SolarForce Masterpiece 1000Lms ~ Suburban Dog Walking Impressions Ø HEAVY GRAPHICS Ø

[TechnoBill]

Greetings Flashaholics,

Craig "Bring On The Strobes" Shih has done a typically great job reviewing the Masterpiece here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...d.php?t=243264

The observatons that follow are neither thorough nor rigorous enough to be called a 'review', but are rather 'driving impressions' from a recent night's perimeter sweep of our subdivision by our Schützhund German Shepherd Dogs and myself.

Our focus in this post is on the utility and practicality of the SolarForce Masterpiece 1000 Lms when same must be handled with only one hand, and that hand may also be occupied with other tasks simultaneously. The activity is not life or personal risk dependent.

Our five year old female Schützhund GSD, Gretchen, is the epitome of precise obedience. Our six month old male, Octavian, possesses all the exuberant curiosity of a puppy, surprising strength for his size, and lots of puppy testosterone beginning to course through his system which makes these walks "training work" not "casual strolls."

That the Masterpiece is still in one piece is due a little to preparedness on my part, but mostly to the presumably thoughtful engineering on the part of SolarForce, but more on that later.

My Masterpiece, obtained through International Trading Company aka itc_shop http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:X:AAQ:US:1123 , had its emitter relatively well centered.

Relatively Well Centered Emitter:



Tool retention, whether in combat, rescue operations, or dog wrangling, to name a few actions, is critical. Without reliable, passive, tool retention devices in place, your tool will likely be damaged, destroyed, lost, or a mixture thereof. Not good and this was my first foray into an activity where my control of the tool could be compromised, and my hands were constantly busy attending to other matters, some of which had minds of their own . As I examined the SolarForce Masterpiece, to what did my wondering eyes appear but a bunch of little square knurling, and a gap more akin to a circle than a sphere .
A Gap Akin to a Circle at bottom of image:


This gap is at position where the tailcap and body meet. I had been thinking of using a lanyard with a thin, but tough 'thread' similar to what is supplied with Fenix and other small lights, fed through the very tips of the tailcap. But the gap between the tailcap and body seemed familiar. Here's a closer before look.

Gap between Tailcap and Body:


I went to my secondary BOB (Bug Out Bag) and retrieved a Surefire Tail Cap Lanyard Kit Model Z33. I knew what I had to do! But when the moment of truth came, would I have the courage?

Surefire Z33 Lanyard:


From deep within my being, a Herculean fountain of courage surged forth, and affixed did I the lanyard ring to the Masterpiece. I thanked the unseen powers and looked around. Then in a smooth, resonant baritone so my Dogs could hear, I proclaimed aloud "This is a nifty thing I have done right here." Gretchen and Octavian, observing me intently, nodded their heads as if they considered me very wise indeed. {They humor me.}

Solarforce Masterpiece w/ Surefire Z33 Lanyard Ensconced:


In all seriousness I must point out that I discovered or more aptly "stumbled across" all the positive attributes I elucidate in this Test Drive, and must attribute same to the engineers at Solarforce. Well done Solarforce R&D! We all know what happens, as in the case of Pentagonlight, when one cavalierly appropriates other's work, but I'm going to make a wild guess that Surefire does not have a patent on the measurement of a gap between a tail cap and a body. If one were a marketing or Richmond WA type, one would probably advertise it as a "Compatibility Feature."

Emboldened by our success we set out to secure the subdivision from the forces of darkness. Craig noted that the head of the Masterpiece is heavy, although not to the degree of the 950-LMS. With the lanyard attached I found myself using a grip that came intuitively and resulted in good balance as well as excellent directional control. The latter is important because as we walk I keep the bottom most part of the spill just on the tips of the GSDs ears, and the hot spot a few meters ahead of them.

First Grip View as naturally carried:


Second Grip View rotated to display solid 'purchase' and directional control via thumb position:


As this Test Drive is not life or personal risk dependent, immediate access to the different light levels is not needed. Taking into account manufacturing, cost, complexity (problems resultant from complexity), and relative utility of what I might like to have on my particular Masterpiece vs. the potential downsides, I vote to keep the User Interface as it is. Yes, a 'turbo' button proximal to my thumb would be handy, but in my experience the most widely popular tools, among people who really use and depend on those tools, evidence restraint on the part of the R&D teams. 'Feature Creep', even with the best of functional intentions, can easily start down a slippery slope that detracts from the overall utility of the tool.

