Single Cell CR123 Light Wanted, Which One?
- Thread starter umc
- Start date
abarth_1200
Flashlight Enthusiast
@tsask, I have done a K2 emitter swap here is the thread and some beamshots
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3291197&postcount=6
And here is a nice modding tutorial
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=244730&highlight=novatac
Very easy to do and you will find some Luxeon K2 emitters over at marketplace from Fred
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3291197&postcount=6
And here is a nice modding tutorial
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=244730&highlight=novatac
Very easy to do and you will find some Luxeon K2 emitters over at marketplace from Fred
skyfire
Flashlight Enthusiast
RRT-0 is my favorite edc. i dont even use my d10 anymore. i have a version 2 rrt-0, and it tailstands great, no pre-flash either. its clip is very nice, and actually makes it comfortable to hold because of its finger shaped groove. the clip also works well, and is strong. but the best thing is the selector ring right at your fingertips, which makes conserving power fast, easy and fun! this thing is a little thrower, with good spill, and i have the OP reflector.
only complaints i have is its a little bit bigger than most single cr123a lights at 3.75 inches. and its tactical forward clicky requires a lot of travel for momentary.
only complaints i have is its a little bit bigger than most single cr123a lights at 3.75 inches. and its tactical forward clicky requires a lot of travel for momentary.
With no budget McGizmo is simply the best you can own in the 1x123 format.
OK, OK, I got it!
Arc6 :thumbsup:.
Arc6 :thumbsup:.
umc
Enlightened
Alright, so I'll ask, why is the McGizmo so good?
What does it do better than the rest?
I've seen the name around here forever but have never looked into them and I know Don gets great reviews so I am curious as to how his lights are different/better..
What does it do better than the rest?
I've seen the name around here forever but have never looked into them and I know Don gets great reviews so I am curious as to how his lights are different/better..
The best I can do:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=222118
The pictures do not do it justice. You have to hold one in your hands. Then it all makes sense.
I purchased my first one last week. I will have one more by the end of this month. I do not even want to look at other lights now.
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Check out my McLux "love letter" and JS's Lunasol 20 thread.
It is really hard to put into words how good a McGizmo is. They are just "right."
It is really hard to put into words how good a McGizmo is. They are just "right."
umc
Enlightened
Bah, so all I get is "the McGizmo is better just because?" I see nothing as to what makes it stand out other than the price and that's to keep Don surfing in Hawaii. HaHa, yeah I said it and I'm just kidding.:whistle::huh:
On a serious note though, I'm not seeing it yet and don't want to drop five hundy to try and figure it out. If there is a great reason then ok, sure, I think I spent close to that on a M6 but the reasons are/were obvious (at the time) Doesn't matter.
I've done some thinking on this subject and one of the criteria that I've left out was customer support, not just customer support now but down the road. Obviously there are no guarantees with anything now a days but if I buy a Surefire, I'm pretty sure they'll be here years from now if I need help with something.
The LF3XT I just bought, can I say the same thing? No, the RA? Not sure, I know Henry is here in the US but what about 5 years from now, 1 year from now, will he be able to help me? I'm thinking 4Sevens will be around for me with the Quarks but there are no guarantees so I guess ultimately customer support doesn't matter as this is technology we're talking about and next week, next month, next year, we'll be on to something different and the next company and hopefully they can support us and we'll forget what came prior but still own. So all that being said, maybe it's not such an issue.
What say you?
On a serious note though, I'm not seeing it yet and don't want to drop five hundy to try and figure it out. If there is a great reason then ok, sure, I think I spent close to that on a M6 but the reasons are/were obvious (at the time) Doesn't matter.
I've done some thinking on this subject and one of the criteria that I've left out was customer support, not just customer support now but down the road. Obviously there are no guarantees with anything now a days but if I buy a Surefire, I'm pretty sure they'll be here years from now if I need help with something.
The LF3XT I just bought, can I say the same thing? No, the RA? Not sure, I know Henry is here in the US but what about 5 years from now, 1 year from now, will he be able to help me? I'm thinking 4Sevens will be around for me with the Quarks but there are no guarantees so I guess ultimately customer support doesn't matter as this is technology we're talking about and next week, next month, next year, we'll be on to something different and the next company and hopefully they can support us and we'll forget what came prior but still own. So all that being said, maybe it's not such an issue.
