Customer Reviews

Leatherman 831062 Serac 2-LED Flashlight

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Excellent little flashlight. Fits nicely into elastic side "pocket" of the stock Leatherman Wave and Charge sheaths (both leather and nylon versions). Build quality and especially finish is above and beyond any other flashlight in sub-$50 category. About 1/3" longer than Mag Solitaire, it produces so much light that Solitaire's beam becomes completely invisible. As a matter of fact, it is more than 2 times brighter than my previous EDC flashlight, a Surefire Executive Elite E1E (current price of E1E is $79).

Now, a few quick facts for the flashlight nuts.

- Beam has a relatively smooth spill with a well defined hotspot. As a matter of fact, there is a ring shaped shadow around a hotspot.

- Some artifacts , but barely noticeable. That has to be expected in such inexpensive light.

- Hotspot is pretty narrow, nearly 1º, so this light has an amazing throw for its size. With this light, I can easily count stripes on a raccoon's tail from 20 yards!

- Economy mode is flickery, which is expected. However, since the economy mode had to have so much less lumen output than a high power mode, flicker frequency is much lower than I expected. No flicker on high power, which is also expected.

- If you turn in on, off and then on again, it works just like when you turn it on and tap (high power).

- No way to turn it on/off momentarily without full press of a button, so I do not recommend it as a handgun companion light.

After being thoroughly enamored with my Leatherman 830850 Skeletool CX Multitool, I decided to pick up one of Leatherman's new LED lights for every day carry; after a little research, I settled on the Serac 2 and couldn't be happier with my decision.

The build quality on this light is just impeccable... it feels rock solid and even removing the bezel to replace the battery is smooth as silk. The single button takes a firm press to activate the light, so it won't be accidentally activated in your pocket or bag. Speaking of putting it in your pocket, the size is just right to slip in the fifth pocket on a pair of jeans. (I struggled on whether to pick the S2 over the S3, but given the power for the size, I'm happy with my decision.)

As for the quality of the light source... wow. Even the low mode is sufficient to light a small room or find your way outside. The high mode is extremely bright and clear, and actually does a better job lighting a room than my 3-cell incandescent Maglite!

Overall, this is a fantastic light from Leatherman that I can't recommend highly enough. Just a terrific product from a great company.

A month after I got this flashlight I forgot it in my pants and it wasn't till after I was putting the clothes in the dryer that I found the flash light at the bottom of the washer. To my amazement the light was still working no water had gotten inside the light at all.

I wish it had a better eyelet at the bottom and not the clip-on one so I could put it on my key chain with the rest of my keys and doodads

The amount of light this thing produces is impressive, plenty bright!

Added 11/26/2009
went thru the wash again - this time not catching it till it came out of the dryer - still works like a champ!

I bought 2 small LED flashlights, each powered by a single AAA battery.
The Leatherman Serac S2 and the Fenix E01
The Fenix E01 is better, smaller, brighter and cost 1/3 the price of the Leatherman.

WOW! What a little powerhouse. Finally a light that comes on the low setting before high. Here's how it works: The first full switch depression is low, the next full depression is off, the next is high and then off again. A few seconds after the light is off it always comes on in the low mode. The neat thing is that once it is on you can switch back and forth from high to low with only a half switch depression... this is really cool. Unfortunately you can't turn the light on with a half depression when it is off... you know, like a tactical momentary switch.

The build quality is impeccable along with the pocket clip, key chain ring and lanyard. The housing is solid and feels like a fine instrument of light. The spot is nice and white with good, even spill light. No dark spots or goofy looking rings with this tool. I found it at a local discount store for 13 bucks... I thought that was a steal. Highly recommended!

This light is perfect for me. It has a reverse push button clicky type switch instead of a twist switch, which I greatly prefer and is hard to find in a light this size. A reverse clicky means that the light doesn't come on until after the button is pushed all the way down, you hear the click, and the button starts coming back up. This means that the light's switch will not work as a momentary switch like one would need to use the light to transmit Morse code in an emergency for instance. I don't need it for that though, I have other flashlights for those situations. I love the way a slight push of the button gives you more light instantly and another slight push takes you right back to the dim setting. That feature is great for overall usability and the extension of battery life.

The hard anodizing on the outside is very hard wearing and has yet to scratch at all even after taking the pocket clip on and off the barrel of the flashlight many times to switch it around to clip the light to a hat brim etc. The two light levels work perfectly for my needs. 95% of my needs consist of finding something in a poorly lit trunk or toolbox, looking under the hood of a car in the dark to check fluids, reading in the dark, reading a serial number or circuit diagram on an electrical component inside of a furnace or computer, etc. For all those tasks the low setting works perfectly for me. I rarely need the high setting and when I do it is only for a few seconds. As a result the battery life is amazing to me since it only requires one AAA battery.

