Exolion First Impressions Thread

FlashMike

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Well, my Exolion arrived today (Southern California, USA).

Wow, is it small! I don't have a camera here at work, so no pictures yet, but let me confirm that the Exolion is a thing of beauty. The machining is wonderful, and it seems quite bright (sitting here in the daylight). Did I mention that it is small?

Edit: More details added...

It is smaller in diameter than my EDC Fenix L21P (L2P head on an L1P body with 14500 cell). The whole Exolion light is only about 1/2" longer than the L2P head alone. So, if your Exolion does not arrive soon, take the head off your LxP and hold that in your hand to get a rough approximation of size. Now imagine that a really bright light is coming from the business end of the thing. EXOLION!

Comparing brightness to an L2P head with a 14500 cell, the Exolion is not as bright on burst. However, I do not know if the Exolion's battery is fully charged, so comparisons will have to wait until I get to a charger. I also compared the Exolion to the L2P head with a not-to-fresh NiMh cell - in this case the Exolion on burst is notably brighter.

I do not have time to mess with the UI right now, but I did step through the three pre-set levels, and that works as expected. The threads could use some lube, and I'll take care of that later.

BTW, Greg shipped the light with a small sticker covering the positive terminal on the battery to eliminate the possibility of accidental activation diring shipping. The attention to small details like this is truly impressive.

(Still) More later!
 
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Geologist

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Oh the agony! Maybe mine arrives tommorow!

Tell us again how nice it is and small! How is the user-intereface?
 

FlashMike

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Geologist said:
Tell us again how nice it is and small! How is the user-intereface?
Oh boy is it small. I added some more descriptive text to the first post. The UI testing will have to wait until later when I have more time and can apply some lube to the threads to make the action slimey smooth.
 

gregw

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Mike, thanks for your quick review. :)

There is already Silicon Grease on the threads and the O-ring.. If you read in the FAQ included with the Exolion, there is a question regarding why the thread maybe tight/rough... This is due to the threads being mated for the first time. This will become smoother as you turn it on/off numerous times, and work in the thread. There maybe also some debris in the thread as you work it in, so you may have to clean up the threads from time to time...
 

FlashMike

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Greg,

I did read the FAQ later, so I will clean my threads soon. When the package arrived I, um, skipped the instructions and went straight for the lights. And then started typing.

Everyone - The Exolion is just slightly smaller than the Orb Raw (which I also own). When I put the Exolion in the Raw storage tube it rattles around a bit. The Raw is a more snug fit.

Some picturs (Sorry, I forgot to brush the dust off some of the lights before taking pictures). From Left to Right
Fenix L0P, Exolion, Orb Raw, Amilite Neo, Fenix L1T and HDS Ultimate 60
(The Raw has a GID O-Ring in the bottom groove, the HDS is sitting on an O-Ring so it will be staight in the picture)
Exolion1.jpg


Same lights, from just above:
Exolion2.jpg


Just the Exolion and Raw:
Exolion3.jpg


Did I mention how small the Exolion is? It is really small.

Hey - I own a Titanium light! It is almost dark here... Off to play some more...
 

FlashMike

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Okay,

The dust was nagging at me, and the L0P and HDS U60 did not have their names visible, so I gave each light a quick wipe and rotated the L0 and U60 and then took one more snap. Same order as before:
(Fenix L0P, Exolion, Orb Raw, Amilite Neo, Fenix L1T and HDS Ultimate 60)

exolion1a.jpg


GID O-Rings were purchased from GreenLED here
 
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Greymage

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Got mine at the office just now!

First impressions:

- Wow, it's gorgeous, even prettier in person than in the pictures.
- It's really small. A little taller than my Orb Raw, but thinner.
- Rough threads, hard to turn on, but I read the instructions, expect it to get better with time
- Not as bright as the Raw, even on burst, but that's probably because the Raw has a UWOJ... can't wait to get new sandwich from Goldserv with U-bin in it.

One problem: translucent O-ring popped out in front, probably because I closed too hard when turning it on? I was able to reseat it from the front.

Great pictures above, Mike. Funny, the first thing which came to my mind was where did you get the GID O-rings - thanks for the link.

This is definitely going to be my new EDC, but the Exolion is so beautiful I'm even going to use the pouch for it... my poor Al Raw looks nowhere as nice as it did new, don't want the Exolion to get all used looking.
 

FlashMike

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Taylorf said:
How does the Burst on the Exolion compare to the high on the Orb?
The Orb Raw seems brighter, but the Exolion's Hotspot is bigger, so it's a little hard to compare by eye. But ask me again when I get my UWOJ module with 1A drive current (thanks Goldserve)
:popcorn:
 

Carpe Diem

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Greymage said:
One problem: translucent O-ring popped out in front, probably because I closed too hard when turning it on? I was able to reseat it from the front.

I now have the very same problem, after about three minutes of use. Is this going to be a recurring problem? :sigh:

And how did you manage to re-seat this O-ring? I`ve tried and tried...but I can`t get it re-installed.


Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
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FlashMike

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Carpe Diem said:
how did you manage to re-seat this O-ring? I`ve tried and tried...but I can`t get it re-installed.
My bezel O-ring was also loose. I removed the light module, reflector, and glass and then made sure the O-ring was well seated on the lip on the bezel. I then replaced all the parts and ensured the light module was tightened sufficently to squeeze the O-Ring.

It's been fine ever since.
 

Carpe Diem

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Hi FlashMike...


Thanks for your help.

I did the "procedure", and I`ll see how it holds up.

:p :)
 

yaesumofo

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I received mine today. Very nice packaging. cool little bag extra O-ring .....

