Toolboxkid
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2014
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- 209
No, my switch does not light up. From my understanding, only the wizard v1.5 pros light up, none of the tiara series.
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Anyone buy the Armytek Tiara A1 or C1 yet?
- Thread starter Beacon of Light
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No, my switch does not light up. From my understanding, only the wizard v1.5 pros light up, none of the tiara series.
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MojaveMoon07
Enlightened
Re: I made some runtime graphs for Max using different NiMH cells
The hotspot is 70degrees, and we have RedForest UK's lumen measurements for a Sanyo eneloop.
What I am wondering is what the apparent brightness will be. I have a Fenix E12, and its focused hotspot at medium mode of around 50 lumens is too bright for reading something about two feet away.
I'm hoping that because of the 70degree hotspot angle that this Tiara on Main 2 will not be too bright for reading or examing something about two feet away. In other words, though RedForest UK made a measurement of 55 lumens for main 2, I'm hoping that because of the wide beam angle that the brightness will seem softer than 55 lumens by the time it lands a few feet away.
I had hoped that the Zebralight H52 series would serve my requirements, but a H52f bought from Zebralight and a H52w bought from another retailer both had unmistakeable horrible green tints. I'm ready to give up on Zebralight.
The hotspot is 70degrees, and we have RedForest UK's lumen measurements for a Sanyo eneloop.
What I am wondering is what the apparent brightness will be. I have a Fenix E12, and its focused hotspot at medium mode of around 50 lumens is too bright for reading something about two feet away.
I'm hoping that because of the 70degree hotspot angle that this Tiara on Main 2 will not be too bright for reading or examing something about two feet away. In other words, though RedForest UK made a measurement of 55 lumens for main 2, I'm hoping that because of the wide beam angle that the brightness will seem softer than 55 lumens by the time it lands a few feet away.
I had hoped that the Zebralight H52 series would serve my requirements, but a H52f bought from Zebralight and a H52w bought from another retailer both had unmistakeable horrible green tints. I'm ready to give up on Zebralight.
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Got my new Tiara A1 v.2 warm, regular version (NON pro).
For those curious about the button colors, it is white, not yellow like in the web page pictures.
Just FWIW, if I had this to do over again I would wait until a reputable dealer in the USA (where I live) had the light in stock rather than ordering from the Armytek web page directly. For one, their site says free shipping over $50, but that is no longer true, it is now actually free shipping over $95 (but the web page is not updated yet, at least as of right now) and that free shipping is like 2-4 weeks from china so there is that. So I paid $10 shipping to get the light. Now, the light is defective, (my luck...) so I am having to ship it to Armytek Canada which cost me $20+, so now I am up to $30 total in shipping. (I think they are going to cover shipping of the replacement back to me, I hope...)
The upside is I really liked that light for the 5-10 minutes that it worked, LOL. The tint was great, the UI is good, pretty fast to get used to and I think I will like it better than my Zebralight (I know to each their own). One thing I really like about the UI is, since it has memory, if you turn the light off in a firefly mode, there is no chance of blasting yourself with 500+ lumens (ZL owners will know what I am talking about) when you first turn the light on, unless you hold the button down and cycle through, or turn it on and then do a quick double click to get max. So for me, it will be nice to use, since I use the firefly/moonlight modes a lot on my lights.
Hopefully everyone else has good luck with their new v.2 lights.
For those curious about the button colors, it is white, not yellow like in the web page pictures.
Just FWIW, if I had this to do over again I would wait until a reputable dealer in the USA (where I live) had the light in stock rather than ordering from the Armytek web page directly. For one, their site says free shipping over $50, but that is no longer true, it is now actually free shipping over $95 (but the web page is not updated yet, at least as of right now) and that free shipping is like 2-4 weeks from china so there is that. So I paid $10 shipping to get the light. Now, the light is defective, (my luck...) so I am having to ship it to Armytek Canada which cost me $20+, so now I am up to $30 total in shipping. (I think they are going to cover shipping of the replacement back to me, I hope...)
