The Mako Discussion Thread - A Titanium AAA Light

[Oddjob]

Cool! Any word on price? If there is a list, please add me to it.

No official word on price as far as I know. IIRC Enrique mentioned earlier in the thread that it would around the $100.00 mark.

[billybright]

Email sent

[TranquillityBase]

Great design Enrique

[Endeavour]

Hey Folks,

I've finally got some good news; the parts I've been waiting on have either arrived or are currently in the mail to me, and I will have some prototypes built up at week's end and will be sending them out for evaluation to a few folks here next week.

Assuming everything works as planned, and I have no reason to doubt that it will, I'll begin to take orders for these in the next few weeks for delivery in mid-December.

-Enrique

[HoopleHead]

so will people who have signed up for the mailing list be notified first with a heads up on the sale thread?

[Endeavour]

Folks on the list will be notified when it's time to put down money to reserve a light, yes. By the number of e-mails I've received the project is a go, but I'm not going to make many more past what's requested in advance. I'll have more details, pictures, and final pricing in the next few days - nothing will be changing significantly from what has already been discussed, though.

-Enrique

[olrac]

Excellent! Finger is on the PP trigger

[gjg]

Please put me on the list!!!!!
Thanks,
Greg

[HoopleHead]

sweet!

paypal standing by for prepayment on 2 (one w/trit, one without)!!

[fitzDaug]

Email sent.

Please put me on the list.

[WTH]

Great news, thanks for the update!

[Endeavour]

fitzDaug: Done -
Not all those who wander are lost.

I'll keep you all apprised over the next few days once the prototypes have all the parts done and ready - almost there.

-Enrique

[:)>]

fitzDaug: Done -
Not all those who wander are lost.

Or as fitzDaug would say... Not all who are lost wander

[da.gee]

I'm in for one as well. I had emailed many moons ago.

[gunga]

I am still interested...

[Jedi Knife]

I sent an email a couple of weeks ago, count me in for one!

[AardvarkSagus]

I'd love to say "put me on the list as well", but I will have to content myself with "I'm going to enjoy watching the outcome". Too many medical bills are still being contended with.

How soon might we see more pictures?

[smokelaw1]

Or as fitzDaug would say... Not all who are lost wander

Actually it was correct, assuming it was meant to be a reference to this:
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

Not to Shakespeare.

[AardvarkSagus]

Not to Shakespeare.

"It would seem an agent of the enemy would look fairer and feel fouler if you know what I mean"

Sorry, I'll stop the hijack and get back on track.

Any more specs on the LED in question? I'd love to know what the drive levels are going to be and what that translates to in lumens/lux/mCd or whatever...

[streetmaster]

Great looking light, I'm sure it will be fantastic! Thank you for your amazing work, you're a flashaholic's hero.

Email sent.

[Endeavour]

Aardvark: The drive levels will be 6mA/20mA. The light will be driven within the bounds of reason so as to not destroy the LED, as has been noted before - it's very clearly stated on the spec sheets of the part as well as conversations with the manufacturer that driving the parts above 20mA will cause permanent damage to the LED and diminished output quickly into its life, unlike what others might assert to the contrary.

To be clear on what to expect of the light, you should see the Mako as having a full power mode, and a power save mode. The brightness difference between the two modes is not as wide as with my Aeon and Nautilus - those are effectively a 10:1 power ratio, and that simply can't be done in the Mako where max current is 20mA; you will be running at roughly 1/3 the power of high mode on low, though, and your runtime will be very significant - if you're ever in a bind and caught without power, this light will be working for you for quite a long time without needing a replacement cell. (Before someone asks what the runtimes are, I'll say again as before that I will give you exact numbers in a few days once the prototypes are 100% complete )

The Mako is a light designed with utility in mind - it's not going to have mind-blowing brightness, it's not going to make you breakfast, and it's not going to walk the dog. What it is going to do, and what it's designed to do well, is to provide a decent amount of light for a very long time in a very rugged package - the light will take be able to run long after all your other light sources have since expired, it will be able to take a good beating, and has a great amount of durability and reliability inherent to the design, from mechanical aspects to the electronics and LED. I've never liked products that, in some form or another, have a built-in expiration date whereby you're guaranteed to have diminished performance or failure of a part or whole after a certain number of years - I prefer to replace a product at a time of my choosing, not when necessitated by failure due to poor design choices. I expect that these lights will be viable and working long after I have kicked the bucket and look forward to hearing of your uses of them over the years.

I'll be building up a prototype with all the final versions of parts over the weekend and start runtime tests then. I'll have results for everyone regarding high and low mode a few days after that. Pricing for production will be finalized after prototype testing is completed, and will be posted sometime next week - I do not expect it to vary significantly from my "about $100" estimate from the beginning of the thread. Payments will be taken either next week or the week after, and everyone will be notified via e-mail when this occurs. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I expect that production should wrap and you guys will have these lights in your hands before Christmas, but there's always the possibility that something unexpected comes into play and causes things to take a bit longer than planned, but that's what I'm working towards.

I think that about covers everything for now, I'll keep you all posted as things move along in the coming days and weeks, and if you have any questions, let me know!

-Enrique

[gtie]

Emailed September 15th and posted a couple times to your blog, just wanted to make sure I'm on the list.

[Christoph]

-Enrique said
"The Mako is a light designed with utility in mind...I expect that these lights will be viable and working long after I have kicked the bucket and look forward to hearing of your uses of them over the years. "
This is why I want this light.
Chris

[AMRaider]

...I've never liked products that, in some form or another, have a built-in expiration date whereby you're guaranteed to have diminished performance or failure of a part or whole after a certain number of years - I prefer to replace a product at a time of my choosing, not when necessitated by failure due to poor design choices...

I could not agree more, sir. I have replaced far too many appliances and electronics due to inferior materials and/or design. In college, I went through 1 laptop (Dell), 1 desktop (Dell), 2 underspec'ed power supplies, and one or two crappy inkjet printers (HP). Granted I was in college for a little longer than 4 years..., but I have come to dislike "disposable" goods with a passion. (When I get old enough for Depends, I guess I'll just have to put up with it.) Anyway, great lights, sir. I'm looking forward to the Mako .

[UnderTheWeepingMoon]

Email sent! I've been following this thread for a few weeks now but funds have only just become available. I would prefer my light to have a trit slot but can live without one if necessary.

I loved the Nautilus while I had it. I only sold it because I felt that it was a little too large for keychain use and a little too small for primary EDC use. If the Mako maintains the quality build and reliability of the Nautilus, which I'm sure it will, it will an excellent compliment to my EDC.

[Oddjob]

Thanks for the update Enrique. I am loving my Nautilus and really looking forward to the Mako even more so after your last post. Hopefully Christmas will be good this year.

[HoopleHead]

[:)>]

...it's not going to make you breakfast...

Screw it then!!! I'm out...

Why wouldn't the breakfast making feature be included when you haven't even integrated a disorienting strobe feature.

Sheesh... reliable, long running, durable, and beautiful only light like it in existence todayWho would want something like this if it can't make breakfast

And in such a light-weight and unsubstantial material as titanium.

[Hodsta]

Screw it then!!! I'm out...

Can I take Goats place on the list.

Seriously, it's only through reading the middle part of this thread that I realised that a list existed - I most definitely would like to be on it if it can accomodate me. E-mail sent, trits, Norland and PayPal at the ready.

[HoopleHead]

For those of you who are interested I'll be setting up a list and sending occasional news & updates via e-mail - if you'd like to get put on this please feel free to e-mail mako@muyshondt.net and I'll get you squared away.

for everyone else interested, from first post