Tri-V2
The sale will be Wednesday Dec 12th at about noon eastern time. Please look for a new thread in my forum (this forum).
EDIT: =================================================================================================
inserted here is additional information from some of the posts throughout this thread and some new information about the new flashlight.
=====================================================================================================
The Tri-V flashlight was conceived on a whim. I never expected it to go anywhere. However, as it started to materialize it garnered considerable interest from a small group of flashlight enthusiasts. So, I kept on with it and built prototype. I liked how it worked and so did the other people who played with it. I know many of you have an original Tri-V or had one and understand what it's all about. But for those who are new to this I'm going to try to write up a description about what makes this flashlight different. Everything here pertains to both the original Tri-V and the new Tri-V2 except for the details in the color section. The original Tri-V was released 2 1/2 years ago. So yes, a long period of time has passed but I am finally excited and proud to announce the Tri-V2.
What makes the Tri-V2 unique? That it has 14w of power in your pocket? That it is made of solid 6al4v titanium? That it has a 6 mode selector switch? That it is easy and fast to use? That it is microprocessor controlled user programmable? No, there are other lights that do these things.
It is unique because it is Tri-Variable: it gives multiple power levels, multiple beam patterns and multiple color temperatures of white. All in a small EDC size.
Power
The multiple power levels thing is generally well understood. All of the SPY flashlights have had this feature since the beginning in 2005. But the way the SPY does it, affords you the ability to select the exact amount of light (battery consumption) that you desire with great ease and speed. As an example let's say you're out at night and you need all the light that the SPY can muster without draining the batteries too quickly. Spin the dial all the way up to the full power and then back it off 1 click. In just a split second you will have it set without even looking at it.
Beam
Getting a SPY out of your pocket and projecting a very narrow and powerful beam of light at a tree line that is 300 feet away is fun and useful. That same incredibly strong beam is also a formidable defensive weapon. Or say, using the flood to light up an indoor area with a smooth glow is useful for creating ambiance, for searching for something on the floor or for lighting up a photography subject. The different beam patterns are useful for different things. Additionally, the flood and the reflector can be mixed together creating yet a fourth practical and very useful beam pattern.
Color
There are 3 color temperatures available to the user of a Tri-V2 flashlight. Technically there are 7 color temperatures but I want to talk specifically about 3 of them. The first of the three is the color of the emitter that has the reflector. That is a cool/neutral white color at about 5700 K to 5300 K degrees. The second is the flood emitter that has a warm white color of about 3300 K degrees. And finally the third white color is what you get when you turn on both of these emitters at the same time. Of course this yields the mixing of the 2 colors and that results in a color temperature somewhere between the two. Mixing the bright white spot with its 6500 K temperature with these other two emitters may be useful for some but it does not come in the default configuration.
I can't characterize all that you could do with these variables and so I'm not even going to try. There's a lot to be played with in the mixing of these three emitters and I strived to create programming that will enable the end-user to have fun trying different configurations.
The Tri-V2 will be available with two different color temperatures for the reflector emitter. One is slightly cooler at about 5700 K degrees and the other is more neutral at about 5300 K degrees. I admit they are not hugely different but they are different nevertheless. If you prefer one over the other then please specify it in your order.
Of course if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask them in this thread or in an e-mail. I admit this is a complicated flashlight, not complicated to use, but it took a lot to build this and program it. There is a wealth of information spread across several threads in my forum about this flashlight.
The tri-V2 comes with a new lock mechanism. I know what you're thinking, oh my gosh he changed it again! Well you're right, this time it is easier to use and I find it to be the best so far. Activating it is quite simply achieved by spinning the switch from off all the way to P6 and back to off again very quickly. I find it something that I never do in casual use of the flashlight. Therefore, as before, if you enable this feature with a PU2, you will have a simple and quick way of locking the flashlight so it will not come on in your pack while it is being jostled around.
The SPY flashlight comes with a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser of the light.
The aspheric lens is focused to the plane of the top of the XR-E dome. That means that if you look in it you will see greatly magnified every imperfection in that emitter. Don't do that! 😉
Tri-V2 is not water proof, do not get it wet. If you do get it wet immediately take the batteries out and leave it in a warm place to dry.
