Flashlight snobbery?

I've recently come to appreciate the advances in flashlights recently so I decided to try and find a balance between cost, light output and weight.  Rather than give a lengthy and wordy review that would still leave you confused, I decided the best way to show a review of flashlights is to show the results.  My goal was to find a lightweight flashlight that puts out a LOT of light and takes readily available batteries (AA or AAA).

The flashlights I compared for my casual test are shown below (from left to right and also heaviest to lightest):

Flashlight	Batteries	Weight	Cost
Brinyte 750 Lumen CREE flashlight	3 x AA	10.677 oz	$55 on eBay
Coleman Max 144 Lumen Flashlight	3 x AAA	5.108 oz	$20 at Wal-Mart
SAIK CREE 300 Lumen flashlight	2 x AA	4.720 oz	$12 on eBay
The traditional Brinkman mini-maglite	2 x AA	3.781 oz	$10 at Wal-Mart
Cheap 9 LED flashlight	3 x AAA	2.441 oz	$2 anywhere

So how did they perform?  All the pictures below were taken from about 40~50 ft back.  I had the camera mounted on a tripod and fixed on a 10 second timer.  I pushed the button to shoot and then tried to focus my light on the target.  Here is what I saw:


The cheapo 9 LED light

The Brinkman mini-maglite

The 144 lumen Coleman Max

The 300 Lumen SAIK CREE flashlight (I suspect the lumen rating is exaggerated compared to the Coleman flashlight)

The 750 lumen Brinyte dive light

So I really like the light output of the Brinyte and I like the added bonus it is submersible to 75 meters- not something I was looking for.  However, I don't like the fact that turning on the Brinyte is as easy as twisting the top.  That works great for diving (the intended use of this light) but I can see where it would get turned on  by accident when placed in a pack.  When you also consider the cost, you can probably get the most bang for your buck from the SAIK light- especially if you don't need to produce daylight on demand.

p.s. - The specs on the Coleman Max per Coleman for flashlight model 2000006530 144 lumens using a Cree XP-E bulb.

Review of the Alps Mountaineering Vertex 4

So it was under a great deal of sadness, I decided my Eureka Timberline 4 tent needed to be replaced.  I've spent a lot of nights in the Eureka but the the need to patch the floor was growing in frequency and the cosmetics of numerous patches was starting to bother me.  Since there have been lot of years pass since I purchased my tent, I decided to look and see if I could find a tent that I would love more than the Eureka.  Some of my criteria for a replacement tent included:

• 4 person tent (so I could sleep 2~3 comfortably)
• Weight < 10 lbs
• Wanted a tent that will withstand a hurricane (not literally but STRONG wind + rain)
• Aluminum poles (Not fiberglass)
• 2 doors
• Did not want a tent that used sleeves for the poles (strongly prefer clips)
• Easy enough I could setup in the dark and in adverse weather conditions
• Price < $200

After a lot of consideration, research, reading reviews and other feedback, I finally settled on the Alps Mountaineering Vertex 4.  Here are some of my initial thoughts and observations in no particular order:

• There are 2 stuff sacks.  If I use the smaller sack for the fly, there is no sack for the poles.  Additionally, the sack for the fly is a REALLY snug fit.  This leaves me to put the fly and tent in the same bag and the poles in the second bag.  This works, but is still a pretty tight fit.  I would prefer a little more room in the stuff sack like the Eureka had.
• The poles on this tent are incredible.  They look good and they appear really strong.  I didn't understand the concept of 'single-pole system' until I purchased and saw this.  It basically means all the poles and connectors are connected with bungee so you can't lose pieces like you can with the Eureka.  (It also means that a bent pole will require quite a bit more work if I ever have to replace it.)  The connectors to receive the poles are also a high quality aluminum (rather than the plastic used by Eureka.  See the picture.
• The clips that attach to the top bar are easy enough for me to reach, but I am also 6'1".  It would be a long stretch for a shorter person to attach the middle clip on the top.
• The tent goes up very fast (<5 minutes) even in strong winds.
• The fly on this tent comes very near the ground and does an excellent job covering the tent itself.  I have near zero concern about staying dry despite adverse weather.
• Even at 15 sq ft/side, the vestibule is small.  I wish it were large enough i could get into the vestibule and close it up before getting into the tent.  I'm a bit too big to do this so I must unzip the vestibule, then unzip the tent, get into the tent, zip the vestibule and then zip the tent- a bit more of an ordeal that I would like, but I'll accept.
• First time I've had a tent with a vestibule and this one has two.  It's limited space but large enough for my 90L pack and muddy shoes.  I suspect I'm going to eventually love the vestibule.
• They put windows in the fly.  I'm not crazy about this concept because it seems like a future leakpoint plus I favor privacy.  the windows can't really be closed off either.  However, the angle of the windows makes it difficult to impossible for someone to see in unless they are intentionally trying to peer in and I can see advantages to being able to see outside to see the weather.  I'll refrain from judgment on this one.
• Not as many screen windows on this tent as I would like for a tent that is going to primarily be used in Texas.  I'll try it and see but I suspect I might find this will indeed be a 3 season tent, but summer won't be one of them.
• The tent is largely free standing (e.g. no guy lines required).  It does have anchor spots for them if you decide to use them, but the tent is so stable without them, I can't imagine a case I'll need to connect them- although time will tell.  With that said, the sides of the fly do have a spot to stake the fly- however, I discovered that I really need to attach a short ~18" guy line to keep the fly off the wall of the tent.  A little disappointing, but easily manageable.
• I'll be taking the tent out on an actual trip in ~2 more weeks and will provide an updated review after that.

Here is the tent itself without the fly:

Here is the tent with the vestibule open:

The tent all secured and zipped up.  (Notice I did not stake out the sidewalls in this shot)
This is the quality of the poles and connector I was talking about: