Is Arc going to be hurt by all the new AAA's

[TIP AND RING]

I work with alot of chaps who refuse to buy import, chinese made goods.
Old school Americans, who grew up in a different time. If you have to ask, you won't understand. Arc has a market other than just CPF.

 

[:)>]

Arc could get right back into the game if they would produce a 2 level AAA-P w/a 10 lumen high like the Fenix E01 that ran for 8 to 11 hours and a 2 lumen low that ran for a long, long, long time.

I would buy more of them.

10 lumens for 10 hours is nothing to sneeze at!

 

[PharmerMike]

I will keep buying them.

I had two Fenix EO's fail, both after less than a year of use. The light on my key chain always gets the most abuse, so I value reliability over everything else. My ARC AAA has been on my key chain for about two years and has worked flawlessly.

There are brighter lights and there are cheaper lights, but give me a reliable Arc any day.

I can't wait for them to go on sale in a few days!

 

[FrogmanM]

Arc could get right back into the game if they would produce a 2 level AAA-P w/a 10 lumen high like the Fenix E01 that ran for 8 to 11 hours and a 2 lumen low that ran for a long, long, long time.

I would buy more of them.

10 lumens for 10 hours is nothing to sneeze at!

Sounds like the type of Arc I'd love to equip my family with.

-Mayo

 

[nbp]

Arc could get right back into the game if they would produce a 2 level AAA-P w/a 10 lumen high like the Fenix E01 that ran for 8 to 11 hours and a 2 lumen low that ran for a long, long, long time.

I would buy more of them.

10 lumens for 10 hours is nothing to sneeze at!

Oooh yeah! I love my Arc P DS, but a 2 mode would be sweet. My only suggestion would be a lower low, maybe <1 lumen. I'd be in for one.

 

[Blue72]

I am happy with the single stage. All though I would like to eventually see a warmer tint without the blue hotspot.

 

[fyrstormer]

No matter what other lights you may have, the Arc AAA's primary use will always be that it's so small you never have an excuse to leave it at home, it's so simple that you never have to worry about it breaking, and it runs so long that you never have to check the battery before leaving the house. In that respect it is the ultimate backup light.

HOWEVER...with the advent of the Peak Eiger, I think the final nail has been driven into the Arc AAA's coffin. Here is a light that can be custom-ordered and can fulfill all the same requirements as the Arc AAA, with a newer LED and a nicer beam to boot. My Peak Eiger SS 10280 now resides in my pocket at all times, so even if I forget to grab a Gizmo in the morning I can still see wiring in dark places at work.

 

[Blue72]

The Eiger has potential. However the website is horrible, and it is confusing what version to order unless you are a flashaholic. There is still not enough information on third party run times and peak still has not done any water resistance test on them.

 

[fyrstormer]

I don't consider the website to be part of the flashlight, and so I don't evaluate it as one of the flashlight's merits or flaws, though I do concede that it's hard to order one.

 

[fyrstormer]

I work with alot of chaps who refuse to buy import, chinese made goods.
Old school Americans, who grew up in a different time. If you have to ask, you won't understand. Arc has a market other than just CPF.

It's really not that complicated. The only way to make money is to dig something out of the ground and make something useful out of it. Everything else is just shuffling around money that already exists. How many leading industrialized nations talk about their own manufacturing sectors with phrases like "someday we'll be able to buy x that's made in the USA" or "you used to be able to buy x that's made in the USA, but not anymore"? Only poor countries don't make anything of their own stuff, and the only reason we're the exception is because we used to have an enormous manufacturing sector that sold goods all around the world, and we collected lots of other countries' money, but now we just shuffle it back and forth. It's a disgrace.

 

[Blue72]

I don't consider the website to be part of the flashlight, and so I don't evaluate it as one of the flashlight's merits or flaws, though I do concede that it's hard to order one.

I completely agree, but if peak wants to make an impact on ARC's marketshare they need to improve the ordering process.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Arc,
Hmmmm, they used to be the bleeding edge of technology but alas, they did a bunch of stupid moves and refused to see the market changing.
Always wanted an Arc single AA with Luxeon LED but they stuck with the CR123A. It was portrayed as impossible to build a decent single AA light to push a Luxeon in regulation.
Some weird brand came out with a single AA with flat current regulation, AR glass lens with a tail clickie pushing a R bin Luxeon--behold! The Fenix L1P roared onto the scene in 2005. Arc had an another year to design something to jump into the single AA market but did not. The Cree XR-E LED arrived with the new Fenix L1D/L2D CE lights arriving and now you had serious firepower on 1AA/2AA. Fenix went all in on the Crees early and snatched the market while expanding into the CR123A market.
OK, we will give Fenix the 1AA/2AA market then the LOD arrives in the AAA market. Will the Arc AAA get redesigned? No...
Years go by and the Arc forum has requests for a tail standing AAA with flatter regulation and maybe a lower drive level to protect the LED, drive it less blue and extend the run time. Nothing, zero, zip and nada.
Fenix puts out the EO1 with flat regulation, tail standing capability, long runtimes and the LED is driven in spec. You want a GS Nichia with that? No problem, that is how they are made. Ignore the fact it is $15 VS $50, it is just a better light electronics wise.
I'm just pissed that the Arc AAA is still the same as it was in 2002 when the LED needed to be over driven to see anything. Now they can do the research, find a "snow" white LED, drive it at 20 to 25mA and give flat current regulation. Get a little wild and crazy by throwing a spring in the tail so it won't dent a LSD Eneloop AAA and I'm sure they will see their sales rise.
Even Mag updates their LEDs and flashlights.... will Arc update their weak electronics/LED and keep the great quality? To me it is almost a curiosity now, I can get the goods with an Eiger and ponder the flood a single AAA XP-G LED will put out. Y2K is over, 2K10 is almost here so ????