How do you find twisty heads

[Tulip bush]

Armytek predator looks a good light, maybe a tad more complex than I need, but I'm not sure how I would get on with the twisting of the head to select modes and also I'm wondering how reliable twisty heads are in the long term.

The only experience I have with a twisty head is my thrunite ti which if not twisted enough goes back from high mode to low on its own accord.

I would appreciate your views on twisty heads in general and especially any views on the armytek predator.

thanks

 

[jorn]

Love the twisty's. Smaller than clickies, no switch to break, and can be used from a underhand grip.

I dont like the twist action on the trunite ti. Looong twist to make it in high, lo mode flickers alot (need to clean it more than my other (normal style) twistys and rebend that lip to fix the flicker) And too many times i twist it so it's barly off. Then later, it will turn on in my pocket in fireflymode. Dont know if it's the foam expanding or the lip that turns my light back on. I can turn it off, put it on the table and 3 min later it's on in firefly mode.. Happens alot.

 

[Roccomo]

I have a Ra Twisty that I've learned to use one handed. It's not the quickest or most convenient (like a clicky) but the light is great and gets EDC'd often.

 

[mcnair55]

I have several twisty lights and I do not like them at all,I much prefer a modern switch.With luck I think the next breed of lights will all be switch and more than likely electronic switch at that.I am fine with a switch for on and twist for mode changing but twisty,s I find awkward to use one handed.

I must admit though the twisty will probably out last the switch in terms of reliability.

 

[twl]

I find twisty heads to be the best for a general purpose EDC type light.
High reliability, low complexity, no switch allows minimum length.
The ideal would be one brightness mode with On/Off by twisting. But two modes Hi/Lo is not too bad. Anything more than that is cumbersome.

I prefer twisty head lights for my non-tactical interface. I could also accept a tail switch too. I could not accept a side switch.

 

[Richsvt]

I love the size of my quark mini but find it awkward to get to the brightness I want at the particular time. Like that it keeps parasitic draw to a minimum.

 

[jorn]

The ideal would be one brightness mode with On/Off by twisting. But two modes Hi/Lo is not too bad. Anything more than that is cumbersome.

I think that 2 modes is ideal. Favorite edc is my maratac aaa cu. Cant go wrong on that one

Not too fund of eletctronic switches. Parasitic draw, and in some cases too easy to accidentally turn on in your pocket. Some pepole says: just unscrew the tailcap 1/4 turn and both problems is solved. But then you have a "twistyclicky" something that is harder to operate than a simple twisty

 

[mcnair55]

I think that 2 modes is ideal. Favorite edc is my maratac aaa cu. Cant go wrong on that one

Not too fund of eletctronic switches. Parasitic draw, and in some cases too easy to accidentally turn on in your pocket. Some pepole says: just unscrew the tailcap 1/4 turn and both problems is solved. But then you have a "twistyclicky" something that is harder to operate than a simple twisty

That is what i dislike in a switch,accidentally coming on in your pocket.In 2013 why on earth should I have to unscrew the cap 1/4 turn.

 

[twl]

I think that 2 modes is ideal. Favorite edc is my maratac aaa cu. Cant go wrong on that one

Not too fund of eletctronic switches. Parasitic draw, and in some cases too easy to accidentally turn on in your pocket. Some pepole says: just unscrew the tailcap 1/4 turn and both problems is solved. But then you have a "twistyclicky" something that is harder to operate than a simple twisty

That is what i dislike in a switch,accidentally coming on in your pocket.In 2013 why on earth should I have to unscrew the cap 1/4 turn.

Agreed, on both.

 

[Tulip bush]

Interesting, like I said i have only experienced the thrunite ti twisty, I suppose some will love/ hate them, I don't know if I can get my head around the predator seems a lot of twisting, then again until I use one I won't really know. Seems a lot of money to be disappointed......but it seems such a well made light........mmmmmmmmm

 

[jimbo@stn23]

Twist bezel kinda takes me back to the old Pelicans at work. They were a good work light and while you could turn one on one handed, while holding onto something like a ladder, it does seem like a step backwards. Maybe for mode changes it'd be OK where you just twist to fine tune light output.

 

[Dances with Flashlight]

Twisty heads are not only simple and reliable, but when combined with a QTC and/or momentary switch you can also have variable and/or stepped output.

 

[Badbeams3]

I don`t hate them, but to be honest they seem do seem behind the times. I prefer switches...electronic side switches. But they do allow for a thinner and shorter light.

 

[Joe Talmadge]

I like twisty switches for small lights, keychain-sized or slightly bigger. For lights that size, being small is one of the main design criteria, so twisty makes sense. Of the twisty type UIs, my favorite is found in the Aeon and EZ type lines: twist a little bit to get low, twist a little more to get high. No twist-untwist-twist-untwist-twist-untwist to cycle through modes. Two modes, both reachable in one motion.

Beyond that, I dislike twisties. I'll sometimes grudgingly accept head twisting as the mode-changing mechanism on a light that has a button switch for on/off and mode memory. And even then, I like solutions like Klarus's XT or Fenix PD32UE second-switch better.

 

[jabe1]

I think many respondents have missed your question.

Twisty lights are quite different from mode switching with a twisty head.

For EDC use, I prefer a twisty for it's reliability and ease of use; there is no question of how to activate it.

For mode switching on larger lights, I don't trust it, although my quarks have been flawless. I had a Maelstrom for a bit and found it cumbersome because the switching was not as definitive as basic tight/loose.

 

[Vortus]

My wife prefers it as well, esp on smaller lights. I like it as long as its simple ie malkoff hi/lo. Smaller and more reliable.

 

[Racer]

For EDC, most of the time I'd rather have a twisty due to the size and weight. For just around the house and about town, most of the time I'll have an LD01 on me with a 10440 in it. I don't mind twisting to change modes.

 

[Hoosier Light]

I like twisty switches for small lights, keychain-sized or slightly bigger. For lights that size, being small is one of the main design criteria, so twisty makes sense. Of the twisty type UIs, my favorite is found in the Aeon and EZ type lines: twist a little bit to get low, twist a little more to get high. No twist-untwist-twist-untwist-twist-untwist to cycle through modes. Two modes, both reachable in one motion.

I'm with you on the Aeon twist design. Reliable and small, with no back and forth twisting to change modes. I have one of the Ra twisties--same action but three well-spaced modes available and Henry's normal bulletproof design. A spectacular design. Wish he would bring it back.

 

[garryt]

I'm still a relative newb to all this, but I hate them.

I was looking at a torch which took my fancy a week or so ago (can't remember which now) and when I looked at the UI.....!!
To get to one of the modes it said something like "tighten, then loosen and do that 3 times rapidly" - to me anyway, that's just nonsense.

I wouldn't mind some of them "so" much if at least the tighten / loosen had some kind of positive "click".

Side switches are for me really, although I do like my Nitecore with the piston drive ramping. I love any torch that ramps up and down - really useful to be able to set the exact amount of light needed for the task at hand...