Peak Eiger QTC Nichia 219 w/ Momentary -- checking Pupil Reflexes

Hi, first post here but I've read so much from the forum I've felt like a member for years. I'm an EMT and am very interested in the Peak Eiger QTC Nichia 219 w/ a momentary and was wondering if you guys might be able to advise whether it would be a good fit for my needs. Checking pupillary reflexes would be at least 90% of my usage, with the other 10% being tissue examination or lighting up rooms/paths during night shifts. Is there a way the momentary can be adjusted to stop at a a certain brightness, so I could set full depression to only permit a max of 4 lumens or so and just use the twist head for higher? If not, does the momentary travel much before ramping up to high lumens (too high for pupils ~6+ lumens)? I was thinking perhaps I could jerry-rig a solution by inserting a rubber washer or something on the post of the momentary so it can only travel a limited amount and stop at 4 lumens if the travel is 1 mm or significant enough before getting to 10+ lumens, but if the momentary has hardly any travel before significantly ramping up that might not be a reliable solution... I basically want to be able to use the momentary w/ consistent results of low lumens for pupillary reflexes so I don't accidentally depress it too far and injure patients while making rapid assessments. The Peak Eiger looks really sweet w/ QTC and the Nichia 219 sounds perfect for medical purposes, but it's a big purchase after adding a clip and momentary and I'm hoping it will work well for what I need it for.

If you have any experience w/ the momentary--even if you don't have the Nichia 219--I'd appreciate your input very much. Thanks!

My wife is an RN in an emergency room and she uses her Peak Eiger QTC (Nichia 219 with momentary) for precisely this purpose regularly. Looking for "consistent results" is perhaps not entirely reasonable given how QTC works, but you can keep the momentary from getting too bright too quickly by having the head screwed in to a lesser degree. I'm not sure that's even necessary, though: after nearly a year of constant use, my wife has reported no problems as she finds it easy to press only "far enough" so she doesn't blind the patients. I don't know what "lumen level" she usually works at, but she hasn't had any complaints. (She uses eneloops, which may help keep the brightness under control too.)

EDIT: The momentary is less about "travel" distance than it is force applied. It doesn't travel much at all (because the material doesn't seem to compress all that much), but it can take significant force to get it really bright. So, in my wife's experience, it's pretty easy to control, at least in terms of getting "in the ballpark" without getting too bright.

shudaizi said:

The momentary is less about "travel" distance than it is force applied. It doesn't travel much at all (because the material doesn't seem to compress all that much), but it can take significant force to get it really bright.

Click to expand...

Exactly. And although the "pill" in which the QTC material is enclosed is significantly larger, the QTC material itself (which is all that is compressed) measures only about 1mm in thickness. Using the lower voltage Eneloops will certainly keep the maximum light output down. And specifying the medium rather than the narrow optic, as well as avoiding the Ultra head, will limit the maximum candlepower. Experimenting with different batteries may be all that is needed for this use of the light since a given compression/output level might be dialed in by moving between 1.2v Eneloops, 1.5v standard alkalines, and 1.7v Energizer Lithiums (though rated at 1.5v, they always seem to come out a bit higher). Note also that you might wake the dead by using 4.2v Lithium Ion's on the pupils!

Thanks--that helps a lot! It's great to hear someone is using the exact Eiger combo I'm looking at for the same purposes and that it works well. I don't have any experience w/ QTC or momentary switches, so your explanations gave me a better understanding of them and it sounds like all things are a go for getting the light. I guess I'll have to wait for Oveready to get the momentary in stock, because it looks like they're the only seller with the Nichia 219 option, unless I find a used one selling somewhere.... Thanks for the helpful info!

EMSguy, I just purchased this light for the same purpose - I purchased a Nichia 219 head from Oveready, and the 2xAAA stainless body w/ momentary switch from RMSK. When I first used it, I found that I'm able to apply a light pressure fairly consistently with the momentary switch to allow low light for pupillary reflexes, and to really mash down to ramp up the brightness for a mouth exam.

Then, I added a clip from a Preon 2 to the top, and it cut down the brightness quite a bit. I'm going to try and adjust the momentary switch because I like having the increased brightness available, but if you don't want that, adding a clip might be a good way of capping your output while still adding some functionality.