I often hear people disparaging strobe modes with a fair degree of venom, or at least emotion, in their writing. Some Law Enforcement Officers do not care for strobes, but many, many patrol officers consider them essential in a primary duty EDC. As regards the "why", that would get into issues of deadly force, non lethal force, and myriad other issues not appropriate to this forum, so I'll merely posit that for many LEOs and private citizens for whom an EDC is a safety tool, not merely a convenience tool, a strobe of a particular frequency is paramount. My wife carries a Gladius. It's the perfect tool for her intended use. My point is to match the tool {and your opinions, commentary, etc. thereof} to your intended use! {and be nice to horsies and other aminals }

For me the SolarForce Masterpiece is a "Dog Walking Light". Considering the preceeding, when I wanted to change output levels, I found it surprisingly easy to release and retract my thumb, thus loosening my grip, letting the light follow gravity and roll bezel toward the ground 'out' of my hand. As it tipped downward I easily grasped the tail cap and brought the light up into an overhand "FBI Style" carry position. From there, switching to a different mode was easy. Had my little sleight of hand failed, the strong lanyard and sturdy means of attachment would have protected the Masterpiece, leaving me with an outstanding view of my boots .

I was using the 10% mode light level and detected movement in tall, tree like bushes proximal to a house, near the utility boxes. Release, roll, grasp, overhand, and I'd quickly identified my neighbor tightening his cable T.V. connections. If that sounds cumbersome, I'd have to say YMMV "Your Mileage May Vary." I am used to habituating certain tool manipulation movements so that, when speed is of the essence and one's fine motor skills are compromised, one can rely on what is referred to as "muscle memory." In other words, you do it automatically. While the SolarForce Masterpiece is not life or personal risk dependent appropriate, I discovered that it can indeed have some safety utility, although in a genuine alert I would have killed the light (darkness is for you to control), let it drop knowing the lanyard would retain it, and transition to my ever present personal defense Gladius.

By contrast, the cat 70 to 80 meters away, of which I did not take note, was as prominent to my two GSDs as a twin prop headed for restricted airspace over Washington D.C. The 10% level was sufficient to illuminate its form, punctuated by two blinking green eyes, but not sufficient to dispatch it. The mature GSD heeded the command to move from the "alert" position and continue heeling, but the puppy did not as his nervous system is still physically forming connections, his training is only beginning, and his endocrine system is far from producing uniform amounts of "Go Juice" in response to external stimuli. Wishing to train him, rather than drag on his leash, I bumped up the light's output as it was already in the overhand 'ready' position, then twitched my hand producing what would appear to the cat to be an ON OFF ON OFF ON OFF effect. Cat seemed to conclude remaining stationary was not concealing it, and it took off. Even if it had been a mere 60 meters, I would guess I didn't damage its eyes as a suburban cat, with lamp posts here and there, HID driving lights on cars, would already be behaviourally attenuated in its reaction to bright lights.

Huh... for a light my Devil Dog buddy would laugh at, this thing could pull defense duty, out of doors, in a pinch, and it's got a nice simple UI. I'd say it deserves a gratuitous Glamour Shot!

Glamour Shot:


I noted above that I obtained the light from International Trading Company not Jason, aka Jake25 here on CPF, as news of his new web site was not posted on his previous web site, supply was down to two based on Chris' review, the warning of only two in stock on Jason's web site appeared to be straight HTML, rather than live data from a back end database, and I was as frenzied as an eight year old who had gotten into the Rum spiked egg nog on Christmas Eve. My point; nothing against Jason, just wanted to slam down my order hard, fast, and not discover a glitch after the fact in case the limited supply by SolarForce got sucked up by folks like me who zoned or missed out on the 950-LMS. A meager 100 units, as represented as available to the distributor, seems a small number when my nascent Flashaholism was being fueled by the multiple posts to Chris' 950-LMS review long after the supply had vanished. I must say I am very happy with my SolarForce Masterpiece and Customer Service from International Trading Company has been excellent!

MODERATORS: My intent is to relay my experience with a vendor. IF SUCH IS INAPPROPRIATE, PM ME AND I WILL REMOVE THE FOLLOWING IMMEDIATELY.

1)I placed my order with International Trading Company hereafter referred to as itc_shop on Tuesday 09/22/2009 around 22:00 Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -6).

2)I received ebay e-mail on Wednesday 09/23/2009 at 02:08 indicating SolarForce had been shipped via First Class Airmail and that I should expect it in seven to ten days.

3)I received the Solarforce on Monday 09/28/2009. Although not indicated in the shipment confirmation e-mail, the SolarForce had been shipped by registered First Class Air Mail. Nice touch.

