# The Quickbeam "Mystery Box" thread (long thread)



## MacTech (Apr 23, 2007)

This thread should be the official thread in which CPF'ers who were able to purchase Quickbeam's "Mystery Box" in B/S/T, rather than clutter up Quickbeam's thread with the contents (and the inevitable reviews) of the lights in our "Mystery Boxes"

There's no way I could even hope to write reviews of the caliber and completeness of the ones found on FLR, so i'll just do quick capsule reviews

I'll break down the lights as follows;

*Lights I *KNEW* would be great;*

*Pelican M3 LED*; Very solidly built, bright, nice tight hotspot, throwy beam, Luxeon lottery winner, minor artifacts in the spillbeam, and minor ringiness, only visible when WWH'ing, unnoticeable in normal use, comes with a very nice nylon sheath with room for 3 extra 123a's

Seems to be relatively upgrade-freindly, the Lux3 star is held in place with a simple friction ring, a simple star-swap should allow the installation of a Cree or SSC emitter

*Inova X5 (original style)* I have a newer X5 already (smooth body, brighter LED's, knurled tailcap), but what really surprised me is how much better the *old* X5 is, the new X5 trades runtime for brightness, the old X5's white LED's are not the "Angry Blue" of Nichia CS LED's, they are nice, neutrally balanced , a little blue, but also a little yellow, no angry blue hotspot with a yellow flood, just a good, basic, balanced flood beam

the grooved body of the light is a lot more grippable than the new X5's smooth slabside body as well

*the "Peak Pack"* Now i know why Peak has such a cult following here, the brass bodied Peaks are *phenominal*, excellent machining, and a good solid heft, they simply ooze Quality, my favorites are the multi-LED models, the brass 7 LED single 123a cell model, the 5 LED AA cell model, and the 3 LED AAA model, no they're not the brightest lights out there, but they are quite usable, and exceptionally solidly built, heck the single AA 5 LED model weighs more than a 2 cell Minimag, as does the 3 LED single AAA

I have no "N" cell batteries yet, so i haven't yet been able to try the diminuitive Shasta N cell series, looking forward to that one, especially the single LED pocket bodied brass Shasta

the only real dissapointment in the Peaks is the single LED polished reflector 1AA model, it's exceptionally dim, lets hope it has a ultra-long runtime to make up for it....

*Good, solid lights*

*Streamlight TwinTask 3AA*; not a bad little light, sort of an "anorexic A2 Aviator Wannabee", nice solid construction, floody low beam LEDs, very similar to the A2, the incan however, can't compare to the Mighty A2, the TT-3AA is about half as bright and with a less sharply defined hotspot, still, a great general purpose light, not really EDC'able, but a good car light or nightstand/bathroom light

*Diamond 10X*; looks remarkably like a Coast light, with the narrow waist behind the head, very wide, smooth flood, much brighter than a stock incan Minimag, good heft to the light as well, feels solidly built, a definite incan Mag killer for those needing a floody light

*AdvanceMart 3AAA .5W * quite a decent little light, a few artifacts in the hotspot due to the smooth reflector, but not bad for general use, has a nice smooth spill, loses points for the 3aa battery carrier though

*AdvanceMart .5w 123a Nickel Plated Brass* a nice little long running battery sipper, it's also (according to FLR) RCR123a compatible

*Pleasant Surprises*

*Coast LED Lenser V2*; I know Coast doesn't have a good reputation here on CPF, so i wasn't really expecting much from the V2, well, i was wrong, the V2 has an *incredibly* wide flood on white, a very nice, smooth, wide flood, arguably the widest flood i have, the red LED in the center is somewhat ringy (as red LED's usually are) but not bad, great white flood though

*Brinkmann Legend LX*; It's no SureFire, that's for sure, however it is a decent, solidly built Xenon light with an adequate focusing system, not a bad starting point for someone getting into high-powered 123a based incans

*Petzl Myo 5*; a good, solid hybrid headlamp, nice floody LED's, and a usable focusing incan beam, the 3-point headband wasn't as uncomfortable as i thought it would be

*Nuwai 6 AAA 1W* i expected a 6 AAA Luxeon light using an extanded battery carrier to have either crappy output, or mediocre runtime, but this Nuwai has neither, it puts out a surprisingly usable amount of light, has a decent hotspot (minor greenish corona, but not objectionable), and according to FLR, actually has decent runtime, around 10 hours or so, this is one battery-carrier based light that's actually decent

*Dorcy 4AA focusing lantern*; this one definitely caught me off guard,these Dorcy lanterns look like a truly gimmicky product that would be absolutely mediocre, in trying to be both a flashlight *and* a lantern, you'd think it'd do neither one well, well this one's a definite diamond in the rough...

the first thing it needed was a bulb, and as expected, the MagLED bulb was too wide to fit it, so i went with the next-best thing, the Sears PR base Luxeon bulb, dropped in the Sears PR Lux, screwed the lid back on and installed the batteries.....

when you first switch on the lantern, it's in flashlight mode, and at initial turn-on it has an *exceptionally* tight, focused beam, i mean a *seriously* collomated beam, as you slide the bulb holder up, the beam unfocuses into a sharply defined flood spot and you get sidespill diffused through the sides of the lantern, it's not the prettiest beam profile out there, WWH'ers will absolutely *hate* it, but it's the most useful LED lantern i've used yet, it easily outperforms my 3x as expensive Brunton camping lantern

toss a Sears PR based Lux in the Dorcy focusing lantern and you have a very versatile light source, nice work, Dorcy 

*AdvanceMart 41 LED "Showerhead" light*; yes, yes, i know, according to FLR, this is a mediocre light, it burns through a set of batteries in 20 minutes, it's a simple, primitive, direct drive light, decidedly unsophisticated and rough

but it has it's charm, when all 41 LED's light up for that 20 minute runtime, you're treated to a nice wide, smooth flood, this thing is a superflooder, and i'm rather partial to floody flashlights, heck, the 20 minute runtime doesn't even bother me, as i have plenty of cheapo Rayovac 750 mAH rechargables i can feed it, when i start to see dimming, i recharge one set and drop in another set

and finally, we come to, sadly.....
*Dissapointments*
Hey, they can't *ALL* be winners, can they?  

*Generic 3AA 6 LED flashlight*; the body's rather nice looking, smooth, wavy aluminum, a light blue anodizing, unscrew the cap and drop in 3 AAA cells, hit the tail clickie....

and you're treated to a somewhat dim, greenish floody beam, it's not *bad*, mind you, but it's just average, if not a little below average, it'd be fine for the Unenlightened, but not for afficionados like us....

*Streamlight 2AA Tasklight* WHAT?!?, i hear you say, why the frak is MacTech putting a Streamlight flashlight in the "Dissapointment" category, heck, he put that 41 LED AdvanceMart Cheapie that burns through batteries in 20 minutes in "Pleasant Surprises", yet he puts a Streamlight in the Dissapointment category??? what gives, has he gone *insane??* (no, don't answer that  )

the reason i put the SL 2AATL here is because of (according to Quickbeam) it's "Parasitic" circuit, simply leaving batteries in the light will drain them, and to me, that's an inexcusable design flaw, especially on a flashlight that's meant to be tossed in a drawer until it's needed....

performance-wise, the 2AATL is a decent performer, it's actually nice to have 2 power levels on a 2AA light, but having to remove the batteries when you're done is an annoyance, if the light didn't have a parasitic circuit, it would have been placed in my "Decent light" category, but the parasitism doomed it, sorry....

*CMG Reactor 3* I know *The LED Museum* often uses the term "Urine-yellow" to humorously describe the tint most LED flashlights *DO NOT* have, but i never thought i'd see one that *HAS* that tint....'

This is the one, the Lux emitter has a sickening yellow-green tint (Vomit-Tint, i call it), which is sad, really, because otherwise, it's actually not a bad light, it's got a nice balanced beam profile, a somewhat floody beam, if i could only get inside it's hermetically-sealed body, it could benefit from an emitter swap, maybe even a Cree or SSC, turn it into a Sleeper light, but as it stands, the horrible tint drops this one to "Dissapointments"

and finally, the last light in the bunch;

*Gerber Meridian*; Long story short, Gerber probably got the Lux in this one from the same batch as the CMG Reactor 3, this one also has a horrible "****-yellow" tint, and also has a hermetically sealed head, making emitter replacement difficult, if not impossible, just like the Reactor 3, if it had a better emitter (or even a less-repulsive tint), this would have rated a "solid"

Doug, many thanks for the opportunity to own a piece of FLR history, hope i didn't step on your toes with the last four mini-reviews , they can't *all* be winners, can they?.....

Okay, next "Mystery Box" owner, feel free to add to this thread

I'll take some pics tomorrow and add them to this thread, it's late and i'm tired, got no sleep last nigh.........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz............................


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## Nyctophiliac (Apr 24, 2007)

Good mini-reviews - Mactech.

You ten peeps are way lucky - I hate being asleep while you chaps are online and catching great stuff like this!!

Continue the good work -


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## MacTech (Apr 24, 2007)

Here's a pic of the contents of the Mystery Box spread out on the bed;


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## Manzerick (Apr 24, 2007)

Awesome score!!!


We're like Pirates showing our treasures!!! LOL


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## Zerius (Apr 24, 2007)

Very nice, any chance you would part with one to get a flashaholic started? =D


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## kelmo (Apr 24, 2007)

My "Hi Lights,"

Black Diamond Helion Headlamp - I never would of thought I would like a hybrid headlamp. This thing is very useful. Good throw and close in flood. The only thing I don't like is going from LED to Incan and visa versa. This makes the beams appear to be really blue or really yellow. The lamp housing has an extra lamp stashed inside! It looks great on my red Petzl helmut.

Scorpian LED - beautiful beam but its got a face only a flashaholic would love.

M1 w/holster - always admired these when I go to Frys but being a Surefire bigot I never bought one. Very nice output! It will be my travel light next month when vacationing with my wife.

Twintask 3C - back in the dark ages, circa 1995 BC (before CPF), I handled one of these and said to myself I will never pay $40 for a flashlight. They are just as cool now as they were back in the day.

Peak Kino Bay - sure the regulation stinks but its just so pretty. I installed some flashlight Viagra (lithium cell) to keep "Up" the output. It now lives in my 1st Aid Kit.

Streamlight 3C XP - we're talking plain vanilla here but useful.

3W LED Torch - I think its a Nuwai, a garage sale purchase that turned out to be a diamond in the rough.

Red Tweek Lite - when you clip it onto something it looks like an "Alien Scout."

Swiss Forcelight 3AA - my wife claimed it, now she can't really complain about my purchase!

kelmo


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## TORCH_BOY (Apr 24, 2007)

Hey, thats a great starter pack


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## Nomad (Apr 24, 2007)

Hey let me know if any of y'all "Mystery Box" winners decide to get rid of some of your stuff. I have an Inova and a Fenix I got as gifts from other CPF members, but other than that I only have experience with maglites.


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## iocheretyanny (Apr 24, 2007)

I wonder what the resale value of these box-full-o-lights be estimated at?


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## kavvika (Apr 24, 2007)

For those lucky 3 that recieved the "Peak Pack," I'd say easily $400
I know there's someone who recieved a Peak Mediterranean, which has a MSRP of $110.
Doug is an extremely generous man!


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## kelmo (Apr 25, 2007)

The really big surprise in my Box was the Nuwai ALX-332 3 Watt Torch. It is small, very bright, has great regulation, and it came with a holster. It is a E2L killer at a quarter of the E2L's price. Sure there is a big difference in the construction quality but it is a damm usefull light. 

All the lights I received were LED. I am an incan man at heart so this gift was good for my perspective. 

And yes Doug is a very-very generous man. He must have shipped out $4,000 worth of happiness. I hope he does this again so I can read about your joy!

kelmo


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## cratz2 (Apr 25, 2007)

Looks like some nice lights. I've owned a small handful of Peaks but have passed them all on to others that might actually get use out of them. Those 'dim' standard power LEDs do get some very decent runtime. I had a 3 standard power red LED AAA light with HAIII that would run so long on a cell, I always gave up trying to get an estimate. 

And the Advancedmart 1x123 light that is nickle-plated brass is kinda sweet. It's heavy and pretty dim for a .5W light, but it uses R123s just fine (only slightly brighter) and will seriously drain primary CR123 cells. And mine is the whitest .5W light I've ever owned.

And speaking of the Reactor, I think those lights are the reason many of the old-timers are so easily satisfied with almost all Lux III, SSC and Cree tints. The bad Lux Is were SOOOOO bad, that almost any of the Lux IIIs and SSC/CREEs are worlds better... even the ones a lot of CPFers seem to hate.


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## sysadmn (Apr 26, 2007)

Doug - 
If you try this again, could you consider a Dutch auction? I'd have loved to have a shot at these, and would have bid at least $100-120 plus shipping.


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## kelmo (Apr 27, 2007)

I'm really digging the SL Twintask 3C. Sure its big, heavy, and not "bleeding edge tech" but it is a very good looking torch that feels like a manly flashlight in hand. The output is not to shabby either. 

The Helion headlamp now has a fresh set of lithiums in it. I went to the local Safeway to get them. They are on sale this week.

Who's left to report in?

After coveting thy neighbor's box I am reminded of the lyric, "...Its not what you want, its wanting what you got!..." I want what I got.

Life is good...


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## Nell (Apr 27, 2007)

Finally my list of goodies:

Pelican Recoil 2010
Streamlight Task light
Black Diamond Gemini
Electrolumen Blaster
Streamlight Jr. Luxeon
Gerber Recon
Safe Light (Orange)
Led Lenser Alien Light
Inova T1
Coleman Pocket Lantern
Light Wave 3000
Vector 2 Way Flashlight
Night Buster Clipper
Pelican VB3
In 2 the light S21
Tweek Light
Aitec Collimator
Diamond AT3100L
Lithium Power (Cop) model
5mm Photon clone.

Favorites so far, Electrolumen Blaster, Streamlight Jr. Luxeon, Inove T1, Coleman Pocket Lantern, Night Buster Clipper. 

The others still need a little more play time to bond.


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## ringzero (Apr 28, 2007)

MacTech said:


> Streamlight 2AA Tasklight WHAT?!?, i hear you say, why the frak is MacTech putting a Streamlight flashlight in the "Dissapointment" category...the reason i put the SL 2AATL here is because of (according to Quickbeam) it's "Parasitic" circuit, simply leaving batteries in the light will drain them, and to me, that's an inexcusable design flaw, especially on a flashlight that's meant to be tossed in a drawer until it's needed...



Hey MacTech, I use my Streamlight 2AA Tasklight daily and really like it.

Beam quality is decent for general utility and trail walking. Throw is suprisingly good on high, given the 20 lumen output. Low level is great for close up tasks. Runtime is amazing: nearly 10 hours on high and better than 50 hours on low. The Rigel emitter and step up circuitry are very efficient.

Having used this light for camping and hiking, I can verify that it is waterproof and quite tough and durable. Ergonomics are excellent - love the switch and control of the two level output. Strobe is a useful bonus because, unlike some other lights, UI to select strobe function is well thought out and completely unobtrusive.

The 'parasitic' current draw could be a problem if the light were stored away for long periods, but otherwise you'll never notice it. Fixed this issue with a few wraps of teflon tape to convert the tailcap to a lockout. Lockout tailcap is useful for transport in backpack or luggage, and long term storage. I rarely use the lockout tailcap, but one set of alkalines keeps my light running bright for months of daily use.

Give this light a chance - it may grow on you. For its very reasonable price, it makes a great little general utility light for quick tasks around house and yard. Also quite decent for hiking and camping. If you wrap the tailcap threads with teflon tape, it even makes a decent backup light.

.


