Titanium Lights = $$

[Hallis]

I've been gone off of CPF for id suppose a year or so. The LionCub had just come out, the McLux PD, a few others. All great lights. Now. I get back on and I see the same people making additional installments to their lines but the only difference now is that the prices on them have at least trippled and they're all Titanium. It somewhat kills the spirit for me. Back in the past it seemed like everybody made light runs more to get something unique and cool into the hands of enthusiests and at the same time brought something new to the community as far as technique or technology. And of course a little profit on the top is expected. But now these lights, rather than being ~$200 are closer to $800 and in some cases more. With little changed but the materials. that limits the availability to those whom can afford to part with that much money for a small light. Which id be willing to wajor that the vast majority of us cannot. I just long for the days of people making a run of maybe 20-30 lights, or even 200 lights at or around $200, i remember those lists filling up FAST because plenty of us had the means to purchase them. Now i'm seeing smaller runs of around 15 or so lights made out of titanium and prices getting close to $1000 and that's just nuts.

I guess im just jaded because im not financially fluid enough to drop $1000 for a flashlight. No matter how exclusive. It would almost be cheaper to turn a light out of a solid bar of silver.

I just want to see aluminum runs again. Good old fashoned aluminum HA'd Lux-3 or even Cree or P4's if somebody wants to be bold.

Maybe it's just a rant more than anything. I was bored and a little shocked at the way things have been. At least the Hotwire guys are still hovering around the same prices they always have.


Comments?

Shane

 

[AlecGold]

Hmm, perhaps you are right, but with the new Cree's and P4's I have the idea that I buy a light that is gonna last several years, perhaps even a decade. Don't understand me wrong, HaIII lights will last a decade as well! Hell, my 6P was HAII black and lasted without any problem 8 or 9 years of edc-ing! But I bought a McGizmo, after saving long and selling nearly all my other lights! Why? What do I need 5 or 10 or 50 lights for? I got my trusty 6P with turbohead, I got an HDS and an E2D. What else do I need than a beauty?
At 470 dollars these lights are sold very fast and I paid even more than that for it.
But when the Q4 crees get out I prob. upgrade it for longer runtimes and that's it.
When I scratch this light, I can polish it up. When I take it for a swim, it will perform perfect. I can disassemble the light, clean it, give it new rubbers and upgrade it without a prob. so what more can I whish for?!

 

[AlecGold]

welcome back btw, I hope the steep prices don't take all the fun out of it!

And the HDS's are expected (but that is not certain) to get back at a much lower pricepoint!

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

I havent seen any runs of Ti lights for $800.

Most Ti lights from the maker are usually $300-$450. You saw a couple Ti Chammies selling for $800. Thats all.

 

[Manzerick]

true in a sense but.. the law of supply and demand wa sin play witht he Ti's for some time.



Jus tlike the baseball card market of the early 90's... everyone has a high end product to offer... it is not hte ocnsumer's job to choose what to buy where as before having them all was actually an option.

Just my $1.00- $.98

 

[Hallis]

true in a sense but.. the law of supply and demand wa sin play witht he Ti's for some time.



Jus tlike the baseball card market of the early 90's... everyone has a high end product to offer... it is not hte ocnsumer's job to choose what to buy where as before having them all was actually an option.

Just my $1.00- $.98

True, I just like to see more affordable offerings thrown in there every now and then. if i remember right the LH's were in the mid $200 range. And I know Charlie made a profit off of them and he sold the CRAP out of them. a lot of them. they were good times. I wish i had one.

 

[easilyled]

I think I joined at a similar time to you Hallis

I don't completely agree with you because there are plenty of runs of lights
still available with great Aluminium lights.

eg. Al/Chrome Draco by Modamag - from what I've read this is one of
the best (if not the best) tiny pocket light ever produced.

Don McGizmo has still been turning out Seoul and Cree Aluminium PDs
and 27LTs - I just bought a black aluminium 27LT-S today.

There is a newish manufacturer called Lumapower that makes inexpensive
lights of good quality etc.

To me, Titanium lights are the icing on the cake. They're available if
I want them and can afford them, but there are plenty of other options.

For me to have one or two Titanium E-series (Aleph) lights is great because
you just put a new light engine in when a better led comes out.

I've now put a Seoul light engine in my Ti-Aleph1 light - it used to have
a UXOK L.E

The beauty is that they never wear like anodised aluminium lights and
the material is much stronger, more lustrous and enduring than bare
aluminium. A light sanding and polishing restores Ti to a flawless finish quite easily.

