Have an Arc LSH-P and love it - what to buy now?

[joshcomley]

Here is the situation:

- My dad loved his torches and knew all about them and bought me an Arc LSH-P
- I absolutely love it and think it's super. Very simple, very pocketable, very bright, very smooth light.
- He was my source of information but unfortunately he passed away in 2006
- Now I am tasked with buying my girlfriend a light because she works in the countryside and I'd like her to have something at least as good as my Arc to get her about in the evenings when it's dark. She only needs it for a few minutes each day, so battery life of the Arc is fine.

Current options:

- Arc6
- Nitecore EX10
- RA Clicky 140 C

Now the Nitecore is more affordable, but my Arc has lasted me years, so I don't mind forking out if I need to. The Nitecore also uses a Cree LED which from my research seems to lead to more rings in the light. Something I adore about the Arc is it's beautiful smoothness.

Could anyone shed any light (ha) on my options? Given my love for the Arc I have, would the Nitecore feel like a downgrade? Should I plum for the Clicky? Have I completely missed another super option?

Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Robocop]

If you really enjoy the Arc you can always try to find the same model in the for sale forum and give it to your girl. You may also want to mod your current Arc just for fun and if you add a reflector and bump the current a little it is really an incredible classic.

If you do not like the rings in the beam you can always swap the emitter in your current LSH-P to a nice 3 watt since prices on the old LuxIII have came down greatly....add an emitter and resistor(more power) and maybe a glass lens and she will have an even better light.

just a thought however sometimes the old style Arcs can be hard to find yet again they do last forever...good luck.

 

[joshcomley]

Thanks for that info, Robocop!

Would the Clicky be brighter do you think?

I'm definitely keen to try modding, but I'm not even a newbie at that yet!

I love the Arc, as I said, but is the Clicky comparable?

I'll have a look in the forum to see what I can find, but I'd also like to try a new torch to see how it compares. It's all fun!

 

[joshcomley]

Also, would I notice much difference between my Arc LSH-P and an LSHF-P?

 

[The 8th Man]

Sorry to hear about your Dad joshcomley, I lost mine a few years ago and he was also my mentor, He always had the right answer. Have you given a thought to the Novatac lights, I have the EDC 120 and I carry it every where. I also have the Arc LS which I have retired since I got the Novatac. I really like carrying something that has power but also can project a smooth beam which the Novatac does.

 

[mikes1]

Hi joshcomley

:welcome:

Your Arc is making around 25 lumens if standard I would recommend the Ra clickey, Take your choice currently up to 170 lumens. Yes you will notice a big difference. I believe the Ra's to be very robust and reliable with outstanding build quality I own several and I am yet to have a problem with any of them. I don't own an arc 6 so I cant really comment other than to say it seems very expensive for what you get. again I don't own a Nitecore.
I really do like the older Arc's in fact my first high powered LED light was an Arc LSL-P The LSHF-P you speak of has a Frean optic with a narrow beam for more throw.
Please remember things have moved on a long way since the early Arc's
Do lots of research and choose wisely.

Mike

 

[joshcomley]

Thanks for your help guys, much appreciated.

The 8th Man - thanks, and yeah it really sucks you don't expect your lifelong encyclopedia of everything to suddenly disappear! At least we can look forward to doing the same for our own kids one day

I have found an LSHF for £75, but I think I'll go for the RA Clicky. The best price I can get on the Clicky is £160 (around $260):

http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/ra-lights/ra-clicky-140-cgt.html

I'm assuming this is just the standard sort of cost for such things!

I do love good torches (inherited the infection) so maybe I'll just go for it... or maybe I'll wait and check the market places for a while; cpfmarketplace seems to have had some good deals on Clicky's in the last few days - all sold unfortunately!

 

[Gatsby]

An Arc LSH-P was my first "real" flashlight. I had a 2xAA battery tube and used it with NiMH AAs as my weekend utility light and ran it on the CR123 clickie as my EDC. It was and is a classic light. Very well made, well balanced beam, etc... I had that, an Arc AAA on my key ring and considered myself well armed.

There have been some huge leaps forward in terms of emitters and drivers - heck the original Arc4 was a fairly groundbreaking light with programmability and multiple levels - one of if not the first of its kind. Now many of those features are standard on a lot of lights.

You've got plenty of things to research - for a 1xCR123 light you have some great options to look at - depending on what you want and what you need that will drive what suits you best but you should definitely look at:

Novatac 120P - 4 programmable levels in a similar package to the old LSHP. A workhorse and a beautiful smooth beam.

Ra Clicky - something of a successor to the 120P, built like a tank but for me at least a bit bulky.

Liteflux LF3XT - an overlooked light, smaller than the 120P and with some very innovative programming features and a beautiful smooth beam.

Nitecore EX10 - I was not fond of the user interface but it is well loved by a lot of people and it is very simple to operate.

Quark 123 - I like the tactical interface - well made and well priced.

Surefire E1L - dual mode, Surefire e series compatibility, rock solid construction and a useful but different beam using Surefires optics.

Surefire L1 - another dual mode with a different interface, similar to the E1L but a press/twist interface instead of a clickie.

