bomb proof lights

[tucolino]

First: this is not intended to be any kind of review. it is just my humble opinion about a series of light that i consider, due to experience, to be reliable sources of light under the worst (not talking about any emergency situation here, just every day carry on normal working days) conditions.
Second: there are for sure better lights, with more advance electronics, and brighter than these ones. i also got lots of good lights. but, for me, I know that under any situation, I´ll click, or twist one of these and it will lit up. sometimes people tend to forget that´s the whole purpose of a flashlight!!
Third: remember that English is not my native language. so please don´t go rough on me about grammatical. Also sorry for bad picture quality
Well ,here we are. let me just introduce to you:

Fenix e01:
what can I say? little, thin, and cheap. It will put 10 lumen of purple light for almost 10 hours of runtime on a single aaa battery . yes, I said 10 hours!
I bought like 4 of them in all kinda colours for myself (don´t remember how many for relatives and friends),all still in perfect working conditions . this is a truly edc light.i carry one everyday at work, normally clipped on my polo´s front pocket ,and you know that when a situation required some light, the e01 will be there.
I saw this little one fall from 10 meters to concrete with only scratches on the anodize, been submerged on water, oil…
One of my 8 months son favourite toys. if a light can take that, it will survive almost anything!!!

Ra twisty:
Just been using it for the last couple of weeks, but like Henry's publicity says it is "the light that gets you home" , this one is consider to be the toughest !.
from the body to the electronics this light is designed to survive any kind of abuse you can think of!!
3 programmable brightness settings:0.3, 12, and 140 lumen with a twist of the head. it uses both cr123 primary or rechargeable batteries, with circuit protection for the last one (something really important to me).the body is constructed like a tank, and when you hold the twisty on your hand ,you can really feel it. Waterproof to 20 meters, like a dive light. also, the battery compartment is designed to protect whatever you put inside .
My most expensive light so far, but worth every euro I paid for . got the impression that long after I pass away, my son will be using it without any trouble for his working days.

Peak El capitan in stainless steel:
Dances with flashlight´s amazing review (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=252121) got my attention about peak´s flashlights, and especially the el capitan. so I did what a true flashaholic do: order one!! :twothumbs.
Just received mine last week. What a beauty of a light! so classic in design,and so elegant. it has the best grip from any knurling in any of my lights so far. the body is milled from steel stock, and boy if you can feel it! Red lots of posts about using flashlights for personal defence. Well, you can throw the capitan to whoever is disturbing you on the face and rest sure it will inflict total mayhem! (this is intended to be some short of joke,in Spanish is funnier :naughty.
Also this is my first light with collimating lens assembled on the front , that produces a characteristic beam, like nothing I got on my ever growing collection.
You can use both ni-mh or 14500 rechargeable batteries, which is a plus for me, especially if I want more throw at any moment.

Well, for sure longest post on cpf, but somehow it´s my little contribution to praise this electronic marvels that some day may save your life.

Thanks a lot for reading .hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

tony

 

[purelite]

Thanx Tony. Good pics. That Peak is beautiful!!!

The E01 is an ok cheap light but I dont know how you can carry that and leave those other 2 beauties at home!!:shrug:

 

[znmzdx]

Thanks for the pictures, i also like Fenix E01!:twothumbs

 

[beach honda]

+1 on the HDS Twisty

 

[Brasso]

I also have a stainless El Cap. It's a very solid light. I'll tell you something I discovered about it. I was worried about it accidentally coming on in my pocket because the tail button is easy to engage. The only way to keep that from happening was to loosen the head until the o-ring was exposed, which I didn't like either because it lost it's water proofing. If you unscrew the tail switch you will see the tiny brass piston that makes contact with the battery. This is only held in by tension with a spring. You can easily pull it out. It will go back in just as easy. When you remove this piston, the light will still work perfectly, but will shorten the throw on the button just enough to allow you to lock out the head while still keeping the o-ring engaged. Hope that useful to you.

