I'm building a new TITANIUM flashlight, I'd love your feedback!

LEDBE
Switch sure sounds mechanical but I could be wrong.

Tonight’s dog walk enjoyed a different hand position, utilizing the clip on the pads of the third, 4th, and little finger, activating side of thumb then choking up and using index finger to adjust intensity.

I was going to rotate the clip to be on the opposite side of the switch but it is fun to try it stock for now.

Probably making a fool of myself making observations but I think it is easier to get a lower setting (just right) by ramping down than ramping up.

Fellow CPF member likes his Exceed Designs knife. Post #20:

Talk to me about Microtech OTF knives.

Specifically curious about the ultra tech and UTX models. What has your experience with them been. Reliable? Finicky? Amazing? Looking for real world experience with these knives. Merry Christmas!
www.candlepowerforums.com www.candlepowerforums.com
 
In a way, I'm glad the de-domed LEDs don't put out maximum lumens.

In the world of flashlights these days, it seems like a competition to brag about the highest lumen output.

It just seems wasteful to me.
 
Is the 3 to 5 days before shipment, 3 to 5 business days?

(or 3 to 5 calendar days). I ordered my new R8 on Dec.25,2024.

Just wondering how long it is until it ships.
 
Actually it is holiday time, and hopefully they are busy fulfilling orders. Josh has already sunk much money into this project he obviously feels so much passion for.

What with the free stickers, premium box configuration, virtual graphic showing the associated parts assembly in his video, Josh reminds me of the heyday of MatchBox Instruments (guy with no name here on CPF).

I would love to get a raised gate surrounding the rocker, in order to find it quicker. That, and a thrower head (though really, that 519A has plenty good enough throw for easily 90% of his clientele, with his flat emitter options offering even more throw.

So hopefully he makes good money with his flashlights.

IMG_4728.jpeg
 
So I've had the R4 and R8 for a couple days and I have to say I'm REALLY liking them. They're really nice, the R4 is a bit tall for a 14500 light but still pocketable. The tint on the DD 4k 519 is really rosy and perfect for an EDC light. The 5k SFT40 is a beast of an led and a touch on the cool side but as a light I intend to mainly use outside it's not an issue.

They came with batteries that have a charging port on them so it only works with button tops but it's not a big deal for me. In the boxes they have extra o-rings, clip screws, charging cables, lens and the TIR opti along with a build sheet.

I do like the clip ring on them. You can loosen the screws and the end will rotate 360° so you can have the clip on the position on the light if you want. I keep mine lined up with the rocker because when I take it out of my pocket my thumb automatically falls right where the rocker is.

It will ramp up and down like anduril lights but it's really quick. You can also press the rocker and it will go up/down in steps if you want instead. Typical double click down to low and double click up for turbo.

The R4 has found itself in the regular rotation of carry lights and the R8 has bumped my MCH Duty out of the lineup as the go to truck light.
 

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Noticed the higher end ramps slower that the lower end also. The low end is way too quick for me. Just wish it was the same speed as the top end. Not a deal breaker though, still really liking these.
 
Couple pics of other similarly sized lights.

First pic
Prometheus Alpha
Cloud Defensive MCH Duty
CD MCH EDC
Rampant R8
Nitecore MH20
FW1A Pro

Second pic
Malkoff MDC AA
Rampant R4
Surefire E1L Outdoorsman(16340)
DMC Divot
Okluma DC0
Lumintop Tool
 

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KITROBASKIN said:
Just to add briefly that the ramping speed (to me) is just fine except at the lowest settings. This was also an issue with Anduril that Toykeeper adjusted, if I remember correctly.
Click to expand...
Anduril does allow changing the ramping speed, I usually change it from default, to half speed:

1.png

Anduril also allows use of smooth stepless ramping, or stepped ramping. The default number of steps is 7, which I usually change to 12 steps (Homage Zebra)...
 
Boy Howdy if we could get something like a double click on the down ramp (or up ramp) to get back where the light level was before a double click to 100%, that would be dandy. I am so used to Anduril doing that. So much we are out at night with the dogs and hear something, or want to locate a canine, go to full tilt, then go back to the previous level.

That and a voltage flash to check on battery (flashlight blinks slowly (3 times) then pauses with more slow blinks (8 times) so we can know that the battery is at 3.8V.

This flashlight is showing good reliability in actual use, something that can not always be said for Anduril (at least with me).
 
I've had a few days to play with my aluminum R4 and I'd say it's good, but not great.

Build quality seems quite good except for the clip, which has very sharp corners and doesn't work well on thin material.

I'm pretty happy with the optic. It's no whitewall hunter's dream, but I have no complaints in actual use.

The value isn't great. Sure it's new and unique, but even for the base aluminum model it's 1.65x the cost of a Zebralight SC53 and ~3x the cost of an Emisar D3AA or Reylight LANapple. And I don't think it's the best of those options. That said I have spent more on things that I like less, so I'm not too upset about it.

I admire the move beyond single button interfaces, but it still feels clunky compared to what it could be. There's no way to control the turn-on brightness and adjustment requires flipping your grip to get to the rocker, so most of the time it's slower and fiddlier to get to the mode you want than even a simple 3-speed rear clicky. While it's nice that you can quickly jump to turbo, I wish you could easily get back to the mode you were in. The "momentary max" feature is something I find myself using a lot on my HDS and anduril lights.

I think this could be a much better light if they ditched the rear clicky switch and instead added a third e-switch for on/off at the head, then make the following UI changes:
- on/off button turns on to memorized level
- up rocker turns on to max, down rocker turns on to min
- after double clicking up or down rockers to get to max/min, double click again to go to previous level
- slow down the ramp at the lower end
 
Have you tried option 2 with maximum at turn on? I enabled it today, interesting.

I have had good use by holding the flashlight at my side while walking, with little finger on clip and ring finger on tip of clip. This allows the index finger to be on the forward ramp at all times, for when maximum is wanted.
 
Yeah not sure of the actual lumens but it's on par with moonlight on any of my lights with the H17FX driver.
 
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