4)Included in the shipment were:
A)SolarForce Masterpiece 1000 LMS
B)Two Solarforce Protected Rechargeable Li-Ion 18650 2400mAh Batteries
C)Solarforce Rapid Charger for 3.7V rechargeable Li-Ion batteries

5)Unfortunately (see image below) the plug on the charger, which is to be inserted into the 110 VAC wall outlet (USA), is not compatible with our standard wall jack. As a novice taking his first tentative steps amidst the exotica of Bleeding Edge widgetry, I assumed, apparently mistakenly, that the wrong charger had been shipped. All of a sudden, visions of just how population dense and how many zillions of small businesses, not to mention huge conglomerates, call Honk Kong home, flashed through my dim little mind. I, incorrectly I might add, feared I would soon be forced to order a Pila charger {My financial motto is "Buy Well. Buy Once."} if I wished to wield the power of the rather exclusive, from a worldwide perspective, SolarForce Masterpiece as we secured our subdivision on our nightly patrols of Beast and Dog.

Solarforce Rapid Charger for 3.7V rechargeable Li-Ion batteries
"INPUT: 4.2V (DC)" doesn't sound like 100v-240v to me, but we'll report on how itc_shop does on making things right.



No Converter/Adapter Plug for USA:


6)After pondering my presumably abject fate for a day and a half I sent an ebay-mail to itc_shop on Wednesday 09/30/2009 at 10:01.

7)Thirty Seven minutes later I received a response indicating that the charger is a international charger which accommodates 100v-240v. He inquired as to whether a converter plug had not been sent, and if it had not he would ship one out to me.

8)I responded on Wednesday 09/30/2009 at 11:01 that the converter plug had not been included in the shipment and that I would appreciate them sending one to me.

9)Nineteen minutes later the gentleman at itc_shop responded, Wednesday 09/30/2009 11:20, that he would ship out the US 2 leg pin plug the following day.

So far I am quite happy with the customer service from International Trading Company particularly when one takes into consideration time zone differences and language barriers. English may in fact be the language of international business, but not all of us for whom it is allegedly our primary language speak it, let alone write it .

I don't pretend to be conversant regarding the business relationships between ITC and its local distributors, nor the propriety of them dealing directly with customers, but in this one isolated case I am particularly impressed with their responsiveness. I should point out that ITC did not provide this unit gratis for the purpose of review, or any other purpose. Mine was just a faceless ebay transaction from the other side of the world. With decades under by belt as a Director Of Information Systems with budgets in the mid to high six figures, I've dealt with customer service issues of fairly sizeable proportions. Those who do not deal in good faith I simply crucify, and you would be astonished at the reactions of surprise by some vendors who've given nothing more than lip service to customer service, then are taken aback when they lose a major account!

But when I get good customer service, particularly in a case where due to various circumstances the vendor could easily blow it off or make excuses, I feel it incumbent upon me to reward the vendor, and other potential customers, by going out of my way to explicate the details of why I am satisfied. Those of us who are only a generation or two away from skilled craftsmen who immigrated to the United States during the Industrial Revolution are not the only ones with a solid work ethic, and who hold their own integrity as irreplaceable! It is nice to know some business people still value the value of their reputation . [SOAPBOX=OFF]

[TechnoBill]

Reserved for follow up by TechnoBill The Obtuse.

1) From the Z33 Manual: "The Z33 Tail Cap Lanyard Kit supplies a Lanyard for use on 3P, 6P, 6R, or 9P Flashlights."

2) Despite the label on the back of the charger indicating a 4.2V (DC) Input, ITC, as of 08:02 Monday 09/05/2009, assures me it is correct for USA 110VAC Home Use with the adapter.
ITC informed me, nineteen minutes after I informed them the adapter had not been originally shipped, they would ship out the missing adapter. It should be here soon and I will post updates.


3) I'll see what I can do regarding beamshots once the adapter arrives, but Craig's photos give a (in my opinion) everything you need to see. Perhaps I'll work on some "distance" shots, as the Masterpiece does throw well, but I need to point out that this is my FIRST 'big' LED light.

4) As noted below, the Masterpiece does NOT include a belt holster or carrying pouch. Like the "release, roll, grasp, overhand maneuver", not all those who purchase the Solarforce Masterpiece can be expected to have a subterranean bunker dug out beneath their back yards stocked with gear. But for those who have fishing ~ photography ~ carry vests, I've posted pictures of the Sf M in a 5.11 vest. It works very well for me and is protected, yet easily accessible.

5)UPDATE: Thursday October 15th, 2009
I am gradually reaching the conclusion that the language barrier between ITC and NorthAmerican English, rather than any lack of commitment to High Quality Customer Service on ITC's part, is a major factor in difficulties/delays I've encountered subsequent to receiving the incorrect charger. An e-mail received today included the following text from ITC: "For my side, we have send the US plug to you and there is some delay, the reason has been write in the EMS letter and card. in the pancel. It will arrive to you in this weekend for the plug" I expect that the arrival of the "pancel" (sic) parcel will help me clear up some of the semantic noise accounting for the delay. Whether at issue is a person not fluent in written English struggling with the language, or the utilization of some sort of translation software is not my primary concern, but it should be noted that if fast turn around time on customer service is a priority, that would be a weak point on ITC's scorecard. I must also point out that the photographs of the rear data label of my charger, included in my original e-mail to ITC, was what I would consider less vulnerable to language barrier confusion. "INPUT: 4.2V (DC)" doesn't strike me as particularly nuanced or prone to mistranslation.

6)Will update pending arrival of converter/adapter plug.

7)Update: Thursday October 15th, 2009
The unanticipated and unannounced price increase from $119 to $199 is a dubious marketing maneuver and has been brought to ITC's attention. The right way to handle price increases is as expemplified by 4Sevens with their Titanium series. Everyone knew the time table, and whether or not one obtained their limited edition Quark Ti was enitrely within the customer's control. I might wish I had acted, I might wish I had a Quark Ti on the way, but I certainly can NOT hold 4Sevens responsible for my missing out. That responsibility lies exclusively with me.

Left Rear Pocket (water bottle pocket) lightly secured by "vest fit adapter snap"


Front Right Side, Left of Two Vertical pockets Well secured via 5.11 keyring clip, pocket flap open.


Front Right Side, Left of Two Vertical pockets Well secured via 5.11 keyring clip, pocket flap closed.



5.11 Keyring Close Up



5) ……… Summary & Conclusions
‡
a) As a "newbie" to recreational flashlights, my experience being with a variety of handheld and weapon mounted illumination tools from SureFire, I consider the SolarForce Masterpiece a very, very good high powered LED flashlight with a substantial amount of throw, and a large as well as very consistent spill area.

b) Dollar/utility cost/benefit ratio I consider very good. In other words it is a very good, perhaps excellent value.

c) I recommend it unhesitatingly for light to moderate hiking one would undertake with a family including smaller children, moderate hiking where only one free hand would be adequate to establish stability or carry a walking stick, 'going for walks' in a suburban environment or a fields and light woods environment where one seeks to be seen without unduly disturbing wildlife, while casting a large, relatively moderate brightness (relative to hot spot) spill desirable for scanning for peripheral threats/hostiles in the form of stumbling terrain features or the nightly hooch (domicile) of small animals. The throw ahead, for safety in suburban walks, or assessing terrain, inclines, etc. in light hiking is very useful.

d) The fore to aft balance is very good when it is carried as illustrated, with an attached lanyard.

e) Ease of changing settings is poor, with the rare exception of when carried overhand "FBI Style". {"FBI Style" is a long established practice of carrying one's flashlight almost at full arm extension above one's head and to the side, well away from skull and torso, while pistol is carried in a "low ready" position ready for either a "flash sight" or "full use of sights" firing postion.} For the intended uses for which I personally have obtained the Masterpiece, accessing the different lumen settings is a two handed operation. The "release, roll, grasp, overhand maneuver" I described is viable but it is a case of the user adapting, in extremis, to a perceived weakness in the design of the light, not a reasonable expectation for most users.

f) I would appreciate the addition of an Off/Maximum Intensity switch button on one of the seven flat surfaces at the base of the head. "Feature Creep" when manufacturers "throw in everything but the kitchen sink" is a very UNdesirable thing in my opinion. In trying to be all things to all users, "Feature Creep" often produces products that do very many things, do all of them in a mediocre or poor fashion, and end up pleasing no one. If I had to pick between *)The Masterpiece as it is, or *)The Masterpiece that is 30% more expensive, programmable with different strobe rates, eight to ten programmable settings with the head screwed tight, and another eight to ten programmable settings with head slightly loosened, I would pick "Masterpiece as it is!" But given the size, heft, and my preferred carry position and Off/Turbo button proximal to my thumb would geometrically expand its utility and versatility with only an arithmetic increase in complexity.

g) I would like to see included: Extra o-rings, belt holster, or carrying pouch, and extender tube for a third 18650 Li-Ion! A lanyard of strength and quality similar to the Z33 should also be a standard option.

The Olight M30 Triton includes as standard options an impressive array as noted in selfbuilt's review http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...ght+M30+Triton These include …… "Unlike most of the competition, the M30 Triton comes in a presentation-style case with a lot of extras. Inside the plastic carrying case, you will find cut-out foam that securely holds the light, battery extender tube, 3xCR123A battery holder, leather belt holster, and instruction manual. No extra o-rings or wrist-strap was included on my sample."…… I appreciate these "recreational" lights (NO offense, disparagement, or diminution implied!) precisely because they offer so much bang for the buck! But keeping the high dollar/utility ratio of these lights paramount I would stick with the functional options and skip the nice, but less functional, "presentation items". I would like to see included: Extra o-rings, belt holster and extender tube for a third 18650 Li-Ion! I really, really want an extender tube as my preferences in "carry options" are somewhat binary. In other words if I want to "carry" a small tool, flashlight or otherwise, I want a small tool. BUT if concealment or effortless inclusion in traditional wardrobe (Suit, Jacket & Tie, Jeans & T-Shirt) are NOT critical then I want to avail myself of all the high performance (run time in this case) that tool can offer.

