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Review: Bronte RA04 flashlight

fran82

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Aug 24, 2010
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Hi folks from LPF!

I haven´t posted any review since some time ago and I want to share a review of the Bronte RA04 (I dont know if there is a review about it already done....)



I purchased this flashlight at DealExtreme a few months ago... (on May, if I remember well)

dsc01058vp.jpg


Here is the link:

Bronte RA04 XPG-R5 LED 90LM 3-Mode Memory White Light Flashlight w/ Key Ring (1 x AA/14500) - Worldwide Free Shipping - DX

I am pleased with it, and I will tell you why later. (continue reading)



First I start with some Pros and Cons about it:


Pros:

Semi-regulated output (constant output).
Very efficient
Looong runtime on high mode (+2 hours of constant light )
3 modes well spaced and memory (works perfect)
AA/14500 support (NOT OFFICIALLY, use at your own risk!!)
Well balance between flood and throw
Quality machining
Good flood/throw balance

Cons:

A bit blueish tint (only a bit)
Big, heavy, bulky and ugly keychain (the round thing to attach to something)
A bit heavy with a battery inside




INTRODUCTION

Some months ago, when I first saw this new family of Bronte lights, they surprised me because these lights were designed as "trying to copy" other well known lights (i.e. RA01 as trying to copy the itp A3, RA20 as trying to copy the jetbeam ba20, etc).... but in that moment there was not any information about them (I mean info about electronics, we didn´t knew if they were regulated or not, or how they perform).... So I left them unattended because of lack of info.

Today, now we can see some info about them... Finally they are not bad lights at all, but not the bests of course.

The light is packed in this cardboard box, including 2 spare orings and the user manual.

dsc01054xq.jpg




When I purchase a flashlight, the most important thing for me, is not the anodizing, is not the quality of the threads, is not the lumens output they can deliver ....(but these aspects are very important too). The most important thing, specially when I purchase a light powered by AA or AAA batts, is the "eficiency" of the driver. I mean, I always try to get lights which are well driven, lights with very good regulation (i.e. Fenix LD20, JetBeam BA20) against cheapo lights with bad or no regulation at all (i.e. Black Cat, TrustFire F23... etc).

dsc01056sr.jpg



When I finally had the confirmation that these Bronte lights, powered by AA an AAA were regulated, I said "one of these lights has to be mine"... And finally pulled the trigger.






DESIGN - QUALITY

OK, the flashlight is a bit ugly. I have to admit. It doesn´t have any "fancy" design as for example the itp A2, or any similar light. It is just an aluminum tube with minimal machining on it. It seems that it is not very expensive to manufacture... I dont give more than 3 stars in design because of that. However the build quality is veery good, similar to the JetBeam BA20 I have.

Well, if you see the photos, you can check how robust it feels just by measuring the thickness of the battery tube. The AA battery doesnt rattle, but may have troubles for using some "fat" 14500 on it...

dsc01061c.jpg


In the tail, the holes for the keychain are in the side, so it can tailstand perfectly...

dsc01057c.jpg


The head, seems to be a 2 part unit, but the upper part seems to be glued....

Inside the head, the driver board doesnt seems very fancy at all.... I wonder if that "protuding" positive pole can "act" as polarity protection...

dsc01062fi.jpg


As you see in the photo, the "keychain loop" or whatever you call it... it is big, heavy, bulky, ugly.... I will remove it and install another "thing".

Not much more to say, the threads are triangular, they are smooth (but not the smoothiests I have seen), they came lubed and also the single oring installed came lubed with vaseline. No dirty at all in none of the parts.

dsc01060xw.jpg


The one I have, has smooth reflector... Don´t know if all units have this smooth reflector now due to change in production or whatever...But with I first saw the light some months ago it had orange peel reflector...

As you can see in the photo, it has a perfectly centered xp-g R5 LED.

dsc01059o.jpg


It needs 9 full turns of the head to completely remove it or to switch it on.

