Just got this "NoviGear" light in the mail today, shown here with its elegant original packaging (there was some newspaper packed around it in the plain cardboard box but I had already thrown that out):

I bought it not for its stellar led output, but for its size. It has a cool little 3AAA triangular battery holder that will replicate the directdrive power source in the original LGI (3 x 1.5 = 4.5V) yet this light is only 4.5 inches long:

Its size and shape remind me a little of a "personal vibrator" (or whatever you call'em), with the six leds packed perfectly concentrically in the head:

and the pushbutton switch integrated smoothly into the rounded shape of the tailcap:

So I stick three AAA batteries inside -- the carrier is a bit balky, loose contact somewhere as it can be turned on and off by just tapping the light, nothing a little solder won't fix -- and fire her up. I then stumble backward a few steps, awed by the sun-like output (hee hee):

and then set out to do a comparison test with a couple of other small lights I had laying around, in this case an Arc-SLS and a Pal Light:

Beamshots do not really tell the whole story though, as the NoviGear emits a broad and diffused light which was actually more useful than the Pal's:

The light meter told the rest of the story:

Arc-SLS: 242 lux

Pal Light: 112 lux

NoviGear: 39 lux

Now to take it apart and explore the insides of the head for heatsink real estate...

12.23.02

With the encouragement and enthusiasm of a couple of fellow Hawaii CPF'ers who kindly visited my humble abode tonight (Hi Darryl, and Welcome Bob!), I was finally able to stitch together the little NoviGear light and emplaced a premium 1-watt Luxeon in its tiny confines using a new high-tech heatsink kindly provided by a major flashlight manufacturer (Thanks Paul!). In this first shot you can see the little triple AAA battery holder:

Of course as usual, I now had to put it up against something known. But using three AAAs with their attenuate higher internal resistance which would allow significantly less current, I did not expect the Mini LGI to achieve genuine LGI brightness. But even so, if it performed decently it might just be a winner due to its diminutive dimensions:

Incidentally, the standard length LGI on the left is (was?) MR Bulk's personal keeper. The absolute brightest AA-driven 1-watt Luxeon flashlight I had ever made (or heard of, for that matter) until the LGI-LEs that were just created this week when I lucked into a very tiny number of simply incredible batwings.

Anyway back to the Mini LGI. There was no bulb socket nor positive/negative leads to take power from since the battery carrier already provided that function, delivering the juice out of an anodic spring right at the tip. So there was some engineering to be figured out (and it quickly dawned on me during this figuring out process why them engineers have to go to school so long and get paid all the big bucks), which was accomplished not without some scratchy notes on a spiral pad just to keep track of exactly what it was I decided I had already figured out:

It was pretty touch-and-go for a while trying to wedge that high-tech heatsink into the head and getting it pounded down to the exact bottom so it would lie truly flat, all the while asking myself why Arctic Silver had to cure so fast and be so messy:

But in the end I realized that true happiness is a perfectly centered Luxeon:

Here are the beamshots in the same order as how the lights were shown above, this one from three feet:

and this one from about 25 feet down and angled back from my sloped ceiling:

So by all indications the sleek and smooth little Mini LGI was holding its own, even against my personal LGI keeper. But the acid test was against the LM-631 LightMan taken from one meter away:
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688 lux...

I must make more of these. They will be a huge hit due to their perfect pocket/purse EDC size. But only if I can find the donors at a better price...

Mini LGI Finds A Home

While digging around through my junk cleaning up for the new year I came across a little black nylon velcro case. "Naw, too short to be useful for anything", I thought, "It's only about 5 inches lon - hey waitaminute, 5 inches is about..."

I brought out the Mini LGI I just completed and tried tucking it in. Presto! A perfect fit.

Hoping to find out if anyone might know who makes this and where I can get more:

The Mini LGI fits well in this case and leaves just enough of the head exposed for easy retrieval:

The velcro flap pulls over with just the right amount of tension to prevent the light from moving around:

And it even has a slim belt loop stitched onto the back, perfect for EDC use:

Going by the e-mail responses it seems I might just be gearing up for a Mini LGI run in the new year and would like to offer this case as an option -- so who makes this and where can I get more?

People who reply would certainly be appreciated (and they'd be put at the top of the Mini LGI short list if they were so inclined)...