thermal guy
Flashaholic
Cleaned out
You will love this NASA penlight
- Thread starter Barbarin
- Start date
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I'd like to know too.
Modernflame
Flashlight Enthusiast
I'd be interested in long term reviews by verified owners. The thread piqued my interest when it was started. Opinions anyone?
xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
Expensive for a 1w AA light made of brass... I know, it's all about the replication so it looks just like an original Apollo cabin flashlight... but it would've been nice to have 2 modes -- the low, representing how it worked for Apollo astronauts, an then a high, so you can boost illumination when needed.
In any case, I think it was pretty crude of the maker to abandon this topic after having responded a few times to people who hadn't received their lights. No follow up at all... which could've been done in just a few minutes. That shows a lack of follow-through that has me concerned about reliability of delivery.
In any case, I think it was pretty crude of the maker to abandon this topic after having responded a few times to people who hadn't received their lights. No follow up at all... which could've been done in just a few minutes. That shows a lack of follow-through that has me concerned about reliability of delivery.
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I ordered one on Feb 3, a Sunday. I received an email on Monday saying that it had shipped from Spain. I received it today, Feb 11, Monday in California. Love the light. The warm color and stout output is just a fantastic rendition.
xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
Is it still a battery crusher? That's one tricky thing with some twisties... if there's not a good flexy spring in there, or just a post. I have an L3 Illumination L10 twisty that has partially crushed some Eneloops... which is annoying. So, I'm guessing that with this Apollo remake, you'd either use alkalines or dedicate a NiMH for the task, expecting it to suffer some crushing.
emarkd
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sorry, just seeing this. Haven't really been following the thread. But I guess I qualify - I've had mine for a while now and have nothing negative to report. The brass has patina'ed beautifully in my opinion, the threads are smooth as ever, never any hint of malfunction. I really like the beam from it - smooth and clean with a nice fat hotspot and a beautiful warm tint. Great for nighttime use. Its also very comfortable to hold and operate one-handed. I know there's been concern expressed about crushing cells due to a lack of springs, but I haven't experienced that. Not to be accusational, and I do understand the reason for concern, but if you're crushing cells in your light its because you're tightening it down too far. Twist it 'til the light comes on, then stop. No issues. I did run a small strip of black tape down the side of my cells because they rattled a bit when the light was off and that bothered me, but its an easy fix. Other than that, its great.
That said, its not in my "edc" rotation or anything, I find it too large to carry really, and the lack of a low mode limits its usefulness for me. But I knew all that going in. This light had a design goal set from the beginning and I feel it met that admirably. It could never be my one-n-only flashlight, but I do use it around the house at night some. Its a great dog-walking light.
I get where you're coming from here but don't forget that this is not an official means of communication for most makers. They don't have to participate here at all. If you have a question or concern you should be trying to contact the maker directly through some official means, an email address on their website or whatever. I would hope that any maker who chooses to participate here would do so regularly, its only good PR after all, but we shouldn't be surprised if they don't make forum posting a priority. I do hope all the folks up there in the thread ^^ with unanswered emails finally got handled though. That's not good business.
xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
I get where you're coming from too... of course this isn't an official means of comm. However, the maker DID start it... and this was a kind of "status check" place for the project, as well as questions fielded/answered. Thus, if the light is still for sale, then the maker should monitor it from time to time and respond. it's not hard to do, as it was done before... Not saying every day, but every couple weeks or monthly just to drop in and see what's up. So even if those other buyers were taken care of and they didn't come back here to report, seeing the maker post a quick update saying it was done would go a long way to support confidence.
In any event, thanks for sharing your experiences with this flashlight. When you talk about tightening the light and that there isn't a precision hard-stop (some slack after power is engaged), that makes sense... IF it was supporting both protected and unprotected (flat top). But since it's alkaline and NiMH cells, that means a button top. I don't know if the original light had the same situation... In any case, it's an important consideration to keep in mind. Maybe a little tape reminder is in order like your technique.
thermal guy
Flashaholic
So when I first saw this light It really got my attention. Loved the simple design tough build and beam looked pretty good to me. Well I finally got one and couldn't be more happy the build quality,the tint,beam shape. The whole thing is just awesome and guys this isn't just a reproduction to keep on your shelf this thing is dead useful. I snapped some beam shots and did the best I could with a cellphone but what I see in the pictures is what I'm seeing in real life.
If I did this right the first photo is the NASA light second one is a 6200K Malkoff set at roughly the same output 100 lumens. There's nothing I don't love about this thing😄
thermal guy
Flashaholic
A few more. The spill on this thing is huge and I know some people were saying that it's output is to much for close in use but I'm not getting that. Because of the tint and big hotspot it's perfect for this type of work
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thermal guy
Flashaholic
Not yet but that's what's I plan on doing next. alkaline energizer lithium and eneloop. Probably have to wait for the weekend though.
Modernflame
Flashlight Enthusiast
Beautiful beam tint. Thanks for the photos.
Looking forward to them, thanks!
Dave D
Flashlight Enthusiast
That looks much bigger than I was expecting, can you give us some dimensions?
I think it was because it is titled as a 'Penlight' that made me think it would be smaller.
I need to watch Apollo 13 again and take note of the flashlights!
Thanks
DD
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xevious
Flashlight Enthusiast
I agree, that would be useful. Also... when I went back to the site, I saw AA battery mentioned, but no quantity. Looking at that long shaft... is this 2AA?
Great tint shots, ThermalGuy. It's just that right amount of warmth to echo an incandescent while still being potent.
thermal guy
Flashaholic
It's a 2XAA but it's not huge. Slightly longer then a G2 but so skinny it's not bad in the pocket.its like 5 1/2 inches long
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thermal guy
Flashaholic
And like I said this is NOT a cheap reproduction ment to sit in a case this thing has a huge spill fantastic tint and bright enough to walk your dog with but it's so defused it's also great for close up work. I'm liking it a lot
emarkd
Flashlight Enthusiast
Heh, I also put a G2 in my comparison photo, actually a G2x but I don't think it matters much. Oh well, its a good comparison. I also included a Convoy S2+, kind of a popular 18650 tube light, and the classic 2AA Maglite. As you can see the Apollo light manages to be quite a bit shorter than the 2AA Maglite, which is expected since there's no springs or focusing mechanism. If you can carry a Maglite you can definitely carry the Apollo.
I concur with Thermal Guy's thoughts about the usefulness of this light. It really does strike a nice balance between up-close and area lighting. I wouldn't say I love it for tight quarters, its a lot of light, but its not useless by any stretch. I do, however, still really miss a true low mode on it. It is completely useless when trying to poke around the bedroom at night without waking my sleeping wife. Way too much light for that. So like I said, it could never be my one-n-only light, but it does find some uses around the house and I enjoy it every time I take it out. I have zero regrets about buying it.
