Bones vs Bravo thread

[bykfixer]

Elzetta mail arrived. Accessories and fuel this time.
The speed clip was made for the Alpha, but for the life of me I could not get my first one to work on an Alpha. However I have gotten it to work on a Makloff clicky at the tail of a round 6P, my Bones and now a Bravo.

The idea being it clips bezel down inside a trouser pocket with a wrist lanyard draping outside of said pocket. In case of crisis two fingers quickly slide through the lanyard in a two step motion that ends with a centrifugal device. Or it provides quick access to your flashlight, which allows hands to be free of the light without dropping it. Say you stumble on a crack in a sidewalk, your hands become free to prevent a face plant without your flashlight getting away from you.

 

[Modernflame]

Elzetta mail arrived. Accessories and fuel this time.
The speed clip was made for the Alpha, but for the life of me I could not get my first one to work on an Alpha. However I have gotten it to work on a Makloff clicky at the tail of a round 6P, my Bones and now a Bravo.

I believe that the speed clip was designed to work as a modular part with all their lights, but I've found that it just doesn't fit some lights. I had a Charlie with the same problem. Though they won't admit it, sometimes the outer diameter of their battery tubes is too fat for the speed clip. Tried to do a warranty claim, but they were unmoved.

 

[CREEXHP70LED]

Malkoff products are top notch. I respect the choice. Regarding Elzetta, I like to give a company the opportunity to rectify an oversight before I write them off, especially a minor thing like a missing O-ring. Easy enough to remedy. If you were able to remove the epoxy like substance with alcohol, then it was not epoxy. I suspect it was Molykote 55, which is their chosen thread lubricant. It's white and sometimes shows near the threads. Just a guess.

I can understand why you might not like Elzetta optics. They won't please everyone.

I know it wasn't MolyKote, but was some type of clear glue that looked like epoxy. I actually got out the bottle of acetone first to try to remove the epoxy (I actually didn't think that would even work due to my extensive use of epoxy when I was a knife maker). looking stuff, but decided to try alcohol and it worked. So whatever it was at least it came off.

That along with the fact it had a missing O-ring and damaged packaging which I didn't mention before, tells me they are not looking at these lights like they should be before they leave the shop. Someone close to me even asked, "What did you get on your new light?" That is how noticeable it was. I had to say it came that way. She said, "For $210 I would send it back." That was a non flashaholic speaking.

They did take care of the O-ring and everything worked out the way I was hoping, except it still needs a Surefire reflector to compete with the P3X, but it does have a nicer tint than the slightly bluish P3X.

All in all when I made my last comment I was a little agitated, so take that for what it is worth. Elzetta does make very durable lights and that is exactly why I bought one. Heck even a bones might be a future purchase, but I am still going to get a MDC first, I might just order that later today if they are in stock.

 

[Modernflame]

I felt the same way about the P3X reflector when I compared it to my first Elzetta Charlie. I prefer a wide beam, which the Elzetta has, but I also like a nice punchy hot spot. In the end I sold both, so now I use the Bones or a Hound Dog, depending on the task.

 

[bykfixer]

The other night at work I had a Bravo (twisted to low) clipped to my left pocket with a Bones clipped to my right pocket.

It was like being Josh Randall and McClintock at the same time. Need to deploy the sawed off shotgun all Josh Randall style whip out the Bones. "pachow". Need the finesse of a revolver whip out the Bravo "pachow pachow".

It was kinda fun.

 

[bykfixer]

Two weeks later post:

I keep the Bones and Bravo setting side by side on a coffee table for now. Idea being which one will get used more often.
The Bravo has hi/lo capability and thusfar is being used 10:1 for that reason alone.

Would I reccomend buying a Bravo with hi/lo for round the house lighting needs? Well, no more than I'd reccomend using an axe to open letters. But if one were to invest in a 6 volt Elzetta for a general purpose lighting tool the hi/lo option is a huge plus.

Now on the flipside, if some nitwit neighbor decided my tv would look better at their house and skulked past the hounds at 2am and somehow managed to wake me……oh the Bones would certainly get the nod. No time needed to decide if it is twisted to lo or did it get left on high.

For an EDC the Bones feels a bit more natural to my medium glove sized hands. Speaking of gloves, the Bravo feels a little more confident with a padded glove such as Mechanix Impacts.

 

[Modernflame]

…oh the Bones would certainly get the nod. No time needed to decide if it is twisted to lo or did it get left on high.

As uncomplicated as the high/low tail cap is, there is something to be said for the simplicity of single output. I like the Bones even more than I thought I would for that very reason.

 

[peter yetman]

Archimedes' curve as applied to UI.
We all get seduced by bells and whistles and end up going back to basics.
P

 

[ven]

Have to agree on single stupid level mode, simplicity for me wins more often than not. I even program my h17 drivers for a single do it all level............crazy stuff. Granted at times it can be a bit too much, odd time not enough, but for most of the time its fine.

 

[scout24]

Archimedes' curve as applied to UI.
We all get seduced by bells and whistles and end up going back to basics.
P

Wise words, Mr. Yetman. I'll admit to having dabbled in ramping UI's myself, but can't make it work for me. Give me anything up to a simple 3 or 4 mode clicky with memory, and I'm good. HDS Clicky is where I draw the line only because of how good the lights are. Ven- just curious, what level for do-it-all? I'm always curious what others find to be general purpose usable. Thanks!

 

[thermal guy]

Ya, I'm an off/on kinda guy. Probably why I have never been to caught up in the whole "tint" thing.Had to get out of the HDS thread for awhile because of it. If I heard one more story about how there special limited emitter saved the day by allowing them to grab a mackintosh Out of the fruit bowl instead of a red delicious I was going to lose it.😁

 

[Modernflame]

I'd have trouble finding one "do it all" output level, but I reach for the Bones when I need something bright. It complements my multi-mode, low output lights well.

If I heard one more story about how there special limited emitter saved the day by allowing them to grab a mackintosh Out of the fruit bowl instead of a red delicious I was going to lose it.

But the mcintosh is clearly the superior snack, sir. That fruit bowl contains potential disappointment.:thinking:

 

[Random Dan]

But the mcintosh is clearly the superior snack, sir. That fruit bowl contains potential disappointment.:thinking:

True story. Apparently thermal guy has not experienced the horror of accidentally eating a red delicious apple. It may be red, but it sure ain't delicious.

 

[thermal guy]

Lol. And don't even get me going on Legos! Sorry got us off track.

 

[bykfixer]

For me, a flashlight is like head lights on a car after dark. Now a car goes 60mph on the interstate so the amount of light output has to be a lot more in order to see a couple of football fields away at any given time since going 60mph means I cover that distance in one second.

Now slowing things way down to a human pace it means I need to see about 20 feet so I don't trip over a crack in a sidewalk or to see inside my non lit 10x12 shed.

With that said, as a rule 15-20 lumens would be a general use flashlight. A 60 lumen light would be like halogen headlights. 100 plus would be like high beams of a car. So the Alpha or Bravo on low would be considered general use for my needs at night.

For daytime use outdoors the 600+ lumen Bravo and Bones is just getting started. The Alpha stays on the porch.

And frankly, I'm ok with a macintosh or red delicious. Now if the tint is so bad I picked the granny smith……then we got issues imo.

 

[ven]

Wise words, Mr. Yetman. I'll admit to having dabbled in ramping UI's myself, but can't make it work for me. Give me anything up to a simple 3 or 4 mode clicky with memory, and I'm good. HDS Clicky is where I draw the line only because of how good the lights are. Ven- just curious, what level for do-it-all? I'm always curious what others find to be general purpose usable. Thanks!

My do it all on my h17 drivers appear to be around 200-300 lumen outputs. One is a quad 219b 4k, this is around the 2-300lm level. Its in a surefire host, heat of course is a none issue, plenty of useful light for a decent duration. I have the 2nd group of my h17's set to a more traditional 3 level L/M/H. No memory so always starts in low, this i tend to use around the 50-100lm type output if makes sense. Again a good do it all level that every time i click on, i know what i get. A simple advance to a medium level and a high of (to the eyes/brain) 7-800lm. I dont like pushing my nichia's though. I tend to use around the house, dog walks, camping, so easy on the eye more than blasting light 100's of feet away. For blasting light down field, but also enjoying what i see, the xpl HI 4k become one of my fav choices. Not actually a huge difference to the Bones temp/tint i see from my sample.

The Bones will defo be on the dog walk rota! Admittedly the 600 or so lumens can be on the too much side for road side(usually lit with street lamps, so requires a good lumen output along with throw bias , to fight through the light pollution) but on the field is needed.

For EDC or general uses, small lights are more convenient(16340/18350 type) but i feel more confident using 18650 hosts/lights for uses past 30 mins. Run time/output and the more secure in hand feel with the Bones, makes it a pretty much perfect dog walking(or just walking) companion. I digress and waffle on lol

Cheers In a nut shell, depending on optics or reflector, generally speaking 100-300lm is a good do it all for me.

 

[scout24]

Ven- Thanks for the explaination. A couple hundred lumens with a good beam pattern hits the sweet spot for sure. I find the big hotspot/big spill to be where it's at for general use. My apologies for taking Bones vs. Bravo off topic, back to your regularly scheduled thread.

 

[thermal guy]

Big hotspot and big spill. This is my goto as well. I grab my M60F 90 percent of the time at home. It's just perfect for working and searching for stuff.

 

[Archangel]

Going back to the first post, I'm surprised that the Bones has its own optic. I wonder how well the wide optic works in it.

 

[Modernflame]

Going back to the first post, I'm surprised that the Bones has its own optic. I wonder how well the wide optic works in it.

My understanding is that the Bones uses the same optic as the Bravo/Charlie. The standard and flood optics are interoperable across all models.