In this photo, you can see it´s size compared with SkyRay S-A1 (up) and Tank007 E09 (down). The RA04 in the middle:

dsc01065h.jpg



Is a bit fatty, measuring 22mm of width.






RUNTIME - CURRENT MEASUREMENTS

The manufacturer claims this runtime:

High: 2 hours of constant output (90 lumen)

Med: 4,5 hours (30 lumen)

Low: 30 hours (3 lumen)

(no info on which battery they used in the tests, I supose they used a AA Ni-Mh battery of 2500mAh).



Current draw measurements, using a fresh charged AA BTone Ni-Mh "2500mAh" (2300mAh in real life) are:

High: 660mA

Med: 310mA

Low: 060mA


When the cell is depleted, the current draw is the same.

It does not heat up nor when the battery is fully charged and nor when the battery is almost discharged.

So I can conclude that it has not a FULLY-REGULATED circuit, but it has a SEMI-REGULATED desing, so current draw DOES NOT increase when the battery voltage decreases.The current draw remains constant until battery voltage goes about 1,0v.

At least the outputs remains the same during all the life of the battery...

Similar desing than the itp A2/A3. Similar behaviour.



Now, with 14500, I had a big surprise.

Current draw measurements, using TrustFire 14500 "900mAh" (700mAh in real life) are:


High: 660mA

Med: 310mA

Low: 060mA

Yes!! The same than with AA!!! I couldn´t beleive that!!... I was not especting that with 14500.



I dont know if I will dare to do a runtime test with 14500... I haven´t run it for more than 15 minutes on HIGH... Maybe in the future...






PERFORMANCE - LIGHT OUTPUT

With AA, only 3/5 stars because they have been a bit conservative on the output to give a good runtime (only 90 lumen). The manufacturer declares the following:

High: 90 lumen

Med: 30 lumen

Low: 3 lumen

As you know, I dont have measuring equipment, so I have to trust my eyes to give an "estimation" of lumens....

With AA, it seems to give what the manufacturer says.





With 14500, I give it 5/5 full stars, because with 14500 on HIGH mode it gives more than 200 lumens...



Brief comparison of the output with both type of batteries (I can not measure it, so I am "guessing")

Low AA = 03 lumens. Low 14500 = 10-20 lumens

Med AA = 30 lumens. Med 14500 = 30-60 lumens

High AA = 90 lumens. High 14500 = +200 lumens





Some beamshots with AA (pending with 14500).



On High mode at 1 meter:

dsc01063bp.jpg



On High at 3 meters:

dsc01064x.jpg



On Med at 3 meters:

dsc01066oh.jpg



On Low at 3 meters:

dsc01067h.jpg


As you can check in the photos, no signs of PWM. I dont know if it uses a very high frecuency PWM or another way to regulate the output in the different modes...




CONCLUSION

This flashlight can be considered as a very good option if you want good runtime with a single AA with good flood/throw capabilities.

The quality of the overall flashlight is remarkable, good machining, good threads, good finish, regulated output...



Remember that Brontelight designed this model to get a long running flashlight with a not eye-destroying light output (with AA).

If you want a lot of light, choose another model OR USE 14500 (not recommended). If 90 lumen for 2 hours with just an AA is enough for you, this can be a good choice for you.





PS: sorry for the low quality photos, I have not a digital camera. However you have a lot of pics on manufacturer website, online shops, etc...
 
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fran82

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Joined
Aug 24, 2010
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Re: Review: Bronte RA04 flashlight (under construction)

Oh, sh^^^, how can I edit the title? (I want to remove "under construction")

Thanks!
 

Blord

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Dec 24, 2007
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Re: Review: Bronte RA04 flashlight (under construction)

Nice comprehensive review with alot of info and pictures. The pictures could be a tad sharper :)

For editing the title press EDIT button on the first post and then on GO ADVANCED. There should be possible to edit the title.
 
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