New Mini MKIII's for 2021

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I am hoping the options (mine have not shipped yet) are not involving another long wait. Honestly, I have been patient through all of this, but now I am getting rather frustrated. It's beginning to seem like this isn't meant to be.

Perhaps if a customer contacted Prometheus Lights and requested their light/s be shipped As Is the wait time would be lessened. Conversely, requesting the issue be rectified before shipping one's light/s will necessitate additional wait time. Probably, a long wait. They're dealing with a lot of lights. 😟

 

[defloyd77]

Perhaps if a customer contacted Prometheus Lights and requested their light/s be shipped As Is the wait time would be lessened. Conversely, requesting the issue be rectified before shipping one's light/s will necessitiate additional wait time. Probably, a long wait. They're dealing with 4,000 lights. 😟

Yeah, the wise thing would be to send an email with the current specs and see who wants the lights as they are currently, get the easy ones out of the way.

I'm sure there's going to be some people that are just going to tap out at this point, so that too will free up some time. Still though, I get the feeling it might be a year after the email announcement of these lights before things are fixed and in proper working order, Hope I'm wrong. I just hope this time they test the next fix before diving in head first getting the rest of the lights together.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Yeah, the wise thing would be to send an email with the current specs and see who wants the lights as they are currently, get the easy ones out of the way.

I'm sure there's going to be some people that are just going to tap out at this point, so that too will free up some time. Still though, I get the feeling it might be a year after the email announcement of these lights before things are fixed and in proper working order, Hope I'm wrong. I just hope this time they test the next fix before diving in head first getting the rest of the lights together.

That's probably going to be discussed in the next correspondence from Jason @ Prometheus Lights, but not before he has an idea of what and how long the fix will require.

We're dealing with a first-rate professional. Jason wants more than anything to make his customers happy. Of that, I have no doubt. .... Of course, I'm a Foursevens FanBoy, so my opinion is somewhat biased.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

This arrived today -

I'm the second owner, and pleased with its ability to illuminate.

 

[nbp]

Second owner already?! Glad you got one in hand Chance! Do you have more of the new Minis in route? Mine has been in my pocket the last couple nights for prowling around the house and so far I like it. Tint is a little warmer than my Quark but still pleasant. As a flood fan, the one change I would make is to just use a nicely stippled reflector rather than the optic. No one buys a tiny light like this for throw, and if you do, get the Turbo. Haha. The circular beam is fine, but I would be over the moon for one just like this that is a very smooth mostly flood beam.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Second owner already?! Glad you got one in hand Chance! Do you have more of the new Minis in route? Mine has been in my pocket the last couple nights for prowling around the house and so far I like it. Tint is a little warmer than my Quark but still pleasant. As a flood fan, the one change I would make is to just use a nicely stippled reflector rather than the optic. No one buys a tiny light like this for throw, and if you do, get the Turbo. Haha. The circular beam is fine, but I would be over the moon for one just like this that is a very smooth mostly flood beam.

Do I have more new Minis in route? Dude! That's like asking Santa if he's busy on Christmas Eve. Thanks much. I'm happy to have it. I pulled the trigger on the four pack, but not knowing when they would ship, I purchased one for in the hand. Figured I'd attach it to my keyring and then its twin would become a shelf queen. Regardless of future options to fix the first-run lights, I'm going to leave this one as is.

A few hours after closing the deal, I read about the low output issue. That gave me more reason to why I felt led to purchase a second. One in the hand is better than four in the bush. I've been patiently waiting but sooner or later a FourSevens FanBoy needs some gratification.

You make an interesting point on having the regular be a MiniMule. Smooth and floody would be nice. Perhaps it would've increased the cost too much. I don't know. Just guessing.

 

[defloyd77]

Second owner already?! Glad you got one in hand Chance! Do you have more of the new Minis in route? Mine has been in my pocket the last couple nights for prowling around the house and so far I like it. Tint is a little warmer than my Quark but still pleasant. As a flood fan, the one change I would make is to just use a nicely stippled reflector rather than the optic. No one buys a tiny light like this for throw, and if you do, get the Turbo. Haha. The circular beam is fine, but I would be over the moon for one just like this that is a very smooth mostly flood beam.

