Flashlight Review: Borealis

[clipse]

[center]http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_73db0404.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis.jpg)

I recently received a flashlight dubbed 'Borealis'. The name 'Borealis' comes from the term Aurora Borealis with is more commonly known as the Northern Lights. If you have never seen the Northern Lights, then let me tell, they put anyone at awe. They are an amazing sight to see. Similar the Northern Lights, the Borealis flashlight is something that many people will look at in awe. Sound over the top? Maybe it is. But, let me tell you, my wife could care less about flashlights (unless there is a power outage) and when I turned on my Borealis her eyes lit up (no, not because of the intense light). She actually said,”Wow, I'm impressed.” That is an amazing feat, to impress my wife. Enough about that, lets talk about the light.


The Borealis looks innocent enough in its 3D cell Mag-Lite body. But when you look closer, you see that there is much more going on inside this light. From the outside the only difference you can see is the LOP (light orange peel) reflector, and bulb. The reflector is aluminum with a coating over the shiny part. Like all flashlights, if you touch the shiny part of the reflector it will never go back to normal. Also the reflector is of the camless variety, meaning that twisting the head won't push the bulb up and down for adjustment. You can still adjust the beam from spot to flood by turning the head but, the bulb stays in same place in relation to the body of the light.

http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m1a88c86b.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/reflector.jpg)

The bulb is a Welch Allyn 1185 which is rated for 9.6 volts. At 9.6 volts this lamp puts out 816 lumens and has a life of about 50 hours. Remember thats at 9.6 volts. This light drives the lamp at closer to 12 volts, bringing the lumens to 1050. You may be wondering how badly that hurts the bulbs life. Well, not that bad actually. I asked the make of this light how long the bulb lasts and he stated 35 hours. My light has 28 hours and counting. The bulb handles being overdriven very very well.

http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m2483c5e4.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/bezelend.jpg)

The lens has been replaced as well. It is made of Pyrex and is formed in such a way that it is very very resistant to heat shock. The lens is more specifically called a borafloat lens, referring to the method used to make and for the lens. It may not mean much to a lot of people but rest assured, with the amount of heat coming out of this thing, you won't have to worry about the lens busting. That is, unless you do something really stupid, like try to light a newspaper on fire. Yes the flashlight puts out enough light to set paper on fire but don't do it. That is how I broke my lens and had to order a new one. It is dangerous and stupid. It does prove one point though, this flashlight is bright and with all bright flashlights, you need to be careful about how you pack this thing. If you leave it in a bag where it could be accidentally turned on, then unscrew the tail cap just enough so that it won't come on in transport. There are several stories of Surefire flashlights coming on in peoples pockets and burning a whole though the material. Just be cautious about handling any high intensity flashlights. Which brings me to another warning, don't flash this or any other flashlights in someones eyes. Especially your wife's. You are liable and very likely to get a black eye as a result.


“What is this thing running on?”, you ask. Well, I'll tell you. Nine AA rechargeable batteries. They come in a neat little battery carrier and they are stacked in series to bring the voltage up to 12 volts. Now you may be wondering, a AA is 1.5 volts and 9x1.5=13.5 volts so, why do I keep saying 12? Simple, you don't want to use this light right of the charger, It is going to be too much for the bulb. If it doesn't just flash and blow instantly then it will dramatically shorten the life of the bulb. If you wait about 1 ½ hours after the batteries are off the chargers, the batteries will calm down and stick around 12 volts. Now if you don't want to wait that long, there is another option. Juan sells a bleeder lamp. Basically it is a lamp that you can plug into the battery carrier to bleed off the extra power. You plug it in for 40 seconds and you're ready to go. Here are pics of the battery carrier, charger, and bleeder lamp.

http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m6964c0bb.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/charger.jpg) http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m53608c40.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/batterycarrier.jpg) http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_7cf239f0.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/bleederlamp.jpg)

[clipse]

The charger plugs into the negative end of the battery carrier. There are two different kinds of chargers. There is a quick RC charger and the one I have. It is slower but still not bad. The quick charger takes about 1 ½ hours to charge while the one I have takes about 4 ½ hours. On mine, while the batteries are charging the LED indicator on the charger will be red. When it is done charging it will blink green. At that point it will start a trickle charge. Since these batteries are NiMH, they don't need to be trickle charged so I take them off the charger as soon as I can. Pretty simple and straight forward. Here is a picture of the charger connected to the battery carrier.

http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m316ccc01.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/pluggedin.jpg)

I almost forgot. I said earlier that the bulb stayed in one spot compared to the body. Well there is a reason. The stock bulb holder in the mag-lite has been replaced with something new a more robust. Here is a picture.

http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m1715b3df.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/inside.jpg)

After all that, you would think the flashlight would be bright enough, right? No! Juan went even further and modified the switch itself so there is as little resistance as possible between the bulb and batteries. Everything has been gone over with De-Oxit and Progold to further reduce resistance and keep the contacts from oxidizing. You don't find that in production flashlights. Juan takes a lot of time and plays some serious attention to detail on each flashlight.


