REVIEW - Nite Ize 1 Watt L.E.D. Upgrade

[workinwifdakids]

I acquired the Nite Ize 1 Watt L.E.D. Upgrade & IQ Switch today.

The kit was $17.95, and comes in an attractive package of color cardboard surrounding a plastic-in-plastic ‘sheath’ around the equipment itself. It may sound trivial, but I was impressed that the kit wasn’t in a sealed ‘blister pack’ or clamshell enclosure, because those enclosures are irritating to me.

Although sold separately as well, the 1 Watt L.E.D. Upgrade and “IQ” (thumb) switch came together in this single upgrade kit, with a savings of about $5 if purchased together the way I did.

I installed the thumb toggle ("IQ Switch") first, as it seemed to be the most straightforward of the two features in the kit. In stark contrast to my gloss black AA Minimag, the thumb toggle is matt black (other than the dim white label “IQ SWITCH” written on the side). This is a tubular end-cap which replaces the Minimag’s OEM endcap. There were several interesting features on the new endcap. First, a dull red low-level LED flashes dimly about once every four seconds. This feature is disabled upon twisting the head of the Minimag as though turning it off. The other interesting feature is a VERY small diagonal hole through the lip of the thumb cap, allowing a small cord to be connected to the light.

Operating the thumb switch/toggle ("IQ Switch") was interesting! First, if the Minimag’s head is rotated to the typical “OFF” position, the thumb switch will not activate the light at all. Second, rotating the Minimag’s head will NOT turn on the light if the thumb switch is installed! That could be irritating to some, but to me was simply a feature. Anyway, to operate, then, you have to rotate the head of your Minimag to the on position, and then the thumb switch operates. There are five settings: 100% power, 50% power, 25% power, and two strobes: a strobe at about one flash every 2.5 seconds, and another at 2 strobes/second. You cycle through these features by pressing the thumb switch at a rate greater than one click every 2 seconds, until finding the one you want. If you allow 2 seconds to pass, the next time you click the switch it turns the light off.

For the ‘tactical’ (flash-blind) setting, depress the switch and do not let up - then let up to turn off.

If you’ve ever changed the regular two-prong bulb in a Minimag, then the 1 Watt L.E.D. will be a snap for you. There’s not much else to say in this regard, though the kit does come with a new bowl mirror to replace the OEM in the Minimag. When comparing the two ‘bowl’ reflectors, the one from Nite Ize was noticeably sturdier with a higher gloss reflective surface.

The results were IMMEDIATELY noticeable. The blank dots at the end of the beam from the regular Minimag were instantly gone. In its place, the L.E.D. produced a brilliant white light. Putting the beam against my hand caused my eyes to begin hurting. I flew the light through my face as quickly as possible, and I still have a spot in my vision one half-hour later, and my head hurts.

The most annoying part of the kit is the absolute absence of any mention of ‘lumens’ which would have made my determination of brightness more accurate. However, I am most happy with the output, and believe it to be conservatively DOUBLE that of the regular Minimag.

Nite Ize, Inc. lists their headquarters at 5660 Central Ave, Boulder, CO, 80301, at (303) 449-2576, www.NiteIze.com. The item number is listed as NIQ-07-1WC, and the bar code is listed as 94664 00728.

For the record, I am not affiliated in any way with this nor any other company with any interest in any related industry.