Customer Stories

  Expedition 1400 sees it through Katrina:

I kept telling my folks to get the heck out of the city, but dad can be
pretty stubborn sometimes. He just wouldn't leave his house behind. Period. During and after the storm, Dad burned through all of his D-cell batteries (lots of them!) in about one day/night in his old Mag-lite collection. They were trapped for almost 5 days and only had C-cell batteries left. I had loaned my 1400 to my dad a few months earlier and forgot to get it back. I live 250 miles away from them. Anyway, the 1400 lasted the next 4 nights and kept them safe. My mom is handicapped (polio survivor!) and my dad is a wounded veteran, so you can imagine how worried I was for a few days until the phones could get through again. Thanks for a great product and for keeping my parents safe when I couldn't!  Only one problem now....I don't
think he's going to give my 1400 back to me now!  :)

Thanks again!,
Mike Y

 

IR Strobes in action

I had some guys test the IR strobe while calling in air strikes at night. They said that it worked great under night vision."
- Supply Officer, 1-16 Infantry Battalion

Thanks for the quick delivery

I would like to take a min. and let you know that our team here very much appreciate the quick delivery of the IR Strobes we ordered.

I can say without reservations that they have made our job here much safer. My road team has said the military convoys are responding to our signals much faster and we all feel a lot better for that.

  Thanks for a great product and the peace of mind it gives the guys out there in the dark. Thank all your people  for the support your company has given to our safety. Their efforts may be the thing that saves a life over here.

 

Thaks very much

 

Henry L. Williams

EODT / USACE

Security Team Leader

IRAQ

Thanks for Making Such a Great, Waterproof, Rugged and Battery-efficient Light

I paddle my kayak to work once or twice a week depending on the weather and sometimes I paddle back after dark. I'd been looking for ways to make my kayak more visible and your red and green navigation lights were recommended on a kayak forum. I tried them and they're great. I use them on every night paddle. I have a photo of them in use at my we site:
http://www.kayakcam.com/p2work-visibility.html

Thanks for making such a great, waterproof, rugged and battery-efficient light.

Mike Massey
Bellingham, Washington

I Love my Excursion LS4!

I just wanted to drop you an e-mail and let you know what a great job you guys did designing the Excursion LS4. I have been using it a lot lately, in my opinion it is the best light you guys have produced, I love it! Battery life is great, great [beam] throw, it has the whitest and brightest LED of all my lights, (even beats the SureFire L4 I have), maybe I just got lucky too. Keep the good products coming.

Matt Neely

Thanks Tektite, I love my Avalanche LS Headlamp

Tektite is the most practical light source company out there! Anyone can build a flashlight, but you go way beyond! Your products are well thought out, user friendly, reliable, durable and the light beam is clean and well focused. From an end user, thank you for your efforts.

Regarding the new Avalanche LS Headlamp with the LPR-3 bulb, it's incredible!! When turned on it resembles an aircraft landing light! The Luxeon LED seems to be as bright as Halogen or Xenon bulbs except it has a much greater lifespan, plus its run time is around 100 hours of usable light and will reach out to 150 feet.

I ran the Luxeon non-stop from October 26, 2003 at 4:45 pm to 9:00 am on October 31, 2003 to try and melt the reflector and kill the batteries. Neither objective was accomplished!!

The focus of the beam is very clear; the wavelength is very user friendly as I find it to help bring out details on the trail, for example, depressions, rocks, etc., things the standard light blue LEDs tend to wash out or blend with surrounding terrain.

On a flat white wall in my house, at a distance of 8', the Luxeon exhibits a tight central spot 12" inches across, with four concentric diffraction rings surrounding it. There are dimmer shadowy rings between each brighter ring; this means if we cold bring all the output closer, the Luxeon could be even more effective.

Layne T. Oliver
West Valley, Utah

Diving with the Expedition Star

As promised, I am offering you my experience with scuba diving with the Tektite Expedition Star (Luxeon Star LED) you recently sold me.  I can also offer you more background information since I also own the Tektite 1400 as well as a C. Crane Expedition 600.  With the fresh Energizer batteries (1.55 V) that came with the Star, it drew 275 mA of power.  With the same batteries, the 1400 drew 350 mA and the 600 drew only 255 mA. After burning the Star for 48 hours and letting the batteries rest for a few days (1.15 V), the Star drew 80 mA, the 1400 drew 70 mA and the 600 drew 55mA.  This explains why the 1400 loses a lot if its new battery brightness in the first hour but still burns roughly forever.  As you know, on land, the Luxeon Star is perfectly white and well shaped.  The claim for full brightness (within 10% by my observation) of 15 hours seems pretty close (it seems to hold 100% full brightness to the eye for about 2-3 hours, outstanding!).  The 1400 gave me 100% brightness for less than an hour while the 600 gave me 100% brightness for about 4 hours with a slow discharge into infinity.