I would skip the multi-CR123A battery holder and absolutely skip the presentation-style case! The latter might have it's place with a "Special Edition", like the "SolarForce L2M Full Stainless Steel R2 Cree Flashlight" http://cgi.ebay.com/Solarforce-L2M-F...item41490f3fd6 but generally I'd prefer the expense go to the flashlight itself, for instance as higher quality switchwork, anodizing, lens quality, etc.
‡

…
Celler: GSD Octavian conducting his own Review
What have we here? … … Nice Knurling … … What idiot came up w/ this UI? Yup, Lame UI ! … … Head's O.K. … … Seems Pretty Secure … Nice Lanyard Dad!

I give the SolarForce Masterpiece "One Paw Up."
I naturally prefer ambient light, and the less the better for recon work, but hey, I'm working with a hominid here. Poor guy can't even support his own body weight with his teeth. What's up with that?

… … € Herakleitos Gaius Octavianus vom Kollenda € … … ©2009 Kolenda Kennels
… … … Paw Vobiscum … … …
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Genetic Engineering to Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde Standards by Kollenda Kennels http://www.kolendakennels.com/

[DM51]

{Since the images are being pulled from a site other than CPF and since HTTP, along with the entire TCP/IP suite of protocols, uses packets(CPF server isn't twiddling it's thumbs while images are loading to end user's node, it's proceeding with other requests) these honkin images should in no way effect the load on CPF's servers. I tried to resize the images by height and width, assuming the graphics heavy warning would be heeded by CPF'ers who are bright by nature. O.K. Bad pun I know .
I don't know what resolutions most of you use, but my resizing resulted in dimensions larger than I think would have been a good compromise between detail and viewability. If this results in horizontal scrolling or images too tall to view without having to hassle with excessive vertical scrolling for the majority of you, please send me a PM.}

Not acceptable. Please resize these very large images to comply with Rule 3, or they will be removed.

[MrGman]

Looks like a very nice light. I wish that the vendors making this size light would put an on/off switch right where your thumb is. I know it would make the light a little longer but that would be okay if the switch was there because it would have good balance and you wouldn't have to go back and forth to the tail cap to turn it on and off.

Definitely resize the pics before they get yanked. They are too good to lose.

And of course we need beamshots.

[Niteowl]

Nicely done "driving impression". Almost makes me wish I had gotten one. Having gotten a 900L awhile back, I can not justify the expense. Still, I now feel as though I'm missing out on something.......... Nice pics.

Also, re: "German Shepherd Dogs", nice to see someone get it right. I had to say goodbye to mine a year ago. Please post a "beamshot" with your GSDs in view.

[Quacker]

Is your Z33 lanyard ring the same size as the lanyard ring for the Surefire 6p, 9p, G2, M2 etc....ie, would a Solarforce lanyard ring fit?

[csshih]

very cool and informative review!! I don't know how you do it -- the way you wrote that is awesome!

[TechnoBill]

Also, re: "German Shepherd Dogs", nice to see someone get it right. I had to say goodbye to mine a year ago. Please post a "beamshot" with your GSDs in view.

Niteowl:

I will. Getting anything but "Fast & Furry-ous" photos of Octavian (6 months) is a challenge, but I'll manage something.

MrGman:
1)Had the pictures resized by the time of your post. Used imageshack 800x600 "resize function". I believe the maximum width or length of any/all are now within the 800 max limitation.

2)Regarding the "thumb switch"; For me an Off/Maximum switch there would make this a "Dog Walking Light w/ a Diabolical Split Personality." I would absolutely go bonkers over it. But "enthusiasts' lights" and "professional's lights" are like computers for enthusiasts and computers for businesses. The computer hotrodder can constantly be fiddling with, tweaking, tuning, hand holding his water cooled, overclocked, dual CPU, Crashmaster. The network admin needs to be able to order another 40 system units identical to the 800 he deployed six months ago, have a staffer image the drives, and plop them down in two weeks for the six month contract workers. My solution? I carry a toy (SolarForce) and a tool (Surefire or Gladius). But I'm with you, a 'turbo' button would be just 'too' cool (as long as "they don't screw it up by listening to anyone else's wishes!" )