The windows Front o-ring popped out on mine as well. the Light engine was a bit loose Some of the luxeon emitter goop developed around the base of the emitter. I had to take it apart and use high pressure air to get the goop off the emitter and reflector.
I feel that after several attempts to seat the front O-ring I have the light engine tightened just right. The light definitely needs use to break it in. Different sized (length) batteries have the light stopping slightly differently. This is normal.
When you get the light check the light engine for tightness don't make it too tight or crank it down too hard or I believe the emitter goop will appear.
I have gone through several battery charging now working the light through the three basic levels.

The Exolion is a beautiful little light. I sort of wish I didn't have to perform surgery 1/2 hour after receiving the thing. I am quite happy with it since the front o-ring has stopped behaving badly.
I will say that the light seems to be sensitive to how much pressure is placed on the emitter base by the reflector which is adjusted by how tight the light engine is. If it is too tight the o-ring comes out and then the light engine can become loose.
This is a very sensitive adjustment. If I may be so bold as to make a suggestion if you do have this issue and do get the pressure set just right make a mark (permenant marker comes to mind) of some kind on the light engine and the inside of the body so you can duplicate this placement should you have to remove the LE or replace the front O-ring again.

I have found that the light seems to work more and more smoothly as it gets used. I have several RAW one is a raw NS which is as smooth as silk. The Exoloin is not as smooth as that but with use and a bit of fresh lube once in a while the smoothness of the action will only improve.
All in all This light will have to prove it's self worth to me over the long run the O-ring issue is scary to me. Without that O-ring several bad things happen to this light including loss of water tightness. I wish a second one of the front O-rings was included as well.

When it comes to the beam I must say it is a beautiful beam. Good size hot spot and nice corona. The tint is fine. the three level settings on a twisty is very cool. The flicker frequency on LOW is not something I love especially if the light is moving. if everything is still it is OK. The medium level is just about right. The burst is wonderful. It is a simple UI but not intuitive for me.
Anything that requires me to click more than once or twist several times within a short period of time has the potential to throw ME off. For example I much prefer the basic HDS vs the Ultimate interface (just a bit of background about my operation of lights)


The Exolion Is very nicely machined. There are NO machine marks visible except around the tritium eyelet cutout. The action is improving with every use. the design is beautiful and well executed. The light has a nice heft for a light of it's size even though the wall thickness has been minimized.

Those are my first and pretty mush second impression.
Just use a bit of care when you first get this light and i am sure it will serve you well for years to come.
These are simply my impressions YMMV.
Yaesumofo
 
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gregw

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Thanks for the honest reviews guys... :)

I had the same problem when installing the O-ring in front... some of the O-rings kept wanting to pop out.. :ohgeez: This was an unexpected problem as I've been using the Prototype for a few months now and never had a problem with it. I will need to see if I can find different O-rings or maybe one ever so slightly larger in size to help it stay in.. You can also use the extra black O-ring in front as well, as it is exactly the same size. I used the transparent one in front as it looked much nicer. :)

With regards to the thread roughness, this is due to the difficulty of cutting the threads on Ti due to the small size of the tool used and the hardness of the Ti. This was especially difficult on the head as it is an internal thread, and not completely visible to the operator during the cutting operation. It should smooth out properly once you have it worked in.

Procedure to re-install the front O-ring:
1. Using a tweezer, insert each leg to the slots in the Can.
2. Unscrew the Can a few turns until there is a few mm of space in front of UCL in the Exolion.
3. Take out the O-ring and stretch it a little bit a few time to work the kinks out.
4. Re-insert into the front of the Exolion using the tweezer.
5. Tighten the Can until you feel pressure on the O-ring.
 
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Carpe Diem

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Thanks for the info, Greg.


AND, please forgive me, for I forget to mention...

The Exolion is a REALLY nice light! :thumbsup:

Best wishes to you, and congratulations on your superb work of art.

:)
 

yaesumofo

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Greg as much as I like this light I was wondering if there are more of them in the pipeline?

Possible staneless steel? even aluminum?
What about a K2 version of the light engine.
Say for example I would like to buy a spare LE or reflector or window. Will any of these be available?
Please put me at the top of any list for any future versions of this light. It is a fine peice of work.

I would like to know if the Luxeon goo (due to pressure) has dammaged the emitter in any way?
Thanks.
Yaesumofo
 

gregw

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yaesumofo said:
Greg as much as I like this light I was wondering if there are more of them in the pipeline?

Possible staneless steel? even aluminum?
What about a K2 version of the light engine.
Say for example I would like to buy a spare LE or reflector or window. Will any of these be available?
Please put me at the top of any list for any future versions of this light. It is a fine peice of work.

I would like to know if the Luxeon goo (due to pressure) has dammaged the emitter in any way?
Thanks.
Yaesumofo

There will probably be another version of the Exolion... Keep your eyes open for the announcement. :)

You can buy a spare LE from goldserve (U-bin, K2, etc), the McR-16 reflector can be bought from the Sandwich Shoppe or McGizmo, the UCL is a standard 17mm UCL lens from flashlightlens.com..

Regarding the O-ring, I just had a discussion with my machinist, and his opinion is that the transparent silicon O-ring is probably less compressible and more slippery than the black rubber O-ring, and therefore, pressure on it could cause it to slip out. If you are really having problems with it, I would suggest that you switch it out with the spare black O-ring I've included.

As far as I know, the goo from the Luxeon will not damage the emitter in any way. I remember that my Aleph2 had exactly the same problem when I tightened the LE on it. No problems to date..
 
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