Twisties: more reliable?

I'm disappointed at the fact that my P2D makes such a poor EDC because the switch gets dirty and needs to be smacked to work. It also turns on by accident which means I could easily be left with a useless light when I need it.
I had another clicky (MTE Rebel 0100) that I lent to a friend's wife which left me with a drained cell. I didn't even feel the heat in my pocket.


So now I'm considering a twisty just because they seem to be more resistant to accidental discharges and the may be less likely to get gunked up. Am I wrong?

your on the right track. twisties are as durable as it gets.

Note that it applies to both head and tail twisties, I concur, providing the addition of a little Pro Gold, and keeping threads lubricated with appropriate lubricants!

Larry

How about using push button using those like on cell phone number pads or some game controllers? Considering how much use those cell phone buttons get pressed, i bet they would make good switches. Also they're really flat compared to clickies, so less room needed for the switch

Something like the NovaTac ones.

I love Twisties but they have too much MSG to enjoy them very often.

gearbox said:

I'm disappointed at the fact that my P2D makes such a poor EDC because the switch gets dirty and needs to be smacked to work. It also turns on by accident which means I could easily be left with a useless light when I need it.

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I've been carrying mine daily for awhile now and never had that problem. What kind of dirt does yours get exposed to? Curious to know so I can avoid it.

gearbox said:

I'm disappointed at the fact that my P2D makes such a poor EDC because the switch gets dirty and needs to be smacked to work. It also turns on by accident which means I could easily be left with a useless light when I need it.
I had another clicky (MTE Rebel 0100) that I lent to a friend's wife which left me with a drained cell. I didn't even feel the heat in my pocket.


So now I'm considering a twisty just because they seem to be more resistant to accidental discharges and the may be less likely to get gunked up. Am I wrong?

Click to expand...

Fenix contacts have a reputation of needing cleaned with an alcohol swab first thing when you get them, have you simply tried cleaning the contacts in the tail and head?

Marduke said:

Fenix contacts have a reputation of needing cleaned with an alcohol swab first thing when you get them, have you simply tried cleaning the contacts in the tail and head?

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I've disassembled the tailcap and a few times and I cleaned it with alcohol once. It was a few weeks ago and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that I should be able to go 6 months or 6 battery changes before having to clean the contacts. Don't the O-rings and rubber cap do anything to keep out pocket lint? The ring was screwed back in very snugly.


There isn't a tailcap upgrade or replacement is there?

WadeF said:

I've been carrying mine daily for awhile now and never had that problem. What kind of dirt does yours get exposed to? Curious to know so I can avoid it.

Click to expand...

Just pocket lint. I don't abuse it (although I have dunked it and dropped it. It doesn't get kicked around in sand or anything. As stated above it OUGHT to be making positive contact.

I had similar problems with my MTE AA rebel 100. All it took was a little Deoxit Gold andproblem disappeared.

I reckon you ought to have your P2D checked out. Mine gets carried a lot, never gets dirty, it never flickers, and the switch requires a good solid push.
Greg

My fenix clicky gets cycled atleast 20 times a day without fail and i have carried it for over a year. I must have a good one.

I'm a big fan of twisties, but there are twisties and twisties.

I think the Fenix Civictor/L0x lights have the best design, where the end of the body makes direct contact with the PCB to close the circuit. The battery is under constant spring pressure, never rattles, is never crushed, and can vary in length without affecting the switch. The condition of the threads does not affect the switch at all, and the electrical contacts are inside, completely protected from dirt, grit, etc. that might be in the threads.

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee....Now THAT's a twisty....

BTW, I've had no problem yet with any of my Fenix reverse clicky switches yet, despite fair use. I've had 4 failures in my life with better quality clickies, and all were American made forward clickies: one old 4D Kel-lite, one 4D Maglite, and 2 Krolls for my Arc LS. It's probably only my anomaly, but it has certainly influenced my personal opinions...

Re: Twisties: more reliable? (my twisty wasn't..)

gearbox said:

I'm disappointed at the fact that my P2D makes such a poor EDC because the switch gets dirty ... So now I'm considering a twisty just because they seem to be more resistant to accidental discharges and the may be less likely to get gunked up. Am I wrong?

Click to expand...

hehe, i went the other way..
I just traded in my twisty P1DCEQ5 for a clicky P2DCEQ5 !

My P1DQ5's threads/contacts were very rough.. couldn't operate it one-handed, it would flicker and change modes while twisting, and would get stuck and need 2 hands to turn off. And i've got strong hands!

Shoot my "premium Q5" had a great beam too!.. very frustrating that the twisty UI was so rough/buggy.. so I decided to go clicky.

Not gonna be a "tactical" light or anything.. just a utility/garage/walk-the-dog light. But when i've got my other hand full of tranny fluid under the car, or holding the big dog's leash, etc..
So for me, one-handed operation is important.


> gearbox,
Btw, did you ever find out what was wrong with your P2D's switch?
Was your P2D a "premium Q5" edition?
Did it ever get fixed?

I still have and use nightly an original CMG Infinity with a green LED. I did scrape the paint off the reflector and polish it, then added a small bit of solder to the head. Ran for years now, about 9 I think. That is reliability.

Sgt. LED said:

I still have and use nightly an original CMG Infinity with a green LED ... Ran for years now, about 9 I think. That is reliability.

Click to expand...

9 years is pretty darn good!
Some hard drives and many cars i've owned haven't lasted That long!
It seems increasingly difficult to find reliability these days..

x2x3x2 said:

How about using push button using those like on cell phone number pads or some game controllers? Considering how much use those cell phone buttons get pressed, i bet they would make good switches. Also they're really flat compared to clickies, so less room needed for the switch

Something like the NovaTac ones.

Click to expand...

those membrane push buttons are low tier regarding response and quality, i did some research about it when looking for keyboards (most of today keyboards are made of membrane and they cant hold a candle to old style mechanical switches

twisties vs clickies, the old tried and true formula, on mechanical stuff, more parts, more probabilities for failure (membranes are an exception, as it has less parts, but its the rubber material that makes them weak)

Look for cherry switches or ibm model m buckling spring switches, iirc membrane HIGH quality ones handle around 5 million presses, whereas a good quality cherry mx switch can handle 50 million keypresses, and the tactile feel is waaaaay better, not to mention it ALWAYS responds perfectly and needs less force to activate, another plus: they are more ergonomically friendly.

not saying you are going to push the button 50 million times, but that extra resiliency means you can push with more force and you will be damaging the switch less.

the advantage for membrane, like you said, is that it uses less space than mechanical ones, and is usually more silent (depends on the bottoming system mechanical switches have, and the tactile design).