (well, the black isn't ) but the finish and anodizing seems to give the surface some grip and even feels almost like rubber......

Head:





The Preons use the Cree XP-G R5 emitter and can be used as a twisty - as supplied or one can get a clicky tail-switch as shown on the titanium version (that's actually 4Sevens' own personal light....) and on the red Preon 2.

The Preons have Strobe, SOS and 2 beacon modes - but one does NOT have to cycle through them nor is it likely that those would be invoked by easy accident.

The best is for me just to show the instruction sheet -




so unless one has a predilection for cycling through modes it would be pretty unlikely to get to these special modes without some premeditation....

I also really like the sequence/order of having Low first then going up in brightness - that's my main complaint about the Fenix AAA series that they start in default medium brightness and I am always switching it to low - so am somewhat dazzled first by the default brightness.

So how does the Preon 1 perform?

vs. Fenix LD01-Q5 Stainless Steel both on Max using NiMH







The Fenix LD01 beam is more concentrated - whereas the Preon spreads its light out more to give both a bigger hotspot and wider corna - so this is hard call to make. On paper the LD01 is rated at 85 lumens max - the Preon is rated OTF 70 lumens max.

vs. Fenix L0D-RB80







here one can see that the Preon is brighter - iirc the Fenix L0D-RB80 was rated at 60 lumens Max?

vs. 4Sevens Preon 2 (2x AAA)







the Preon 2 is noticeably brighter than the Preon 1 - actually their heads are the same - so this is to show the output on a single AAA vs. 2x AAA - the Preon 2 is rated at OTF 160 lumens - that's twice as bright - and pretty impressive for a 2x AAA light.

vs. Preon 1 Titanium - since I have it at hand....







any differnce has to do with LED sample variations - the Ti version seems to have a slightly warmer tint maybe tending just a bit toward green - and the regular Preon 1 appears to be a bit brighter.

All in all the Preon 1 is a very nice pocketable flashlight - the clip (removable) designed for the light and not as an after-thought accessory is actually genuinely usable/useful. A tab for a keyring is supplied so can be used if one does not like the clip, or install neither to get a plain unadorned/unattached light.

*INDEX* to follow up parts -

Minimum low level compared - Post #*15*


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## turboBB (Dec 15, 2009)

Cool, thx a lot for putting together the review and beamshots!

Cheers,
Tim


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## Asbestos (Dec 15, 2009)

Thanks for the review! Could you comment on the aluminum clicky? How does it feel? Does it tend to stick like the titaniums? Is it easy to take apart to clean out pocket lint? How much do you need to turn the head to lock it out?


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## PeaceOfMind (Dec 15, 2009)

Asbestos said:


> Thanks for the review! Could you comment on the aluminum clicky? How does it feel? Does it tend to stick like the titaniums? Is it easy to take apart to clean out pocket lint? How much do you need to turn the head to lock it out?


 
If you don't mind, I can give you my two cents on these items: The aluminum clicky feels pretty nice, very similar to the clicky on a typical metal pen. Only thing I don't like is there is a bit of play in the cover so it feels a bit funny if you hit it on an angle, if that makes sense. I can't comment on taking it apart or compare it to the Titanium clicky though.

It takes very little turning to lock it out via the head. You just need enough so that the edge of the body tube isn't contacting the circuit board in the head, as the threads themselves are anodized completely.


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## DM51 (Dec 15, 2009)

Very useful review - thanks! Your beam comparison shots are excellent, and give a good idea of this light's capability - it's a nice-looking beam, too.

Moving to the Reviews section.


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## UnknownVT (Dec 15, 2009)

DM51 said:


> - it's a nice-looking beam, too.



Thank you DM51 for your kind words.

Yes, that is one thing that I noticed with 4Sevens lights since my first review of the Quark AA - 
they all seem to have very nice smooth well centered beams.

This is simply due to good centering of the emitter in the reflector - 
a thing that used to be the bane of flashlights - a de-centered emitter - that causes all sorts of artifacts - sometimes unpredictable.