So, now I suppose your wondering just how bright this thing really is. I'll tell you, then I'll show you. We have a decent sized back yard. Maybe 200 feet from my back door to the fence. I have struggled for a flashlight bright enough so I could see well when I let our dogs out. I have used everything I have from a Surefire G2, A2, Streamlight Propolymer 4AA Lux LED, TL-2 LED, and many many more. Well, this think obviously puts all of them to shame. It lights up out back yard light it was daylight. Absolutely spectacular. Here are some comparison pictures between my Surefire A2 (90 lumens) and the Borealis (1050 lumens)

Borealis on left, A2 on right.
http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_d0a0a61.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/magvsa2.jpg)

Same as above only underexposed.
http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_m13164420.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/magupcloseue.jpg)

As you can see, the Borealis completely dominates over the Surefire A2. This is the brightest flashlight I've ever seen. There are many many applications I can see for this light. Many times you see Law Enforcement carrying a tired old mag-light that isn't even rechargeable and when they turn it on, you notice that sickly yellow beam. This is a huge upgrade. What makes this even better is that it can still be used as a club/impact device. It could even make for and excellent search light for SAR teams. Here in my local, we don't have many stretches where you see more than 5-600 yards. On a recent trip to the Lake of the Ozarks I lit up trees that were easily 500 yards away. I could see animals eyes light up. Power outages? This thing pointed at the ceiling lights up a room as good as a 100 Watt light bulb.

Just in case anyone is really really curious, here is proof you can make fire from this flashlight. (Warning: Don't try this at home.)

Here is the setup.
http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_38f7817c.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/setup.jpg)

It will start smoldering in just a few seconds.
http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_39130c78.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/smoldering.jpg)

continued in next post

[clipse]

And here you see fire. :)
http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/borealis_html_4d158c2e.jpg (http://www.alwayssafe.org/borealis/fire.jpg)

For more info on the Borealis please check here (http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=125447)


Enjoy,

clipse[/center]

[raymond-]

secondary (ie rechargeable) batteries in the popular sizes (AA, AAA, C, D) will
nearly always be 1.25 volts. times 9, that would come to approx 11.25vdc hot off
the charger.

[black bear 84]

Hot of the charger the Sanyo HR3U 2500's are clocking 1.4 volts per unit, after a couple of hours they still meassure 12. 1/2 for the 9 pack. The overvoltage is dropping down)

After several hours and some use of the light the pack still meassure over 12 volts.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/12.jpg

cheers
black bear

[raymond-]

thanks for the firsthand results. can you provide these while you have everything out?....

the specs on the cell is still 1.25v yes?

what about amperage rating? (2500?)

specs on the transformer, in/out?

tnx!

[black bear 84]

Raymond,
The high current of the cell is the real value on driving high intensity bulbs, for example alkaline cells with their 1.5 voltage will not have enough power to drive this bulb for long as they quickly will drop below 1 volt.

The capacity of the cell in mah is 2500; the amperage of the bulb is 3150 mah.
This is a direct drive set-up no transformer is involved.

I will counsel against pen and paper, as the important thing is what happens in real life.
After 160 of these lights made and one year and a half of making them the results are well proven.
Take a look at THE HIGH ROAD link with over 20,000 opening and many posters testifying for the effectiveness of the light.

Here is what the light can do against the Surefire M-6 (500 lumens running for 20 minutes on six disposables 123's batteries)

This is a ceiling bouncing test
(A dark room illuminated only by the reflecting beam of the flashlight)

Surefire M-6

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/sure-fire6reflected.jpg

BOREALIS (1050 lumens 45 minutes run time, rechargeable)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/redmag51.jpg



black bear

[raymond-]

sorry if the engineer in me prompts queries. not pencil and paper, but simple
electronics and physics. i am trying to determine how something works,
resulting in how well....not just in knowing the end result. wasnt fencing with you, rather asking in good faith. i'll just dig for info elsewhere.

[black bear 84]

Here are two more pictures of the comparison with the Surefire M-6.

Surefire M-6 (500 lumens, 20 minutes run on six 123's disposables batteries)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/sureeme6.jpg

BOREALIS (1050 lumens, 45 minutes run, rechargeable)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/ls.jpg

black bear

[Optical Serenity]

WOW! I'm very impressed, more with how great your review was than anything else, but THANKS!!

[black bear 84]

WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?
I WANT TO THANK CLIPSE FOR A GREAT REVIEW AND THE BEATIFUL PICTURES.

And here I have two more left over from the Surefire M-6 shoot-out.
Notice that I always select dark backgrounds because with my light is not need to shoot a white wall.

Wall is 18 feet from the light

Surefire M-6

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/suref.jpg

BOREALIS

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/mediumstipple.jpg

Regards
black bear

[black bear 84]

Many people interested in the BOREALIS, want to know how much more powerful than a military-police flashlight my torch really is.

