Andy_L
01-01-2007, 04:14 PM
The Raws NS Cree is one of (if not the) smallest brightest light in the world. There is a range of Raws in production today and you can taylor them to your desires. I thought for those who haven't heard about them I'd start off with a bit of history of the development of my latest bit of EDC kit
They started with the standard RAW using an aluminium body with a rather nice LED, which gave out an insane amount of light for its size. Over time a smaller rechargeable battery has come out and so the RAW NS came into existence, this was made of nickel silver (thus the NS on the name) and had O-rings making it more water resistant. A two stage switch is also present (now an option on the raw) which means that you still have the high power you had with the original RAW but you could have a less light and the battery would last more then 12minutes. Then a new better brighter LED was created and you can have even more light for longer, it’s not included in the standard price but I figured if your getting a torch like this you may as well get the best one. The Cree LEDs have been causing a huge stir over on candlepower forums where members are overheating their keyboards and selling their grandmothers to get one of the few lights being made with these LEDs
In the RAW NS package you get
The RAW NS
A 14250 lithium rechargeable battery
A nanno charger (requires an adapter to use in UK plugs but it’s only 65p from Wilkinsons)
6magnets (you need three to allow you to change the extra tiny battery)
I got an extra battery and the torch also has the optional Titium locator, you can choose numbers and colours of these, mine has a single blue one. These help you find the torch at night, the ice blue is a rather pleasing colour if not the one that looks brightest
Early reviews mentioned lots of tiny white balls making a bid to take over the world when you opened the packaging, when I opened the Jiffy bag I found a Pelican case nicely containing everything in a very orderly way. This case would ensure that the package could be used in a game of football, the delivery van could get washed away in a storm and when recovered your package would still be safe and dry. If storing kit for the end of the world, as we know it, this would be a good option. It also makes this torch unique in being the only thing I’ve bought where I’ve ended up playing with the packaging in the sink whilst waiting for the battery to charge.
The torch is inside another little plastic tube, which has a screw fitting. The torch then has a little bit of foam at the end where the lens is protecting it further, before you even get to the torch you know it’s going to be something special.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/case.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/caseOpen.jpg
When you get the torch out you realise just how small this thing is, the 14250 cell that powers this torch is 14mm across by 25mm long, the same diameter as a AA cell but half the length.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/battComp.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/charger.jpg
This allows the torch itself to be about the width of a mini Maglite and just a bit shorter then a AA cell. I suggest you read that again whilst holding an AA battery or your car keys and think just how small that is. Since it’s made of nickel silver is feels like it has a bit of weight to it, it’s not that it’s heavy but rather feels solid. It comes with a lanyard, which is a plastic coated metal wire with a small clip on the end. I really like the unpolished finish, it’s not hiding anything about how it was made, there are two ridges at the front which give it a bit of texture and I think might help with heat transfer. It also has raw ns cut into the body and ns at the rear end of the light; the writing on the body is slightly unusual. When reading the information sheet that came with it I found out it was Swiss CNC made body, this makes me want to get a Swiss watch!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/sideView.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/logo.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/tail.jpg
Leaving the instructions to one side I promptly dismantled the torch, I then realised that with this torch to switch it on you turn the front section anti clockwise (or the back half clockwise) which is the opposite of a Maglite. Turning it the correct way suddenly gave me a rather pleasing amount of light, quite a bit more then a mini Maglite or my Streamlight twin task on low. I thought this was a very respectable amount of light for a torch this size. If I’d never seen a RAW before I’d think that was what it did and would still be quite happy, turning through another 60degrees or so takes you to a whole new world though, the torch was pointing at the ceiling of a room 13ft by 12ft and the low power gave me enough to see things in the room, the high power was enough to light the room. In a power cut I’d be quite happy using this to light a room to carry on normal activities.
I went into the kitchen to get the torches I’d brought back from uni, a QIII which was for a time a highly popular torch for output and beam pattern and a Streamlight twin task 2l which is a good users torch offering two light settings and what I have in the past used for camping and walking since it’s own low power setting runs for a claimed 28hours or a 72bulb lumens for about 2hours. The Raw NS makes the QIII seem large and dim. I still can’t get used to having this much light from a small package and I’m trying to find ways to show just how much light your getting. The twin task is a tad shorter then a mini mag and uses 2CR123 cells to power it, the low power setting claims 28hours while the brighter Raw NS uses 10ma from a 300mah so in theory you have 30hours, since you have to be careful not to drain the cells completely lets say it lasts for the same time whilst giving more power at a fraction of the size. On high the Streamlight quotes 72lumens, I assume this is bulb lumen since people have said it’s not as bright as a Surefire G2, which has 60torch lumens. This doesn’t put out a bit more light then the streamlight. It puts out a LOT more light and is a really nice white light. So compare it to a Surefire running off two CR123 with a HALO would give you about 120lumens for 20minutes. This tiny light will do that whilst being rechargeable and is smaller.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/comparison.jpg
Not only does this torch put out a huge amount of light, the beam pattern is also rather pleasing due the orange peel reflector. Sadly it doesn’t stand on the end with the lanyard attached and it was difficult to photograph this so maybe Cones can do a better job. The torch does start to feel warm even after a short burst of light but I will be doing a run time test later on and I’ll see how it fairs with that
To summarise this torch is a compact powerhouse in a sturdy case, it’s small enough to go in the compass pocket of my jacket with enough run time on low to use when walking home through woods and can go into a ultra bright mode should I loose something. It does cost a lot but you do get a customised torch that not many others will have. It feels more personal then any other torch I have and I like that sort of thing, it will be my EDC along with my William Henry Legacy.
Pros
very very small
very very bright
reassuringly heavy
more waterproof then a Raw
two stage give long run time on low
the Cree gives a better run time on high then a standard 3w Raw NS
semi custom
charger works world wide
comes in tough case
Cons
Run time on high still isn't huge
50g is a fair amount of weight to add to your keys
cells aren't protected (make me paranoid about damaging them)
cost - the basic torch is £55, this one with two cells comes to £86 plus £3 uk postage, some people might not want to carry something that expensive.
makes your other torches seem either huge or dim in comparison
They started with the standard RAW using an aluminium body with a rather nice LED, which gave out an insane amount of light for its size. Over time a smaller rechargeable battery has come out and so the RAW NS came into existence, this was made of nickel silver (thus the NS on the name) and had O-rings making it more water resistant. A two stage switch is also present (now an option on the raw) which means that you still have the high power you had with the original RAW but you could have a less light and the battery would last more then 12minutes. Then a new better brighter LED was created and you can have even more light for longer, it’s not included in the standard price but I figured if your getting a torch like this you may as well get the best one. The Cree LEDs have been causing a huge stir over on candlepower forums where members are overheating their keyboards and selling their grandmothers to get one of the few lights being made with these LEDs
In the RAW NS package you get
The RAW NS
A 14250 lithium rechargeable battery
A nanno charger (requires an adapter to use in UK plugs but it’s only 65p from Wilkinsons)
6magnets (you need three to allow you to change the extra tiny battery)
I got an extra battery and the torch also has the optional Titium locator, you can choose numbers and colours of these, mine has a single blue one. These help you find the torch at night, the ice blue is a rather pleasing colour if not the one that looks brightest
Early reviews mentioned lots of tiny white balls making a bid to take over the world when you opened the packaging, when I opened the Jiffy bag I found a Pelican case nicely containing everything in a very orderly way. This case would ensure that the package could be used in a game of football, the delivery van could get washed away in a storm and when recovered your package would still be safe and dry. If storing kit for the end of the world, as we know it, this would be a good option. It also makes this torch unique in being the only thing I’ve bought where I’ve ended up playing with the packaging in the sink whilst waiting for the battery to charge.
The torch is inside another little plastic tube, which has a screw fitting. The torch then has a little bit of foam at the end where the lens is protecting it further, before you even get to the torch you know it’s going to be something special.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/case.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/caseOpen.jpg
When you get the torch out you realise just how small this thing is, the 14250 cell that powers this torch is 14mm across by 25mm long, the same diameter as a AA cell but half the length.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/battComp.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/charger.jpg
This allows the torch itself to be about the width of a mini Maglite and just a bit shorter then a AA cell. I suggest you read that again whilst holding an AA battery or your car keys and think just how small that is. Since it’s made of nickel silver is feels like it has a bit of weight to it, it’s not that it’s heavy but rather feels solid. It comes with a lanyard, which is a plastic coated metal wire with a small clip on the end. I really like the unpolished finish, it’s not hiding anything about how it was made, there are two ridges at the front which give it a bit of texture and I think might help with heat transfer. It also has raw ns cut into the body and ns at the rear end of the light; the writing on the body is slightly unusual. When reading the information sheet that came with it I found out it was Swiss CNC made body, this makes me want to get a Swiss watch!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/sideView.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/logo.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/tail.jpg
Leaving the instructions to one side I promptly dismantled the torch, I then realised that with this torch to switch it on you turn the front section anti clockwise (or the back half clockwise) which is the opposite of a Maglite. Turning it the correct way suddenly gave me a rather pleasing amount of light, quite a bit more then a mini Maglite or my Streamlight twin task on low. I thought this was a very respectable amount of light for a torch this size. If I’d never seen a RAW before I’d think that was what it did and would still be quite happy, turning through another 60degrees or so takes you to a whole new world though, the torch was pointing at the ceiling of a room 13ft by 12ft and the low power gave me enough to see things in the room, the high power was enough to light the room. In a power cut I’d be quite happy using this to light a room to carry on normal activities.
I went into the kitchen to get the torches I’d brought back from uni, a QIII which was for a time a highly popular torch for output and beam pattern and a Streamlight twin task 2l which is a good users torch offering two light settings and what I have in the past used for camping and walking since it’s own low power setting runs for a claimed 28hours or a 72bulb lumens for about 2hours. The Raw NS makes the QIII seem large and dim. I still can’t get used to having this much light from a small package and I’m trying to find ways to show just how much light your getting. The twin task is a tad shorter then a mini mag and uses 2CR123 cells to power it, the low power setting claims 28hours while the brighter Raw NS uses 10ma from a 300mah so in theory you have 30hours, since you have to be careful not to drain the cells completely lets say it lasts for the same time whilst giving more power at a fraction of the size. On high the Streamlight quotes 72lumens, I assume this is bulb lumen since people have said it’s not as bright as a Surefire G2, which has 60torch lumens. This doesn’t put out a bit more light then the streamlight. It puts out a LOT more light and is a really nice white light. So compare it to a Surefire running off two CR123 with a HALO would give you about 120lumens for 20minutes. This tiny light will do that whilst being rechargeable and is smaller.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/highstorrsprom/Raw%20NS/comparison.jpg
Not only does this torch put out a huge amount of light, the beam pattern is also rather pleasing due the orange peel reflector. Sadly it doesn’t stand on the end with the lanyard attached and it was difficult to photograph this so maybe Cones can do a better job. The torch does start to feel warm even after a short burst of light but I will be doing a run time test later on and I’ll see how it fairs with that
To summarise this torch is a compact powerhouse in a sturdy case, it’s small enough to go in the compass pocket of my jacket with enough run time on low to use when walking home through woods and can go into a ultra bright mode should I loose something. It does cost a lot but you do get a customised torch that not many others will have. It feels more personal then any other torch I have and I like that sort of thing, it will be my EDC along with my William Henry Legacy.
Pros
very very small
very very bright
reassuringly heavy
more waterproof then a Raw
two stage give long run time on low
the Cree gives a better run time on high then a standard 3w Raw NS
semi custom
charger works world wide
comes in tough case
Cons
Run time on high still isn't huge
50g is a fair amount of weight to add to your keys
cells aren't protected (make me paranoid about damaging them)
cost - the basic torch is £55, this one with two cells comes to £86 plus £3 uk postage, some people might not want to carry something that expensive.
makes your other torches seem either huge or dim in comparison