ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

[Toohotruk]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Much simpler than that. Quark.

Why provide a lifetime guarantee on your competitors product when your own product has a 10 year guarantee?

I was planning to ask David (7777) about that when I met him at the OR show last month, but I was overwhelmed by the prototypes he showed me and I forgot all about it.

I was wondering why the Quarks didn't have the same lifetime guarantee the Fenix and Nitecore lights had, but I can't blame him for not offering it on his new line of lights...besides, a 10 year guarantee is nothing to sneeze at. And at the time, I was unaware of the policy change for the Fenix line.

I hope the prices on his AAA lights fall in line with the ITP/Maratac though. One thing's for sure...the AAA LED keychain light competition just got a lot more interesting... :naughty:

 

[Black Rose]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

The only flicker I get is if the head is not screwed down enough for the twisty, a little more twist clears that up and so far it has not been a real issue.

Got my iTP A3 EOS upgraded today.

It's a nice light with an excellent beam pattern.

I get some flickering quite regularly when trying to switch modes one-handed. Tightening the head completely (more than any other light I currently own) resolves that issue.
I'm going to clean the threads and see if that helps any.

 

[Woods Walker]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

I had a good drop test today for my EOS 3-mode. I put a small lanyard on mine as kept dropping it. The light only fell into the leaf litter and lawn but guessed it would be a good idea. Naturally when getting into my truck today I was digging in my pocket for the keys. Somehow the lanyard got wrapped around my finder and tossed the light maybe 8 feet as it acted like a sling. Go figure the very thing I had to keep the light from hitting the deck worked against me. Anyways it hit the concrete walk hard. Only a few dings on the anodized coating. Light worked just fine. So good to report it can take a hit.

Black Rose.

The flickering is not so bad and does not happen all the time. Once the mode is set there is no flickering. Sometimes I just need to give a a faster twist.

 

[FlashlightsNgear.com]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Very nice work Selfbuilt.. Some of you spoke of flickering when changing modes slowly, I have 2 EZAA's that do the same thing if changing modes quickly they never flicker. All those keychain lights are very tempting :twothumbs

 

[Woods Walker]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Very nice work Selfbuilt.. Some of you spoke of flickering when changing modes slowly, I have 2 EZAA's that do the same thing if changing modes quickly they never flicker. All those keychain lights are very tempting :twothumbs

Yup doing it faster than slow seems to take care of this small issue even one handed.

 

[rizky_p]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

:twothumbsthanks for the review.

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Very nice work Selfbuilt.. Some of you spoke of flickering when changing modes slowly, I have 2 EZAA's that do the same thing if changing modes quickly they never flicker. All those keychain lights are very tempting :twothumbs

Interesting, I don't recall seeing that on any of my ITP EOS or Maratac samples (or EZ-series lights, for that matter ).

The only flickering I ever saw was on one of my Maratacs, and only upon initial activation in the Med mode. After switching to another state (including coming back to Med), the flickering was gone. I actually did a runtime test in this initial flicker state, and got ~20% less output on average but with normal runtime. :shrug:

 

[kramer5150]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Further ITP A3 impressions...

Mine flickers too, but only if I do not tighten the bezel enough to fully turn it on.

I used my light a LOT over the labor day weekend. The California state fair was this weekend and with 2 familes and 4 kids running around till' late at night I had plenty of opportunity to put the A3 through its paces.

I had it on a surefire lanyard around my neck at night, and switched it to my key ring during the day-evening while we were out. Its an all around great EDC, however you chose to deploy it. I found it easily pocket-able, and it fit snugly in my belt-pack with my keys and extra AAA cell. I was able to scratch it just a little packed in with my keys. But overall I give it a :thumbsup:

I have changed my mind about the mode sequence. I now PREFER its M/L/H sequence. The A3 low-low is far to dim for general use, in moderately low light conditions. There were many times I just needed instant-twist light to see quickly, for that the med mode is needed first. My son fell and skinned his knee and my wife needed a hand digging around for antiseptic wipes and a band-aid. We were somewhere between the livestock buildings and there was not much light around. My daughter got a splinter in her foot one night running around in the trees. I busted out the A3-EOS in MED mode for my wife to search for her swiss army knife tweezer, and then I blasted HIGH for the extraction.

Its artifact-free beam is really one of its major strengths. Yes its got a big hot spot, but it transitions so smoothly to the sides that I never really felt like I was looking at a "spot" while it was in use. Even using it for close range viewing.

All in all I am very impressed with this little light. Its not my brightest EDC, but it has enough other positives to more than make up for that one element.

 

[EngrPaul]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Add me to the impressed list. Today I received a Stainless and a Natural from CountyComm.

Both work smoothly and provide great beam pattern & tint. I wasn't expecing the excellent output level on a NiMH.

For me, the knurling is better than anything in the class. Fenix knurling is too slippery (L0D) or too harsh (E0/Arc). The clip is strongly attached, won't pop off like a Fenix.

The keyring clip seems rugged enough for keyring duty, especially since it keys into special indents and is supported by a flange. The flange and shorter height make it much more stable in a tailstand.

