I3S-CU Brass Alloy in Matte and Polished finish

[Berkshirehunter]

3 new lights in the mail. First thoughts... "I cant believe I have a brass I3s with 180 lumes in my hand for 25 bucks!". Will probably do a write up on them later.

 

[gunga]

Yep. Id buy if it was l-m-h.

 

[mzil]

I know it is not advised and is potentially dangerous, however has anyone tried/(destroyed) one of these with a 10440 battery? The Thrunite AAA with I believe the same CREE LED is said to be able to take 10440's at least for an initial, knock your socks off light output, but then heats up super fast so anyone in their right mind would turn it off for safety.

 

[cancow]

Are these lights much heavier that the standard I3s? I am not a fan of how light weight the aluminum versions are.

 

[mzil]

Funny, I'm the exact opposite. I want my keychain light to be as light as possible.

If you like heavy you will dig the I3S-CU Brassy. One of the very first things I noticed was its added weight in the hand compared to my black aluminum I3S. I have perhaps a half dozen 1xAAA lights [iTP, two 4Sevens, Olight, Maratac, Maglite LED] and this one is by far the heaviest.

 

[mzil]

With the keyring attachment and beltclip attached, but no battery, my I3S CU BRASSY weighs .97 oz [27.5g] according to my scale. That's roughly double the aluminum version.

 

[Berkshirehunter]

Initial Impressions:

Weight -Yes, brass is a bit heavier than aluminum, and I tend to prefer the lighter models. The only trade off then would be the expectation of greater brightness in thanks to copper's superior ability as a heat sink for the higher outputs. More on that...

Fit and Finish -Immaculate, well made and great threads like the original . The head does fit on the previous I3s EOS if you wanted to shave some weight.

Spare parts -While my black I3S came with two spare o-rings, these came with none. I've never had an O-ring snap though.

Brightness - Spacing, H-M-L. Indeed not preferable for me on a light like this most times. But I can get by high with two rapid twists to medium. IMHO, the beam patterns a bit more defused and less throwy than the original. I think this is due to a larger emitter/bulb that protrudes a little farther out and has less reflector in front. I would rather a tighter hotspot with more throw. It's nice that beam is a lot warmer than the I3S, the new single mode i3EOS and the E05. Having a hard time noticing too much difference between apparent useful brightness with other lights (I3S, E05 and TI3.) Furthermore, I'm not noticing a ramp down from 180 lumens to 90 unless it's very gradual, unlike the E05's ramp down. I'll be very curious to see other people's findings on brightness.

Other notes -Price seems great and the clips are better than Thrunite's TI3 in my opinion. The high output first would be best for tactical lights which I don't think this is.

 

[gunga]

Can anyone take a picture of the pill? Is it easily removed? I have a circuit I may try in there...

 

[ronniepudding]

IMHO, the beam patterns a bit more defused and less throwy than the original. I think this is due to a larger emitter/bulb that protrudes a little farther out and has less reflector in front. I would rather a tighter hotspot with more throw.

I only tried mine out briefly before packing it up, but I had the same reaction. It was my first time looking at an XP-L beam pattern, and it didn't seem ideal in a small reflector like this. I presume the size of the emitter is the relevant difference between the CU and the regular i3s, and that the reflector is the same between the two models. I could be wrong about that.

Of course, the bigger emitter enables the 180 lumen output, so there's a compromise either way vs. an XP-G2.

I know I'm repeating myself, but a Nichia 219b seems like a perfect alternative to XP-G2 in a limited edition like this

 

[mzil]

The head does fit on the previous I3s EOS if you wanted to shave some weight.

My findings differ. For reasons I can't fully explain, I find the black aluminum I3S head fits on the I3S CU Brassy body, but strangely the reverse is not true; the Brassy head does not fit the black body all the way.

 

[newbie66]

I only tried mine out briefly before packing it up, but I had the same reaction. It was my first time looking at an XP-L beam pattern, and it didn't seem ideal in a small reflector like this. I presume the size of the emitter is the relevant difference between the CU and the regular i3s, and that the reflector is the same between the two models. I could be wrong about that.

Of course, the bigger emitter enables the 180 lumen output, so there's a compromise either way vs. an XP-G2.

I know I'm repeating myself, but a Nichia 219b seems like a perfect alternative to XP-G2 in a limited edition like this

But output will be significantly less with a Nichia. I think there is also no support for 10440.

 

[ronniepudding]

But output will be significantly less with a Nichia. I think there is also no support for 10440.

Both are true, and I believe I conceded the former point above. I'm more interested in tint and beam profile than I am with output. I can't argue with others having different priorities.

As for 10440 compatibility, I don't believe that the XP-L version supports it either... At least not officially.

 

[Berkshirehunter]

In the other thread a user mentioned a brightness concern and help from customer service. I contacted them and was told,

Sorry for my misunderstand about "the output will ramp down by 50% of the initial output within 30 seconds ( about 90lumens)" before, Just to let you know that in the initial output 30 seconds, the flashlight starts to ramp down very slow, which is hard to be recognized. And after about 3.5minutes output will ramp down to 50%. SO if you re-start the flashlight at this moment, will read the ramp down easily.

Then it seems to just be a very slow ramp down to 90 lumens that I have trouble noticing. And maybe since this lights more defused, I have trouble noticing much difference between it and other 130 lumen lights I have. So I'd still be interested to see some independent testing on brightness to see if it's really 180.

Anyways, I still think it's a cool light with good threads and pocket clip. I really hope they release and updated version of the I3S EOS with these capabilities and color tint in aluminum with perhaps the original mode spacing, M-H-L. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

 

[mzil]

In addition to the new, "ensure-you-lose-your-nightvision-sensitivity-by-blasting-out-full-brightness-before-you-can-get-to-the-low-mode-you-seek-for-dark-adapted-use" sequence, I notice they also eliminated the hidden strobe mode of the black i3s. That's a shame.
Sure, I get how some people, not me, don't like strobe. That's why hidden strobe was invented [a great compromise for us all]. But getting rid of a hidden strobe too? Who exactly does that benefit?

 

[Berkshirehunter]

Re: I3S-CU Brass Alloy in Matte and Polished finish REQUEST

Attention Olight-
Please make this new I3S EOS model in aluminum now and a nice satin Titanium maybe, it would be perfect. Also, the mode spacing has got to go. Make it start on either medium or low. And if you need to lower the output on high, so be it. Keep the same emitter's, the tint is much better than the new EOS single mode model of late.

Thanks (Those would sell...)