The centering is achieved by a simple plastic holder/template which can just be seen in the photo of the head(s) the 4 black tabs/claws that are around the emitter in the Preons are what centers the emitter to the reflector almost without fail. It is a simple and elegant solution to an age old problem.

I am almost certain other manufacturers will now adopt/appropriate the same or "similar" technique to center their emitters too - 
but remember to give credit where it was originated to 4Sevens - 
clever guy that......


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## Sharpy_swe (Dec 15, 2009)

Great review, thanks


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## applevision (Dec 15, 2009)

Important and outstanding, as always, *UnknownVT*. Thanks!

My blue Al 2xAAA Preon lives in my shirt pocket now at all times... I love it!


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## was.lost.but.now.found (Dec 15, 2009)

Do you have a picture of the Preon 1 with the keychain ring?


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## UnknownVT (Dec 15, 2009)

was.lost.but.now.found said:


> Do you have a picture of the Preon 1 with the keychain ring?


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## kts (Dec 15, 2009)

Thanks for a great review, makes me even more happy for my Fenix SS LD01 :twothumbs


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## Burgess (Dec 16, 2009)

to Vincent --


Thank you for your time and effort in producing this fine review.


:goodjob::kewlpics::thanks:



BTW, has anyone done Run-Time tests yet ?

:candle:
_


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## was.lost.but.now.found (Dec 16, 2009)

UnknownVT said:


>


 
Thanks!


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## Asbestos (Dec 16, 2009)

PeaceOfMind said:


> If you don't mind, I can give you my two cents on these items: The aluminum clicky feels pretty nice, very similar to the clicky on a typical metal pen. Only thing I don't like is there is a bit of play in the cover so it feels a bit funny if you hit it on an angle, if that makes sense. I can't comment on taking it apart or compare it to the Titanium clicky though.
> 
> It takes very little turning to lock it out via the head. You just need enough so that the edge of the body tube isn't contacting the circuit board in the head, as the threads themselves are anodized completely.



Thank you! Sounds great. I just need to pick out a color before I order a kit!


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## UnknownVT (Dec 20, 2009)

One of the main attraction to me about these Preons is the order of brightness levels - the Preons start with the lowest level --> medium --> high.
I like this a lot as I tend to use the pocktable AAA lights in the dark (surprise!) and often for close hand-held usage - and most of the default medium that most single AAA lights start off with are too bright for that kind of usage, and almost temporarily dazzle me.

I much prefer to start with the lowest level and ramp up to a higher level if necessary.

So I am now looking at the lowest level of this Preon 1 -

All on NiMH (eneloop)

vs. Fenix LD01-Q5 Stainless Steel both on Min using NiMH







the Fenix LD01 is quite a bit brighter on its minimum than the Preon 1 - this is not necessarily a good thing - especially for my typical usage.
It's not that surprising since the Fenix LD01 is rated at 9 lumens and the Preon 1 is all of 1.8 lumens - it seems that the medium on the Preon is about the same as the Fenix LD01 low......

Preon 1 *MEDIUM* vs. Fenix LD01-Q5 Stainless Steel on Min both using NiMH







certainly looks close - although it is a hard call to make since the Fenix beam and hotspot are narrower so more concentrated - so perhaps the Preon 1 might be a bit brighter overall? Preon 1 Medium rated 8.5 lumens; Fenix LD01-Q5 Low rated 9 lumens.

vs. Fenix L0D-RB80 both on Min and NiMH







again the Fenix L0D-RB80 is noticeably brighter on its minimum low.

vs. Preon 2 - _*2x*_ AAA both on Min and NiMH -







Looks about the same - the 2x AAA Preon 2 is rated at 2.2 lumens compared to the 1.8 lumens in the 1x AAA Preon 1 configuration - this is close enough for almost all practical purposes - 
the Preon 2 does pull away showing more differentiation at its medium and most at the high levels.

vs. 4Sevens Quark AA both Min and NiMH







the Quark AA minimum Level 1 Moon mode is really low rated at 0.2 lumens - so it is not surprising that the Preon is brighter here.

vs. 4Sevens Quark AA on Level 2 Low and both on NiMH







now the Quark AA is brighter - the level 2 Low is rated 4 lumens so it is about twice as bright......

vs. NiteCore D10-Q5 both on Min and NiMH







now this is a surprise - 
the NiteCore D10 (Q5) is rated at 3 lumens on minimum 
so it ought to be brighter - but it isn't - 
the D10 seems noticeably lower than the Preon 1's minimum.