To answer that question I have pitted it against a Magcharger, Streamlight Ultra Stinger and a Surefire M-6.

Here are the contenders, from left to right: Surefire M-6, Ultra Stinger, Magcharger and my red BOREALIS.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/Ultraandothers.jpg

Magcharger, 40,000 candlepowers, 200 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/Magcharger200lumens.jpg

Ultra Stinger, 75,000 candlepowers, 295 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/UltraStinger.jpg

Surefire M-6 (500 lumens for 20 minutes on six disposables 123's batteries)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/eme-6500lumens.jpg

BOREALIS (1050 lumens, 45 minutes run time, rechargeable)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/951lumens.jpg

Regards
black bear

[JohnKSa]

If you're willing to trade some light output for some extra runtime, black bear also makes a "Search & Rescue" Flashlight. It's externally identical to a 4Cell maglite but puts out 850 Lumens for over an hour!

It also runs off the NiMH rechargeable batteries. Here's a comparison thread I did with my S&R, the Black Bear Bearcub and some common flashlights.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=2443961&posted=1#post2443961

I probably need to re-run the results. As impressive as they are, I believe that I may have been using a set of damaged batteries in the S&R for the photos!

[Cerbera]

Great review Clipse.

This light is amazing. He is right that this light is better than a 100W bulb. I remember taking this to a surprise party and I think I stole the show for awhile with my light. I felt a bit selfish but I can't help it! This light is just that amazing! When it came time to surprise the guest of honor, I used the Borealis to light up the room! I managed to beat the person to the light switch and everyone looked at me. How embarrassing but flattering at the same time.

[JohnKSa]

I got to thinking that all of the comparisons I had done with my Black Bear Search and Rescue had been to other flashlights.

With 850 lumens, that's not really fair to the other flashlights.

SO...

I decided to give it some competition! So I called Lisa away from the computer: "Honey, go get your camera while I start the car." :D

Ok, here are the pics.
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20464&stc=1&d=1159493107

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=20465&stc=1&d=1159493107
The highbeams might be a little brighter--it's a judgement call. On the other hand, it's pretty hard to carry a set of highbeam headlights around with you. ;)

If that's not bright enough for you, the Black Bear Borealis puts out about 24% more light!

[skeeter1]

If you've already got a Mag-Lite, you might want to replace the bulb with an Ever-LED

http://www.leddynamics.com/EverLED/

I've got a couple of them, and they'll outlive me. The Surefire tactical light was driving me broke. CR123 batteries aren't cheap, only lasted about an hour, and the bulbs were outrageously expensive, and only good for 20 hours. I junked the Surefire.

[JohnKSa]

The LED replacement bulbs are very impressive and provide decent brightness with good battery life, but if you're going for raw power, they really pale in comparison to the Black Bear flashlights.

Here's a shot comparing the Maglite 3D cell with a three-watt Luxeon LED replacement bulb to a Surefire 6P and a six D-cell maglite. You can see that it holds up very well in this comparison and is over-exposing the picture in the center of its beam.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39917&d=1147486350http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39917&d=1147486350

Here's the same Maglite 3D cell Luxeon LED compared to a Black Bear Bearcub flashlight putting out about 220Lumens and the Black Bear Search & Rescue with over 850 lumens. Now it looks like a dim blue spot.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39920&d=1147487091http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39920&d=1147487091

[CobrayCommando]

That thing is almost as bright as the plugged in lights movie studios use. When those things break they can send 1000 degree glass flying 20 feet, it will set stuff on fire just passing through it.

Impressive!

[black bear 84]

Hi guys,
The BOREALIS new home is under construction, the temporary address is this:

http://www.monitoramerica.com/blackbear/home.htm
check it out.

In a couple weeks or so the address will be www.blackbearflashlights.com


Best regards
black bear

[Cerbera]

Hey Black Bear, how does the Borealis compare with a 2 million candlepower spotlight?

[black bear 84]

Hi Cerbera

It just happened that I have finished doing some testing comparing the BOREALIS with some spotlights that I have around, including a 2 million one.

And here are the results:

Spotlights Versus BOREALIS flashlight


Except for some HID’s barely portable lights like the “Beast” from Surefire (a $3,000 light working on 20 disposables batteries, outputting 2,000 lumens) and others HID’s that don’t qualify as flashlights as they are considered “searchlights” and take quite a few seconds to get them going, no other flashlight that you can get in the store can compete in lumens output with the BOREALIS 1050 lumens flashlight that is made in the 3 D format.

So the question arose as how the BOREALIS will compare with an incandescent two million candlepower spotlight.

I have a closet full of spotlights of 15 years ago, lights that plugged into the cigarette lighter of a car and at that time were state of the art at 250,000 and even 500,000 candlepower’s.

Later the portable, rechargeable 500,000 and one million spotlights come about and of late you can get a good spotlight by LSI or Q. Beam of 2 million candlepower.

How does the little 2” reflector and 35 watt bulb compare with the monstrous 5 ½ inches reflectors and 50 to 75 watts bulbs in those spotlights?

To find out, I did a round up of what I have in the house: a couple of 1 million Q Beam I had disposed off when the batteries ran out of life, but I have a brand new LSI Nite Tracker 2,000.000 million candlepower, a 1 million spotlight from Aid Auto Stores and a new PN 46224 5 million from Heartland America catalogue.
Actually this is the second one, because I returned the first as the light don’t seem to my eyes to output more than a million, the second is still delivering the same output, so maybe where they come from the candlepower’s have a different value than the American ones!

I gave all the spotlights and my light a good charge to run a fair test.
The shootout was made against a tool shed at 30 yards and my appreciation of what I saw is this: The Aid auto Store spotlight seems to be a thru and thru one million candlepower light as the output is well matched against what I have seen before from other one millions.
The BOREALIS will overpower this spotlight plenty, washing the beam of it when the BOREALIS beam is made to coincide.

The second spotlight I tried was the LSI Nite tracker, 2,000.000 million; this is a great light (but also great in size and weight) and is obviously what the BOREALIS has to compete for.
I have found that the BOREALIS beam is more useful than the LSI as the spread is wider (more floodlight), I can see much more landscape to the sides of the shed than with the beam of the LSI. As per the intensity at the shed door, here are the pictures so you can judge it yourself.

Of the Black and yellow 5 million light from Heartland, to my eyes it is barely 1 million, maybe 750,000 more likely.

Yes, the LSI two million can do almost the same as the BOREALIS, but that light is much more compact, lighter and of incomparable quality in its components, the modified switch, reflector and battery carrier are a work of art and the power source are the best high current high capacity Nimhs in existence.

The Contenders, from left to right; My red BOREALIS flashlight 1050 lumens,
the 5 million Heartland of America black and yellow spotlight, the LSI Nite Tracker 2 million, and the Aid auto stores 1 million spotlight.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/redboandspotlights.jpg

And I am going to show the beamshots in the opposite sequence:

Aid auto stores 1 million candlepower

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/aidauto1million.jpg

LSI Nite Tracker 2 million

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/2million.jpg

Heartland of America 5 million (The text explain what I think of this light)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/5million.jpg

BOREALIS 1050 lumens rechargeable, 50 minutes run time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/1050borealisred.jpg

cheers
black bear

[JohnKSa]

I did some comparisons to other flashlights and rapidly reached the conclusion that there is NO COMPARISON.

That was when I started comparing my Black Bear Search & Rescue to my car's headlights. :D I was curious about how it would compare to a searchlight--it appears that 2 million candle-power isn't enough to beat it...

Neat shootout--saved me the money of buying a searchlight and doing the test myself.

Have you ever tried to characterize your lights using candlepower? I'd say from the photos that the Borealis is putting out something more than 2 million candlepower easily. Is there any way to get more precise numbers?

[MrBright]

Im happy that you have made these homemade high quality flashlights for a realy cheap price. I searched for the most powerful flashlight and found one that was 2000 lumens for almost 5,000 dollars. Its output is probably 1800 lumens. Id rather buy this transformed Maglite. Ive sent an email asking if you take payments per month. Also Id like to mention if you would be interested in starting a store on ebay and selling these flashlights, I can help.

[Syntax360]

How much is this unit, anyway? Very impressive!

[JohnKSa]

There are three models of the Borealis available--click on the link in my sigline for more information. ;)

I have a Search & Rescue and a Bear Cub from Black Bear--both are very well thought out products, so I would expect exactly the same from the Borealis.

[black bear 84]

JohnKSa,

As you know, lumens is a better meassure of light than candlepowers, as the latest is the intensity of the hot spot at a certain distance, and doesn't take in account the side spill (or flood).
While the lumens is the meassure of total light emanating from the source.

The lumens are meassured in a very expensive lab instrument called a Integrated Sphere Spectotometer.

Candlepowers:

Of course the most candlepowers are found in spotlights as they have those big reflectors that concentrate light in a tight beam, (the bigger the reflector the tighter the beam).
However a laser will put more candlepowers at 1,000 yards than the biggest Thor 15 million candlepowers, that is because the laser will have a more concentrated spot of light at that distance

Flashlights are more useful for police officers and other proffesionals, because they have a side spill (or floodlight) that illuminate also the immediate surrondings, the BOREALIS and most of my lights are sold with a choice of four reflectors, to customize the beam to the work of the operator.

They are the only lights that are offered with a choice of reflectors.
For example, the SMOOTH reflector will throw a long beam (it also have a good side spill) this is the reflector favored by rural police officers working lonely roads, wildlife officers doing deer census in the field (replace a spotlight) and firefighters wanting to punch a hole in the smoke.

The Orange Peel reflector, also have a good throw, but better side spill.

The Light stippled reflector, curtail a little the throw, but have a wonderful side spill that makes it the favorite of police officers clearing houses.
The Medium stippled is even more floodlight and can take a whole back yard.

Respectfully
black bear

[JohnKSa]

Thanks for the information!

[KD5NRH]

So, how much for an extra reflector and lens? I work two sites, one of which is a large, but almost entirely indoor production facility with most areas having some usable degree of lighting at all times, and the other is several smaller buildings on a huge lot with long alleys and long narrow warehouses and lots of dark areas that I prefer not to approach blindly, so it would be well worth the cost to me to buy an extra host light and put a smooth reflector in its head for the larger facility, but use either the orange peel or light stipple for the smaller, better lighted one.

Also, what is the difference in overall battery life between the fast charge and slow charge? Do you see any extra life with the Maha 777, and how long does it take to charge a full carrier?

I should probably stop reading your posts until I have the money in hand and I'm ready to order, since it seems that every time I read through, I convince myself that I need one more option :D

I guess it's like a carry handgun; I may not really need some extra feature, but I'll feel really stupid (briefly) if the one I decided against turns out to be the one that would have saved me.

[JohnKSa]

I can't really address the question about the charger, but I asked the same questions about the reflectors when I bought my S&R.

If I were you and I needed a way to change out reflectors, I'd either buy an entire separate flashlight head from Black Bear with the reflector you want already installed (I believe he also changes out the plastic lens for a tempered glass lens since the plastic won't take the heat) or, if that's not an option, he might sell you just the reflector and the lens and you could put them into the head of a maglite you purchase.

Then you could swap out heads rather than fumbling with the reflector. The problem with handling the reflector is that it's polished aluminum, so you have to handle it VERY carefully to avoid getting fingerprints on it. There's not really a good way to remove the fingerprints if you get them on there. It's also not exactly the right shape to put in a pocket or a holder. A separate flashlight head would be much simpler to handle.

I wouldn't worry about not picking exactly the right setup on your initial purchase, nearly anything about your light can be changed later by purchasing the proper option items from Black Bear.

[black bear 84]

KD5NRH,

The reflectors are made of thick walled aluminum, they are not really delicate, but the coating is. The coating is a metalizing process that leaves a highly reflective surface, but will wipe away easily if you rub it or will degrade it if you leave fingerprints on that surface.

You don't really need a separate reflector, or need to try different reflectors; the BOREALIS will put so much light all around, that even with the smooth long throw reflector you still have LOTS of side spill (flood).

And even with the Medium stippled reflector (which is an option for those wanting LOTS of flood) you still have a decent throw of more than 100 yards.

The Orange peel or light stippled will give you a flood like the Surefire M-6 or M-4 (they have the same or similar finish) and you don't hear complaints about the beam of those lights that don't have optional reflectors.
The four reflectors came about because I also make these lights for my flashaholic friends that are perfectionists and always look for the perfect beam to use in their white wall hunting.

The beam of a smooth reflector at short distance is not perfect (at longer distances it doesn’t matter). The smooth reflector, being mirror polished, will show the shadow of the filament at short distance.

Here is a picture that has the beam of the light stippled reflector on the left and the beam of the smooth reflector on the right.
Notice how the edges of the beam are cleaner in the light stippled, also notice how the shadow of the filament comes out of the smooth reflector (on right) at the 8 and 10 and at 2 and 4 o'clock.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/klintonpictures.jpg

If you are working with the light in conditions of heavy fog or smoke (as the firefighters), you want a more concentrated beam and the smooth reflector is for you.
The same goes if you are using the light to hunt varmints at night (coyotes), and you need the light to reach 220 yards.

If the shadow of the filament at short distance bothers you, a cleaner beam can be had with the Orange Peel reflector, without altering the long throw much.

If you are a police officer clearing houses and back yards, the more flood of the light stippled will let you see more real estate around the back yard, for the average room the smooth reflector will illuminate all you need.

The eye of the camera doesn't open as much as the human eye, and I can see much more of what the pictures show, but the camera is good for comparisons as it portrait the differences in amount of light, you can also appreciate part of the side spill, (your eye will let you see much more illuminated area).

Here are three pictures taken at 23 yards, the BOREALIS use here have the light stippled reflector, same finish as the other two, the Surefire M-4 and M-6.

Surefire M-4 (350 lumens)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/SurefireM-4350lumens.jpg

Surefire M-6 (500 lumens)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/SurefireM-6500lumens.jpg

BOREALIS 1050 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/BOREALIS1050lumens.jpg

I reiterate, you will see much more area than what is shown by the camera.

CHARGERS:

The slow 10 bay charger, have a 250 mah charging current, that means that to charge the new 2700's it will need about 12 hours or a little more. That 250 mah current is very gentle on the batteries, (they barely get warm) and they for sure will last the 1,000 recharges advertised by the factory.

The RC Fast charger have a double setting, .900 amps and 1,8 amps, it will do the batteries in a little more than 3 hours or in 1 1/2 hours.
The RC slow at 600 mah will do it in 4 1/2 hours.
These chargers feature pulse and reverse pulse charging, and the batteries will remain just warm until the very end of the charge.

The MAHA 777 plus II charge at 800 mah, about 3 hours or so, the advantage of the MAHA is that it will do any battery (camcorders, two way radios, lap tops, etc) and any chemistry (Ni Cads, Nimhs, Lithium Ion)
This charger doesn’t use pulse charging, but it has a heat sensor that will stop the charge if the batteries pass certain temperature, and then continue when the batteries have cooled down.

It all comes to what your needs are, if you are a police officer using the light on duty, you will not have time to bother with the 12 hours charger, and if you get your batteries to last 800 recharges instead of 1,000 it is well worth while.

RUN TIME:
The new Maha Powerex 2700 mah batteries will give the BOREALIS fifty minutes run time (after a few charges-discharges~~up from 45 minutes),
As the manufacturer states 1,000 recharges, that will give us 833 hours before a new pack of $30.00 is needed.

As the BOREALIS was conceived as a rechargeable solution to powerful lights like the Surefire M-6, (500 lumens, 20 minutes run on six 123's batteries) it is not out of place to comment that the M-6 will spend $36.00 in batteries per hour (at $2.00 a battery), it will cost $29,988 in batteries before it can run 833 hours.

Before I come out with the other three options on the reflectors, I make and sold over a hundred with the smooth reflector, and the customers are happy with them as they fullfill all the situations that you can put them too.

Best regards
black bear
Juan C.

[black bear 84]

I have received some P.M’s and E-mails asking about the performance of some of my others lights in comparison with what is already available in the street.

The POLAR BEAR, particularly figured in several of the inquires, and more than a couple of people wanted to know how it compares with the Ultra Stinger.
Also the newer BEAR CUB was mentioned several times.

So having decided to do a shoot out, I recharged my Ultra Stinger and set up to do the testing.

Here are the lights
Left to right, the Bear Cub the Polar Bear and the Ultra Stinger

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/threelights.jpg


It was drizzling at 6 p.m. when I went to the back yard, it causes the beam of the lights to reflect in the droplets of water and outline the beam in a way I have never taken pictures before.

The target was 30 yards away, and was a tool shed 12x8 feet.

I set the tripod and holding the lights alongside and at the height of my head initiated the shoot-out.
(The beams seem to come from much higher, that is why I mention the fact)

The Ultra Stinger, 75,000 candlepower, 295 lumens (claimed)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/UltraStinger30yards.jpg

The Polar Bear, 426 lumens run time 75 minutes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/PolarBear30yards.jpg

The Bear Cub, 220 lumens for 90 minutes

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/BearCub.jpg


Of course all my others lights, live on the shadow of the BOREALIS, at the last minute, I decided to bring it up into the shoot-out, so people can see what this light is all about.
Of course the lens of the camera don’t open as much as the human eye, and consequently it sees less. What I am seeing with my eyes is more illumination with any of the lights, than the camera capture, but it is good for comparison between the lights.

And yes here is the beamshot with the BOREALIS 1050 lumens light.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/Bo-re-alisat30yardas.jpg

Kind regards and Happy Holidays to all members
Black bear

[FirstFreedom]

I've now decided I must have both a Borealis and either a Polar Bear or Bear Cub 720. Hmmm, maybe a late christmas gift to myself, if my business picks up the 2nd half of the month..... :)

[JohnKSa]

I have a S&R and a Bear Cub from Black Bear. I find that the two flashlights compliment each other, in size, performance, runtime and "shelf-life".

The Li-Ion cells in the Bear Cub mean that the flashlight can be left in a "ready-to-go" state for much longer than the NimH powered flashlights since the self-discharge rate is much slower. Also, the Li-Ion batteries are very light and put out a lot of voltage for their size. That means that even if I screw up and let my S&R batteries run down, I still have over an hour of 220 lumen runtime in a very compact, light package (2C-Cell Maglite size) from the BearCub.

[FirstFreedom]

K, JohnK, thanks for the info...helpful.

[black bear 84]

I've now decided I must have both a Borealis and either a Polar Bear or Bear Cub 720. Hmmm, maybe a late christmas gift to myself, if my business picks up the 2nd half of the month.....

Hi First Freedom,
The Bear Cub is 220 lumens for 90 minutes, it is made in the 2 C format (9 inches long 13 oz weight)

The Black Bear 720 is the one that have 720 lumens.
Here in this piece I did yesterday is more information about that light.

THE BLACK BEAR 720 LUMENS FLASHLIGHT

Of course all my others lights live in the shadow of their big brother, the BOREALIS 1050 lumens torch.
But one that stands up for it own merits is the BLACK BEAR 720.

At one pound 4 oz. the Black Bear 720 is smaller and lighter and its length of ten inches makes it a natural for glove compartments and pockets in overcoats and hunting jackets.

The light runs on six rechargeable high current NIMH batteries, my latest batteries are Powerex 2700 mah, with them, I am getting 40 minutes of run time (after a few charges-discharges).