 

[Anglepoise]

Hallis,
You mention that you temporarily left at the time Don was coming out with the PD and Mr.bulk with his LionCub.

You might remember back then the popularity of the Nuwai Q3.

Well the Q3 was a very well made and priced Chinese import and
a company called Fenix has now surpassed Nuwai as the 'lights of the moment'

Now I believe that the small run , high quality, aluminum lights will become memory as their designers would risk so much when trying to compete with Fenix. Fenix has the ability to make a very high quality product and can price that product way below the 'small run guys'.

So two years on it' s all about niche marketing and Ti is the flovour of the month. Its exotic, expensive and genuinely is a good material to use , and anything made from it will sell out fast.

Sadly its a whole new game on CPF and commerce now rules.

 

[Hallis]

Ive got two Q3's right here. They are my emergency lights.

 

[cmacclel]

The whole issue here is the fact you came back when a few RARE light where up for sale. Don sells his lights for $425 and they sell out in minutes. The prices of raw material has almost doubled in the last couple years.

McMaster.com

1" Titanium $200 Per Foot!!!!
1.5" Titanium $450 per Foot!!!!

Mac

 

[yaesumofo]

ti $108.00 a pound
Al $6-8 a pound.

That is more than 10x the price of aluminum for titanium.
Then ofcource is the waste of material which for som parts is 90% Ti is very costly to make energy wise. just think about the carmon emissions when making ti vs aluminum. anazing. Not efficient at all.
While I love titanium as much as the next guy (several watches, several flashlights, cameras (contax T2) chain bottle openers prybaabies ect...... Titanium is not as good a material for flashlights as aluminum. I have lots of both I edc an aluminum PD and a ti PD.

Maybe ti will come down when airbus and boeing demand drops.
yaesumofo

The whole issue here is the fact you came back when a few RARE light where up for sale. Don sells his lights for $425 and they sell out in minutes. The prices of raw material has almost doubled in the last couple years.

McMaster.com

1" Titanium $200 Per Foot!!!!
1.5" Titanium $450 per Foot!!!!

Mac

 

[AlecGold]

But do Ti lights really last longer? I dare to question it, I have a few oldies that have lasted over 9 years, some of them EDC-ed when I was doing maintenance beside the railroads. That is a hars environment, for man and his light but the HAII lights lasted and while the anodizing went a bit thin at places, it stayed on and the lights kept on functioning! these were incan lights, no regulation, no electronics to get bust, just a filament that needed replacement every 3 to 6 months orso.

I wonder how long these regulations will last, how the electronics will hold up, how they will resist the hungry teeth of time...
After series of experimental lights, you see the leds now being made in big series, specificly for edc use. Just think of all the surefire's that are being made, sold and used.
It is my guess that the led-lights will evolve from show-off lights to reasonable


Will I be using my XR19-C in 10 years just like I used my ancient 6P? I have a caclulator, a HP 48SX. It is old, it is brown, doesn't look fancy, has a seventies design, but it was made in 1993 orso. It still functions like new, it does what it needs to do, it has survived daily use in college, university, years and years of work and still goes strong on 3 AAA's. Why would I buy a new HP (made in china) or a new Texas Instrumenst? they stop working after a year , perhaps two years when you use it daily... It is just like a lot of electronics is made like today's phones: my Nokia 3310 still works flawless.. newer phones stoped working after 12-14 months, with my Razr being the latest achievement: 4 months and it was over with the basterd! I bought a Vertu. I guess the Vertu will work until the next century But lots of electronics seem to be engineerd to create a replacement market that is as big as possible...

I expect my XR19-C to work for the next 10 years orso, perhaps I buy a upgrade when a very nice new emiter that has proved itself... and gives still 100 lumens but 3 or 4 hours of runtime on high. But basicly this light seems to be build to last forever and forever! And that is what I like in my stuff. Some things are consumables.. toilletpaper, ink, food, that are consumables, but way to much things today are made as consumables while they are not consumables and should be made to last for years and years. they should get marks from using, they should age without loosing their function. they should get "patina" marks of their use, of their age and of there well begin made...

 

[Hallis]

Damn that Airbus A-380 lol, And man the price of Titanium has jumped up since i last saw.

As far as durability of the lights goes. I just EDC my Q3's since they werent expensive and have their little carry pouches. They arent the brightest things in my inventory but they definately serve me well.