Joined the club!

[KeyGrip]

My gamble to make a complete McGizmo light by purchasing a PD compatable C-pak payed off when Bernie graciously offered to sell me an old six fluted PD head. It arrived about fifteen minutes ago and I am freaking out. I'll have more words later. May I present to you the McLux III PD-C p)

What's this? Ancient alien technology? Fascinating

I know Don's focus isn't on aesthetics, but damn

With another piece of ancient devil magic technology.

 

[KeyGrip]

Big thanks to Don, Bernie, and Fyrstormer for their help in this project! Step two is a Mule or LS20.

 

[Kiessling]

You're welcome :wave:

 

[fyrstormer]

I helped? Cool!

 

[KeyGrip]

You gave me all those links to b/s/t threads. Sure, I didn't actually do anything with those links, but you were still helping. I think we should all just be glad I'm in a thankful mood. Must be all that holiday spirit around here.

 

[KeyGrip]

Some first impressions:

Body: Very light. Surprisingly light, actually. I haven't put it on a scale, but it feels like the battery is a significant portion of the overall weight. The size is perfect in both dimensions. The little bit of length added by the clickie places the light very comfortably in my hand. In a "forward" grip (like you'd hold a Mag after clicking the switch with your thumb) my pinkie falls on the ring around the switch, my ring and middle fingers fall on the ribbed section, and my thumb and index finger fall on the fluted part of the head. The balance is also excellent It's very natural to use and switch between grips.

Fit&Finish: we all know it's good, so I'll list some things about this specific light. No real nicks or scars anywhere, only faint machining marks running around the circumference of the light. Switch action is as good as I've ever seen. Nothing rattles or shifts. I was able to take the bezel off with my fingers. Is this normal? Will it affect water resistance? The threads are very gritty. I know that is normal for Ti and will break in, but what kind of lubricant should I be using in the mean time?

Beam/output: The beam is amazing. Everybody has different preferences when it come to hotspot and corona size, but for a beam of this type it is flawless. The levels are well spaced and chosen. It's brighter than I thought it would be, but not as bright as it could be. I'm going to use it for a few months before deciding what type of modification to do, if any. The low is very useful.

How it works: Probably my favorite 'user interface' of all time. Simple click on/off with momentary. Select the level by twisting the head. Think Fenix L1T but with a forward clicky, better beam, and a more robust light engine. The minimal inclusion of electronics is definitely a plus here. I like to be able to select output before turning the light on. The only thing that would improve this would be two different beam profiles for low and high. (helloooo, LunaSol!)

So, new EDC light? Yes.

Best EDC light I've ever had? Certainly.

 

[Roger Sully]

:mecry:it's...so....beautiful...

I can't wait to get my hands on something like that.

 

[fyrstormer]

I know Don's focus isn't on aesthetics, but damn

I think what makes the aesthetics appealing is that all of the details of the design are there for a purpose, and your eye tends to hang on those details out of curiosity about what their purposes are. The universe being the entropic place that it is, large amounts of time and effort are not wasted on useless things by anyone who wants to survive very long, and anyone who's been on CPF for more than a day knows that Don's lights are quite successful. So, people here know that his lights are designed the way they are because those designs work, and that drives our understanding of what makes a good-looking light in the direction of lights that look like his.

Those sixers sure are nice. I wish Don would go back to using screw-on bezels. The double-O-ring design is effective, but I like being able to remove the lenses to clean them at-will without having to fool around with stuffing O-rings back into place.

 

[Kiessling]

I like the double o-ring design. It is a shock absorber in case of an impact, it doesn't put pressure on the lens where none should be and there is one less part to think about.

But it sure can be nice to have different bezels to screw around with, I admit.

 

[fyrstormer]

It has occurred to me that the double-O-ring design could serve as a shock absorber, and no doubt is also less expensive to manufacture, but a good strong bezel (and the titanium ones Don used to use certainly count) with a smooth underside won't put any undue stress on the edges of the lense -- it will only push as hard as the O-ring on the underside can push back. Plus, since the O-ring on the underside seals against the face of the lense instead of the edge, if the lense is a little off-center it won't pose a leak hazard. And if I drop it and dent the bezel, it's nice to have the option to replace it. And if I want to put a color filter over the lense, it's nice if I can hold the filter in place by screwing the bezel down on top of it.

There are lots of reasons why removable bezels make sense; it's a feature I'm willing to pay for.

 

[toby_pra]

Nice pics..welcome to the club! :naughty:

 

[KeyGrip]

HD-45 arrived today. Pictures on the way.

 

[KeyGrip]

Okay, so no HD pictures yet. What kind of lubricant do I have to use on this thing? Nyogel just made it stick up.

 

[Scottiver]

Okay, so no HD pictures yet. What kind of lubricant do I have to use on this thing? Nyogel just made it stick up.

Why, Krytox 50/50 from The Shoppe of course. It's pretty pricey but it's the best and a little goes a long way.
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.c...rytox&osCsid=a2d108526cab5e33dcb6bd9ec4bcaa65

 

[fyrstormer]

I made my own custom lube out of Lucas and teflon powder. It's the smoothest I've tried yet, and it's the only thing I've seen that maintains an oil film on titanium PD threads through multiple twists.

 

[arewethereyetdad]

It has occurred to me that the double-O-ring design could serve as a shock absorber, and no doubt is also less expensive to manufacture, but a good strong bezel (and the titanium ones Don used to use certainly count) with a smooth underside won't put any undue stress on the edges of the lense -- it will only push as hard as the O-ring on the underside can push back. Plus, since the O-ring on the underside seals against the face of the lense instead of the edge, if the lense is a little off-center it won't pose a leak hazard. And if I drop it and dent the bezel, it's nice to have the option to replace it. And if I want to put a color filter over the lense, it's nice if I can hold the filter in place by screwing the bezel down on top of it.

There are lots of reasons why removable bezels make sense; it's a feature I'm willing to pay for.

I agree with all of the above. That's one of the reasons why I'm partial to the PD over the LS20.

This "PD-Clicky" (really just "clicky") is interesting and good-looking. Yet another example of classic McGoodness. :twothumbs

 

[KeyGrip]

Krytox, check. Is that good for the PD head as well?

 

[Scottiver]

Of course, where else would you use it except on the PD o-ring.

 

[fyrstormer]

Of course, where else would you use it except on the PD o-ring.

You sure you want to ask that question?

 

[KeyGrip]

By that I meant is it fine on titanium? Did the early PDs take 3.7v li-ion cells?