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## brianch (Dec 20, 2009)

lovecpf
Added Preon 2 to my wishlist! Great little light! Runs on AAAs too.


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## Patriot (Dec 21, 2009)

Thank you for the excellent review VT. You put a lot of working into your beamshots and it shows.


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## Rexlion (Dec 23, 2009)

My red Preon kit arrived today. It's hard to put this light down! I found the head a little too tight for one-handed twisting, even though I removed & lubed the o-ring. But I think I like it in long form with clicky the best anyhow. And for kicks, I put the black clip on the short body and added a 10440 and black Maratac head. That combo looks nice and twists easily... although it's not a perfect fit, there's a gap visible and mode change can be touchy. Comparing the two, the Preon 2's high and Maratac/10440 high seem very close. On medium and low the Preon 2 puts out a little bit less than the other.

To me, a 1 AA is the most comfortable thing to put in a pants pocket. When pulling it out it's easy to give a twist, the hand has it in the right position. But the Preon 2 is ideal for clipping to the shirt pocket. It's easy to pull it out with the index finger right over the clicky.

Nice photo of the group! Makes that gold one really look better than I thought it would. I had a tough time deciding between blue and red, then when 4Sevens ran out of the blue kit I knew it was time to move... before red kits ran out too!


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## Lightcrazycanuck (Dec 24, 2009)

Excellent Review VT.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:



lovecpf


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## AMD64Blondie (Dec 24, 2009)

Aagh... Now you've gone and done it again!! (Tempting me, that is). Trying to resist buying a Preon 2.(I'm trying to hold off until after New Year's Day.)

Curse it... I couldn't help myself. (Went and ordered a Preon 2 Titanium today.) It is Christmas,after all... Just treating myself.
(Sigh... I'm addicted,can't you tell? The first sign of addiction is denial.)


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## Haz (Dec 24, 2009)

Nice review VT, I like your beamshot comparisons as always


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## Dioni (Dec 24, 2009)

Great review! 

Thanks!


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## r1gm1n (Dec 24, 2009)

UnknownVT said:


>


:kewlpics: The Golden Yellow feels as good in the hand as it looks.:thanks:


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## Geode (Jan 22, 2010)

*Clicky question*

Hi, 

I would appreciate it if someone can tell me how the clicky works with the change in levels.

Is the default low when you click on, then use the twisting action to switch levels? Or is there a way to have it on high or medium when you click it on?

Thanks,

Jeff


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## UnknownVT (Jan 22, 2010)

*Re: Clicky question*



Geode said:


> I would appreciate it if someone can tell me how the clicky works with the change in levels.
> 
> Is the default low when you click on, then use the twisting action to switch levels? Or is there a way to have it on high or medium when you click it on?



With the clicky switch in place - when turning on from cold defaults to low.

To change to the next level - one merely has to tap the clicky to get a momentary Off (the advice is to use pressure on the edge of the switch) - 
or click Off then back On again quickly.

Twisting the head off then quickly on again will also work.


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## iso9009 (Jan 23, 2010)

Great review


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## Sammax (Mar 22, 2010)

Awesome review and information. I apologize in advance if I missed the answer to my question but maybe someone could help me out.

In the picture the Preon 1 Titanium is longer than the other Preon 1's but the 4Seven web site shows them all at 2.95". What am I missing?

Thanks in advance. 
(And a special thanks to UnknownVT/Vincent for such great information/review)

- Donnie


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## HKJ (Mar 22, 2010)

Sammax said:


> In the picture the Preon 1 Titanium is longer than the other Preon 1's but the 4Seven web site shows them all at 2.95". What am I missing?