The lumens output and throw is superior to the Surefire M-6 (20 minutes run time on six disposables 123’s batteries for 500 lumens).
And you can see that the run time on the rechargeable batteries is double than the disposables 123’s also the cost of running the M-6 is $12.00 per 20 minutes, while the Black Bear 720 will run double that amount for free.

The M-6 is still smaller than the BLACK BEAR 720, but as you can see in the pictures the difference is not that much.

Pictured too are the battery carriers that each light uses, the plastic carrier of the M-6 hold six 123’s while the metal and delrin carriers of the Black Bear 720, also holds six of the AA rechargeable batteries.

The Rolls Royce battery carrier have a charging port at the back in which the RC charger is plugged, this will charge the batteries in 4 ½ hours, without the need to take them out of the carrier.

The Black Bear 720 is offered with your choice of four reflectors to customize the light to your needs, the smooth reflector offers maximum throw, the Orange Peel improves in the quality of the beam and give more flood without altering the throw much.
The Light Stippled is very much the same surface treatment as the M-6 reflector, it have a good flood without curtailing the throw.
The Medium Stippled is all flood, rivaling a pair of backyards floodlights.

Here is a picture of the lights and the battery carriers each one uses.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/BB720andEmesix.jpg

Yesterday I did a shoot out between the Black Bear 720 and the Surefire M-6 at 30 yards against my 12 by 8 feet tool shed.
Here are the results.

Surefire M-6 (500 lumens)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/eme630yards.jpg



BLACK BEAR 720 LUMENS

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/BlackBear720at30yards.jpg


The Black Bear is made with the same high quality components than the BOREALIS, the high temperature switch, the small hole parabolic solid aluminum reflector, Pyrex lens and the shorter version of the Rolls Royce battery carrier and of course the super-bulbs and the high current high capacity optimized Nimhs batteries.

Best regards
black bear

[Zeebrahed]

I have had the opportunity to use my new Borealis for a few weeks now, and I have got to say that this is one very high quality, high output light. The pictures really do not do much justice to this light, it must be seen to be believed.

The output of this light easily surpasses the heavy and bulky 1 and 2 million candlepower spotlights I had been using in my applications. This flashlight unlike all my others gives me the reach and power that I have wanted in a portable package for years. This is literally the brightest, longest lasting, most economical flashlight I have ever seen. My Borealis lasts a good long time at full intensity and is easy to throw on the batter charger when I get home. On a year to year basis, I would spend many hundreds of dollars on CR123 batteries that I no longer need. My Surefire's are collecting dust.

In addition, Juan's pricing is fair for the product you get and his attention to customer service is refreshing in the realm of big business where the customer counts less than the bottom line. In my contacts with Juan, I have no doubt that he stands behind his product 100%. Just look at the feedback received in this thread on the Borealis. The folks who have adopted Juan's lights are pretty fanatical. We believe we have the best flashlight system that can be purchased currently.

[JohnKSa]

I've seen several people argue that rechargeable batteries aren't a good solution for flashlights since power outages can leave a person without the means to charge their batteries.

I've mentioned this before, but I have some hard numbers this time.

I charged two sets of batteries on the 22nd of December (57 days ago).

I put one set in the refrigerator (not the freezer) and another set was left out at room temperature. Both sets were 2700maH NimH rechargeables, one set by Sanyo and the other set were Powerex.

The room temperature stored batteries (Sanyo) measured 3 out of 5 leds lit on my battery checker. The unloaded voltage (average of 5 batteries) was 1.295V

BTW, before testing this set, I put them in my Black Bear Search & Rescue--they showed no performance degradation in terms of brightness output. So at least with this battery, even 2 months at room temperature isn't enough to drain them to a useless state although clearly they're down a bit from fresh.

The refrigerator stored batteries (Powerex) were allowed to warm to room temperature. They measured 5 out of 5 leds lit on the tester. The unloaded voltage (again the average of 5 batteries) was 1.355V

So if power outages are a major concern, you can buy a few sets and put the spares in the fridge for storage. They'll keep a LONG time (at least 4 months, probably more like 6) and when they come out, it's as if they're fresh from the charger (after you let them warm to room temperature.)

As long as you can remember to have a charging session three times a year or so you're good to go.

[Cerbera]

Zeebrahed is right about Juan (black bear): customer service is refreshing in the realm of big business. Recently, the cable for my charger was broken for unknown reasons. I contacted Juan and he offered to send a replacement. It is nice knowing that if something goes wrong, Juan is there to help.

I should have followed JohnKSa's advice and put my batteries in the fridge while I waited for my replacement!

[JohnKSa]

It is nice knowing that if something goes wrong, Juan is there to help.I agree, Juan takes customer service to a new level! Not only is the product very technically impressive and well thought out, the maker stands behind it.

[skeeter1]

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that moderator JohnKSa has been pimping for Black Bear flashlights? Witness the sig line:

__________________
Did you know that there is a TEXAS State Rifle Association?

Check out Black Bear Flashlights.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

They might be good, but I have a feeling there's a conflict of interest here.