What say you?
scout24
Flashaholic
Honestly, you would not really be dropping five hundred. If the light was not to your liking, you could put it on B/S/T and recoup most if not all of your money. Fairly quickly. If you want tons of bells and whistles, look elsewhere. If you want a tool that has had an unbelievable amount of thought, design and engineering put into it that you can pass down to your kids, look here. the newer Haiku and Sundrop XR-U are based on readily available LE's and switches. Repairing or upgrading them down the line should not be an issue if one is so inclined. There are several highly skilled modders here who routinely delve into the older models, and have it down to a science. Try one, you'll like it. :)
umc
Enlightened
I think I finally get it about the McGizmo. My Custom RA Clicky came in the mail today and OMG, I'm in love. It's hard to explain (sound familiar?) but it's easy to explain at the same time, you can tell it's quality just by the heft, but then you look at her and she is a beauty and the beam is beautiful, he modes as setup on the Exec are great.
I just enabled customization (easy) and changed the medium high to tactical strobe just to check it out and turned on the locater just to check it out and this was all easy to figure out. I'll leave customization enabled for a while just to play around like so many do.
It tail stands just fine, but I did take the tail cap off and that caused it to wobble until I played around with it for a bit like pushing the button in and screwing it on slowly and that seems to work.
I played outside for a bit with an E1B, P2D, C2/M60, and EX10 and have to say that the 170RA does just as well as the C2/M60 however after checking the batteries in the C2/M60 on the ZTS, they were at 40% so that my have something to do with it. The P2D came close but I think the RA won. I'm talking about throw here which is what I like.
Anyway, I'm very happy and excited about my purchase and look forward to the Quark 123 regular and LF3XT showing up to be able to compare with the RA which is now my new love and EDC.
I even love the huge ugly clip that I got with the RA, It fits very well on my Wilderness 5 Stitch is I decided to carry it that way. It's ugly but oh so practical.
I guess the only think I would really want more out of the RA is a 5th mode. That would be the cats but. I feel as though I need one more mode, or maybe two.:)
What a great buy, thanks for the suggestions all.
I just enabled customization (easy) and changed the medium high to tactical strobe just to check it out and turned on the locater just to check it out and this was all easy to figure out. I'll leave customization enabled for a while just to play around like so many do.
It tail stands just fine, but I did take the tail cap off and that caused it to wobble until I played around with it for a bit like pushing the button in and screwing it on slowly and that seems to work.
I played outside for a bit with an E1B, P2D, C2/M60, and EX10 and have to say that the 170RA does just as well as the C2/M60 however after checking the batteries in the C2/M60 on the ZTS, they were at 40% so that my have something to do with it. The P2D came close but I think the RA won. I'm talking about throw here which is what I like.
Anyway, I'm very happy and excited about my purchase and look forward to the Quark 123 regular and LF3XT showing up to be able to compare with the RA which is now my new love and EDC.
I even love the huge ugly clip that I got with the RA, It fits very well on my Wilderness 5 Stitch is I decided to carry it that way. It's ugly but oh so practical.
I guess the only think I would really want more out of the RA is a 5th mode. That would be the cats but. I feel as though I need one more mode, or maybe two.:)
What a great buy, thanks for the suggestions all.
Hef
Newly Enlightened
E1B with the Z68 tailcap is GTG, I love mine.
umc
Enlightened
My Quark 123 came today and now I'm a little torn between the RA and the Quark.
In the bathroom I was bouncing both lights off of the ceiling on high and it seems like the Quark is putting out more light, is that the difference between 170 lumen and 206 lumen?
I went outside a little bit ago and was testing for throw and it seems the RA out throws the Quark but a little bit so I'm happy about that as I like throw over spill for most things.
Also, when the Quark says to turn the bezel to switch between modes, it really means the body. I cranked on the bezel with my hands and thought I had a problem until I figured it out, then spent some time hand tightening it back down to where it should be, uggg.:shakehead
The Quark 123 R5 is a very nice white light where is the RA 170 has a green tint, does that say anything about what emitter is being used in the RA? Henry doesn't release that info right?
Hmm, which one will I end up edc-ing......
In the bathroom I was bouncing both lights off of the ceiling on high and it seems like the Quark is putting out more light, is that the difference between 170 lumen and 206 lumen?
I went outside a little bit ago and was testing for throw and it seems the RA out throws the Quark but a little bit so I'm happy about that as I like throw over spill for most things.
Also, when the Quark says to turn the bezel to switch between modes, it really means the body. I cranked on the bezel with my hands and thought I had a problem until I figured it out, then spent some time hand tightening it back down to where it should be, uggg.:shakehead
The Quark 123 R5 is a very nice white light where is the RA 170 has a green tint, does that say anything about what emitter is being used in the RA? Henry doesn't release that info right?
Hmm, which one will I end up edc-ing......
