CR2-Ion CREEmated!

Okay, we all know the gold standard for finely handcrafted, smaller than all get-out lights was, is and shall always be the unfortunately named "Larry Light" (unfortunately named because Larry himself really dislikes it!)... or in the more recent world of small-run custom built flashlights, Modamag's nothing-short-of-astounding Draco. The CR2-Ion comes in a distant third to these lights.



Note the size compared to the handles on my linesman's pliers and a partially disassembled pack of DeWalt A123 cells... incidentally, those'll lead us to ANOTHER little project here in the labs!

Nevertheless, I had the opportunity recently to grab one of these via trade, and since I'd never seen one up close and personal before, I took the bait. The finish is a beautiful blue, which I'm told has since gone out of production... fit and finish aren't bad, in fact it's quite a clean build of good quality... mind you, not so ridiculously over the top as the Larry Light or Draco, but still quite nice. The emitter... ah, well that's where the problem is. I was excited to see my first light constructed around a Cree emitter, but the one used in the stock light is pre-XR-E, and while there's nothing wrong with it, the thing just leaves a nagging feeling that more could be done.

With inspiration from the CandlePowerForum's own 4sevens, a fellow modder who grew up alongside me in the modding ranks, and who I'm proud to count among one of my best of friends in this bizarre little corner of the universe, I decided to disembowel my little CR2-Ion to see if I could install my very own Cree P3-WC XR-E emitter... and a couple hours later, voila!



Look, ma, I'm a photographer! (Not really, more like got really lucky with 1 out of 20 photos.) I love these emitter closeups.

This thing really kicks! With no changes to the reflector whatsoever, the output looks to have doubled or tripled overall... and for the first time ever this light actually has a real, bona fide hotspot that really throws. Maybe it's not ready to take on a SureFire turbohead... still, quite an improvement! And I'm not so sure I'd want the turbohead on my keychain.



Upright next to a Mag 2C head, the CR2-Ion looks positively tiny... those 18mm reflectors inside the Mag head give me the same feeling as the photos one sees from time to time with an aircraft assembly worker standing completely inside the confines of a commercial jet engine!