In what picture?
Here is one of my pictures with them:


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## Jay R (Mar 22, 2010)

I'm guessing the first picture where it's got the clickie and the rest don't.


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## Sammax (Mar 22, 2010)

Sorry I was not clear. Post # 1.


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## Sammax (Mar 22, 2010)

Sorry I wasn't clear. Post # 1.


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## Sammax (Mar 22, 2010)

Thanks for the picture by the way.

QUOTE=HKJ;3323823]In what picture?
Here is one of my pictures with them:




[/QUOTE]


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## UnknownVT (Mar 22, 2010)

Sammax said:


> In the picture the Preon 1 Titanium is longer than the other Preon 1's but the 4Seven web site shows them all at 2.95". What am I missing?



Welcome to CPF -

As you've figured out, and other have posted - the difference in length is due to the titanium version having a clicky tail-cap, whereas the other colored Preons have plain tail-caps.

in the review just below the first set of pics:

".... one can get a clicky tail-switch as shown on the titanium version (that's actually 4Sevens' own personal light....) and on the red Preon 2."


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## Sammax (Mar 22, 2010)

UnknownVT, 

Thanks for the welcome and reply. I actually read that clicky statement. In fact it is the reason that I ordered one. Looking at the picture again (post # 1), I think my mistake is that I failed to realize how much of the tail is actually tail and not the body.

Anywho, looking forward to getting the Preon 1 Titanium (with the clicky).

Thanks again.


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## HKJ (Mar 22, 2010)

Sammax said:


> http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/member.php?u=1341Anywho, looking forward to getting the Preon 1 Titanium (with the clicky).



All Preon I lights is without clicky, if you want a clicky you need to buy it as an extra.


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## Sammax (Mar 22, 2010)

Yep- thanks to his review comments I ordered the clicky when I ordered the light.


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## pee10755 (Jul 31, 2010)

Can anyone advise what the hit is in brightness if you use standard alkaline batteries instead of rechargeable? One of the reasons why I want to buy this light is there is an endless supply of duracell AAA at work. Thanks.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 1, 2010)

pee10755 said:


> Can anyone advise what the hit is in brightness if you use standard alkaline batteries instead of rechargeable? One of the reasons why I want to buy this light is there is an endless supply of duracell AAA at work. Thanks.



The brightness levels ought to be the same as the Preon uses a current regulated circuit (with very fast PWM to get the lower levels).

Although alkalines cannot sustain high current demands as well as NiMH rechargeables - but this should really only affect the eventual runtime.


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## GadgetGeek (Aug 1, 2010)

A Preon 1 lives on my keychain. It's an impressive little light. My only little niggle is I would have liked if they made the hole for the split ring protrude out a little further.


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## HKJ (Aug 1, 2010)

UnknownVT said:


> The brightness levels ought to be the same as the Preon uses a current regulated circuit (with very fast PWM to get the lower levels).



It might be current regulated, but not to a constant level. The brightness off Preon is directly proportional to the battery voltage. This makes a Preon much more friendly for alkalines than a constant brightness light.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 2, 2010)

HKJ said:


> It might be current regulated, but not to a constant level. The brightness off Preon is directly proportional to the battery voltage. This makes a Preon much more friendly for alkalines than a constant brightness light.



If the LED was on direct drive I would agree....

The Preon head can accommodate 1x or 2x AAA batteries the total voltages are below the typical Vf - so the circuit is a boost circuit.

Since the boost circuit boosts the voltage up to Vf - which remains the same for the emitter regardless of the battery used. Then the brightness of the light is dependent on the amount of energy (so current) that the batteries can deliver to the circuit/LED combination.

Does the difference between a nominal 1.5V of the alkaline (which sags much more quickly) and the nominal 1.2V of the NiMH make much of a difference? Since they both have to be boosted to Vf and therefore the brightness is dependent on the ability to deliver enough energy (so current) to drive the LED?


