The Mako Discussion Thread - A Titanium AAA Light

[Endeavour]

"You can have absolutely any finish you'd like so long as it's the one offered."
Thanks Henry

I see you caught the Henry Ford reference. :nana: In all seriousness, though, the point here is to make an affordable light for everyone - many different finishes all cost money and take more time. If I could satisfy every individual's desire and make custom one-offs and still have enough hours in the day to do everything else, I'd be more than glad to, but I've only got twenty-four, eight of which are already taken for sleeping!

I have considered bead blasting as well as brushed metal finishes, but, while I think either looks good on aluminum, or some of the lighter silver-colored metals, I much prefer the regular machined look on titanium and am not fond of most of the abrasive-based finishes I've seen done on it.

Take care.

-Enrique

 

[paulr]

I really don't like the lanyard groove. I stayed away from the grooved version of the Lummi CR2 raw partly because of that design. This AAA light for a lot of users will live on a keychain and should have a more traditional and solid attachment point. I do like tailstanding but I don't consider it vital. I'd prefer an Arc-style lug to the circumfrential groove. Alternative tailstanding approaches to the LL/Nautilus design (which is fine) include a standoff ring (not sure how to describe it) like the Arc AA / Fenix L0P, or a radiused cutout like a Mag Solitaire, or a drilled radiused section like on the Fenix E01 and P1 series. Any of these in my opinion would be better than the groove.

I like the trit vial in my McLux Ti PD Mule but in a keychain light maybe it would get banged around too much. Also I generally know where my keys are. Overall I don't think the trit is a big advantage.

If this is not considered a keychain light, it would be more interesting if it ran at higher power and used a high CRI led like the Nichia 083. That's what the McLux Sundrop uses and I absolutely love it.

Note that there is already a $100-ish titanium 1AAA light, namely the Peak Baltic. I have one and its machining is quite complex, proving that fancy machining doesn't have to put the cost out of control. It even uses a Seoul SSP4 led and a real reflector. Unfortunately both the electronics and mechanics of that light are in my opinion not well designed, so I don't like the light very much. But, I'm happy with the thought that someone out there is trying to do a better job with the same basic concept.

 

[THE_dAY]

Note that there is already a $100-ish titanium 1AAA light, namely the Peak Baltic. I have one and its machining is quite complex, proving that fancy machining doesn't have to put the cost out of control. It even uses a Seoul SSP4 led and a real reflector. Unfortunately both the electronics and mechanics of that light are in my opinion not well designed, so I don't like the light very much. But, I'm happy with the thought that someone out there is trying to do a better job with the same basic concept.

I think it's unfair to compare the Baltic's price against the Mako.
The Peak Baltic is mass produced by a flashlight company that makes a ton of other lights.

But if the Mako comes in at $100 it will still be $50 cheaper than the Baltic.

Also the Baltic is huge for an AAA light.

This Mako is only 2.68 inches according to the specs, compared to the Baltic's 3.34 inches. The Baltic also has a wider head.

But I do agree, if I got this light i would want it for keychain use and would love to see some sort of attachment.

 

[Endeavour]

paulr: The light you mention is $150, which is 50% higher than $100... It also is significantly larger and has a completely different design premise than what the Mako does. I'd also hardly call the Baltic complex machine work.

If you want a higher power LED like the Nichia 083, you've already got a light that does that, in a significantly larger package and significantly higher price tag in McGizmo's SunDrop. Power LEDs require much different, and more expensive to produce designs for proper thermal management and output management, not to mention a more robust power source than a AAA battery to handle the much higher current draws, and accordingly, a much larger package size to cram all this stuff into.

As for the tritium, if you don't like it there will be an option not to have the slot at all.

Excepting the request for a different means of attachment via a keyring or otherwise (which is a point well taken), everything else you suggest would be to change this into a fundamentally different light from what it is, and that's not going to happen. The Mako is what it is - it's up to you whether or not it actually meets your needs or not.

-Enrique

 

[Endeavour]

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to give everyone an update on the project. The design changes have been finalized, and here's what I'll be going with:

The light will now come equipped with a keyring, and still be able to tailstand, and the physical design of the exterior of the light has been changed to allow for a more secure hold all around while still keeping as clean of a design as possible. I don't carry a AAA light on my keys (the Aeon is shorter and better suited for my pockets), but I know many of you do, and a keyring attachment point is useful to anchor to light to many other objects. Since it could be done without any major sacrifices in functionality (tailstanding in particular), I went ahead and added in the keyring cutout to increase the overall utility of the Mako.

I'd mentioned earlier that the head was easy to turn when wet or dry, and it is, but when greasy it becomes much more difficult, and I want the light to be able to function properly in every condition that it could conceivably used in, and an oily environment is certainly easy to come by. Form follows function, and I think in this case the two have coincided fairly well.

I expect to have fully working prototypes of this new design in the next few weeks.

I hope you all like what you see, and I'll keep you posted as things progress.

-Enrique

 

[donn_]

:twothumbs

 

[bmstrong]

Yeah. Very cool on the new design.

 

[MorpheusT1]

Indeed :thumbsup:


I`ll have to talk to the wife about getting one for my B-day.

 

[olrac]

I will take it! Just tell me where and when to send PP

 

[Stillphoto]

Score!

Thanks for taking everyone's comments into consideration Enrique. I think the changes you made will definitely up the sales numbers a bit. I really like the grooves in the body / fluted head design.

 

[FrogmanM]

Looks great, cannot wait to add this to my small collection!

Mayo

 

[gswitter]

Love the design changes, Enrique. Well done!

 

[London Lad]

I must admit I prefer the original design but I am still in for 2 of these.

 

[gunga]

Very interesting!

I'm just waiting to see more about the circuit/led details. Looks pretty cool!

 

[carrot]

I'm glad to see that all my ragging on you has resulted in some very agreeable changes!

 

[bmstrong]

Two requests:

Make the hole big enough to accept one of Don's titanium split rings from the Shoppe?

Make it able to accept Lithium AAA's?

Two comments, one of these might **** you off but I'm willing to take the chance:

Make it friendly to upgrade. I can see these bodies lasting a life time. It would be nice if we could have the internals change with time...

I know I sound like Ahab with this: a dark BB would look killer on this light.

 

[Endeavour]

bmstrong: You won't "**** me off" by asking simple questions.
1. No, a 1.25" diameter split ring is enormous.
2. Which lithium AAAs do you speak of? Rechargeables? Are they 1.5V?
3. Unfortunately, that can't happen without sacrificing reliability, which I'm not willing to do.
4. Not likely, but we'll see. :nana:

gunga: What would you like to know?

I'm glad to see the changes are liked by most of you so far, and I'm looking forward to getting in and posting pictures of the physical parts reflecting them soon.

-Enrique

 

[Christoph]

The new look makes me want it even more.

 

[gunga]

Hi Enrique!

I mean stuff like lumens, runtimes, and drive currents etc.

I believe I'm reading it's a cree 5 mm die? I could be mistaken, just clarifying...

 

[russtang]

Put me on the list for one. This is my kind of light!