The upside is I really liked that light for the 5-10 minutes that it worked, LOL. The tint was great, the UI is good, pretty fast to get used to and I think I will like it better than my Zebralight (I know to each their own). One thing I really like about the UI is, since it has memory, if you turn the light off in a firefly mode, there is no chance of blasting yourself with 500+ lumens (ZL owners will know what I am talking about) when you first turn the light on, unless you hold the button down and cycle through, or turn it on and then do a quick double click to get max. So for me, it will be nice to use, since I use the firefly/moonlight modes a lot on my lights.
Hopefully everyone else has good luck with their new v.2 lights.
AFearlessBirdOfParadise
Newly Enlightened
Got my new Tiara A1 V.1 warm, regular version (Non pro) today.
Charging up the 14500 right now, first impression is the silicone holder is on SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tight.
So tight that I yanked it hard enough to rip it... so whoops... I mean I intend to see how it is EDC wise with the clip anyway but still
Do the Zebralight GITD holders work on this? I don't know if the body diameter is the same.
Charging up the 14500 right now, first impression is the silicone holder is on SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tight.
So tight that I yanked it hard enough to rip it... so whoops... I mean I intend to see how it is EDC wise with the clip anyway but still
Do the Zebralight GITD holders work on this? I don't know if the body diameter is the same.
Got my new Tiara A1 V.1 warm, regular version (Non pro) today.
Charging up the 14500 right now, first impression is the silicone holder is on SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tight.
So tight that I yanked it hard enough to rip it... so whoops... I mean I intend to see how it is EDC wise with the clip anyway but still
Do the Zebralight GITD holders work on this? I don't know if the body diameter is the same.
LOL, I laugh because I did the same thing, ripped the strap loop on the holder. The strap loops are quite a bit weaker than the loops for the actual light, so live and learn, but to anyone else I would be real careful trying to remove it, whatever you do don't pull on the strap loop- only use the actual loops that are around the light to pull on. You will know what I am talking about when you see it. I was not even intentionally pulling on that part but my grip slipped and my finger snagged the strap loop on the way. It would have been humorous at the time, had I not been wondering how much that was going to cost.
The body size is small (1xaa) and the tailcap looks like it is probably the same for all of them up to 18650, so it is quite large in diameter. If you are planing on putting this in and out of the headlight strap often, you might look for a different setup, as the factory one is not ideal for this. Hopefully they will improve on this. Anyone that has issues with this should send them some feedback, maybe they will pay attention.
The other slight annoyance was having to thread the head strap around in the different buckles, not a huge deal, but I have never purchased a headlight before where I had to do this, and I have had a few.
I do not know if the ZL mount will work but I ordered one, and will find out when I get it and my replacement light. Hopefully it will not be too long.
AFearlessBirdOfParadise
Newly Enlightened
LOL, I laugh because I did the same thing, ripped the strap loop on the holder. The strap loops are quite a bit weaker than the loops for the actual light, so live and learn, but to anyone else I would be real careful trying to remove it, whatever you do don't pull on the strap loop- only use the actual loops that are around the light to pull on. You will know what I am talking about when you see it. I was not even intentionally pulling on that part but my grip slipped and my finger snagged the strap loop on the way. It would have been humorous at the time, had I not been wondering how much that was going to cost.
The body size is small (1xaa) and the tailcap looks like it is probably the same for all of them up to 18650, so it is quite large in diameter. If you are planing on putting this in and out of the headlight strap often, you might look for a different setup, as the factory one is not ideal for this. Hopefully they will improve on this. Anyone that has issues with this should send them some feedback, maybe they will pay attention.
The other slight annoyance was having to thread the head strap around in the different buckles, not a huge deal, but I have never purchased a headlight before where I had to do this, and I have had a few.
I do not know if the ZL mount will work but I ordered one, and will find out when I get it and my replacement light. Hopefully it will not be too long.
Well the thing is the anodizing gives it a feel of a nails on a chalkboard so when I was going for the loops I was like cringing at the feel it had against my fingernails. It was just weirdly unpleasant.
Ultimately I removed the cap but even then it was crazy tight and I was like... am I going to rip/slice the orings on the screw threads? I didn't, although it did try to take the outermost oring with it. $3 replacement via the Armytek website isn't horrible, but the shipping is. I sent them an email after I read a couple of replies in this thread, so maybe they'll give me a second shot for free.
Very preliminary observations, doesn't like one of my duraloops, I'm gonna see if it just doesn't like half charged NIMHs, cause I freaked out and thought it broke on me like yours did.
Popped in another NIMH that worked in the first place and it worked.
Popped in the 14500 and it is acting weird... Hold down to go thru modes from off and I get MASSIVE preflash, and then off, MASSIVE preflash then off, then it cycles the modes properly. It's very bright on max with the 14500 though.
Also if you like lights to look pristine then my god don't use the clip. There's like three contact points between the clip and the flashlight, and the round part that attaches to the body is tight and will leave marks when you put it on and take it off.
I broke my strap loop too. I thought the holder would be more flexible when pulling it. Fortunately, I got replacement for free from my dealer. But even when I try to be careful the holders tries to take the orings with it.
The clip has left its mark on the body already. Have you noticed the anodizing makes some weird smoky smell when the clip slaps around the body? Or maybe I just have a cancer in my brain.
nightowlgear
Newly Enlightened
Press Fit
dansciurus
Newly Enlightened
Thank you sir.
nightowlgear
Newly Enlightened
They can, however removing the head doesn't really allow access to the light/module inside. The button and bezel are press fit and removing the module seems to be something not easily done.
dansciurus
Newly Enlightened
Cool. Main reason to open was to add glow in the dark to the emitter board.
AFearlessBirdOfParadise
Newly Enlightened
Oh that's where the smell is coming from? I thought I was killing the driver with my li-on, or I had a short somewhere, but still working and overall I'm more positive than negative. Having back and forth email with Armytek CS right now, will see how that goes, maybe I should have gone thru the dealer first.
Toolboxkid
Enlightened
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2014
- Messages
- 209
Yes I smelled that as well. The first time I pulled the clip off and took a good bit of ano with it, smelled like it was on fire. At least I wasn't the only one. Thought these were supposed to have top notch anodizing? Doesn't seem like it.
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AFearlessBirdOfParadise
Newly Enlightened
So anyone following my whole, I just got a Tiara A1 and the silicone holder was crazy tight and I ripped it almost immediately after I got it situation, after a couple of emails, and a picture request of said broken holder Armytek said they are going to send me a new one after CNY, so props to them and their CS.
They do seem to have nice customer service. I ripped my Wizard Pro holder a little bit, and they offered to replace mine as well. I eventually decided though that mine would hold up well enough anyway, so I didn't take them up on their offer (it's only a small crack in mine and I don't plan on taking it out of the holder ever again).
As it seems so many have broken their holder and contaced Armytek, I hope they will come up with a holder that the light is easier to get out of. In the meantime, I could go consult my brother and ask if we have some material for a DIY solution.
I have transferred my armytek wizard pro out of the holder various times without even a slight sign of damage. My tiara however is far too snug and difficult to remove, that I could see why people have broken theirs. I also find it way to stiff so it is hard to rotate up and down to change the angle, but my wizard pro moves very easily, which is a good thing.
I got a Tiara C1 Pro warm for myself for Christmas and have been using it since whenever I need a right angle light. The lamp itself is neat. Compact and useful. I'll get right to the observations:
Overall I like the headlamp and have found it quite useful. It's good for a $50-$70 light and seems to have comparable feature sets to lights double the price. However, it pales in comparison to the rock solid Ra lights*. Different beasts though, I wish Henry would make a right angle light.
