Flashlight reviews

[Cerbera]

I have decided to do a test with some lights that I own.




The top light is a Surefire 6P with the P60 lamp (60 lumens according to Surefire) and two CR123 batteries.
Runtime: 60 minutes
Price: Paid $52

Middle light is the Borealis with the Rolls Royce battery carrier (1050 lumens) and optional crenellated bezel
Runtime: 50 minutes
Price: $260

The bottom light is a Surefire Z2 with a Lumens Factory HO-4 Lamp (150 lumens) and a rechargeable 17670 Lithium-Ion battery.
Runtime: 60 minutes
Price: Paid $82 for original light, $12 for HO-4 Lamp, $10 for the 17670 battery.
Total price paid: $104

I have taken three images of each light. One image is the beam on a wall with the center of the image slightly off center of the beam. The camera focuses too much on the only light source. As a result, I decided to take an image of the floor that is about two feet down and 4 feet away from the wall and an image on the other end of my room to display to light’s ability to flood the room with light.

Here is the Surefire 6P

 

[Cerbera]

Here is the Surefire Z2




Here is the Borealis

 

[Cerbera]

Here is my 30 Watt compact fluorescent light (room light) that produces than 2,000 lumens.



As you can see, the Surefires barely lit up the room while the Borealis was able to produce light almost comparable to my compact fluorescent.

The Surefire 6P and the Z2 have similar output except the beam of the 6P provides more flood compared to the tightly focused HO-4. The P60 lamp and two fresh CR123 batteries actually output around 120 lumens, but the light output degrades as battery life decreases. Surefire states the lamp is 60 lumens, but that is the average output of its 1 hour life. The Lumens Factory HO-4 lamp states 150 lumens, but it has similar light output of the P60. Lumens Factory rates their lamps at the bulb. Compared to the Surefire’s 120 lumens, the Lumens Factory’s HO-4 is around the same output. Even if one has more lumens than the other, it would be hard to tell with human eyes. Combine the HO-4 with a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, the output remains the same throughout its runtime. Also, the rechargeable battery makes it much more cost efficient than primary CR123 batteries.

However, the Borealis beat both of the Surefires. Although costing two and a half times my Z2 rechargeable configuration and FIVE times the Surefire 6P, the Borealis has similar runtimes but 17.5 times the output of a Surefire 6P and 10 times the output of the rechargeable Z2 configuration. With a 6P, you’ll eventually waste your money on primary CR123 batteries. With the Z2 setup, you’ll save money compared to a 6P, but you will never produce the same light output as a Borealis.

Now that we know how powerful the Borealis is, I compared it to a Mazda Tribute’s headlamps. I discovered that the Tribute’s 9003 headlamp produces around 910 lumens at low beam and 1500 lumens at high beam per bulb. I drove the Tribute to a park and tested how the Borealis compared to one headlamp. I had my friend use his body to cover the other headlamp. I held the Borealis at the same level as the headlamps to be as accurate as possible when comparing the two lights.

Here is the Mazda’s low beam (900 lumens)


Here is the Mazda’s high beam (1500 lumens)


Here is the Borealis (1050 lumens)


First off, I don’t know how far the houses were from my location. I can say it is at least a good one minute walk to reach those houses.

The low beam provided nice flood of light in front of the car. The high beams threw quite well and you can see the light hitting the houses. The Borealis gave a strong wall of bright white light that threw as far as the high beams. You might not be able to see in the picture, but in person, I believe the Borealis had a tighter hot spot (more throw) than the high beams. There seems to be more light on the houses with the Borealis.

That is my review. Go to Black Bear Flashlights for more information!

Also go here if you want to see what you can do with a Borealis.