The low setting on this light is achieved through pulse width modulation, so there is a slight flicker on the low setting, but the high setting is a nice constant brightness. The flickering of the light on low is so fast though, that I only notice it if I am moving my eyes rapidly while using the flashlight and it is not bothersome at all. It is not an issue for reading. The only other time I have noticed the flickering is when I have used the flashlight on low to provide a slight amount of backlighting for a close up picture using my digital camera. When looking at the camera the visible image on the camera's LCD screen flickers on and off rapidly and noticeably, but the final product picture taken has never noticeably been affected.

Being a Auto tech,I need a small bright Flashlight at all times on the job to look in dark locations.
I have been through many flashlights and avg about 3 months life before the lights fail from use.
I have had this lamp over a year and except for a small tear in the rubber end button from constant
use this flashlight still looks and works as good as it did when it was new making the best miniflashlight
I have ever owned.I runs on one AAA battery which is cheap and easy to find,major Plus. The flashlight is
small and light so I carry it in my shirt pocket so its very easy to access saving time. It has to levels
of brightness and I use it on High most all the time which is plenty of light for looking under engines
and dashboards. It is LED so you never need to replace the bulb and long battery life. I was so pleased
with this light that I bought a spare so should I lose it,I would have a backup.
I am very pleased with this product and would recomend it to anybody needing a quality small flashlight

This is a compact, light, rugged and durable, easy to use, very bright flashlight for its small size and it only needs a regular AAA battery. I highly recommend this product if price is not a significant issue.

This tough and tiny light is nothing short of fantastic. The amount of light this ultra-miniature keychain flashlight will produce using only a single, lowly AAA battery will astound you. There are two settings for the level of light it will produce, both operated from the same rubberized push/click switch on the butt end of the light. One solid click on/off and a soft touch/click to switch between low and high power, a tough feeling switch semi-recessed making it unlikely to be switched on accidently in pocket or suitcase. Ultra tough feel and simple user-friendly design, and dis-regard the photo showing that pocket clip attached to flashlight with a metal sleeve, that is not the way to secure this little gem. There is hardened and tempered high-carbon steel "O" clip supplied with the flashlight which snaps very securely into a groove machined around the butt end just before the switch. The clip then provides a tiny eye-let, to which you attach a tiny split ring and then to keys, back-pack, what-ever. Why anyone would use that use-less pocket clip defies explanation, but there you have it. Anyway, yeah, it is every bit as bright as you've no doubt already seen reading what the other reviewers said about it. Very ample light on low power to see your way around, like around in wooded areas with no trail and no moonlight at all. And in the middle of a '200 wide section of the Rio Grande River, on the same moon-less night, (yes, I really did this- just last night) you can fully light up the bank on either side using high power. If you shine it into the eyes of other people on your raft you will be held liable. Obviously common sense here dictates that one use the high power setting only when you need that "light up the parking lot/find the inmate" kind of brightness,, additionally, you'll want to put the best (lithium or enhanced alkiline) AAA battery in it that you can afford once you see it's truly awesome performance. If you're a little frugal about using the low power setting 80% of the time, and it's plenty of light on low, then battery life is impressive. What I did not see in the other reviews was the mention of the way in which the flashlight draws it's power consumption,, it's special cuircut draws ever more current as the life of the battery is consumed to provide a constant and even (yes, it will flicker a little bit when it's adjusting the juice) flow of the level of electricity required to run the light.. In short this means that the light never gets dim,, remember this also means that when the battery runs out you have very little warning and no residual light being produced by your flashlight. Of course, anyone savy enough to be using this light will know enough to have been prepared in the first place and had half a clue about their battery condition... And that's another great thing about the design is changing the battery, it only threads together and twists apart in that one spot, there's no over-designed extra stuff crammed in to compromise things,, like some lights have a place to adjust the width of the light beam with a lens, then a way to access the lens and bulb etc etc. The Serac 2 avoids the pitfall of this temptation and keeps things simple, the head twists off, the battery dumps out (no spring there to lose or bend), replace the battery and twist the head back on. It snugs down securely with a rubber "O" ring making it highly water resistant, although not water-proof... In summary; this light is very tough, very small, unbelievably bright and pretty darn smart,, sure you might pay a price twenty times more than the LEDS sold by mini-mart cash registers, but you get way more than twenty times more product and way more than twenty times more light. If you buy your very own Serac 2 and are not deLIGHTed, don't worry, you can sell it to me.

I love how this little light out shines my maglite AA.

Wishlist: a solid ring at the base rather than a 'C' clip. Working at top of a wind turbine tower, it must not come untethered.