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## Sigman (Apr 28, 2007)

Yes I posted this list in the B/S/T thread - but will post it here as well (that thread is closed now and this does seem more appropriate...).

I'm getting sooooo much enjoyment out of this box-o-lights!! 

"_Hey they're 'just' flashlights_!" *NOOOOoooooooo, NOT to a "Flashaholic"!!* Collecting, buying, selling, testing, using, appreciating...it's all part of the hobby! Just as folks enjoy collecting stamps & coins - I'll admit it...I LIKE FLASHLIGHTS!! 

The opportunity to obtain such a variety of lights that are a piece of FlashlightReviews.com was one of those "in the right spot at the right moment" chances and again - MAJOR THANKS to Doug - FIRST OF ALL for all of the info he's provided us on his site & of course for this appreciated offer!! Do I sound nuts? Yeah, so what - I'll admit it!! :thumbsup: :thanks:

 Black Diamond Helion Hybrid Headlamp - LED Headlamp (20 5mm LED) - Peak Pacific with AA, AAA, 2-AAA, & CR2 bodies - Craftsman Endurable - Elektro Lumens XM-3 - Coast LED Lenser V2 3C (16 5mm LED) - Lite Pro Spitfire I - Element - Streamlight Tasklight 2-L - Streamlight Twin Task 2-123 & 2-D - Streamlight Keymate - Dynamo Radio Light - LED Light 1-AA (Moonbeam optic like original Inova X1) - Squid Light - Radio Shack Pocket Fluorescent - Tweek Lite -Abitax - 2 small key chain LED lights -
1 small key chain LED light


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## MacTech (Apr 28, 2007)

Ringzero, that's good to know, as the 2AATL *IS* a decent light in actual *USE*, it's that bloody parasitic circuit that pissed me off, and yes, i did verify Doug's claims of parasitic circuitry.....

I put a pair of batteries in it (cheapo RatShack batteries) that metered out at 1.608V, after 12 hours sitting in the light, unused, the voltage had dropped to 1.603V, the control batteries that sat in the packaging unused were at 1.608V

Parasitic circuit confirmed

Now, i just need to get some teflon tape and mod the tailcap, solve that minor parasitic circuit problem

I may have to revise a couple of my ratings anyway, i'll give the TL2AA a chance, as it is solidly constructed and puts ot a rather nice beam profile, if the Teflon tape thing works, it'll be moved into the "Good, solid lights" category....

the AdvanceMart 41 LED "Showerhead" light , sadly, is being moved to "Dissapointment", as it has now become a 39 LED light, 2 LEDs are intermittently failing, not enough to alter the beam, and only noticeable when you look into the head of the light anyway, i know this is normal behavior for inexpensive 5MM LED cluster lights, but it's still dissapointing....



ringzero said:


> Hey MacTech, I use my Streamlight 2AA Tasklight daily and really like it.
> 
> Beam quality is decent for general utility and trail walking. Throw is suprisingly good on high, given the 20 lumen output. Low level is great for close up tasks. Runtime is amazing: nearly 10 hours on high and better than 50 hours on low. The Rigel emitter and step up circuitry are very efficient.
> 
> ...


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## MacTech (May 1, 2007)

I figured it was time to spread the Flashaholic disease some more at work, so i took 4 lights from the Mystery Box....

the generic blue 3AAA 6 LED light
CMG Reactor 3
AdvanceMart .5w 3AAA
Coast V2 dual-color

(Names Farscaped to protect the innocent...  )

Jothee grabbed the Coast V2, he loves the dual color-LED and the wide white flood

Stark grabbed the AdvanceMart .5 and can't stop playing with it, he can't wait to get home and play with his new toy, he's like a kid on Christmas, he even asked if he could take 2 lights (definite Flashaholic tendencies there), but i told him to wait until our other co-worker, Harvey, decides if he wants a light

Jack Crichton grabbed the CMG Reactor 3, as he doesn't like AAA cells, he has yet to light it up, so i'm leaving the 3AAA 6 LED light here in case he hates the tint on the light (very possible)


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