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Any way to mod a Sapphire 25?

mcdj

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Jan 24, 2012
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I took delivery earlier this week of a lovely Sapphire 25. It's a work of art.

While I'm sure it's terrific for use in dark rural settings and suburban glove compartments and basements, here in NYC, with all the transient ambient light, I'm finding the Sapphire to be too dim to be of any real use anywhere outside of my apartment. It's great for finding my way in the dead of night without waking up the wife, but literally, that's all I've been able to use it for. I took it on my walk home from work the other night and pointed it at some trash cans a few feet away. I could barely tell it was even on.

It's an extravagant light to begin with, but even more so if it has only one use. I appreciate the low level, but I can't justify a one use light at this price.

I also bought a Peak Eiger AAA in steel this week, and it's a serious torch. It's actually too bright for navigating the apartment at night, but it's fantastic out on the streets of Manhattan.

Ideally, I'd like a brighter Sapphire, and I'd sell the Peak. Is there a mod or drop in or some other way to get more juice out it?

The Peak is borderline too bright. The Sapphire is too dim. Barring a tweak for the Sapphire, I'd like to find a happy medium, in AAA size, in steel or titanium, with a nice grippy head like these lights have, and similar bulletproof construction.
 
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archimedes

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Yes, there are several options you might want to consider ....

The Sapphire can be modded, I think that DaFAB has done so (and there are certainly others who may also provide a similar service).

As for the Peak, if you get a QTC model (or "mod" your own), the variable output will allow you to dial up whatever amount of light is useful at the time.

Other options might include trying to find an LF2XT, but those are quite costly and of rather limited availability. I also think that Photon Fanatic had a very limited run of Ti AAA torches with a higher output driver.

There are a number of threads discussing small AAA lights in detail, which discuss quite a few additional production lights of this category - IlluminaTi, UniVex, ITP, Maratac, etc, etc.
 
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mcdj

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Jan 24, 2012
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Thanks for the reply. The Sapphire is truly enigmatic. The more I use it, the more I want to use it, and simultaneously, the less useful I find it. I will contact DaFab...thank you.

Someone talked me out of the QTP Peak. Said it was too flaky and not smooth. Sounded plausible, so I ordered the plain one. Is the difference just a QTP pad stuck inside?
 

mcdj

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Well now, this is quite interesting. surely I'm not the first to discover that a Peak Eiger head fits and functions PERFECTLY on a Sapphire 25...?

Looks quite nice too.

peakgizmo.jpg
 

fyrstormer

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The Eiger is based on the Matterhorn, which was the Peak version of the Arc AAA. The Arc AAA was the prototypical design for minimalist 1xAAA lights like the Matterhorn, Eiger, and Sapphire.

The Sapphire isn't very useful in a bright environment, but for navigating in *real* darkness, it is superb and it runs for a very long time. Take it to bed with you; that's where it really comes in handy.
 

mrbickelsworth

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Sep 26, 2011
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Well now, this is quite interesting. surely I'm not the first to discover that a Peak Eiger head fits and functions PERFECTLY on a Sapphire 25...?

Looks quite nice too.

peakgizmo.jpg

How do you like this setup?? Does the head look obviously mismatched? Is output significantly improved?

Thinking about doing myself, but don't have a Sapphire yet...
 

fyrstormer

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Interestingly, the Solarforce X3 is thread-compatible with the Sapphire, and the Arc AAA, and the Peak Eiger/Matterhorn. However, it would need a conductive spacer to contact the battery properly.
 

tangfj

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Oct 21, 2013
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Well now, this is quite interesting. surely I'm not the first to discover that a Peak Eiger head fits and functions PERFECTLY on a Sapphire 25...?

Looks quite nice too.

peakgizmo.jpg

I stumbled upon this older thread last week and decided to get an eiger to try it out. I got my eiger from overready aaa version hi cri. In short, lego sapphire gs with eiger aaa no longer works. At least not on the newer eigers/sapphires... The eiger head I got seems to have larger threads than the sapphire. On the other side, screwing in the sapphire head on to the eiger did nothing.
 

tangfj

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Oct 21, 2013
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I stumbled upon this older thread last week and decided to get an eiger to try it out. I got my eiger from overready aaa version hi cri. In short, lego sapphire gs with eiger aaa no longer works. At least not on the newer eigers/sapphires... The eiger head I got seems to have larger threads than the sapphire. On the other side, screwing in the sapphire head on to the eiger did nothing.

I stand corrected. I tried again and was able to get the eiger head (Small Optic Nichia 219 gen 2.1 QTC) on to the sapphire body. Looks decent. As you can see, the eiger head is obviously longer than the sapphire so it sticks out a bit and you can see the o-ring. Also, I'm not able to dial in the low setting as nicely as when the eiger head is on the stock body but it works!

Picture of eiger head on sapphire body:

zesudutu.jpg


Visible o-ring:

evy9u7az.jpg


I cannot, however, get the sapphire to work on the eiger body. It looks like the sapphire head is a bit too short to make contact.

Picture of sapphire head on eiger body screwed in all the way (doesn't work for me):

qumaquna.jpg



(sorry for the crap cell phone pics)

Sent from my iPhone. using Tapatalk
 
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KenMonster

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Oct 22, 2013
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This is extremely relevant to my interests. I'm having pretty much the exact same problem with my sapphire. It's gorgeous, I love the shape and aesthetics, I love the size and availability of batteries, but it's just not punching like I need it to.
What model/year Eiger is e OP referring to? I like that the head sits down in the body without exposing the o-ring as the follow up posts show. This would also save me from selling off my sapphire in order to afford a haiku AA.
 

RedLED

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Oct 5, 2006
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The Eiger is based on the Matterhorn, which was the Peak version of the Arc AAA. The Arc AAA was the prototypical design for minimalist 1xAAA lights like the Matterhorn, Eiger, and Sapphire.

The Sapphire isn't very useful in a bright environment, but for navigating in *real* darkness, it is superb and it runs for a very long time. Take it to bed with you; that's where it really comes in handy.
My wife would differ when I take lights to bed. I can elaborate if you like?
 

Gadgetman7

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Nov 5, 2001
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Georgia
I just received a Mako II. The second output is about 20 lumens and is bright enough for most things. I'd love a Sapphire with about 25 lumens or better a two stage twisty like the Mako II.
 

murrydan

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Jan 9, 2014
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Louisiana
The low output is the one thing that keeps me from pulling the trigger on a Sapphire.
 
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