pEEf
Newly Enlightened
Arc 4+ Premium #1137
Arrived WAY faster than I ever expected! Thanks Peter!
I am very happy with my 4+, but the honeymoon wasn't perfect:
First off I noticed some dirt under my lens. The reflector also has some slight aberrations which are inconsistent with the quality of the rest of the light. It's sad to say but the quality of the reflector seems on a par with my dorcy 4-LED. I was shocked when I was able to easily remove the lens retaining ring with my thumb with very little pressure! I doubt it would have been waterproof. I had to build my own "tool" to tighten the ring, after I successfully cleaned the speck of dirt out from under the lens and tried (in vain) to carefully Q-tip the reflector aberration. The part of my light I am most dissatisfied with is this reflector blemish, but I live with it because I would hate to be without this fantastic instrument while it was in for a warranty claim! At least now I know my lens is tight!
My second "beef" was that my switch didn't "click" and was WAY too sensitive, even with the rubber ring placed after the aluminum button. A careful and slight pry of the legs on the gold battery contact (over the switch in the head) corrected the tactile feel AND the sensitivity. I found I didn't like the rubber ring in, but was worried about accidental pocket activation, so I enabled Tactical Mode #1. After a week of living with my 4+ here are the settings I found to make it work for me:
I set the "Primary" brightness to a nice mid-level brightness for every day use, I then set "Secondary" to full power. I selected "Force Primary" in the menu, so the light now always comes on in what I now call "normal" mode. Since I have Tactical #1 on, it's a double click to latch on. Then I can double-click again OR hold for Full brightness when I need it, or triple click for "dim" mode when I need it. I just love this, and I have no fear of accidental battery drain in my pocket. If I hand the light to a "friend" to borrow, they always give it back quickly after use because they get sick of holding the button on all the time! ;-) (I don't tell them how to latch it)
I also turned off the "Ready for Service" option, because I like to change batteries often, installing a fresh one when I know I'll be out doing something away from home for an extended time, and when I get around the house, I re-install the "used" batteries. This way I know I always have a "full tank" when I'm out. I had to turn off the RFS because I got tired of resetting my non-stored settings each time I switched batteries, plus I didn't like the thought of my "fresh" battery being "tested" each time. Kinda anal I know, but it makes me think of those resistor-type battery "testers" that used to come with the name-brand alkalines. They drain some ridiculous amount of current, like 700ma. If you tested you batteries too much, they'd be dead!
Now I am an engineer, and I'm picky and anal about things, especially after sinking this much cash into this tool. It is the most expensive tool I carry, and also the one I now use the most. I am really happy with the engineering, I doubt I could have done a better job myself. I am however not very enamored with the quality control over at Arc. If I was buying a "second" I would have no complaints about having to perform a little DIY adjustments, and live with a blem'd reflector. I definitely think something like the switch not working correctly should have been noticed by someone! I also would think that Peter could craft a little metal tool to ship with the 4+ to use on the lens retainer ring, along with a couple of "spare" lenses. That would be a nice touch!
After a few days, I noticed my button was rattling. An inspection revealed the aluminum button was rattling against the spring holder. I tried to re-install the rubber ring, but it made the button unacceptably stiff, so I took it out and re-installed it BEHIND the aluminum button. This fixed the problem, and I was happy for about a day, then the rubber ring somehow worked itself half around the button, and made it hard to press again. I removed the ring and instead cut myself a little tiny round piece of 1/8" thick open-cell foam to cover the head of the aluminum button. This solved the problem and has been working fine ever since. I now have perfect button sensitivity, and an excellent tactile "click"! Nothing rattles at all, and the button is stiff enough (even without the ring) that a pocket press is going to be unlikely.
The first week I kept my 4+ without the clip installed, because I loved the "sleek" look without it. But I soon realized it was just too useful to not have. It also prevents the light from "rolling away" on an unlevel surface. The only thing I have noticed, is that I find myself "biting" the light when I need hands-free operation, and this is probably not good for my teeth. I am going to try to add a rubber "sheath" over the battery insert, as that seems to be where I bite. This will make it easier to hold, and easier on my teeth even though my dentist would be appalled! =)
When I know I am going "hands-free", I use my "Nite-Ize" headband. I bought this for my Inova, and I love it! Works great with my 4+ now too!
I was also VERY impressed with the finish of the 4+ and the hardness. After a few days I decided it would be a good idea to engrave my name into the head, I used a Dremel electric engraver to little avail on the 4+! It is very hard, and the engraver was barely able to mark it. This is an amazing difference compared to when I engraved my Inova! You can now see my name right over the factory engraving, albeit very lightly. Knowing this, I would gladly have sank an additional $20-40 for a "custom" engraving if Arc offered such an option.
Overall, I think this is the finest flashlight in production on the planet! I dread ever loosing it!
-Phil
Arrived WAY faster than I ever expected! Thanks Peter!
I am very happy with my 4+, but the honeymoon wasn't perfect:
First off I noticed some dirt under my lens. The reflector also has some slight aberrations which are inconsistent with the quality of the rest of the light. It's sad to say but the quality of the reflector seems on a par with my dorcy 4-LED. I was shocked when I was able to easily remove the lens retaining ring with my thumb with very little pressure! I doubt it would have been waterproof. I had to build my own "tool" to tighten the ring, after I successfully cleaned the speck of dirt out from under the lens and tried (in vain) to carefully Q-tip the reflector aberration. The part of my light I am most dissatisfied with is this reflector blemish, but I live with it because I would hate to be without this fantastic instrument while it was in for a warranty claim! At least now I know my lens is tight!
My second "beef" was that my switch didn't "click" and was WAY too sensitive, even with the rubber ring placed after the aluminum button. A careful and slight pry of the legs on the gold battery contact (over the switch in the head) corrected the tactile feel AND the sensitivity. I found I didn't like the rubber ring in, but was worried about accidental pocket activation, so I enabled Tactical Mode #1. After a week of living with my 4+ here are the settings I found to make it work for me:
I set the "Primary" brightness to a nice mid-level brightness for every day use, I then set "Secondary" to full power. I selected "Force Primary" in the menu, so the light now always comes on in what I now call "normal" mode. Since I have Tactical #1 on, it's a double click to latch on. Then I can double-click again OR hold for Full brightness when I need it, or triple click for "dim" mode when I need it. I just love this, and I have no fear of accidental battery drain in my pocket. If I hand the light to a "friend" to borrow, they always give it back quickly after use because they get sick of holding the button on all the time! ;-) (I don't tell them how to latch it)
I also turned off the "Ready for Service" option, because I like to change batteries often, installing a fresh one when I know I'll be out doing something away from home for an extended time, and when I get around the house, I re-install the "used" batteries. This way I know I always have a "full tank" when I'm out. I had to turn off the RFS because I got tired of resetting my non-stored settings each time I switched batteries, plus I didn't like the thought of my "fresh" battery being "tested" each time. Kinda anal I know, but it makes me think of those resistor-type battery "testers" that used to come with the name-brand alkalines. They drain some ridiculous amount of current, like 700ma. If you tested you batteries too much, they'd be dead!
Now I am an engineer, and I'm picky and anal about things, especially after sinking this much cash into this tool. It is the most expensive tool I carry, and also the one I now use the most. I am really happy with the engineering, I doubt I could have done a better job myself. I am however not very enamored with the quality control over at Arc. If I was buying a "second" I would have no complaints about having to perform a little DIY adjustments, and live with a blem'd reflector. I definitely think something like the switch not working correctly should have been noticed by someone! I also would think that Peter could craft a little metal tool to ship with the 4+ to use on the lens retainer ring, along with a couple of "spare" lenses. That would be a nice touch!
After a few days, I noticed my button was rattling. An inspection revealed the aluminum button was rattling against the spring holder. I tried to re-install the rubber ring, but it made the button unacceptably stiff, so I took it out and re-installed it BEHIND the aluminum button. This fixed the problem, and I was happy for about a day, then the rubber ring somehow worked itself half around the button, and made it hard to press again. I removed the ring and instead cut myself a little tiny round piece of 1/8" thick open-cell foam to cover the head of the aluminum button. This solved the problem and has been working fine ever since. I now have perfect button sensitivity, and an excellent tactile "click"! Nothing rattles at all, and the button is stiff enough (even without the ring) that a pocket press is going to be unlikely.
The first week I kept my 4+ without the clip installed, because I loved the "sleek" look without it. But I soon realized it was just too useful to not have. It also prevents the light from "rolling away" on an unlevel surface. The only thing I have noticed, is that I find myself "biting" the light when I need hands-free operation, and this is probably not good for my teeth. I am going to try to add a rubber "sheath" over the battery insert, as that seems to be where I bite. This will make it easier to hold, and easier on my teeth even though my dentist would be appalled! =)
When I know I am going "hands-free", I use my "Nite-Ize" headband. I bought this for my Inova, and I love it! Works great with my 4+ now too!
I was also VERY impressed with the finish of the 4+ and the hardness. After a few days I decided it would be a good idea to engrave my name into the head, I used a Dremel electric engraver to little avail on the 4+! It is very hard, and the engraver was barely able to mark it. This is an amazing difference compared to when I engraved my Inova! You can now see my name right over the factory engraving, albeit very lightly. Knowing this, I would gladly have sank an additional $20-40 for a "custom" engraving if Arc offered such an option.
Overall, I think this is the finest flashlight in production on the planet! I dread ever loosing it!
-Phil