I'll be honest, I never understood the mentality of "it's a small light, therefore it must be floody". Small lights are already limited on output, why further limit their usefulness by making them overly floody? Besides that, the Mini isn't even a "thrower" anyway. Personally, I find it's optic to be quite perfect for it's intended use and while an uber floody or even mule version would be nice, I wouldn't sacrifice the optic version for it to exist.

 

[Msf]

Anybody heard fromJason or a rep yet regarding the latest issue? I don't follow Facebook or instagram so might have missed it. Thanks.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Anybody heard fromJason or a rep yet regarding the latest issue? I don't follow Facebook or instagram so might have missed it. Thanks.

I havent' received any communication, nor have I seen any postings on SM from Jason and/or company.

If given the option to accept my lights As Is, I'll probably execute it. I purchased a new Mini on the second hand market and find the output levels acceptable.

 

[Msf]

Lol. Picked up one myself and it arrived today. Like the output levels for indoor use, but hoping they end up at original spec for low, which would be perfect for my nightly walks. I can live with it as is, even with the ones I have on order (long time Jason fan, so willing to let it go as things beyond his control), but the low on the ones currently in the wild is a bit lower than my ideal.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Lol. Picked up one myself and it arrived today. Like the output levels for indoor use, but hoping they end up at original spec for low, which would be perfect for my nightly walks. I can live with it as is, even with the ones I have on order (long time Jason fan, so willing to let it go as things beyond his control), but the low on the ones currently in the wild is a bit lower than my ideal.

You know the deal. Pictures, or it didn't happen.

 

[Msf]

Picture it is.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Picture it is.
View attachment 27468

What's your initial thinking on the new knurling?

 

[Msf]

I admit I was dubious, as it didn't look very grippy. In use, it seems to work very well. No problems with my fingers slipping, which is pretty impressive on the titanium model. I expect the aluminum model, with its smoother threads, will be a pleasure to use.

 

[Msf]

Some runtime and use data for those of you with the 2021 minis shipped out with lower output than specs.
Runtime test on High
Light: Mini Titanium 2021
Battery used: Vapcell 850mah, fully charged, a different Vapcell 850mah battery for each test. Each battery had somewhere between 8-15 previous uses and recharges.
Number of runs: 3
High runtime test #1: 3 hours, 18 minutes until light began to noticeably dim
High runtime test #2: 3 hours, 28 minutes until light began to noticeably dim
High runtime test #1: 3 hours, 22 minutes until light began to noticeably dim
As only a single sample of the light was used for the tests, this data does not account for possible variance between lights.
What I surmise from the data is that with a fully charged Vapcell 850mah, I can use High for significantly longer (roughly 3 hours vice the published 60 minutes) than the light is spec's for.
The other thing I noticed during the tests was that the light never became more than slightly warm to my touch. It never got hot. It was laying on a rubber mat on a table in a 70 degree room for the duration of the tests. The fact that the light never got hot indicates two things. One which is the output is lower than spec's, which has already been acknowledged, and Jason and company are looking into. The other is that the high (as is) is unlikely to overheat during extended use of high term use or become uncomfortable to hold.
I have to admit that I am very much enjoying the unintended benefits that came from the reduced outputs. I intend to keep this one as is. I look forward to when Jason finds a remedy and ships the other mini (and a mini turbo) that I still have on order so that I can compare them.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Hey Gang,
Looks like this ride isn't quite over yet. As always, we are doing our level best. I've never written "thanks for your patience and understanding" so many times, but I genuinely appreciate it. I agree this is getting ridiculous, but we are in it together and the only way is forward.
This might get a little long so here is the TL;DR :
We started reworking lights and shipping them the Monday you received the "now shipping" email (in fact we got 1/2 of pre-orders shipped in 3 days). Then I discovered another issue on Wednesday night, immediately halted rework/shipping, emailed all customers with shipped orders, and started talking with the vendor about the new issue. The Minis are only producing 50-60% of the intended output on all drive levels. I've spent the last few weeks trying to figure out the next step. The good news is, the replacement parts we received for the Mini Turbolights are actually fine, despite my initial assessment. We are resuming rework and shipping for Mini Turbo lights on Monday, May 16th. Those of you who ordered Minis (or both lights) have some options below. PLEASE READ THE OPTIONS SECTION AND NOTE THAT NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON OUR PART UNTIL WE RECEIVE THE APPROPRIATE EMAIL DIRECTIVE FROM YOU. DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM.
The long version: Just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water...
The problem with the Minis: As described above we were stoked to receive the replacement parts, tested the "mode change timing too short" issue and verified it was corrected, started the rework, and shipped roughly 1/2 of the pre-order. Then a customer emailed about the brightness settings on the Mini. What I did not do was go back and retest every aspect of the light...I only tested the problem that needed correction and it was corrected. It turns out (for a yet unknown reason) that the Mini (not the Turbo) is only producing 50-60% power on all levels. I don't know if this change was accidental or intentional.

The low output issue does not affect Mini Turbos: After discovering the low output 3 weeks ago, I then tested the mA drive current on the Turbos and "thought" we had a similar problem. Drive current was a little low...but not as low as the Minis. I did not test the lumens. However, I've been gone for 3 weeks and yesterday I (fortunately) decided to double check the Mini Turbo lumen output. In the first stroke of good fortune on this project, the Mini Turbo lights using the replacement pills are hitting the correct output requirements. As per above, we are resuming rework and shipping for Mini Turbos immediately.
My thought about the Minis: As I mentioned, I was traveling for the last 3 weeks and carried a low output Mini the entire time. The current output settings are .8/15/150/550 lumens. To be perfectly honest (for me) I prefer the lower output over the intended 1.5/45/350/900 lumens. The distrustful among you are going to say I'm "just saying that" in a thinly veiled attempt to promote a bug as a feature. I'm not telling you what to think, I'm just telling you what I think. When the rest of the Minis come back from the factory, I won't be using a new one, I'll be sticking with this lower output version. I'm also going to get a lot more run time

We had about 600 Minis on hand and 450 of those are for the pre-order, so we have about 150 extra lights. Right now the plan is to keep the extra lights, re-spec them at the lower output, and sell them on the site. When the balance of lights are reworked at the factory, they should come back to us meeting the original specifications. It takes weeks to get custom labels printed, so any pre-order lights will be shipped with the original labels.
Here is what I'm thinking for options going forward:

1. Everyone who pre-ordered receives a one-time-use 25% discount code for any product that is eligible for a discount, no matter which option you choose below.
2. Accept a Mini as-is: if you either prefer (or don't care about) the lower output you can keep it if you already received it, or we can ship it if we haven't yet. Please email us at [email protected] with the subject line (Ship my Mini). NOTE: we will NOT ship your order until we get an email from you. (We don't want to ship the light if you don't want it.)
3. Return for refund: If you already have a Mini and you don't want to keep it, you may return it for a refund. Please email us [email protected] with the subject line (Return my Mini) and we'll provide return instructions.
4. Cancel your pre-order: If we haven't shipped, we can cancel and refund the order. You will still get the discount code. Please email us [email protected] with the subject line (Refund my Mini). If you ordered both lights we'll still ship your Turbo unless you explicitly tell us not to.
5. Wait for a corrected Mini: We'll continue to hold off shipping and send a full powered Mini when they get back. Please email us [email protected] with the subject line (Hold my Mini). If you ordered both lights we'll still ship your Turbo unless you explicitly tell us not to.

Thanks,
Jason & the Prometheus Team

 

[badtziscool]

I went ahead and said "Ship my mini". Kind of makes more sense to have lower max output for the mini and keep the higher max output for the turbos.

 

[defloyd77]

It doesn't really say what people who already have their Minis should do if they want one that performs as advertised.

 

[SNES]

It doesn't really say what people who already have their Minis should do if they want one that performs as advertised.

I asked this question yesterday and the response was "yes, you can send in your mini for repair when we have the part"

 

[badtziscool]

It doesn't really say what people who already have their Minis should do if they want one that performs as advertised.

Probably best to contact them and get clarification. I'd imagine they would ask you to send back the light and they will put you on the list of people who requested to wait for the corrected version.

Edit: nevermind. I just saw SNES's reply.