LazerBrite Open for Review

[David Grimes]

I received mine today as well. I agree for a plastic light it feels well made. I like the modular design since I can use the colored light inside the tube like a glow stick or I can move it to the end and use just the colored light or you can even use both lights at both ends for the tube. This is an odd description if you do not have one yet but basically any part can be substituted in any position or by itself.

I hope to get it underground soon, I have a few things I want to try it out on. It says it is submersible to 165' but I will see just how submersible it is soon enough. I thought about using the tube light placed in the bottom of a pool of water in a cave to color the water for photos. I am not sure if one light is bright enough to do the job but overall if you had no other light you could make due. I also like how you can use the battery as a tool to open the battery door and because you have two separate lights in one you could use the other light to see to change the battery.

It is definitely not a primary light but it was not designed to be but I am sure I could find several uses for it underground. I might even lower it down some small holes around my house just to see what I find. I will try to add pics or even videos of the different uses I find for the light.

[cavemud2]

Got mine in the mail earlier today. It does feel rather sturdy.One thought i did have was the little bulb screw on attachment could get broke maybe or crushed in your pack. I got the white and red. AND it came with batteries. I had to go build a fire so i went t othe basement to check it out. I see alot of things this lil booger could be handy for. Im impressed at how much light this thing puts out. It can be unscrewed and used as 2 lights. This is one of those things that if i saw an ad for i wouldnt pay much attention to, but after having tried one out first hand and seeing how well built it is makes me think about getting another one to throw in the glove box as a spare.

[Grandpa Caver]

I hope Mr Cooper and the folks at LazerBrite are listening. I have a suggestion: A clear, optically neutral "dome" would greatly improve it's durability as an emergency light in a cave. As I and others have noted, the exposed bulb, if not protected is subject to being easily broken or becoming caked with mud. Of course using the tube to create a spot beam would negate this problem but a spot is not the best beam to navigate thru a cave.

Like Cavemud2 I ordered the red/white. After playing with it I realized two white lights would increase its versatility so I ordered an additional white head yesterday evening. By noon today I had received notification that it had shipped. Kudos for the prompt service.

BTW: I was showing it around at work today and we ended up using it as a drop light while changing the oil on one of the fork lifts.

[David Grimes]

I am glad to see a company actually send out some samples. The owner requested cavers to review his lights but like cavemud2 I would not have bought one without seeing one in person. I think it is a good product with many uses. I think it could become popular for various activities and being a product of the U.S.A. makes it even better. I still plan to post some pics soon, I hope to send this thing down a small hole with a video camera very soon.

[snoboy]

Not usually a fan of companies spamming forums, but when they offer up free samples in exchange for reviews - well that's a bit more classy.

Got mine a couple days ago. Seems like a decent product, and I like the modularity of it. Not sure how well it will stand up to cave use - it claims waterproofness, but I see no evidence of seals for the diffusion dome or tube. Perhaps in the light head units.

Might keep it in the car for emergency use - with the tube diffuser it would be a great little light for midnight breakdowns. WIll make a nice tent light too.

The single head with a dome diffuser could be a great trail marker for cave rescue use - guiding crews through large rooms etc. Maybe a bit pricey for an individual to buy a bunch for that use, but likely in reach for a CR organization. Knowing the battery life would be great to decide if that was a good idea. The FAQ says 75 hrs, but it's unclear how bright it would be at that point.

[MUD]

I received mine and I like it! While not made for caving it can certainly be handy in one. I really like the ingenious build of this thing. I have the blue/white light. A few nights ago I tied each one to a couple of my horses tails and then ran them across the pasture...that was a pretty cool light show!

My lovely Linda has the Lazorbrite this weekend in Indiana and Kentucky, caving...she'll give me a report on it when she gets back and I'll post it up here!

[dutchcontractor]

I am taking mine underground and under water tomorrow, I will report back later. I think it will make a great light when taking a break so we don't have to stare at eachothers headlamps.

[NZcaver]

I received mine in the mail a few days ago.

Like cavemud2, I also chose the red and white option because I thought it would be the most useful color combination. My initial impression is that it's an interesting gadget, but I'm not sure it will be very practical for regular caving. Most lights I take caving are headlamps, with the occasional exception of a small handheld flashlight with a very bright spot (which this is not). The light modules could be used as station marker lights, but there are smaller, cheaper key-ring type colored LED lights which work just fine. A glow-stick style light might be practical as a camp light, but otherwise I can't think where in a cave it would be more useful than a regular headlamp.

I assume the waterproof rating only applies to the actual light modules. There is a seal in the battery compartment of each module. With wet/slick hands, I find the lights a little difficult to grip and rotate on and off. I imagine it could be a challenge with muddy hands, but perhaps gloves would make it easier. It was nice to get spare coin cell batteries with the light, and I like the screw base with the attachment eye. Not too sure about the double bungee loop thing though - anybody find a practical use for that?

I have to say these modules are hellishly bright for regular 5mm LEDs with no additional optics or reflectors. The clear/white has a tighter/hotter spot than the red. The two CR2032 coins cells in series supply 6 volts, so I hope there is some form of voltage/current regulation in there. I expect there is, but if not the LEDs are being over-driven which may cause them to die much sooner than the average life expectancy of LEDs (10 years or so).

I plan to take this light with me when I next go underground. But for now, this will be put to the test in a few weeks when I head out to a remote Alaskan village to volunteer at an Iditarod race checkpoint. I anticipate the camp/work light and marshaling wand features might be very useful, not least for guiding mushers and dogs into their parking spaces at night. It will be interesting to see if the light continues to function down around 40 below zero. I hate to admit this on a caving forum, but I think this is one light that would benefit from a fast strobe (150-200 Hz) flashing mode to attract attention.

Kudos to LazerBrite for offering some of these to the caving community to try out.

[Ctider]

Got mine underground this weekend. While it would not be my choice for a primary light, it is adequate light to get out of a cave on if your primary fails. Also great if you need to change batteries or look for something in your pack. We were looking at some historical signatures. My primary light was too bright for reading some of the etched in signatures, this light worked better for reading some of them. The others on the trip thought it was neat.

[mabercrombie]

I got mine in the mail late last week. Hopefully I'll get to use it underground later this week.

[BrianFrank]

Got my LazerBrite a couple weeks ago. Very versatile. You can change colors between white, red and green. You can change it as a wand or dome light. You can attach it in versatile ways to your pack or self. Used it in Limrock two Sundays ago and Pettyjohns yesterday (Sunday). I split them up between 3 of us and we carried them on our packs. We used them as a room light when we changed our batteries and when we stop for breaks to eat snacks. They would fill the room up with more than adequate light.

In Limrock we had 15 kids with us and a few times the leader would wear the light on his backpack with it on. Even with the leader sometimes 50 yards ahead in one of the longer canyons you could clearly see him ahead. We are very pleased with the light and look forward to new products like it. I recommend it to all cavers as a backup cave light, room light and emergency light.

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