Spark SL5-190NW & SL5-220CW XM-L Flashlight Review Video

The  SL5-190NW and the SL5-220CW are two of Spark’s newest lights. The SL5 series runs off of one AA cell making battery changes easy and inexpensive. The 190NW and 220CW both utilize the CREE XM-L LED giving these lights more spill than the other versions which use the smaller XP-G LED. Using the CREE XM-L does mean that these lights will not throw as far, but they will light up a larger area at once. The larger area of illumination is much more useful in most situations. A huge amount of throw is really only necessary for search lights and situations where long distances need to be covered. These two lights are functionally identical, but the 190NW will have a little less output than the 220CW. The 190NW uses a high CRI LED which tops out at 190 lumens, but it does represent colors more accurately than the 220CW. The 220CW tops out at 220 lumens, but since it has a cool tint it will not have the same color fidelity that the 190NW has. Either light is bright enough for just about any urban task, so the decreased output of the 190NW isn’t really a concern.