Arc6 - I've been thinking about one for some time, it is built on the time tested McGizmo piston drive system (and is compatible with those lights actually) and packs probably the biggest range of high to low in a very compact package. Arc is supposed to be having a Christmas promotion starting sometime next week...

That ought to get you started - if you really want to up your game you could look at a McGizmo Haiku - 3 levels and the famous titanium McGizmo construction/design, but it won't come cheap!

Edited to add: Definitely spend some time looking in the marketplace here. I've bought most of my lights in the marketplace and had great success. You just have to be patient (which is sometimes hard). There have been some very good prices on Novatacs and Ras in the past few months but you have to hit "reply" quick!

 

[joshcomley]

Wow Gatsby thanks for that very, very full reply!

The two things that substantially caught my eye there were the Arc6 promotion and the patience with the marketplace. I'll keep myself for a week and constantly monitor that marketplace - if something comes up I'll be quick on my fingers!

I might import a

Again, the Nitecore seems like a good option for the money - I'm not flush at the moment, so saving on the quids would be good!

Incidentally, is the Arc6 a clicky? I can't seem to find out from my research.

Also, I just checked ralights.com and I can get an RA Clicky 140 shipped to me for £115, providing I don't get import tax on it... sounds good!!!

 

[Gatsby]

The Arc6 is based on McGizmos piston drive - if you look up information on the McGizmo PD lights there are some schematics floating around I believe. The Nitecore EX10 uses a piston drive as well (licensed from McGizmo) but in a completely different way.

The Arc6 has a push button on the tailcap that is the end of the piston which holds the battery. Press for momentary level 1, press more for momentary level 2. To engage the constant on you twist the head - twist some for level 1, twist more for level 2 constant. The levels are programmable from 7 light levels. The Arc6 also has a level three which is engaged by going from off straight to level 2 within a second (maybe less) which is unique to the Arc6 (the PD lights were two stage only). The PD system uses a mechanical setup to access the two levels (or 3 with the Arc6), unlike a lot of lights that now rely on digital switches (such as the Ra and Novatac and Liteflux and the EX10 for that matter).

 

[joshcomley]

Thanks again, Gatsby, much appreciated.

I'm quite excited about ordering the RA Clicky.

I think I'm going for a custom made Clicky:

- 170 lumen LED, narrower beam
- Crenelated black titanium bezel
- Silver clip
- Raised button
- Tactical operation

All for $222. Hopefully shipping won't take too long..

And if I'm feeling rich, maybe I'll Christmas treat myself to an Arc6 as well! haha

 

[joshcomley]

Can anyone point to a good comparison of the Arc6 versus the RA Clicky 170? They seem fairly evenly matched on price, size and power..

 

[lrp]

Congratulations, you just ordered a excellent light, the last one I ordered came within 10 days.

 

[LED Cool]

the LiteFlux LF3XT has dual user interface (CUI & FUI).
CUI is something like the the UI of the Nitecores but retains the user mode setting. the FUI is something like the UI of the Novatac/Ra Clicky.

sort of like you get two lights for the price of one.

khoo

 

[Gatsby]

Can anyone point to a good comparison of the Arc6 versus the RA Clicky 170? They seem fairly evenly matched on price, size and power..

I can't comment on power as spec'd I imagine they are close, but the Arc6 is a good bit smaller than the Ra. Here is a link to a review which has a picture of the Arc6 and the Novatac 120P and the Ra Twisty. The Ra clickie is a good bit bigger than the Novatac and the Twisty and the Arc6 is a good bit smaller than the Novatac and Twisty. I have not seen a direct comparison shot but you can get a feel for the size difference.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=208476

From what I've seen the Arc is remarkably small - but do note that the laws of physics apply as often stated here on CPF and there is a tradeoff for the small size - there is less mass to dissipate heat so the Arc6 run time on level 7 (which is basically wide open) is rather short before the thermal protection kicks in. The Ra will run longer on higher levels due to more mass to dissipate heat. It is, as is often the case, a bit of a tradeoff.

The Ra is an excellent light - and I have long been a fan of the Arc4+/HDS/Novatac series of lights and the Ra is the successor to that heritage of lights, sharing the same designer. I admit that I've held off due mostly to the size and appearance of the Ra Clickie (some folks love it - I'm not as crazy about it). But having EDCed a Surefire E1L for the past week I'm wondering if my quest to minimize size are perhaps not as critical as I once thought.

 

[joshcomley]

I've done it - I've made the purchase!

I reassessed my budget and opted for a black aluminium RA Clicky 140 for my lady.

Thank you all for your help! I think I'll buy the Arc6 in the new year to treat the ol' January blues

 

[Gatsby]

Congrats on the Ra! You'll find it to be a very useful and very customizable package that will last you a long time.

 

[joshcomley]

Thanks Gatsby, I love torches so I'm pretty excited! Gotta love winter - more time to play around with lights!

 

[Flying Turtle]

I might consider keeping the Ra for myself and getting my girlfriend something simpler. I base this only on my wife's appreciation for gadgets. She might love something like a EZAA or even a Maratac.

Geoff

 

[Crenshaw]

Dont use my LS much, but its definetly something you keep.

never regretted buying that as my first shelf queen...

Crenshaw