First Generation Inova X5

[idleprocess]

Still got my County Comm unmarked X5 - and the branded endmill case it shipped in. Tempted to mod it since the LEDs were quite anemic even for the day - although the 123As in it may be the original set.

My apologies for going kind of off topic, but there's a question whose answer has evaded me for years. How on Earth has Inova never been sued by Surefire for the use of Surefire's forbidden momentary/twist/lockout tailcap that's still in the X series to this day?

Got some Dorcy lights from ~20 years ago that replicated the basic G2 tailswitch concept and have seen numerous others.

 

[datiLED]

After reading through this thread, I dug out my old first generation Inova X5. It is exactly like the one pictured. I forgot how cool these looked, and really like the twist for off function. I can confirm it is definitely aluminum with a "titanium" anodize.

 

[thermal guy]

Well mystery X5 should be here in a few days. Kinda excited because as I say I'm pretty sure it's SS and I have no idea why. Should weigh a ton.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

Still have 4 Inova X5s that work. I had a second generation one but tried 3.7 volt li-ion cells that claimed to be 3.0 volt cells that fried it. I have a third generation one (about 30 lumens) and a fourth generation one (80 lumens). I also have one with blue l.e.d.s and one with green l.e.d.s. They're outdated, but they're still great lights to loan out to a kid in the family. They can beat them up as much as they want and won't break them. They have a hard time blinding other kids with them because of the floody beam. The colored ones are great for parties and holidays.

 

[defloyd77]

Got some Dorcy lights from ~20 years ago that replicated the basic G2 tailswitch concept and have seen numerous others.

I had a AAA Dorcy that also used the same sort of switch. I don't recall Dorcy's name being mentioned in the lawsuits, but they no longer use that kind of switch. As far as I can tell, the only mainstream, mass produced lights that use that kind of switch these days are Surefire and Inova. There's absolutely no way Inova could've slipped past Surefire all of these years, so they'd almost have to have some sort of arrangement with Surefire to still be using it to this day.

 

[bykfixer]

It was the patented plunger that Pentagon and others were using without permission when they were trying to gain military contracts. Pentagon won one over SureFire stating all US parts and all their own designs. PK and Dr John Matthews thought them copying SureFire owned patents was like paying them a compliment. Once they won a big contract SureFire lawyers sprang into action. One of the lights Pentagon included was the little 40 lumen Molle that had foreign parts. The X2 used the plunger lock out feature.

Now days lockout features are largely done by areas not anodized coming in contact with one another and when the tailcap is loosened contact is no longer so conductivity is cut. It was something started long before anodized alluminum flashlights.

The X5 used a sort of backwards approach where the positive end of the battery aids in the lockout feature.

 

[ZMZ67]

Well mystery X5 should be here in a few days. Kinda excited because as I say I'm pretty sure it's SS and I have no idea why. Should weigh a ton.

Nice score on the original version X5! I thought all those were still aluminum construction but perhaps it could be stainless. I have a few Emissive Energy X5s but they were already using the tail switch by the time I started buying INOVAs.

 

[archimedes]

Great thread here, thanks for posting it.

I have a couple of "mid-vintage" Inova lights and they sure are built solidly.

Interested to hear if yours is really steel when it arrives, tg ....

 

[thermal guy]

I'll let you know when I find out myself lol. The seller wasn't sure but then said he thinks it is compared to his other X5's.Figured it should of been easy to tell judging from the weight difference but....

 

[thermal guy]

Well it's not SS. Really has no weight to it and it's anodized with something.checked it for continuity with My meter. Unfortunately I have to send it back. Only 4 sometimes 3 leds will light. If I let it sit they will flicker and come on but once I turn it off and back on same problem. Shame, I really like the design of it.

 

[bykfixer]

Bare polished alluminum perhaps?

 

[thermal guy]

No. It's definitely anodized. I checked the body for conductivity and got nothing.

 

[ZMZ67]

Well it's not SS. Really has no weight to it and it's anodized with something.checked it for continuity with My meter. Unfortunately I have to send it back. Only 4 sometimes 3 leds will light. If I let it sit they will flicker and come on but once I turn it off and back on same problem. Shame, I really like the design of it.

Bummer that it doesn't work correctly. I actually think Emissive Energy should have stuck with a head twist design over the tail twisty.Don't get me wrong the tail twist X5s are great lights but I have found head twistys to be more convenient than tail twistys over the years.

 

[thermal guy]

I love it. Was bummed when I saw it was faulty. Might have to start looking for a replacement first generation