KevinL
Flashlight Enthusiast
I can't believe it either, but Old Faithful just turned 5 last Monday. I need to buy it a birthday cake and sing it a song. 12/07/2004.
Old Faithful is a low-serial-number, very early generation U2, LuxV, 18650, and the most unusual tint I have ever seen in the hundreds of LEDs that have passed through my hands. (I build, mod, and used to sell). It has the slightest hint of pink - I would call it a "WA" bin under the LumiLEDS binning system. And like the name implies, it has never let me down.
For a 5 year old light that has been to the ends of the world and dropped more times than I can remember it looks great. My favorite quote about it was "I drop it, and the floor breaks.". It has chipped both concrete and wood floors. It's what I call a working light, I don't baby it. The bezel is framed by a nice silver ring where the HA has been trashed. It is an EDC light and it sees a lot of action.
Even more amazing the 18650's, which I bought for it when it first came, are still working fine with at most, 10-15% loss in capacity as shown by my Hyperion EOS5i analyzer/charger. I still get most of a charge out of them, contrary to popular belief that Li-ions die after 3 years. Cheap LiCo, perhaps. These are LG Chem, A2 bin cells and they have been doing great. I have a pair and alternate them so I have a fresh one always charged and ready to go.
There are sexier lights. There are brighter lights. There are prettier lights. And this is the one light I'd take with me to the end of the world and harm's way if I was going there again. There is nothing like the U2 Digital ULTRA classic. Truly the Ultra.
Hats off to PK for coming up with this masterpiece, especially the rotating collar which is what the U2 is all about. I hate multi-click interfaces - the collar suits me perfectly.
Last edited: