I'm wondering what's the closest thing being made to the ideal LED light. The purpose is a quality gift for a non-flashaholic tech buff. My idea of ideal means the LED light equivalent of a Sebenza pocket knife. Here are some desirable characteristics, some of which are perhaps in conflict with each other.
1) It should be completely solid in operation, with no flakiness whatsoever in its switching action. It's better to have an utterly predictable 1 level switch, than a finicky 2 level switch.
2) It should be visually attractive, designed with keen and tasteful style, not just utilitarian. My notion is that it should be smooth bodied with milled grooves where needed for gripping, and with no knurling; if there's knurling, it should be everywhere on the body, like the Arc AA, rather than in bands. But this is up to the designer and there are all kinds of possibilities.
3) The styling should not make even the slightest gesture toward an intentional military-tactical look. It should not have pointy bits like the SF E2D. It should not be olive-drab in color. However, it should have a look that stays stylish and wears well. The blue HA of the FF2 is nice. And I do like the E1e/E2e/L4 series.
4) It should require absolutely minimal maintenance, and should need no hard-to-find maintenance parts that wear, like custom-molded rubber switch boots. The battery contact should not be a solder blob. I guess an O-ring seal may be unavoidable, but the O-ring should be a standard one that you can get at a hardware store.
5) The light should be impressively bright for its size. If it's a 2 cell light, it should have a 5 watt led. It doesn't need the absolute top LED flux since its goal is not beamshot comparisons with other lights. But it should have good neutral and smooth color, even at the expense of a little bit of flux. It does not need extreme throw. It should have a wide, smooth spill beam.
6) It should come in attractive packaging if possible. Longbow is great at that. This isn't a necessity though. While we're at it, the package should include a maintenance kit, consisting of spare O-rings, switch boots, lubricant, etc, and at least one spare set of batteries.
7) It should not need ultra-exotic batteries, but CR123's and CR2's are fine.
8) One can never, ever say that cost is no object, or who knows what might happen. But the idea here is to get something really nice that impresses the hell out of the recipient, not to get a big bargain. The cost of a Surefire L4 or a basic Aleph is acceptable. Going beyond that may take some second thoughts.
Lights that don't quite make it:
Firefly/FF2: these lights are very close to what I have in mind, but their QC isn't yet up to the standard needed. Their operation is just too flaky, especially with the 2-stage switch. Battery replacement is also somewhat fussy, at least with the FF1. I worry about the edge contact on the converter board. The solution may be a somewhat redesigned FF3 with custom electronics, but that's science fiction for now.
Longbow Micra: These are promising but the ergonomics aren't as good as the original McLux. Also, I hate the Kroll switch.
Peak LED various models: these just aren't there yet
Ultra-limited modder lights: there are some gorgeous and fantastic ones, but they aren't available for sale.
Aleph series: this has possibilities, though I have some quibbles about the styling. I'd have preferred the Aleph 2 head to look closer to the original McLux head in black, and the multiple diameters of the body/tail look a little bit busy. As much as I hate to say it, even the original McLux looks a little bit "trendy" and I'm looking for more like "classic".
HDS EDC series: maybe the Arc4+ soured me on this but I feel this type of light is overcomplicated to operate, plus it's too large for a compact EDC, and for a non-EDC it makes too many sacrifices for the sake of compactness. It would be much more attractive as a 2-cell, 5 watt light.
I guess the L4 is ok, though I wasn't too impressed with the original Z57 switch, which may have been improved since then. L4/McE2S is another thought.
1) It should be completely solid in operation, with no flakiness whatsoever in its switching action. It's better to have an utterly predictable 1 level switch, than a finicky 2 level switch.
2) It should be visually attractive, designed with keen and tasteful style, not just utilitarian. My notion is that it should be smooth bodied with milled grooves where needed for gripping, and with no knurling; if there's knurling, it should be everywhere on the body, like the Arc AA, rather than in bands. But this is up to the designer and there are all kinds of possibilities.
3) The styling should not make even the slightest gesture toward an intentional military-tactical look. It should not have pointy bits like the SF E2D. It should not be olive-drab in color. However, it should have a look that stays stylish and wears well. The blue HA of the FF2 is nice. And I do like the E1e/E2e/L4 series.
4) It should require absolutely minimal maintenance, and should need no hard-to-find maintenance parts that wear, like custom-molded rubber switch boots. The battery contact should not be a solder blob. I guess an O-ring seal may be unavoidable, but the O-ring should be a standard one that you can get at a hardware store.
5) The light should be impressively bright for its size. If it's a 2 cell light, it should have a 5 watt led. It doesn't need the absolute top LED flux since its goal is not beamshot comparisons with other lights. But it should have good neutral and smooth color, even at the expense of a little bit of flux. It does not need extreme throw. It should have a wide, smooth spill beam.
6) It should come in attractive packaging if possible. Longbow is great at that. This isn't a necessity though. While we're at it, the package should include a maintenance kit, consisting of spare O-rings, switch boots, lubricant, etc, and at least one spare set of batteries.
7) It should not need ultra-exotic batteries, but CR123's and CR2's are fine.
8) One can never, ever say that cost is no object, or who knows what might happen. But the idea here is to get something really nice that impresses the hell out of the recipient, not to get a big bargain. The cost of a Surefire L4 or a basic Aleph is acceptable. Going beyond that may take some second thoughts.
Lights that don't quite make it:
Firefly/FF2: these lights are very close to what I have in mind, but their QC isn't yet up to the standard needed. Their operation is just too flaky, especially with the 2-stage switch. Battery replacement is also somewhat fussy, at least with the FF1. I worry about the edge contact on the converter board. The solution may be a somewhat redesigned FF3 with custom electronics, but that's science fiction for now.
Longbow Micra: These are promising but the ergonomics aren't as good as the original McLux. Also, I hate the Kroll switch.
Peak LED various models: these just aren't there yet
Ultra-limited modder lights: there are some gorgeous and fantastic ones, but they aren't available for sale.
Aleph series: this has possibilities, though I have some quibbles about the styling. I'd have preferred the Aleph 2 head to look closer to the original McLux head in black, and the multiple diameters of the body/tail look a little bit busy. As much as I hate to say it, even the original McLux looks a little bit "trendy" and I'm looking for more like "classic".
HDS EDC series: maybe the Arc4+ soured me on this but I feel this type of light is overcomplicated to operate, plus it's too large for a compact EDC, and for a non-EDC it makes too many sacrifices for the sake of compactness. It would be much more attractive as a 2-cell, 5 watt light.
I guess the L4 is ok, though I wasn't too impressed with the original Z57 switch, which may have been improved since then. L4/McE2S is another thought.