Would I recommend the Tiara C1? Yes.
Could you do better? Yes, but you could also do much worse.
Other lights I'd consider:
* I keep comparing these because they're my go-to lights and have been since I got the first one. The main flaw with the Ra Lights is that LED technology has improved immensely since I got mine and they just won't die. And yes, I still call them Ra.
- Really like the low power modes, they last for days or longer on a charge and are quite nice without blinding you. Firefly 1 and 2 are even useful as a night light.
- High power modes - not so much. Sucks the 16340 dry and overheats on the two highest settings. Perhaps 15 minute runtime. As a comparison, a HDS Ra 170T on full brightness doesn't think twice about this test and barely gets warm to the touch. For the feature list and to keep us happy, they had to add the top two brightness settings, but they're almost useless other than for very short periods.
- The flood and diffused beam is nice for walking around in the dark.
- The clip... well, no nice way to put this: it sucks. flimsy and doesn't hold the light very well. Technically, it does the job, but feels like a cut corner and something added as a line item for the "package contents" list and afterthought.
- headband/silicone mount: Before purchasing, I heard about a lot of people ripping the mount. Yes, it's tight, but with a bit of care, it has not ripped and doesn't feel like it will. That said, I rarely, if ever, use the head mount.
- I've used the stock clip and a wide (2") ranger band to attach the light to a Tactical Tailor attachment kit "fob" with the MALICE clip removed. I've placed the female clips low on my backpack straps. This works well for walking around, keeps the light from bobbing and is easy to unclip/move to a different bag when needed. ( http://www.tacticaltailor.com/removableoperatorpackattachmentkit.aspx )
- UI is interesting. I generally operate the light in two ways:
- press and hold to bring the brightness up to a useful level for the situation.
- press and release to turn it on to the previous setting.
- very rarely use any of the strobe features - so infrequently that I had to RTFM again.
- Thermal protection mode is rather annoying. Good that it has it - bad that it NEEDS it.
- Did I mention that this light gets very hot to the touch on the two highest output modes?
- The magnet in the base is a nice touch. I find it useful when using the light "hands free"
- I do wish there was a way to mount a color filter/gel to it. Red or Blue would be nice. I've tried making a "plug" with Instamorph plastic but based on the bezel design, it falls out easily.
- It does seem to be water tight and hasn't leaked yet. So far, I'd still consider it water resistant
Overall I like the headlamp and have found it quite useful. It's good for a $50-$70 light and seems to have comparable feature sets to lights double the price. However, it pales in comparison to the rock solid Ra lights*. Different beasts though, I wish Henry would make a right angle light.
Would I recommend the Tiara C1? Yes.
Could you do better? Yes, but you could also do much worse
.Other lights I'd consider:
- Zebralight (my first choice but couldn't find one in stock at any vendors in the US)
- Maratac right angle- But I'm intrenched in 16340/ 123 as a form factor. The AAA seems TINY, but would require keeping them around.
* I keep comparing these because they're my go-to lights and have been since I got the first one. The main flaw with the Ra Lights is that LED technology has improved immensely since I got mine and they just won't die. And yes, I still call them Ra.
Agreed, it needs to be a much more durable material, that will stretch a lot without breaking, also the sharp corners on the strap loops seem to be an easy place for a tear/break to start, so round all those corners...
They really should have downsized the battery tube end for the AA version, the way it is, the end is pretty large (compared to body) to try and get the loops over. But I am guessing they will redesign the holder before the light. I might actually prefer a holder setup like the Fenix HL50 or something at least with the current shape of light. Would be more apt to mark up the light body, but at least you would be able to remove/replace it more easily.
I got a Zebralight holder to try that seems pretty tuff for how thin it is, but now I do not have the Tiara to try it on, it will probably be a few more weeks before I get a replacement light.
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