McGizmo Haiku - An Ideal EDC - An Essay

[pjandyho]

He's ignoring my smilies in that thread. I don't think he wants to build more, but as I've said before, Patience is a virtue and Money talks. He'll crack.

I'm finally starting to get some wear on my Haiku and Mule where they rub together on my pocket. But you have to be looking for it. Man, I love Ti. It's so resilient, it just always looks good. It is a great EDC material. Very tough and NO coating to wear off.

In your opinion, would you try and bring back the shine or would you rather leave it as it is, kind of like character marks and patina? I am not sure what I will do.

[nbp]

Personally I like the character marks. I don't intend to polish it or anything. I think the scuffs and scratches say hey, this is not a light that sits on a shelf, this thing is loved and used and serves its purpose well.

[run4jc]

Personally I like the character marks. I don't intend to polish it or anything. I think the scuffs and scratches say hey, this is not a light that sits on a shelf, this thing is loved and used and serves its purpose well.

I love the character marks, too, but I love MORE how easy it is to bring the light back to its shiny glory - even better! Some 0000 steel wool and some Wenol metal polish and it shines better than new. Don't get me wrong - to each her or his own - but I just love to see 'em shine!

With all credits to js - this was borrowed from his OUTSTANDING review of the LS20, which nbp already mentioned in the OP, and which you can find here. The excerpt below is a testament to how 'renewable' Don's ti lights are!

"Here's a great example: one Ti-PD, along with its owner, was involved in a motor cycle accident, and suffered a great deal of abrasion and scarring. The important thing is that the owner wasn't seriously injured in the accident, but of interest to us here, is what happened to his Ti-PD:



Nasty, ugly damage there! But, after some love and attention with sandpaper, files, and metal polish, look at the result:



Not bad, eh? Pretty damned good, in fact. Try that with a hard anodized aluminum light! This is what I mean by durable. If you want to, you can keep a titanium light looking beautiful and feeling great for a lifetime." Borrowed with apologies from js' review, "The LunaSol 20: the new benchmark for EDC Lights" - originally posted 1-11-2009. Review can be found in its entirety HERE.

Now NO WAY do I want to subject my lights to this kind of misfortune! But isn't it good to know that, should the worst happen, the lights can be restored. You can also find a cool photo essay on Don's restoration of a Haiku that went through a house fire!

McGizmos - gotta love 'em.

[pjandyho]

I think both of you are right. Much as I don't care about the exterior surfaces of my lights, it is also good to know that I could always restore the finish as much as I can.

[dheim]

damn, i really want a haiku! but 500$ for a 200 lumens flashlight is insane. not enough insane to keep me away from it forever, but it's still too much...

[Shooter21]

anyone wanna make a bet that i will stop carrying my other lights once i get my haiku?

[run4jc]

damn, i really want a haiku! but 500$ for a 200 lumens flashlight is insane. not enough insane to keep me away from it forever, but it's still too much...

Uh, oh. Lots of insanity on this forum...and I'm in terrible shape! I own FOUR Haikus!!

[fisk-king]

anyone wanna make a bet that i will stop carrying my other lights once i get my haiku?

If you have the bug I seriously doubt it.

[nbp]

anyone wanna make a bet that i will stop carrying my other lights once i get my haiku?

Stop completely? Probably not, as there are times when other lights do a certain job better than the Haiku. But I bet it will become your primary EDC light.

[carrot]

anyone wanna make a bet that i will stop carrying my other lights once i get my haiku?

Ever since my first, if I only carry one light, the McGizmo is the one. But I have been known to carry plenty others, for fun or as supplemental lights, since the one flashlight that does many things so well doesn't cover the extremes (total flood or total throw... that is, unless you have a Lunasol )

[pjandyho]

anyone wanna make a bet that i will stop carrying my other lights once i get my haiku?

I won't bother, you will most probably win the bet.

It is hard to put down a Haiku you know? Impossible. I tried but it hasn't left my side since I got it. Might be a little too early to tell for me, but I doubt I would ever leave it home when I go out.

[nbp]

It's growing on you, hey Andy?

That's the funny thing about Don's lights. On paper they don't seem especially amazing, but once you are using them you find they are strangely enchanting.

[Shooter21]

is it good to use nyogel on my mcgizmo?

[PoliceScannerMan]

is it good to use nyogel on my mcgizmo?

Sure, but the Don uses Krytox 50/50 from the Shoppe.

[carrot]

is it good to use nyogel on my mcgizmo?

I use Nyogel on my McGizmos and it works splendidly.

[pjandyho]

It's growing on you, hey Andy?

That's the funny thing about Don's lights. On paper they don't seem especially amazing, but once you are using them you find they are strangely enchanting.

Agreeeeed. Now I have 3 McGizmo. Can't wait for the 4th, probably Makai XM-L.

[cw_mi]

I love my Gizmo's ! Here are a couple of Haiku's shown along with a Delghi/McGizmo lego , Delghi Ti Iris, Saltytri EDC XM-L , Saltytri two tone XM-L and a couple of Ti trit pendants from fellow CPF member Ryan. The Haiku's ,Delghi lego and Saltytri EDC are on my regular EDC rotation. They look and function too nicely to sit in the safe.

