I recall that their were a number of problems with early photon 3's. does any1 know if these have been sorted out? are they as reliable as the photon 2's, and and are the extra functions and modes useful of gimicky.<br>thanx for the input

I have both, and have relegated the 3 to my PSK with batteries inverted against each other and not in the 3. While I loved the quick change for batteries, the press switch kept getting activated by keys on the same ring in my pocket. Result - When I needed it, I had a very cool light with flat batteries. I've gone back to carrying a 2 on my keyring for everyday.<br><br>Just keep a tiny screwdriver accessable for when you need to change the batteries. If only Photon would make a 2 with the battery change of the 3, or make the full on switch more idiot proof.<br><br>Peanut

All three P3's that I have work flawlessly. The newest one, from REI, has an S.O.S. flash mode.

My 3 has also worked perfectly, though I don't carry it with my keys much. When I do, I keep it in "auto-off" mode so the batteries won't drain easily. I have a 2, but don't have much faith in it- that open switch is such an obvious entry point for water/moisture/dirt.<br><br>I'm amazed I haven't heard about this S.O.S. flash mode- I was one of those who sent them e-mail asking for it, and it was once a subject of conversation here. IMHO, this is a fairly important development, it puts the Photon far ahead of the competition for consideration in a PSK, and I'll buy at least a couple right away, especially for my "sailing" kits. I'm reluctant to order from REI, though, as the website makes no mention of this feature, and I'd want to be certain of getting the latest version. The local REI still doesn't seem to have the Photon 3 at all, just the 2.<br><br>I just checked the Photon site, and it doesn't seem to mention the feature either.

The person I emailed at photonlights.com told me that it's something that was designed specifically for REI. This was almost a year ago, so they may be available elsewhere now.<br><br>BTW... This P3 also seems to scroll through modes 2X faster than my other ones.

Heres some info regarding the problems with the photon III's<br><br>http://www.candlepowerforums.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002139<br><br>http://www.geocities.com/arabbitte/index.html<br><br>the second link is a pic of the new "fixed" photon III's. I've gota couple duds I need to send in also.<br><br>

I sure have loved my Photon II and was eager to upgrade to the P3, especially now that they have added SOS and quicker circuitry, but it sounds like there are still a lot of complaints about quality control and accidental battery drain. Too bad. LRI has been the leader in this market, but they may start losing their lead if they can't get the bugs worked out of this product. <br><br>Right now there are other companies with similar lights that successfully couple water-resistance with a constant-on mode, but don't have any of the P3's problems. I hope they get the kinks worked out before I need to replace my P2.