Fisher Space Beam

[greenlight]

Will you make me one in red?

 

[defloyd77]

I had to dig this one back up. Did any of you guys get one of these? I'm fiending for a pen light and I'm stuck between this and the Streamlight Microstream and I'm kinda leaning toward the Fisher.

 

[gunga]

Have not tried the microstream, but the fisher is pretty lousy. Blue tint, useless spot beam, and the "optic" is just a basic convex lense.

I would go with the streamlight. It has many supporters...

 

[defloyd77]

Thanks for the quick response gunga. I actually like the circular type beam and unless the tint is bluer than the typical lensed 5mm, I don't think I'd mind the tint. Could you perhaps do a shot of the beam? And how is the runtime?

 

[gunga]

Well, I modded mine with a Nichia DS led (better tint, brighter), and gifted it, so can't answer your questions!

If you like the spot beam, it's okay. The tint is blue, but it is moddable, just difficult because of the small size.

I didn't check for runtimes, sorry!

 

[deusexaethera]

Ahh yes good old Fisher. Millions of dollars spent on a pen that would write in a vacuum, upside down, in zero gravity, under-water and at temperature extremes....



....the Russians used a pencil.

Ink doesn't smudge once it's dry. Graphite smudges forever.

 

[deusexaethera]

Kind of strange that they only sell white and blue led versions and not green or red because a lot of the people who would by a flashlight from a space pen company would most likely be in astonomy and astronomers usually use green or red:ironic::shrug:

Who uses green? I thought the human eye was most sensitive to green light. Wouldn't that destroy your night vision instantly if it was even a little bright?

 

[Zatoichi]

Ink doesn't smudge once it's dry. Graphite smudges forever.

I seem to remember broken leads being mentioned as a potential danger too. You don't want those floating round in a zero G environment full of sensitive equipment.

 

[greenlight]

Who uses green? I thought the human eye was most sensitive to green light. Wouldn't that destroy your night vision instantly if it was even a little bright?

That's the point. You only need a little bit. Much less than other colors. Using a low lumens green light appears brighter than any other color. (Someone will come and lobby for cyan, but they're close).

I still use my inova x1 green LED flashlight a lot. It's very distinctive and throws a nice beam. I don't use it in conditions where I require any night vision adjustment. Plenty of lights, and I don't need to be the brightest one, just seen.

Blue is closer to the UV spectrum and is very irritating to the eyes. It's useful for highlighting florescent paint, but you have to be careful not to blind people unnecessarily.

 

[Derek Dean]

I had to dig this one back up. Did any of you guys get one of these? I'm fiending for a pen light and I'm stuck between this and the Streamlight Microstream and I'm kinda leaning toward the Fisher.

Go with the Streamlight Microstream. It's a great little shirt pocket light that puts out a beautiful and useful 20 lumen beam. It's very well made (the type 2 finish is VERY durable) and has a forward clicky that allows for momentary operation. With a bit of searching you will find several favorable reviews here on CPF.

My only caveat with this light is that, for me at least, I've found it a bit difficult to latch on. Maybe it's the shape of my thumb, but it takes two hands for me to get the light to latch fully on. However, this isn't a problem for me, as I generally only use it for momentary operation. I've got several other lights in my pockets for full on operation if I need them, but this one is just so handy to have in my front shirt pocket for those quick little glimpses behind a piece of gear I'm hooking up.

 

[travelinman]

Ahh yes good old Fisher. Millions of dollars spent on a pen that would write in a vacuum, upside down, in zero gravity, under-water and at temperature extremes....



....the Russians used a pencil.

Sorry to disappoint, no one in space could use a pencil....Graphite dust and zero gravity and computers and electronics? Can you spell "urban legend"?

 

[Bullzeyebill]

Old thread. Closing this.

Bill