Due to the influence of numerous threads regarding the Arc AAA and Arc AAA Premium I got uncontrollably curious (as I often do) and purchased one. I searched high and low and found an Arc AAA *Premium* on Ebay for $40. I already own several Photon II lights ($15 at REI or on the Photon website) so naturally the first thing I did was go in to a pitch black room and compare the two. What I found was a bit shocking.

The Photon II was significantly brighter and maybe even slightly whiter too! <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Both lights had brand new batteries. The Photon II had whatever battery they come with new and I put a brand new Duracell coppertop in the Arc AAA Premium. The Photon II had a brand new LED and the Arc AAA *Premium* did not. I don't know how old the Arc AAA Premium's LED is since I bought it used. With this in mind, the only advantage I can see with the Arc AAA Premium is that it uses a standard battery, it is waterproof and it is also more durable than the Photon II. However, since the Photon II is a lot smaller, lighter, brighter, whiter and cheaper too I'm not really sure which is the best light overall. Of course it cost me $40 so I'm carrying the darn thing anyway! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Any thoughts on this? Is this Arc AAA Premium defective in some way? Should I try a different type/brand of battery? Or is this just the way it is? Thanks in advance for the input. I'm not a member of the CandlePower forums but maybe I should join and see what those guys think as well.

What about endurance? How long will the Arc last versus the Photon. And better yet- divide that into the price of the replacement batteries to get a $/hour figure.

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What about endurance? How long will the Arc last versus the Photon.
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Good question. Maybe someone has the answer to that one too. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The Photon is very bright with a brand new battery, but if you leave it turned on continuously for 5 minutes or so, it dims considerably.
The Arc is regulated, and will maintain the same level of illumination for the life of the battery.
So far as batteries are concerned, those coin cells in the Photon are expensive-
having had the silly thing turn on via the switch while in my pocket (twice).
I bought an LSH premium second from Arc for $50 <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />, and it is my EDC at this point. Incredibly bright light, I am afraid to fool around with one of the newer lights, afraid that I would want one of those too!

You must be brian6244brian. You got me curious, and I started looking around- looks like they are backordered at least 4 weeks everywhere with no new backorders accepted. Nothing on ebay. It's for the best, I'm way over budget on survival junk this month.

JoeBob is right, the Arc is regulated so it gives usable brightness over a much longer time than the Photon. The Photon is cheaper because 1) it is unregulated and 2) the Arc is machined from aluminum instead of pressed from plastic. Do some searches at www.candlepowerforums.com for all the details.

Maybe the seller Brian bought from on eBay did the "dark room" test without all this additional info, & that's why it was for sale.

'Pup

Hi all,

Good point Belgianpup. I have them both since they are great little lights in their own league. My perception is that they are almost equally bright whenever I test them side by side. The photon appears to be brighter closeby because of the sidespill. The Arc has slighly more reach.

But since I have had 5 or 6 Arc's already, mostly to give away as presents, I know there can be CONSIDERABLE differences in brightness among Arc's.

I'd say Belgianpup is right on the mark and that this Arc is not as bright as it should be and was therefore sold on Ebay.

I can't think of any good other reason to sell such a great light!

Bye

Luca

Arc vs. Photon, Photon vs. Arc ... either way, you're talking about two of the finest mini LED lights currently available...

M

Luca it sounds like you're saying the Arc is faulty whereas I think Bel was saying quite the oposite. I got some really good info on this on CPF as well (finally joined). I also spoke to the people at ArcLight because there is something slightly funny about the switch mechanism (which may also be normal) and they say since it is a PE it should certainly have a whiter LED than any normal Arc AAA. Regardless of what may or may now be wrong with the Arc AAA PE that I bought, I have no clue why he would sell it because when I called ArcLight they said it didn't really matter what might or might not be wrong with it and to just send it to them and they would replace it with no questions asked! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> That's pretty much all I needed to hear in order to be confident in knowing that I made a good purchase! As a matter of fact, if that experience goes as well as I suspect it will (based on my phone conversation with them) then I will probably be purchasing an Arc AA to use as my primary hunting, hiking and camping light.