Back to the diving, I made three night dives with the Star last week.  All three were in a freshwater quarry with about 30 feet daytime visibility.  Typical water temp at depth is 41°F of pure cold.  As I write this, I still find it very hard to believe what I observed on three different dives.  You see, my "other" dive light with me on the first two dives was a UK Light Cannon (10-Watt HID light, about as bright as a 25-Watt Xenon light).  Naturally one would think the HID light would bury the little Luxeon Star light; well, a week ago I would have bet money on it - not any more though.  The HID light did give about 10-15% more distant visibility in the water.  The problem is that came at the cost of totally assaulting my eyes and destroying any semblance of a night vision.  With the HID, I could not see my dive buddy unless I turned the HID away long enough for my vision to correct itself.  It was also very hard to see my gauges without totally blinding myself and seeing stars.

Now enter the Expedition Star.  I could see practically as far as the HID without hurting my eyes at all; in fact, while the HID fully illuminated the particles in the water, the Star seemed to ignore them.  So, I could see just as far as the HID (practically speaking), I could keep track of my buddy far easier, I could read my gauges easily, I could turn off my light and have some night vision.  This amazing little (for a scuba light) light simply allowed my eyes to optimally adjust to the dark environment and to clearly see at night in the dark.  I am still amazed at what I actually saw.  One dive took us to 105' to a boat on the bottom.  I saw it fully 20' away and it fully illuminated the boat at 10' (remember only 30' visibility).  My dive buddy (he had a conventional 4C dive light) later commented he did not need a light on that dive since he only needed to look at mine to see everything.  His UK 4C illuminated farther away but did not actually reveal anything if you know what I mean.

If diving in 100' visibility, the story might be different.  I won't know that until December.  In any case, my $300 HID is on the shelf right now and my Expedition Star is my main diving light.

I was thinking that for clearer water, I might get another Star and "bolt" them together. That would offer me a lot of options. That is until I noticed there is now a Tektite Excursion LS1 with half again greater brightness, 3 D cells and more than half again battery life.  This might be the best overall flashlight in the world.  I have to get more details first though.

Oh by the way, on my third night dive I took the 1400 as a back up for the Star.  The 1400 is a great light but pales greatly to the Star underwater. It did not have the penetration and white light advantage of the Star.  It also looses a nice chunk of its brightness too soon for a dive light.

Well, that's what I saw. I am still amazed and totally impressed with the Expedition Star.  Tektite has a real winner here!

Best regards,

Bill McConnell
bkmcconnell@paonline.com

Using the Trek 6000 as an electric wheelchair light

After I finished the bulk of my evaluation for your Trek 6000 (the big 6-C model with the pistol grip), I set it aside and went on to other things.

Then it hit me: Why not put that power to use? So I did, by mounting it on the articulating steering arm of my electric wheelchair. The 9-watt bulb coupled with the original faceted reflector in the Trek 6000 gives a very nice spot in front of the wheelchair, which I found extremely nice for avoiding potholes, tree roots, earthquake cracks, or empty ammunition clips on the sidewalks of Seattle at night.

Being one of the world's major reviewers of flashlights, I have a lot of flashlights to choose from once I've finished the bulk of testing, and only the Trek 6000 was found to be suitable for this type of use.

I mounted it to my wheelchair by popping off the pistol grip handle, reinstalling it "backwards," and cramming the handle in between the finger guard and frame of the articulated steering arm.  The electrical tape you see in the pictures is only temporary; it keeps the light from moving from side-to-side; this will eventually be replaced by a couple of discreet metal rods.

The light can easily be slipped off to prevent theft or to change batteries.

Speaking as a consumer rather than a reviewer, thank you for making such a nice light. :)

Craig Johnson
ledmuseum@worldnet.att.net

Trek 2 Meets Scouting Needs

In this article, we evaluated the suitability and reliability of the Tektite Trek 2 LED flashlight for use by Canadian Boy Scouts. The test unit was borrowed from the 5th Meadowvale Scout Troop in Ontario.

Manufacturer Claims:

• The perfect emergency or backpacking light
• Over 40 hours of light from 3 - AA alkaline batteries
• Many additional hours of light at reduced level
• Twin ultra-bright, white LEDs will last 10,000+ hours

Scouting needs:

• Affordable
• Durable
• Reliable
• Water resistant
• Long battery life
• Compact size
• Bright light beam

The flashlight consisted of three components and a set of 3 - AA Energizer batteries. The black battery housing and clear lens cap appear to be made of a tough impact resistant plastic. The grip on the housing is a rugged design that can be felt while wearing gloves. Attached to the housing was an elastic lanyard and slots for a wrist strap.

The heart of the unit is the LED assembly. Here we could see two LEDs and a resistor mounted on a small circuit board and housed in a plastic collar.

"This is obviously one well made, tough flashlight that Tektite has put together" - Harold J. Carter

The below table compares the operating costs of three flashlights including Harold J. Carter's own LED Maglite conversion.