[Launch Mini]

I've been at the cabin a couple nights now. Really liking my Haiku up here in the dark.

On low it is great in the cabin. In med and hi it totally lights up the driveway or beach or yard, so te dogs and I feel safe (from lurking critters).
At 3am when one of the dogs wanted out I started with my sapphire. That little sucker is bright when there at no other lights nor stars or moon out.

[stoli67]

Well I swapped the LEDs in my haiku and my mule..... I thought it would be hard...

It could not have been easier.... Took one minute!

A tribute to the elegant design of Don's lights!

I now have a high CRI haiku and a warm XPG mule!

Now I just need it to get dark.

[nbp]

Agreeeeed. Now I have 3 McGizmo. Can't wait for the 4th, probably Makai XM-L.

Say wha??? What did you buy now?! I told you you'd want more, didn't I?!

I love my Gizmo's ! Here are a couple of Haiku's shown along with a Delghi/McGizmo lego , Delghi Ti Iris, Saltytri EDC XM-L , Saltytri two tone XM-L and a couple of Ti trit pendants from fellow CPF member Ryan. The Haiku's ,Delghi lego and Saltytri EDC are on my regular EDC rotation. They look and function too nicely to sit in the safe.

Those are some seriously gorgeous lights man!! I've seen some nice sweet blades in your pics too, and your handle on Atwood's blog. You've got an outstanding pile of EDC gear.

I keep seeing these Delghi lights, and they are really lovely looking. I am afraid to investigate though as I really can't afford to get attached to another custom builder.

[pjandyho]

Say wha??? What did you buy now?! I told you you'd want more, didn't I?!

Remember I commented that I should have ordered a High CRI Haiku instead of the XM-L? Don was kind enough to let me exchange the XM-L head to a high CRI one. I then paid Don to ship the high CRI head over first. After playing with them, I decided I wanted both so I ordered another McClicky Pak for the head. So now I have a high CRI Mule and Haiku, and an XM-L Haiku. It's so cool.

And Don have such great service it is nice doing business with him.

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

Let us review: First I saw a post that mentioned PWM. That would have quelled the deal for me.
THEN I saw a post reffering to the price of these.... Not a freaking chance!

Pretty stuff!

[cw_mi]

Those are some seriously gorgeous lights man!! I've seen some nice sweet blades in your pics too, and your handle on Atwood's blog. You've got an outstanding pile of EDC gear.

I keep seeing these Delghi lights, and they are really lovely looking. I am afraid to investigate though as I really can't afford to get attached to another custom builder.

Thanks ! Although I do like Atwoods work I am not on his blog. Might be someone else. The Delghi is a very underrated light, once you've seen ,held , used one you would see. The only drawback is the lack of a clip , which for a serious EDC I have to have. I do collect the Delghi's but generally don't carry them much. Unfortunately the only place to get one is on the secondary market since he no longer makes them , well there might be a few special ones being made but I think those are all spoken for.

[nbp]

PJS- you've been here as long as Don has, I'm surprised you haven't checked out his stuff earlier.

[pjandyho]

PJS- you've been here as long as Don has, I'm surprised you haven't checked out his stuff earlier.

I will have to admit and say that I am one of them too.

Let's just say that I saw the price and that freaked me out alright. Need I know more? I guess I will only start looking when I know I can afford.

That said, I have no idea why I was tempted to try one out right now even though I don't feel very rich. Why did you have to start this thread and get me tempted? LOL!

[pjandyho]

Let us review: First I saw a post that mentioned PWM. That would have quelled the deal for me.
THEN I saw a post reffering to the price of these.... Not a freaking chance!

Pretty stuff!

Let me clarify a little since I am the one who brought up the PWM issue. Even though PWM is present on all McGizmo lights that uses the 3S driver, I realized that it is only noticeable on the XM-L Haiku. PWM is not visibly obvious at all on both my high CRI Haiku and Mule unless I really observe carefully. I believe it is due to how sensitive our eyes behave on different color spectrum.

[Shooter21]

does Delghi have a website where i can see his lights?

[JWRitchie76]

Let us review: First I saw a post that mentioned PWM. That would have quelled the deal for me.
THEN I saw a post reffering to the price of these.... Not a freaking chance!

Pretty stuff!

PWM if done correctly has it's positives and Don does it up right. Quite possibly the most reliable and toughest lights made with a simple elegance, the "pretty" part is just icing on the cake. Expensive? Yes but for someone that takes this flashlight stuff seriously, absolutely worth every penny! To each their own though!

(Rant On) Alternatively and with regards to the quoted comment has anyone noticed lately that when ever a McGizmo user/fan talks about our lights in a McGizmo thread we always seem to get slightly condescending comments from people that have never even held one of the lights? OK we get it, they are expensive and not for everybody. I only own 1. I'm not a collector and I'm not even remotely wealthy. I "saved" my money to buy what I got. It took me almost a full year of research and reading to make the purchase. Maybe people that elect to buy expensive lights should go into threads concerning cheaper lights and make condescending comments about why anyone would spend hard earned money on inferior products when you could spend a little more and buy something with an excellent reputation. To each their own! It's as simple as that. (Rant Off)

[Shooter21]

where should my haiku go in my collection lineup?

[Zeruel]

A class of its own.