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## HKJ (Aug 2, 2010)

UnknownVT said:


> If the LED was on direct drive I would agree....



It is not anything to agree with or not, I have measured it. As you can see on the green curve the brightness increase with increasing battery voltage.

From my Danish review:








UnknownVT said:


> The Preon head can accommodate 1x or 2x AAA batteries the total voltages are below the typical Vf - so the circuit is a boost circuit.
> 
> Since the boost circuit boosts the voltage up to Vf - which remains the same for the emitter regardless of the battery used. Then the brightness of the light is dependent on the amount of energy (so current) that the batteries can deliver to the circuit/LED combination.
> 
> Does the difference between a nominal 1.5V of the alkaline (which sags much more quickly) and the nominal 1.2V of the NiMH make much of a difference? Since they both have to be boosted to Vf and therefore the brightness is dependent on the ability to deliver enough energy (so current) to drive the LED?



Some AAA lights are stabilized (Eagletac PN20A, Ray S20) and some are not (ITP A3, MaraTac AAA and Titanium Innovations IlluminaTi). They are all using a boost converter, but with different design.
The stabilized lights works best with NiMH, because they increase the current draw, when the battery voltage goes down, this is not smart with alkaline!


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## UnknownVT (Aug 2, 2010)

HKJ said:


> It is not anything to agree with or not, I have measured it. As you can see on the green curve the brightness increase with increasing battery voltage.
> 
> From my Danish review:



Thanks for the graph - I looked at your review (using Google Translate from Danish to English) - 

Using 1.2V nominal for NiMH/eneloop - your graph shows that the lumen output to be less than 60 lumens whereas the 1.5V nominal of the alkaline would be at about 80 lumens - was there really that much of a difference some 33% brighter than on an eneloop?

Do you have a version with the actual plot points for eneloop and alkaline or just the measurements of actual lumens readings were please?

This is a revelation and educational to me - thank you.




HKJ said:


> Some AAA lights are stabilized (Eagletac PN20A, Ray S20) and some are not (ITP A3, MaraTac AAA and Titanium Innovations IlluminaTi). They are all using a boost converter, but with different design.
> The stabilized lights works best with NiMH, because they increase the current draw, when the battery voltage goes down, this is not smart with alkaline!



Is the Preon then a non-stabilized circuit - ie: non-constant current - therefore does not increase current draw to compensate for sagging battery voltage?

Thanks


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## HKJ (Aug 2, 2010)

UnknownVT said:


> Thanks for the graph - I looked at your review (using Google Translate from Danish to English) -
> 
> Using 1.2V nominal for NiMH/eneloop - your graph shows that the lumen output to be less than 60 lumens whereas the 1.5V nominal of the alkaline would be at about 80 lumens - was there really that much of a difference some 33% brighter than on an eneloop?



The plot is made with a bench power supply and the lumen are calculated from measured brightness and the specified lumen output value (This will be correct, as long as the specified value is correct ).

Alkaline might start at 1.5 volt, but will not stay that high for long, NiMH will start at 1.4 and will keep above 1.2 for most of the run.




UnknownVT said:


> Do you have a version with the actual plot points for eneloop and alkaline or just the measurements of actual lumens readings were please?



For actual performance with batteries, you have to look for runtime curves. The above voltage scan is useful to see how the driver works, but can not include how batteries works under load (But a driver that tries to draw 1.5A from a AAA battery, does not work well with alkaline (S20), this is also confirmed with the runtime curve).




UnknownVT said:


> Is the Preon then a non-stabilized circuit - ie: non-constant current - therefore does not increase current draw to compensate for sagging battery voltage?



Yes, Preon, ITP A3, MaraTac AAA and Illuminati are all based around a similar (maybe same) circuit, but with different program in the controlling microprocessor.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 2, 2010)

HKJ said:


> Alkaline might start at 1.5 volt, but will not stay that high for long, NiMH will start at 1.4 and will keep above 1.2 for most of the run.
> Yes, Preon, ITP A3, MaraTac AAA and Illuminati are all based around a similar (maybe same) circuit, but with different program in the controlling microprocessor.