Ongoing Operating Costs
Flashlight Model	Battery Life	Bulb Life	Battery Cost	Bulb Cost	Total Cost
Mini Maglite 2 - AA batteries	5 hours	15 hours	$2.00 $0.40/hr	$2.00 $0.13/hr	$0.53/hr
Carter LED Maglite Conversion 3 - N batteries	50 hours	1,000 hours	$9.00 $0.18/hr	$6.00 $0.006/hr	$0.19/hr
Tektite Trek 2 3 - AA batteries	50 hours	10,000 hours	$3.00 $0.06/hr	n/a	$0.06/hr

This next table compares the investment costs of the three flashlights. For comparison, the purchase price and operating cost for the first 100 hours are included.

Costs for Purchase and First 100 Hours of Use
Flashlight Model	Initial Cost	Battery Cost	Bulb Cost	First 100 hour Cost
Mini Maglite 2 - AA batteries	$18.00	$38.00 38 @ $1.00	$10.00 5 @ $2.00	$66.00
Carter LED Maglite Conversion 3 - N batteries	$46.00	$9.00 3 @ $3.00	n/a	$55.00
Tektite Trek 2 3 - AA batteries	$45.00	$3.00 3 @ $1.00	n/a	$48.00

As you can see from the above tables, the Trek 2 is a very economical product for the short term and long term when compared to the other two models.

"The savings of $0.47/hour is enough reason to purchase the Tektite over the Maglite" - Harold J. Carter

The next part of the evaluation is water resistance and battery life. The Trek 2 has double O-ring seals to keep the water out. This model is more than just water resistant, it is waterproof and submersible.

For this test, we turned on the flashlight and dropped it into the toilet tank at the office.

09:00 September 30, 2002 - 0 hours
- The test begins

06:30 October 1, 2002 - 21.5 hours
- Trek 2 still going strong after 21.5 hours.
- A Mini Maglite would be on its 5th set of batteries by now.

06:30 October 2nd, 2002 - 45.5 hours
- Trek 2 still going strong after 45.5 hours.
- A Mini Maglite would be on its 10th set of batteries by now.
- At first, there was no noticable difference in brightness from yesterday. When compared side by side to another Trek 2 with fresh batteries, there is an obvious drop in light intensity; however, at 45 hours the Trek 2 still has ample light to take through the darkest of places.

06:00 October 3rd, 2002 - 69 hours
- Trek 2 still going strong after 69 hours.
- A Mini Maglite would be on its 14th set of batteries by now.
- At this point we are far beyond Tektite's claim on battery life. There is still ample light to read, walk or do anything you need to in the dark. I also remind you that this flashlight has been underwater all this time and has only come out for pictures.

"It would be a waste of good energy to throw these batteries out" - Harold J. Carter

Conclusion:

The Trek 2 is not only suitable for today's scouting needs, it is the ideal flashlight for anyone.

It is everything the manufacturer says and more. I'd take the Trek 2 over a Maglite anytime (especially if they have both been in the "on" position for 60 hours).

One feature that really stands out is the very low operting cost of the Trek 2. Scouts can attend a weekend camp and only need one set of batteries and this same set of batteries may last many camping trips.

There is only one thing I would like to add to the Trek 2 - buoyancy. If this flashlight goes overboard, it's going to the bottom. You may want to add a longer lanyard or one of those floating "bobbles" made for boat keys.

Note: All costs in this review are in Canadian Dollars.

John Stead
jstead@CarterRV.com

Still Going After 4 Days

Art Bell has said the new LED flashlights you offer, will shine underwater.  I have only had mine a week or two, but within the first few days after receiving the light machine, I put mine through, in my opinion, just as hard of a test.

A few days after receiving the light machine, I used it to check under my hood, the fluid levels of my car.  It was dusk and the light was a wonderful aid.  When finished, I closed the hood and went back inside.

The next few days I wondered where I had put my new light machine and passed it off to my usual lack of organization.

Almost 4 days later, a coworker came in where I work and said he had parked his car next to mine under the covered parking where we work.  He asked what would be on under my hood like a hood light?  I said I didn't think mine worked anymore and he suggested I check on it because he could definitely see a light showing out from the hood seam.

As soon as I could get away to the parking lot, I did check it out and sure enough you could easily see a light showing from the hood seam on the driver's side.  Not only that, but I saw that black, end-plastic, button thingee, at the end of the carrying cord barely visible on the outside of the hood, something I had not noticed before.

I opened the hood and there was the light machine from C. Crane, still on, shining brightly after almost four days of riding in an indentation under the hood edge, held in place and not allowed to fall to the ground and be lost forever by the hood slamming down on the end of the cord carrier.

Keep in mind the LED light machine had been subject to almost 4 days of extreme heat, lying there next to that engine and with me driving in +90°, Oklahoma heat. It still shines brightly.

Thanks for selling such useful items.  Yeah, I know, you make money off them, but you could be selling merchandise that wasn't nearly as much service to the public and still making money.  Keep up the good work.

Truly,

Carolyn