Moderator: Moderators
I thought the sten premium has a max output over 300 Lumens ?? I do not own one but I thought I read that somewhere. . Also keep in mind that any light that runs off AAs will be brighter with eneloops compared to alkaline. I am old fashioned when it comes to batteries and like the fact that if you have a AA light you can run off eneloops or similar or Duracell lithium or alkaline. It is nice to know that since caving takes you out to rual areas that if worse comes to worse you can always go to any gas station and buy alkaline AAs in a pinch. That is why I think it is wise for sten or any premium light mfgr. to give you the option of using AAs.I think it would be hard to find a regular sten or Spark battery in a pinch out in the middle of nowhere. I just wished my HP-10 had the option of a better light spread like you have with the Spark.Batgirl wrote:After comparing both the Fenix and the Spark with the Sten, I think they make the Sten look like an average flashlight. The Fenix has an advantage in that it takes AA batteries while the Spark requires a rechargable Li battery. The comparison breaks down like this for me: The Sten’s max setting is 140 lumens for only 2 hours and it costs $370. The high setting on the Fenix allows 133 lumens for 9 hours. You get a little less light (but it won’t really be noticeable) for a much longer period of time and it only costs $60. The Spark’s mid 2 level setting allows 150 lumens for 8 hours and it costs $130 including the extra battery and charger. For an 8-9 hour trip (which is pretty standard for me) both the Fenix and the Spark are pretty close - lumens wise.
The question here is: Is it worth messing around with an Li battery vs AA? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Does it matter?
Batgirl wrote:After comparing both the Fenix and the Spark with the Sten, I think they make the Sten look like an average flashlight. The Fenix has an advantage in that it takes AA batteries while the Spark requires a rechargable Li battery. The comparison breaks down like this for me: The Sten’s max setting is 140 lumens for only 2 hours and it costs $370. The high setting on the Fenix allows 133 lumens for 9 hours. You get a little less light (but it won’t really be noticeable) for a much longer period of time and it only costs $60. The Spark’s mid 2 level setting allows 150 lumens for 8 hours and it costs $130 including the extra battery and charger. For an 8-9 hour trip (which is pretty standard for me) both the Fenix and the Spark are pretty close - lumens wise.
The question here is: Is it worth messing around with an Li battery vs AA? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Does it matter?
rlboyce wrote:I'm also curious/dubious about these Sten specifications. It is certainly a bright light, and certainly more than enough light for 99% of caving situations, but I'm not so sure any of these output estimates are correct. If you go to Karst Sports, they have both the S7 and S7-premium. The regular version is stated to be 140 lumens on turbo. They claim the premium version is 40% brighter than the regular version. That equates to about 200 lumens. Sure, Karst Sports could be incorrect, but having had the opportunity on many occasions to compare my 130 lumen apex to premium Stens, 200 lumens seems much closer to the real output than 370 lumens. I'd be happy to be proven wrong with some official specifications or thorough calculations though...
I too am waiting for the release as his prior light the Hurricane looked very nice, BUT I would be surprised if it is comparable to the Scurion. I just cannot see a need for the amount of light The Scurion has unless you cave exclusively in The Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia. A sten seems to have sufficient light for most US caves like the big rooms in camps gulf or TAG pits.Caver John wrote:
Wow that's alot of light!
But they're just may be a substitute in the works by the name o Rude Nora.
This bad little monkey gets my pupils dilated!
Can't wait for the release.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users