Thank you for that - 
so on high using alkaline one can probably see the light dimming fairly quickly due to voltafe sag of the alkaline 
- whereas on NiMH (where the voltage does not sag as quickly) one kind of see a relatively constant output - 
this is due to the battery characteristic rather than any regulation by the circuit?


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## HKJ (Aug 2, 2010)

UnknownVT said:


> Thank you for that -
> so on high using alkaline one can probably see the light dimming fairly quickly due to voltafe sag of the alkaline
> - whereas on NiMH (where the voltage does not sag as quickly) one kind of see a relatively constant output -
> this is due to the battery characteristic rather than any regulation by the circuit?



Exactly, except you will have problems seeing it (A "small" brightness change over time is very difficult to see), but it can easily be measured.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 2, 2010)

HKJ said:


> For actual performance with batteries, you have to look for runtime curves.



Using that hint I found a runtime graph from selfbuilt's excellent review - 4Sevens Preon Review (1xAAA & 2xAAA): RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, and more!





Note: this is selfbuilt's runtime for the Preon 1 and 2.

It doesn't look like that alkaline is brighter than using NiMH in 1xAAA (except right at the start) or 2xAAA at anytime?

In fact the 2xAAA runtime was kind of what I was expecting NiMH in comparison to alkalines - which do not seem to be able to sustain the current delivery required.


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## tokerblue (Aug 2, 2010)

I originally bought a black Preon 1 and love it. I'm a huge fan of it and it's my EDC. It's just so simple to put in my back pocket as I would a pen. I ended up buying a Preon 2 (black + titanium) and a red Preon 1 body for my wife. I kept the Preon 2 body in the event I need a brighter light. The clicky interface from the Preon 2 is great for her and she has a nice red+titanium combo Preon 1 with clicky.


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## pee10755 (Aug 3, 2010)

Thank you for the information. Is there an lio rechargeable option for this light or would the voltage be too high and fry the light?


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## selfbuilt (Aug 3, 2010)

HKJ said:


> Some AAA lights are stabilized (Eagletac PN20A, Ray S20) and some are not (ITP A3, MaraTac AAA and Titanium Innovations IlluminaTi). They are all using a boost converter, but with different design.
> The stabilized lights works best with NiMH, because they increase the current draw, when the battery voltage goes down, this is not smart with alkaline!


As always, thanks for the detailed circuit analysis HKJ.

For those of you curious about the difference in alkaline runtime, here is a comparison of the Med/Lo modes of the Preon 2 and Eagletac PN20a2 that I reviewed recently:






Note that the PN20a (and to a lesser extent PN20a2) suffer from a relative lack of efficiency on Hi. But the Med mode (shown above) is very impressive.


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## Tolip (Aug 3, 2010)

It looks like the neutral white only comes in black. 
Has anyone taken apart the heads to see how easy it may be to change out the exteriors? I'm wondering if it will be worth my time to buy a titanium head and swap out the guts.


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## HKJ (Aug 3, 2010)

selfbuilt said:


>



An interesting detail:
The high output at the start of the PN20a2 is because it goes into direct drive. The Vf of the led, in low mode, is lower than 2xalkaline.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 3, 2010)

pee10755 said:


> Thank you for the information. Is there an lio rechargeable option for this light or would the voltage be too high and fry the light?



The Preon head is rated/spec'd Operating Voltage Range: 0.9V-3.0V - 
so Li-Ion 10440 is out of range/spec and is not advised.


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## red02 (Aug 3, 2010)

Any idea if the Warm white preons will lego with parts from the regular ones?


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## UnknownVT (Aug 3, 2010)

red02 said:


> Any idea if the Warm white preons will lego with parts from the regular ones?



Oh absolutely - the Preon head(s) are interchangeable on the 1xAAA and 2xAAA bodies.

So the Warm White Preon 2 head will fit and work on a Preon 1 body with clicky or plain end as a twisty.