3)Beamshots? Dude, I switched to Wild Turkey Special Selection decades ago! Oh... 'pictures of the flashlight beam' 10-4. That will be a new endeavor with a fair amount of trial and error I dare say. Even at 10%, in a subdivision with a lot of ambient light, I was very surprised at how well the Masterpiece throws! Prior to this the only 'real' LEDs we've had are "His & Hers" original Gladii, HX2Typhoon displaced my Gladius, Fenix P3D for Her, Fenix P3D Q5 w/ three cell body for me. This is the first "bleeding edge" LED I've even seen first hand and the beam quality is very good! I didn't use an interior wall on a Doughnut Quest, epic or otherwise, so I can't attest to the absolute nature of the pattern thrown by the quad emitter, but in use outside I could detect no doughnut at all. What really surprised me though, was the extent to which the pattern resembled any of the "good" lights I have. From the Surefire C3 Centurion to the Surefire M6 Millenium (with both low and high Surefire brand incan bulbs) to the Gladius, I'm simply accustomed to seeing a nice, even, hot spot lacking artifacts of any kind, with a large consistent spill from the outer edge of the hot spot all the way to the bezel cutoff, regardless of terminal distance. If there are flaws in the pattern, they certainly are not discernible during use. But the more people like Craig, BVH, and everybody else that does micron level analysis of everything they possibly can, the more areas for improvement will be brought to the manufacturer's attention. This is a very good thing in the enthusiast arena. No way these manufacturers can afford the rigourous R&D programs Surefire constantly maintains. That is part of what you're paying for when you buy a Surefire. You're paying for the past R&D that makes a flawless beam seem run of the mill, and you're paying for current R&D that will obviate, in Surefire's products, problems down the road with newer technologies that other manufacturers will have to find out the hard way. I keep coming back to it, but I think it's a fundamental point often overlooked. The Marine in Afghanistan is trusting his life to his kit. Everything from water, to optics, to many different tools that deal with light, IR weapon lasers, NVG, 635nm light, white light handheld, white light long gun mounted, white light CSW mounted, and I know personally of an instance in which a friend used one of these tools in a creatively unconventional manner to help he and the rest of his team escape an ambush. Just the tactical weakness of their position made me want to puke, and I was just listening to his description, and making him draw diagrams, at my kitchen table. By contrast, he and his tank killer column weren't between a rock and a hard place, they were hemmed in in a narrow street at night that made most of their vehicle mounted weapons useless and the CSW my buddy operated made him Target Number One for a whole swarm of guys with direct lines of sight and grenade launchers that would turn his world brown and stinky real fast. A reliable tool in the hands of a tough, smart dude from a "preppie" high school managed to turn the tables. That is the tool user's Theater Of Operation where Surefire competes. Drat! There went the neurotic type-a-holic again. See what I mean Craig?

Quacker:
You would need to check the Surefire site. I don't have any of the flashlight models you listed, just supplies for my C3 Centurions.
Doh! From the Z33 Manual: "The Z33 Tail Cap Lanyard Kit supplies a Lanyard for use on 3P, 6P, 6R, or 9P Flashlights."

Craig:
Actually, and I am absolutely serious about this, it is a neurotic compulsion. Everybody's brain chemistry, psychological attributes and preferences (Mr. Spock vs. Mother Theresa, A Special Ed teacher vs. Physics Prof.) are biowired differently. Those differences lead to strengths in some areas, weaknesses in others. If Mr. Spock's life depended on educating Special Needs kids, he'd be as good as dead. We like to pretend that intelligence is worthwhile all by itself. Well, maybe to ourselves (in our vanity), but the semi wierded out Physics Prof would LOVE to have some of the skills of the Special Ed teacher when his wife has to leave for a weekend seminar and he's stuck at home FOR FORTY EIGHT LONG HOURS CARING FOR A TWO YEAR OLD!

I'm a geek without a job in my field. In fact between my age (48) and the length of time I've been out of I.T. (nearly 4 years) my career has essentially "timed out." My brain is linguistically organized. I've no outlet for, no full time distraction for, all my whirling little creative energies. I'd prefer to be designing, building, debugging, administrating a big network. That would keep my pea brain busy. But I can't. So I write to keep my head from exploding. And THAT is no attempt at humor, subtle or otherwise.

[TechnoBill]

And of course we need beamshots.

Doh! When we were little, my older sister always said to me "If you had a brain, you'd be dangerous."

No beamshots forthcoming from me anytime soon.
1)I have a grand total of TWO 18650 Li-Ions. The ones that came with the SolarForce Masterpiece.

2)I have no way to recharge them.

3)I am conserving the Li-Ions charge state, as they arrived from the distributor, by using mostly the 10% setting on Dog Walks pending resolution of the Charger/Adapter issue.

Until I took the photo of the back of the charger yesterday for the Test Drive, I'd been unaware of the 4.2V (DC) input and "For use with vehicles only." copy on the back of the charger. An adapter for a 100V-220V charger is on the way, I've sent an ebay-mail to ITC regarding my operative assumption that they did send an incorrect charger (a vehicle charger), but with it being the weekend, it will be some time before they can even look at the photo of the back of the charger and respond.

They've always responded quickly with a "Customer Service Priority", but some things are out of their control. For instance "weekends" and the fact that the photo I originally sent was a "top down, front, view" of the charger. They worked with the information I provided them. I did not gather all the information I could have. So for the time being I can see how an initial mistake on their part (they left something out of the shipment), led to them assuming they merely "left something out of the shipment", I accepted that assumption without gathering information that was available to me (an assumption and omission on my part), all of which may or may not have concealed from them the "fact" (yet to be determined) that they sent me a "vehicle only charger."

Having dealt with good and bad customer service both personally and professionally, I am very particular about clarifying details. Mistakes happen. It's how a business entity responds to mistakes that matter. In fact some of the best customer service I've received from hardware vendors and niche market software companies has followed a monumental screw up on their part. But in those cases, they blew me away with the nearly rabid degree of attentiveness they displayed in "going above and beyond the call of duty" to fix the situation. Honesty and Accountability go a long, long way in my book.

There are some threads here about other companies, very high dollar products, and business practices at the opposite end of the spectrum. Those types have run afoul of me in my professional career and discovered that once you botch the "Honesty" part, you're done.

So far I see Honesty and Accountability from ITC. More detail as it becomes available.

[recDNA]

A new toy and no way to charge it. I'd throw a bird.

[csshih]

oh, I forgot to mention. I'm not a Chris

hehe.. with all that time on your hands.. why not build your own li-ion charger?

before I discovered flashlights, I discovered the 18650 when I took apart laptop battery packs. I then started running 1 W leds direct drive off of them, and charged them with a 3.7V wall wart -- monitoring the voltage and stopping before 4V.
Dangerous? I guess... if I didn't take the batteries of.

Rewarding? well.. in my quest for searching for an actual 18650 charger..I stumbled on some forums.... well, actually, I had already found these forums, but wasn't as active. Now,well, you see how it is.

[TechnoBill]

oh, I forgot to mention. I'm not a Chris

Yeah, I know, I know. Neural short circuit. Everytime I write your name, I type "Chris", I go back and correct it, ad infinitum. I may just face up to my brain having a mind of its own and quit going back to correct it .

Dain Bramage. It ain't all like glamorous like they make it out to be in the movies!

[TechnoBill]

Good News!!!!

I just received e-mails from ITC. Despite the 4.2V Input label on the back of the charger, it is correct for USA Household 110VAC use! It just needs the converter plug which should be here very soon. ITC shipped it out immediately after I first contacted them. WhooHooo!!!!!!!!!

On last night's walk with the GSDs I used the 40% setting consistently. It ROCKED. I LOVE the Solarforce Masterpiece !

More detail to come...

[bullettproof]

It looks lke a Tiablo and M1X together.

[celler]

<snip>On last night's walk with the GSDs I used the 40% setting consistently.<snip>

Forget the light, I want pictures of the GSDs.

[berry580]

Sorry Technobill, I have problems following your observations.

Do you have any overall 'conclusions'?

[TechnoBill]

Sorry Technobill, I have problems following your observations.

Do you have any overall 'conclusions'?

Sorry about that Berry, my mind wanders (like a child lost at the Mall). I'll provide some concise "summary material" up in my second "reserved" post. Will be a slight delay on that. Six month old GSD just dug epic hole in back yard, had to carry straight to bath tub for shower, incredible mess.

Summary & Conclusions Added

[ubetit]

I also ordered a Masterpiece (before Jake said he had a few) from ITC. I didn't even look at my charger because I have a hobby charger and custom cradle with balancing cables. I'll check to see if my charger has the adapter.

[MrGman]

so when are we going to see some actual beam shot type photos???????

[TechnoBill]

so when are we going to see some actual beam shot type photos???????

Awaiting HK to USA airmail. Adapter shipped out last Thursday. Today's Tuesday. Expecting w/in next couple of days.

[ubetit]

My charger is the SF-18 and has the normal USA blade type plug.

[TechnoBill]

My charger is the SF-18 and has the normal USA blade type plug.

So the "i" (see photo in post #1 above) following MODEL: SF-18 is conspicuously absent on the back of your charger compared to my MODEL: SF-18 i eh? Can you post a photo of the back of your charger?

I guess I'll see soon enough.

[ubetit]

[TechnoBill]

Thanks ubetit. It's looking like there may be a problem with "attention to detail" on the part of ITC's customer service people. Time will tell.

[recDNA]

I really admire the patience most here show with manufacturers. I've always wanted to try a Solarforce 950 because I've read great things about it. I'm intrigued by the 1000 too...but I must admit that I will never purchase a light that is liable to come through without the proper charger or any other essential part. I'm not at all suggesting that YOU shouldn't nor that similar problems will recur. I have no reason to believe that they will.

I've also come to realize from reading other threads that pre-ordering lights is not for me either. Delays and disappointments just ruin the fun for me. I'll leave the cutting edge products and prepaid bargains for those of you with the maturity to wait and the faith to expect your patience will be rewarded.

I'm sure to miss some great flashlights and terrific bargains but I'm just not the trusting type.

Kudos to the patient among us. Wish it were part of my personality.

[TechnoBill]

Well recDNA, Since one of my e-mails to ITC included the photo of the charger sent to me shown below, and that e-mail was returned to me with my photo included along with the assertion "For your case, the charger is 100% useable in Household in USA. Its correct." the arrival of the "adapter" will leave no doubt as to responsibilities and accountabilities regarding the chain of communication and miscommunication.

But at present, seeing the unmistakable differences between ubetit's charger label and mine, my optimism is not surging.

But I don't jump to conclusions, although it does require patience. But if it turns out that as much attention to detail was not given my communique's, particularly the unmistakable photograph, as I exerted in attempting to work through this, a different sort of patience will come into play. Or perhaps "persistence" is a better word, as in the persistence of a pit bull.

As I noted earlier, everyone makes mistakes. How one responds to those mistakes is what counts to this customer. "Tenacity" is another word that comes to mind, rather like a crocodile that has all the time in the world to drown its victim. Oh well, time to gather my wife, dogs, Teddy Bear, and regroup in the bedroom for peaceful thoughts and serene sleep .

This is the charger photo ITC assured me was in need of only an adapter to work with 110VAC US wall outlet.


Yes, we're just warm cuddly puppies, unless provoked. Rather like our dearly departed boy in the photo below. 80% Black Lab, 20% Silverback Lowland Gorilla. We do unto others, as they have done unto us. Nite, nite, sleep tight.

[recDNA]

Well recDNA, Since one of my e-mails to ITC included the photo of the charger sent to me shown below, and that e-mail was returned to me with my photo included along with the assertion "For your case, the charger is 100% useable in Household in USA. Its correct." the arrival of the "adapter" will leave no doubt as to responsibilities and accountabilities regarding the chain of communication and miscommunication.

But at present, seeing the unmistakable differences between ubetit's charger label and mine, my optimism is not surging.

But I don't jump to conclusions, although it does require patience. But if it turns out that as much attention to detail was not given my communique's, particularly the unmistakable photograph, as I exerted in attempting to work through this, a different sort of patience will come into play. Or perhaps "persistence" is a better word, as in the persistence of a pit bull.

As I noted earlier, everyone makes mistakes. How one responds to those mistakes is what counts to this customer. "Tenacity" is another word that comes to mind, rather like a crocodile that has all the time in the world to drown its victim. Oh well, time to gather my wife, dogs, Teddy Bear, and regroup in the bedroom for peaceful thoughts and serene sleep .

This is the charger photo ITC assured me was in need of only an adapter to work with 110VAC US wall outlet.


Yes, we're just warm cuddly puppies, unless provoked. Rather like our dearly departed boy in the photo below. 80% Black Lab, 20% Silverback Lowland Gorilla. We do unto others, as they have done unto us. Nite, nite, sleep tight.

I had a beloved black lab as a boy. I could never have another. Let him run with me in the sun after running around when I was playing baseball. Poor dog had some sort of fit resulting in brain damage that made him vicious to everyone BUT me including my family. It was I he should have attacked. Just made it harder for me when the dog had to be put down ( he really became dangerous) Stupid kid. Anyway keep your lab out of the sun.

[TechnoBill]

I had a beloved black lab as a boy. I could never have another. Let him run with me in the sun after running around when I was playing baseball. Poor dog had some sort of fit resulting in brain damage that made him vicious to everyone BUT me including my family. It was I he should have attacked. Just made it harder for me when the dog had to be put down ( he really became dangerous) Stupid kid. Anyway keep your lab out of the sun.

Oh.... you have my sincerest condolences. Drat, this is wrecking me.....

That is Obsidian. He's not in any pain now. I would unhesitatingly give ten healthy, happy years of my life to have him back, and healthy, for ten more years. He rescued me. We are very careful with our Pack Mates, their nutrition, exercise conditions, and medical care.

recDNA; You were just a kid. YOU COULD NOT HAVE KNOWN!

I would have Private Message'd this to you recDNA, but such is not available in your profile.
To everyone else: Appreciate your tolerance of this Off Topic digression.

[celler]

Octavian is quite a looker. You are so lucky to have such a great dog. Thanks for the pics.

Craig.

[aonic]

After reading your experience here, I decided to order from itc_shop last night. Received an email today saying to expect the delivery in 10-20 days, pretty big range.

Hopefully its much faster than that and closer to your delivery times, lets see if I get the correct charger.