A note on P.T. Apex

[Sarratt]

My experience only ..... but with two Apex (s)

Be very careful with the hinge. The hinge that allows you to tilt up and down.

The brackets are a very brittle plastic and may and will crack.

Everything has a weak point and this is the Apex's.

The company has been very good .... but still.

Just advice

 

[LA OZ]

Thanks for the warning.

 

[hopkins]

Ok then we need ideas on a modification to make the PT Apex hinge stronger.
If it breaks while you're out in the sticks it would be a good thing
to have some super-glue.(not likely!) But why not prevent the breakage and modify the hinge now... ?? Any simple ideas out there?

 

[Yucca Patrol]

Instead of spending our time and money working on this, I think the best thing to do is call PT out on their warranty when their crap breaks. They offer a good warranty which makes up for the fact that they lie about their product's specifications.

Waterproof to 1 meter for 30 minutes my a$$. I wore my snorkeling for 30 minutes last summer. Most of the time it was above water and never once went more than 6 inches under and the battery box was full of water and the headlamp fogged with condensation.

Still works after baking it in a low temperature oven for a day, but I will send it back to them once I do a little more to kill it. . .

But I must say that the Apex is finally very good now that I have modified mine with the Seoul P4 emitters.

 

[hopkins]

Always figured that rain is distilled water so should not cause a
short circuit ( unlike sea water) .
The Apex needs 2 hinge connection points on the bezel rather than
just the one and to beef up the rear open cage area on the heatsink
so it'll survive all the terrible twisting , stomping and crushing we users do to
our gear.

 

[greenLED]

I'm sad to share that's the same weak point on the Eos. I *just* had to send one of my Eos for warranty repair (replacement, really, since there's really no way to fix that) after the hinge broke.

The good news:
- It's happened only in one of my 3 (or was it 4?) Eos.
- PT warranty will cover that

 

[hopkins]

Do you think it could be industrial sabotage by competing headlamp
makers ?
Seriously though, a hinge is so simple and straightforward that someone had
to work hard to screw up the PT design. Someone not as smart as a 5th
grader ?..?

 

[Mark620]

I thought it was designed by a 3rd grader...




jk

 

[greenLED]

I'm sad to share that's the same weak point on the Eos. I *just* had to send one of my Eos for warranty repair (replacement, really, since there's really no way to fix that) after the hinge broke.

The good news:
- It's happened only in one of my 3 (or was it 4?) Eos.
- PT warranty will cover that

Before we go further down that path... I must say the crack in the hinge on the Eos happened after along time of EDC abuse, mounted on my bike helmet.

None of my other Eos (including the one I use nightly to read to with my son) have broken.

 

[uk_caver]

Always figured that rain is distilled water so should not cause a
short circuit ( unlike sea water).

From hearing reports from various cavers, freshwater seems to have no problems killing Apexes if it gets inside, even though freshwater isn't generally terribly conductive.
Presumably there's something in the circuitry that's sensitive to even high-impedance leakage currents?

 

[hopkins]

interesting data point from UK Caver. Did a bit of research and pure distilled water can pick up conductive atoms as it drips onto your sweaty hair/hat and then into the PT Apex or any headlamp to possibly short it out.

The Apex has that superior quality look and tricks us into misjudging that it can withstand any and all abuse.
Here is a $10 Rayovac 2AA HL bought years ago. I put a Niteize 10mm PR
LED in it; anyway look at that tough hinge PT. Really folks, thats a good hinge.

 

[petersmith6]

i had problems with my battery box leaking,my simple fix was to remove the naff o ring and fill the bottom grove with silicon sealent(the stuff you use in bathroom or kitchens. once its gone of you have a much better seal.

 

[hopkins]

well duh!!! I should have thunked of that. Silicone sealant is'nt just for windows
anymore.
guess you used a solvent to prepare the surfaces before...

 

[Mark620]

I have found that most of the apex battery boxes leak where the cable enters. It is a compression fitting. Unscrew the fitting, pull the cable out then put the ferrule back on the cable. The top will have to be unscrewed from the battery holder to reassemble it correctly.

 

[Tachion]

I found another weak spot on the PT Apex. You've already mentioned it but not for the same reason... I dropped my Apex the day after I got it and it cracked the battery box! :mecry: The drop was only from about hip height (0,84 meters in my case) onto a pretty soft plastic floor. It really looks sturdy enough to handle that kind of drop but it didn't.

 

[hopkins]

Cracked battery case from hip height!:mecry::mecry::mecry:
I'm beginning to wonder about the plastic thats actually used
in the Apex is not up to spec that is called for in the design.
A substitution for cheaper types maybe by somebody
wanting to maximize $$$.

Can anyone compare the original Apex's plastic to later ones?
Feel more brittle, thinner, less dense, etc ?
Curious
-hopkins

 

[petersmith6]

after 8 months of use my apex in now sat in the bin. i like the optic..the 4 led's were a good idea...but the the low seting was far too bright. the body cracked and leaked,hinge gave up the ghost and washeld on with epoxy and dispite many mods..the battry compartment leaked.

APEX nice idea...BUT BACK TOO SKOOL AND DO IT PROPLEY!!!!


oh..and can i have it so i can plug an external power pack in as well .say 4 D cell for run time

 

[Mark620]

oh..and can i have it so i can plug an external power pack in as well .say 4 D cell for run time

I'm using this battery pack and this type of connector.

 

[hopkins]

good job Mark620. that is 'the' connector for easy hookup in the dark.

Petersmith6 - sorry to also hear about your Apex many failures.
Have you cut off the old hinge completely then epoxy on a new hinge?

The way they build bridges with steel rods covered with concrete gave me the idea to place wire into and around the broken hinge and coat it with
epoxy to hold it all together. Ugly but seems stronger than new.

 

[petersmith6]

looks like in back in the bin for my apex..poor little thing.just a little more time spent on R&D and this would be fantastic.nurse...scalpal...pliers....epoxy