4Sevens Preon 2 Warm White Comparison Review


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## Hiro Protagonist (Aug 9, 2010)

Thank you for this excellent review and amazing beam shots! I stumbled onto CPF while trying to find a light to replace my lost arc-AAA . 

I read about the Ti Preon1 on CPF and very recently got it. I love the light, although I scratched the body with the clip while trying to install the battery...  I didn't know about the posts warning about breech loading the battery. How can I polish out the scratches?

Keep up the good work! lovecpf


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## UnknownVT (Aug 9, 2010)

Hiro Protagonist said:


> although I scratched the body with the clip while trying to install the battery...  I didn't know about the posts warning about breech loading the battery. How can I polish out the scratches?



Thank you for your kind words.

Have you tried metal polish?
Depending on the depth of the scratches - 
you may have to go from coarser (which can make the scratches look even worse initially) to finer polishes.

I just came across Cape Cod Polish Cloths that seems promising 
(hint: look in the "23 new from $2.99" section for $0.00 shipping)


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## Hiro Protagonist (Aug 9, 2010)

I'll look into trying metal polish. Thanks from a CPF newbie!


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## was.lost.but.now.found (Aug 9, 2010)

My experience with Ti is a lot less than my experience with stainless but sometimes you have to restore a full polish before you then can add a nice brushed finish.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 9, 2010)

was.lost.but.now.found said:


> My experience with Ti is a lot less than my experience with stainless but sometimes you have to restore a full polish before you then can add a nice brushed finish.



I don't think that is right - satin or brush stainless steel finishes require much less work than mirror polished. 

What you seem to be saying is that one needs to get a high polish before being able to restore a brushed finish - that just doesn't sound right.

You may need to work a bit more to remove a deeper scratch which might result in getting to a higher polish - but that is probably because one is using too fine a grade polish/rubbing compound - ie: the wrong grit - too fine polishes out the undamaged brushed finish.

here's a link to removing scratches on brushed stainless steel - among the many answers - no one suggests getting to a high polished state.

Anyway the Ti Preon is mirror polished titanium - 
so it is originally at a high state of polish......


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## was.lost.but.now.found (Aug 10, 2010)

I don't want to get too off topic here, but there are so many variables I don't think anyone can say that there is one right way to do it. You first must understand what finish you had from the start, what kind of scratches you have, and what finish you want to end up with. Not to mention the type of SS/metal you are working with (the harder the metal the more difficult it will be to get out the scratches out without a lot of work). Further, treating a brushed finish (where there are very distinct fine lines in the metal) is going to be much different than treating a buffed finish, which is going to be different than a satin finish.

To your point though, I don't know where I saw 'brushed' to begin with. As you say the Ti Preons come with a high polish. Working with a jeweler's brush pen may be the easiest option for applying a renewed brushed surface to a completely scratched item, but not everyone has one of them.


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## UnknownVT (Aug 10, 2010)

was.lost.but.now.found said:


> To your point though, I don't know where I saw 'brushed' to begin with. As you say the Ti Preons come with a high polish. Working with a jeweler's brush pen may be the easiest option for applying a renewed brushed surface to a completely scratched item, but not everyone has one of them.



Perhaps I have misunderstood you - (it may be a good suggestion) but I didn't see the poster with the scratch from the clip saying they wanted a brushed finish - just that they wanted to try to remove the scratch from the Ti Preon - which is (as we now agree) a high polished finish.


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## jkid1911 (Feb 26, 2013)

Well done, very helpful review. Thanks.


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## trailblazer295 (Mar 30, 2013)

I've been looking at these lights for awhile now and have gone back and forth considering the Preon 1 or getting the red kit. It would be primarily for keychain use, what is the durability of the finish when worn with other keys? It seems the titanium kits no longer exist.


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## Art_vandeley (Apr 3, 2013)

One year of edc. I think it wears nicely.


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## N_N_R (Apr 3, 2013)

Art_vandeley said:


> One year of edc. I think it wears nicely.






omG  Poor guy  I like this pic Though it now looks more green than blue to me.


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