Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Before I buy a P7 ...

... are there any other new developments coming down the pike? I can wait until the next big thing, if there is one, in reasonable time.

And what about batteries. Currently burning AAs. Would have to go to a new battery for the P7. Is there another new battery that will become popular or even the norm soon?

I wouldn't hold your breath for a new battery. Most of the P7 flashlights use 18650 batteries, usually 1 but occasionally 2. With this you generally get 0:45-1:30 of run time (on high). The cells are fairly light and it shouldn't be difficult to carry some extras to swap out on your ride.

As far as a new emitter coming out, they're always working on them. Whatever comes out after the P7 may be brighter, it may drain batteries more, but it'll definitely be more expensive. The P7 seems to be proven as a bike light (has good spot and flood properties).

What I hate is that P7s either come from DealExtreme, with 7 days to ship and 15 days after that to be delivered, or they're custom made by boutique manufacturers and are $100+. A lot of people here have been pleased with their DealExtreme P7 lights.

Unfortunately this is a technology that is advancing quickly.. Most likely they are working on brighter models or more efficient models as we speak.. But you must find a jumping in point or you will wait for the latest and greatest forever.. I found a nice P7 light from a US distributor.. Only down point is that it is a single mode light.. It gets great runtime with the batteries that are bundled with it.. about 75-80 minutes on max, then drops down a little for another 15 minutes and then starts dimming slowly.. You will get 90+ minutes of good illumination before having to change the batteries.. This is recommended because the cells bundled are unprotected 18650 batteries.. I have tried 3 other batteries with it, all protected models, i.e. Trustfire, AW and Ultrafire and they all fit and work just fine.. The charger he bundles is a dsd charger which works just fine... I bought the light for 60.00 because I only needed the light by iteself.. His bundle charges 95.00 but he has make offer so maybe you can get it for a little less.. A good buy if you do not want to wait.. I am still waiting for my 5 mode from dealextreme..

http://cgi.ebay.com/SSC-P7-LED-Flashlight-900LM-MAX-Tactical-Swat-Torch-Set_W0QQitemZ390012442315QQihZ026QQcategoryZ106987QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have a P7 and a Dinotte 200L. I favor the P7 because it is handier, but the Dinotte is an excellent light also. They work well together, too

I really like protected 18650 batteries. I wish everything I had used them.
The P7 has crossed an important threshold. A P7 operating at full output exceeds DOT headlight limits by about 1/3. This allows it to become a standard LED automotive headlight operating at about 66% making it very reliable. Brighter LED's may hit the market but most manufacturers would continue to use it as an industry standard. Another LED just showing up is the MC-E with an important difference. The four Die's can be connected in parallel like the P7 or may be connected in series increasing the driving voltage to 14.8 volts. This would allow connecting MC-E LED's directly to automotive electrical systems with no drivers required. The maximum output is compatible with DOT headlight standards. I'm very happy with my P7 flashlight and carry it with me everywhere. I've been pulled over once by a policeman while operating it in traffic on high. Switching to medium mode made him happy and the light output was fine on medium as well. Even if a brighter LED became available I would not buy it. My P7 flashlight is already too bright in full output mode.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r154/n4zou/lights/dsc00137.jpg

This new P7 flashlight is very tempting. It uses 3 18650 batteries to extend burn times.
http://www.kaidomain.com/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=5573

http://www.kaidomain.com/UploadFiles/633601392182177500.JPG

n4zou

I agree that the P7 by itself on high is very bright.. I hope that some of the manufacturers work on regulation a little better and can extend the runtime up to 2 hours, which would make it an ideal light for many.. The P7 sniper light is a good example of this, but the price point is 4x more than a P7 light from dealextreme..

Fantastic. I love the amount of knowledge in here. I've ordered a P7 from DX and am very excited to receive it!

I'm STILL waiting on my P7. I placed my order 12/6/08. Between holidays and the 3 week wait for DealExtreme stuff, I'm not holding my breath for next week as well. =(

Someone REALLY has to start getting these P7s in stock in the US!

Does this mean that if I had friends in South Korea, that I can get the P7 faster than waitinig for Deal Extreme?

Just so I have my lingo right, is the P7 is the LED itself, meaning the unit that emits the light (think light bulb, but without a filament)? The rest of the light, i.e., the body, the reflector, the lens, etc. can be made by anyone (the DX ones are cheaper Chinese/Taiwanese ones, but there are better ones to be had if you want to pay more). The P7 is a new patented (?) product from SS in Korea, meaning that no one else can make it right now?

Oh, and where do the Li Ion batteries fit into all this? Could you power a P7 with regular (alkaline, etc.) batteries, but the light would be less or the run time would be much shorter (or both)? Is the P7, when put in a DX flashlight, really as powerful as a 3-D-cell Maglight?

The P7 refers to the actual LED emitter. It's the designation for the specific emitter made by the company Seoul Semiconductors (SSC). There are a lot of different brands of flashlights that use the P7, but the majority of them are sold through DealExtreme under the brands MTE and Aurora.

You could theoretically power a P7 with alkaline batteries, but I don't think I've seen a P7 light that's designed to take them. It would be pretty expensive in the long run because you'd be eating through batteries on every ride.

If you search these forums you'll see beamshot comparisons of various P7 flashlights against Dinottes, Maglites, Fenix lights, etc. A P7 is generally much brighter than a standard incandescent 3-D Maglite.

Oh, and where do the Li Ion batteries fit into all this? Could you power a P7 with regular (alkaline, etc.) batteries, but the light would be less or the run time would be much shorter (or both)? Is the P7, when put in a DX flashlight, really as powerful as a 3-D-cell Maglight?

A 18650 battery is equivalent to 3 AA rechargeable nickel metal hybride.

IE. A 18650 3.6V 2.5A = 3 AA 1.2V 2.5A.

From one of the thread I started.

Left-right.. LED MiniMag, 2D cell LED Mag Light, Trustfire 5 mode P7, MTE 2 mode P7.
http://home.comcast.net/~pewter-camaro/P7_02.jpg

Search around and you'll find more comparison beam shots between bike lights and P7s.

Size comparison.
http://home.comcast.net/~pewter-camaro/P7_04.jpg

Also, an LED isn't a light bulb, it's a semiconductor (think computer CPUs) that is modified to put out light. Like computer CPUs, the goal is to make it more efficient while being able to process more.