[JohnKSa]

Good products combined with really awesome customer service are not common these days. I'm not shy about rewarding excellence when I find it. ;) I think you'll find that many of Juan's customers feel exactly the same way.

The organizations in my sig line are different in many ways but are the same in that I feel they give you a lot of bang for the buck. If anyone wants to know more about them I'd be happy to provide more information...

BTW, my sigline is the same on most of the forums I post on including the ones that I don't do moderator work for. Furthermore it has remained unchanged since before I was a mod on TFL. I don't know exactly when I changed it to include Black Bear Flashlights, but it was sometime in 2006--long before I was approached about being a mod at TFL.

FINALLY, there can be no conflict of interest because I'm not paid or otherwise compensated to represent or advertise for anyone nor do I claim to be or attempt to be neutral on the products and services discussed, reviewed, bought or sold on TFL. Furthermore, there is no TFL policy requiring that mods avoid plugging products or services that they like or refrain from criticizing products or services that they find lacking.

If you don't like it, you're free to say so. But your implication that there's anything unethical going on is not only highly offensive, it's also completely baseless.

[raymond-]

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that moderator JohnKSa has been pimping for Black Bear flashlights? Witness the sig line:

there are reoccurring 'reviews' of accolades which are seemingly written every
month and are variations-on-a-theme...and which sound like infomercials.

[cqc1000]

My Black Bear Flashlight is one of the most impressive purchases I've made in years. My Dad and I both have one, and this thing in INSANELY bright. I do a lot of night hog hunting and I've tracked down 2 hogs at night with this light. It turns the night to day, and I'm not kidding. It was absolutely worth every penny. It has been perfect for varmint hunting as well. My Surefire is nothing compared to this.

I had an attempted break (I thought) 2 months ago. That light illuminated every corner of every room SO much better than my Surefire. When I checked my yard for additional signs of trouble, every shadow disappeared even 100 feet away in the corner of my property.

I'm very happy with my service and my light. It was WELL WORTH THE MONEY TO ME. I'm very busy right now and I don't have time to post a review, but this light is so great and my experience with Juan was so extremely positive I really wanted to just let everyone know how great it is.

[black bear 84]

Hi guys,
I have a new camera that is able to take night pictures close to what we actually see with our eyes, close but not actually as much as we can see.

Still the pictures are great for comparison with others lights.

Here they are some comparison beam shots with others popular lights used by law enforcement.

The tool shed target is 30 yards away

MAGCHARGER 40,000 Candlepowers, 200 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/Magcharger200lu.jpg

Ultra Stinger, 75,000 candlepowers, 295 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/ultrastinger.jpg

BOREALIS, 1050 lumens, rechargeable 50 minutes run time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/boREALIS1000plus.jpg

The 1050 lumens of the BOREALIS is similar to a two million candlepower spotlight or a big truck high beam headlights, please be careful and don't point the light to members of your family, use only for defense if you want to cook some bad guy eyeballs.:)

cheers
Black Bear

[black bear 84]

NEW BEAMSHOTS

Hi guys,
Again we are going to feature the BOREALIS 1050 lumens in competition with others powerful police lights.
I used a big section of the fence and a range of 35 yards
As a starter we have the Maglite 3 D (39 lumens)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/tresd.jpg

And a Magcharger 200 lumens (40,000 candlepower)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/magchagerr.jpg

And the Streamlight Ultra Stinger 295 lumens 75,000 candlepower

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/ultra.jpg

The Surefire M-6 Guardian, 500 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/suremesixli.jpg

And the BOREALIS 1050 lumens

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/borealisluz.jpg

These are the contenders, from left to right, Maglite 3 D, Magcharger, Ultra Stinger, Surefire M-6 and the rechargeable BOREALIS 1050 lumens.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/contenderslig.jpg

CONTINUE IN NEXT POST

[black bear 84]

These are the battery sticks and carriers, from left the 5 volts battery stick of the Magcharger, the 6 volts Ni Cad battery Stick of the Ultra Stinger, the plastic battery carrier of the Surefire M-6 with the six 123’s batteries, and the Rolls Royce battery carrier of the Borealis, made out of aluminum and Delryn for the 9 batteries NIMH (12 volts system).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/blackbear11784/batteriesncarriers.jpg

Kind regards
Black Bear

[Pharaohawk27]

Quick question... I am a new member here, by the way, happy to be in The Firing Line... how long (as in hours) does the life of a Borealis bulb last?

[black bear 84]

Welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your stay.

The bulb life is 35 hours plus (just the same as Surefire lamps) the Borealis include a spare bulb in the tail cap and extra bulbs are inexpensive.

Best regards
Black Bear

[angrywetcat]

These are incredible! I've been into flashlights for about, oh, 9 days now, and with 5 already sitting on my desk (LED's), I've got to get me one (or 2) of these!

Let my neighbor come out now with his 500,000 candlepower spotlight! We'll see who's the brightest bulb in the box!