 

[defloyd77]

Great thread and pictures tucolino!!! I'm a huge fan and proud owner of the E01 myself and I greatly admire Peak and Ra's lights.

The E01 is an ok cheap light but I dont know how you can carry that and leave those other 2 beauties at home!!:shrug:

I'd like to give my 2 pennies on this one, other than it's smaller size, it's what makes the E01 the oddball of this trio, El Capitan 70 bucks, Ra Twisty $139, E01 15 dollars. The fact alone that this cheap light deserves to be included in the same group as these higher priced lights says a LOT.

 

[J33psr0ck]

I carry an Ra 170 and a Peak El Cap HA everyday. I also carry my trusty old C2 on the weekends from time to time. Between HDS, Peak and Surefire, I can pretty much find a solution to any lighting need I have. All tough and reliable. :twothumbs

 

[Dances with Flashlight]

Tony - another thank you for this great thread and pictures. I notice you have a clip on your El Cap. Where did you get it, how is it working for you, and do you know of any source for similar brass clips?

 

[tucolino]

thank you for the replays.

purelite, i also carry other lights in some kind of edc rotation.but always an e01,like a pen,electric scissors or my screwdrivers

I'd like to give my 2 pennies on this one, other than it's smaller size, it's what makes the E01 the oddball of this trio, El Capitan 70 bucks, Ra Twisty $139, E01 15 dollars. The fact alone that this cheap light deserves to be included in the same group as these higher priced lights says a LOT.

that´s why i put the e01 in this category.exactly what i think about this light.

Dances:about the clip:it´s this one over here:
http://www.4sevens.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_27_38&products_id=184

and believe me,it´s working like a charm for carring the el capitan in my jeans´ pockets.
sorry, don´t know about any one made in brass.
i also thank you for letting me know about a truly great company like peak!

 

[DM51]

Good thread! I think you have made 3 good choices there.

 

[sledhead]

Never owned a Peak but, that El Capitan looks sweet. Thanks for the quick rundown. May have to get one.

 

[DaveG]

Nice job,the E01,is a good value for the price.

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

I wish the Ra Twisty came in a AA version.

 

[fishx65]

When I hear bomb proof I can't help thinking about my cheap little 1aa Cree River Rock which has been run over by my F150 three times. Still perfectly round and works perfect! Thick walls can be important!

 

[tucolino]

Never owned a Peak but, that El Capitan looks sweet. Thanks for the quick rundown. May have to get one.

do it!! you won´t regret it!!

I wish the Ra Twisty came in a AA version.

i don´t have trouble with cr123 batteries,i use them in other flashlights.the only "problem" i got with the twisty is finding some decent clip for carrying it bezel down.i anybody know of such clip,please let me know

 

[the.Mtn.Man]

i don´t have trouble with cr123 batteries

I prefer AA as a power source because it's more readily available and dirt cheap compared to CR123.

 

[DM51]

Let's keep this to a discussion about the bomb-proof qualities of the lights, and not branch off into a discussion of the relative merits of different battery types. There are other threads for that discussion.

 

[Locoboy5150]

When I hear bomb proof I can't help thinking about my cheap little 1aa Cree River Rock which has been run over by my F150 three times.

I was thinking of Surefires that I've seen survive IED attacks inside MRAPs.

 

[Zeruel]

I have an impression that Inova T1 is bomb proof.
Most good quality SS and Ti lights should be too. :thinking:

 

[tucolino]

I also have a stainless El Cap. It's a very solid light. I'll tell you something I discovered about it. I was worried about it accidentally coming on in my pocket because the tail button is easy to engage. The only way to keep that from happening was to loosen the head until the o-ring was exposed, which I didn't like either because it lost it's water proofing. If you unscrew the tail switch you will see the tiny brass piston that makes contact with the battery. This is only held in by tension with a spring. You can easily pull it out. It will go back in just as easy. When you remove this piston, the light will still work perfectly, but will shorten the throw on the button just enough to allow you to lock out the head while still keeping the o-ring engaged. Hope that useful to you.

just tried it!!good advice brasso,thanks