First of all, please be reminded that this review is of an engineering sample of the LM301 SSC P4. The final product may be subjected to changes. Now on to the review. The head looks almost exactly like the one on the LM301 accept it's bezel isn't crenellated. It's anodized in a dark gray Type 2 anodizing. The lens is made of standard uncoated glass. Sandwiched between the lens and head is a GITD (glow in the dark) rubber o-ring which helps keep water out of the insides. Next is the aluminum textured reflector, from the image to the right the texture isn't very apparent. Please scroll down to the gallery for a better view. As is clearly seen, the reflector and emitter aren't well-centered. This is because the emitter's PCB has a slightly smaller diameter than the recessed area of he module it sits on. This allows for some play between them and thus the slight misalignment. Aside from that, everything in the head fits snugly. The reflector isn't threaded so it simply drops into the head just like the LM301. The emitter module is threaded screws in behind the reflector. The inside of the head isn't coated.

As with the head, the coat on the battery tube is very well done too. No blemishes or scratches to be found. Unlike the LM301, the new LM301 has 4 flat surfaces machined onto the tube instead of 3. Also, it's body is about 1mm slimmer than the LM301. Even though there isn't any knurling, the flat faces do help with grip especially if you have your hands full holding a battery case or something. The threads on the front end of the battery tube are anodized for some reason, but the threads on the tail end aren't. Make sure that you have securely screwed down the head all to ensure electrical contact to the battery tube and complete the circuit. [Update 31 July, 2007: I have just been informed that this is a design feature which enables the light to work as a twist switch so that it can be turned on on high mode bypassing the low mode.] Also, there will be a slight gap between the head and battery tube. As with the Rex2.0, this isn't a fitting flaw. There has to be a gap to ensure that when fully tightened, the tube's end make contact first and not obstructed by the outer threads of the head. The threads on my sample had some machining dust left over which caused some grinding, a quick cleaning with a stiff bristled brush fixed that. The battery tube is slightly wider than other AA lights, however this does not mean the internal diameter is wider. It's walls are simply thicker. The good thing about this is that it makes the light's body tougher, but protected 14500 and perhaps some brands of thicker NiMH cells, may not fit. My AW protected 14500 could not fit in, but an UltraFire unprotected 14500 fits fine. Eneloop cells I used fit quite snugly and there's totally no battery rattle at all.

I really like the tail cap on the LM301. Firstly because it doesn't have an excessive threading length, so unscrewing or tightening the tail cap requires only about 3 full twists. You will definitely notice the difference and appreciate it when compared to other lights. Secondly, the band of knurling on the tail cap is a rougher diamond texture instead of the checkered texture of the LM301, it helps with grip during battery changes. The clicking mechanism is nicely stiff and tactile, similar to the LM301. At the end there're 2 wide slots for lanyards attachments. The button on my sample protrudes out from the tail cap and this makes the button easier to press but doesn't allow it to tail stand. Ricky from LumaPower informed me that the final version of the new LM301 will have a different, improved button.

The beam profile from this light is excellent. There's no dark ring around the hotspot, just a smooth transition throughout, the misaligned reflector does make the hotspot slightly less defined on one side though. The color from it's U-bin emitter is a nice cool white without any significant violet or yellow tinting, almost like the C-LE. People who are very critical about their light's beam profile will be very happy with the LM301 SSC P4. The LM301 has 2 output levels which can be cycled through by clicking the tail cap button button. The spot is noticeably wider than most other single AA cell lights.

The operating modes are:
Off > Low > High

Either AA or 14500 cells can be used in this light. Using a 14500 cell boosts output by about 25%. However, the low mode is really not optimized to run on 14500 cells and actually gives lower output and runtime compared to high so it only makes sense to use the high mode on 14500 cells. The low mode is achieved via resistor in the switch module, so there's no high frequency pulsing effect as opposed to using a PWM controlled circuit. Performance on an AA cell is average, efficiency is slightly below that of the UltraFire C3.

The Good - Great body construction and anodizing. Beam profile is very smooth and tint is a cool white. Simple and straight forward low/high output modes.

The Bad - Reflector is slightly misaligned. Efficiency is below par for a light at this price point. Protected 14500 cells will not fit.

The Relative - The reverse push button, some people like it because it reduces the chance of accidental turn on while stored in pockets or bags, others hate it because it doesn't allow momentary on functionality. Having only 2 modes while many lights are starting to have 5 modes or more.

Head (front view).

Head (side view).

Head (rear view).

Glowing rubber o-ring.

Lens.

Reflector (front view).

Reflector (side view).

Reflector (rear view).

Emitter module (front view).

Emitter module (side view).

Emitter module (rear view).

Battery tube (front view).

Battery tube (side view).

Battery tube (rear view).

Switch retaining ring.

Switch module (front view).

Switch module (side view).

Switch module (rear view).

Rubber cap retaining ring.

Rubber cap (front view).

Rubber cap (rear view).

Tail cap (front view).

Tail cap (side view).

Tail cap (rear view).