The weight of the Stainless is fantastic... much lighter than an Fenix stainless! I like the bead blast finish (for now). It's almost like silver anodizing. I'd like to see how it holds up before I go and polish it.

The best thing is a wide spacing of output levels. The low is extremely practical for low light conditions. High competes evenly with the latest Fenix. Medium is spot-on in between.

I also like the H>M>L light sequence (that starts on M)

I don't care about the baggie packaging... other brand boxes just got crushed in the mail anyway.

My only complaint is a mismatch of the Natural anodizing between head and tail. Not terrible, but noticeable. I would suggest staying away from natural if you want your head and tail to match perfectly.

Since it is potentially much more useful than a Fenix to me, it will be displacing my L0D S/S on my keychain. :twothumbs

 

[JWP_EE]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

I don't use the clip or keychain attachment so I removed them. I found that the flat part on the tail where you would attach to a keychain is just enough to keep the light from rolling. Another +

 

[selfbuilt]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

The keyring clip seems rugged enough for keyring duty, especially since it keys into special indents and is supported by a flange. The flange and shorter height make it much more stable in a tailstand.

Welcome back Paul ... it's been awhile. :wave: And I see you have been missing the bold feature here at CPF. :laughing:

I agree with all your points. I personally like the knurling on Maratacs better than the ITP version body slots. As for the keychain clip, I grant it is well designed (i.e. the indents in the groove), just not sure what would happen with daily use on a keychain where things could get snagged/tugged. I had a number of Fenix "lobster" style clips that had the tendency to detach from the ring and go for a fling (I have a nice drawer with dinged early model Fenix 1xAAA lights ). But for a tailstanding 1xAAA, the Maratac is definitely a winner.

 

[EngrPaul]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

As for the keychain clip, I grant it is well designed (i.e. the indents in the groove), just not sure what would happen with daily use on a keychain where things could get snagged/tugged. I had a number of Fenix "lobster" style clips that had the tendency to detach from the ring and go for a fling.

Over the past day the clip has behaved :thumbsup:

As for the detachable clip, I too had been using a Fenix Lobsterclaw on my L0D S/S. But when I put it on the Maratec, it seemed way too big. Plus I was tired of it dangling so far down from the keyring. So I looked in my parts bin and found an unused Nitecore D10 accessory pack. There is a narrow clip that works nearly as slick as the lobster claw, and doesn't take up as much room. It also dangles less. Give it a try! Picture below....

One other thing, I looked at the front end of the light with a microscope. I wasn't as impressed with what I saw. The o-ring in front of the glass is tight under the bezel on one side, fully showing on the other. The emitter is dirty from soldering. The bottom of the reflector scraped the emitter's corners when installed, and created debris. I'm surprised it doesn't short out on the little pads on the top...:duh2:

 

[Toohotruk]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

How does the Fenix look under the 'scope?

 

[EngrPaul]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

How does the Fenix look under the 'scope?

Perfectly fine!

 

[greenLED]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

One other thing, I looked at the front end of the light with a microscope.

Hey, Paul (and everybody with these lights), what's y'all's take on how beefy the lanyard attachment post will behave long-term? From the pics, it looks really thin. I'd like to buy these as Christmas gifts, but I want to make sure they'll see years and years of keychain duty.

Then again, the Arc's attachment point is thin, and I've heard of less than 3 of those breaking over the years... :thinking:

 

[mightysparrow]

Cheers to Selfbuilt

Thanks, Selfbuilt! Another great review, and very helpful!

 

[EngrPaul]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

I'm impressed with it. The ring is strong steel, keyed into special grooves in the flashlight. When you pull backwards, both keyed ends grip. When you pull to the side, the one opposite the way you pull digs in. This one is "staying on my keychain", in both senses of the expression. :naughty:

Hey, Paul (and everybody with these lights), what's y'all's take on how beefy the lanyard attachment post will behave long-term? From the pics, it looks really thin. I'd like to buy these as Christmas gifts, but I want to make sure they'll see years and years of keychain duty.

Then again, the Arc's attachment point is thin, and I've heard of less than 3 of those breaking over the years... :thinking:

 

[thelightdude]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Thanks for the great review.
PLEASE continue to review new aaa lights.

After reading your review I started to carry mine in my jeans watch pocket.

People laugh when I show it to them - until I turn it on.

 

[konut]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

So I looked in my parts bin and found an unused Nitecore D10 accessory pack. There is a narrow clip that works nearly as slick as the lobster claw, and doesn't take up as much room. It also dangles less. Give it a try! Picture below....

Looked on 7777 and Nitecore sites and did not see this claw listed on the accessories page. Does anyone know where to get these, or something similar?

 

[flasherByNight]

Re: ITP A3 EOS & Maratac AAA Reviews: RUNTIMES, BEAMSHOTS, DETAILED PICS & more!

Seems like I've read all the itp/maratac threads and of course my head is :duh2:. But the more I read the more I scratch my head and wonder why the maratac is head and shoulders more "popular".

Candle mode and...:shrug: