Peak Matterhorn - did I miss out anything from this light?

[victor01]

The Matterhorn seems to be a mysterious light for the lack of any "recent" online reviews, and for it's notorious official flash site. I've been a fan of aaa based light, owning a Fenix E0, E01 and Liteflux LF2 Cree, to which I am impressed by its beam pattern. I have been looking into Peak Matterhorn, as I've frequently learned on CPF that the Peak is a well made USA light with super neat finish and pure white "snow" led. So overall, how would you rate the current version of Matterhorn, given the run time and regulation against the offerings from Fenixs and Litefluxs. Does it produce pure white satisfying artifact free beam?

 

[parnass]

I don't think the Matterhorn has changed in the past few years. You can read an "old" review at Flashlightreviews.com.

 

[Fallingwater]

Dan reviewed the Matterhorn as well.
The fact that people almost never mention it around here is reason enough for me to think it hasn't been updated in a long while, and that it may or may not be available for sale anywhere.
The idea of the underdriven 3-LED head was nice though, it'd be nice if someone could mod one with Nichia GS.

Edit: hmm, it seems to be still on sale on the Peak website. Interesting. I'm wondering if the head is hard to crack open...

Edit2: seems to be potted. So much for that idea.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I have an ancient brass 3-LED Matterhorn, pre-snow, flat head (before Inova made them redesign) that was nice at that time. Its runtime wasn't that good, however, and brass was too heavy for loose pocket carry. Tint was better than others in that time of blueish Nichias. I'm sure the newer ones are better all around, but I still like the old head style.

Geoff

 

[Fallingwater]

Inova? What do they have to do with Peak?

 

[gorn]

I have had a brass 3 LED Matterhorn in my pocket for years. It blows my ARC's away. I have one that has been carried for those years and one with newer LEDs. The newer one is much brighter. As for the brass being to heavy to carry, well I guess some people feel that it is, I don't. I also got a brass 10180 body for it. So now one is the size of my ORB WEE but at a fraction of the cost.

I don't think you can go wrong with the Peak. They make a great light.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Inova? What do they have to do with Peak?

My understanding is that the original Peak head design with the LED's set into individual holes prompted Inova to at least threaten a lawsuit, since this is very much like the X5. I'm sure someone here has more details to add.

Geoff

 

[carrot]

Apparently Peak lights are too practical to be exciting.

 

[TMedina]

Peak products line lack the bells and whistles of the Fenix, but they are solid, durable and well-respected performers.

A couple of fans trumpeted praises of their Peaks in a "I need to replace my Arc AAA" thread in the LED subforum.

-Trevor

 

[saabgoblin]

Since I don't own any of the other lights that you listed I can't give any comparisons but I must say that the Snow Leds are quite beautiful especially in the 3 Led configuration. Doug's Flashlightreviews.com site is as far as I can tell is the review of the current model. I personally don't or haven't done runtimes on any of my lights but a coworker, a technician at a university, of mine who I bought the light for just replaced his first battery after about a year but I guess that it all depends on usage.

I definately recommend the 3 led configuration for the white leds in either high or ultra power and I think that the colored led options work great as singles IMHO. They also come in a variety on materials, aluminum, stainless steel, and possibly brass. There is a Peak section under the customs section that has some great information on Peaks products.

Have fun!

 

[Culhain]

The Peak Matterhorn is my keychain light of choice. Mine has taken two years of very hard use and works perfectly. Other folks have mentioned that it is noticably brighter than the Arc equivalent, but dimmer than the Fenix.

I also have a Matterhorn with one red LED and another with two red and one amber LEDs. The single red LED is perfect for reading a map under absolute dark conditions, but otherwise not much use. The one with two reds and one amber is, for me, a light without a purpose. The quality on all 3 is absolutely top notch, so choose wisely. I suggest the High Power with three snow white LEDs.

 

[paintballdad]

Peaks are great lights. I have a few Matterhorns in HA aluminum and i like them a lot. I replaced the E01 on my keychain with a 3 led HA lug body Matterhorn. As far as performance goes, you really won't be blown away by the Matterhorn but the build quality is where Peaks really shine. They are very well made and are available in different materials. The brass lights are my favorite but they are heavier than aluminum. If you want to try out a Matterhorn, the flashlightguy in the B/S/T thread has a few left at blowout prices.

http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=183822

 

[saabgoblin]

I also prefer the lug body as well because of it's size and there is a sticky in the Peak forum listing the numerous body configurations/battery types so you can truly customize your light, a nice touch.

 

[LED_Thrift]

The Matterhorn, like most Peak lights, is a single level light. It can be brighter or dimmer than the Fenix E0, Arc AAA or other similar single level AAA lights depending on how you order it. One reason their website is not that good is that there are a lot of choices [too many for a website?] that can be made with each model. Runtime, brightness, tint, body materials [hard-ano, brass, stainless, Ti], and battery configuration among others.

Call Peak at 877-881-7325 (toll-free). For every point their website looses, they get two for being great on the phone. Don't be put off by the choices, call them, talk to them and they will help you get the 'perfect' light for your needs.

 

[victor01]

After months of pondering, I finally put in an order :paypal: at Peak's site for a 1 led Matterhorn, high power, black anodized, keyring body (for a solid detachable tail ring in case I need to attach some kind of landyard or remove to allow tail stand), I chose a 1 led since various reviews pointed out that it gives more of a floody beam which I prefer, while the 3 led, despite being noticeably brighter, is a spot/thrower type. I'm having a feeling that this light could be appreciated more than just its raw power.

BTW, I've just found this one good review of the Matterhorn , and other lights for that matter.

 

[victor01]

Finally, the Matterhorn arrives, though being contained in nice packaging, lacks foam or any cardboard to secure the product, allowing the light to being freely tossed and scrape with the included pocket clip during shipment. The light has good durable finish and neat knurling, maybe even better compared to Fenix E0, E01 and Liteflux LF2 Cree, at least to my eyes. Then it's time to give the bezel a twist to really see what the Matterhorn has to offer. Surprisingly, what I see is beam with rings and artifacts :huh:. Well, I thought, at least the beam is wider and has good warm tint compared against the E0 and E01. Here's the beam pattern of my Matterhorn, notice the "artifacts" creating several rings, with the most distinct ring on the outer most.



Well, I think the Matterhorn is good for what it iis, a tiny neat USA made light. However, to be a competitive contenders, it really needs to catch up with recent lights from Asian Manufacturers.

 

[AFAustin]

victor01,

Congrats on your new Peak. I recently acquired a beautiful brass 1 LED Matty, and was likewise a bit surprised at the distinct rings, etc., in the beam. I lightly sanded the LED with the corner of a sanding block, and the beam is much improved. There are still rings, but they are less pronounced, and the hotspot is big and soft, but still plenty bright, esp. on an e2 lithium.

 

[paulr]

I have several Matterhorns in various configurations. I have an extensive review of one of the older 1-led models in the reviews section. They are 5mm lights without reflectors, so those artifacts are unavoidable short of sanding the led and losing a fair amount of output. I'm quite happy with the machining and finish on all of mine. Their main weakness, IMO, is the electrical circuit, which is less efficient than the one Arc or Fenix uses. The 3-led ultra power version in particular kills alkaline batteries quite fast--it starts out very bright but very soon is dimmer than an Arc AAA that's been running for hours. Between that and the lower efficiency of its older leds, I've more or less retired mine (but to be fair, I think I have the older snow-23 version).

I don't think Matterhorns (or Arcs) are aiming at the same users that buy Fenixes. They use a more traditional design, and they don't really care about lumen per dollar maximization. I like Peak's willingness to customize configuration (they have even known to accept specific leds from customers and build lights around them) and their lights simply feel more solid to me than Fenix lights. It's perhaps mostly a matter of styling, and while there are a lot of flashaholics who claim to only be in it for the photons, the fact is that this stuff matters.

 

[olrac]

I love my matterhorn:p

absolutely no rings perfectly white, will never never never part with itlovecpf

 

[MWClint]

I'm still using the old style matterhorns, but I do have the newer snow led in an UP shasta and 7 in a UP Mckinley.

they are very warm for 5mm leds.
single led, i can see the desire for some light sanding ..but the multiple led
beams are pretty clean.

i hate to part with my old matty, it's been on my keychain for a while now..but i really should grab a 3 led in brass before they become extinct.