As you all know the Tri-V2 is similar to the original Tri-V. The big differences are the mark 4 version of the STFu converter board and the replacement of the MC-E with an XP-G emitter. Much has already been said about the emitter replacement but I will recap by saying that it makes the light much more rounded and makes for the practicality of running the flood and reflector at the same time, a feature that I have included in the default programming. The new converter board primarily came about due to the need of having greater fidelity in the current source circuitry. It now has a more stable output in the very low levels. But one of the other big advantages of the new Texas Instruments buck converter IC is increased efficiency.
My thanks go out yet again to Wayne (dat2zip) for designing the all new circuit. It is an amazing feat of engineering. It is so tiny yet so complex and when it does its job, its complexity goes unnoticed, as it should.
It has been 2 1/2 years since I started the process to build more Tri-V flashlights. I'm very excited to finally be bringing these new lights to market. Truth be known, after the first batch of Tri-V flashlights, I swore I wouldn't build this flashlight again. It's so incredibly labor-intensive that I just didn't want to do it. But in the months after the sale, I received a large number of requests for more of these flashlights. The retail price of the Tri-V is unchanged at $3200. However the CPF discount for the new flashlight is changing. Essentially, the price will increase by 20% over the original Tri-V. The Tri-V2 in standard finish is $2395. The optional SW GG finish is the same price ($400) as it is for any of the SPY flashlights. Therefor the Tri-V2 with the SW GG is $2795.
For the sale this week, there will be approximately 25+ flashlights available. There may be a few more before the end of the year. Next year, I will be able to build more once I get more of the new converter boards. None of these first 25 has the SW GG finish. I do however have 4 tri-V2 bodies prepped for SW GG. I will make them available to the first four people who order them when the sale is posted. If more than four people post that they want the SW GG version of the flashlight, that's no problem I will extend this pricing to them until the flashlights are built and shipped.
I am still working on photos.
Cheers
Dave
EDIT:
I have some more news. I just received a box full of 12 exotic leather holsters made by none other than Art of the Hide. They will be available to purchase one per flashlight. They will not be available separately. The price is $300. If you want one it will ship with your flashlight. When I post the sale I will have a photo of each of the holsters with a number beside each one. So please do not forget to specify which number holster you want. They're all right-handed, in other words if you put them on your right side the flashlight will be facing forward. Putting them on your left side is not really that big of a deal and would work if that's how you roll. Some are black and some are brown there are several different hides. They are drop dead beautiful.
click image for larger view
4 shark
4 alligator
3 elephant (#1,2 and 5)
1 water buffalo (#12)
F=flood
R=reflector
S=spot
P1 is F @ 5 mA
P2 is F&R @ 50 mA
P3 is F&R @ 200 mA
P4 is F&R @ 1000 mA
P5 is F @ 800 mA
P6 is S @ 1000 mA
There are still 4 configuration slots. And of course you can program the settings to anything you like.
Cheers
Dave
Please, PayPal allows you to enter several separate "gift" addresses. I'm talking about a physical addresses like of your home, your work or your school. Please enter those addresses ahead of time. That way if you want me to send to an alternate address you can select it at the time of payment. I do not like typing in addresses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the original post in this thread:
There will be a Tri-V2. It is in the works now and I thought I would put up this thread so I can put up some of the details as they come. And have a central place to answer the questions I have been getting in email.
The Tri-V2 is almost identical to the Tri-V. It looks the same on the outside save for the flood emitter. I am replacing the flood emitter: the MC-E will now be an XP-G. This change is going to make mixing the flood and the reflector better as they will both have the same output when both are on. The look of the flood area is not completely done but it will likely be very similar to the Tri-V's flood emitter.
The other two emitters are not changing. I looked at replacing the spot emitter but there is nothing as good as the XR-E when setting behind the aspheric lens.
I am thinking about running some SW GG prototypes of the Tri-V2. I do not know how this will turn out but I will post some pics of that. We will see.
Cheers
Dave
The sale will be Wednesday Dec 12th at about noon eastern time. Please look for a new thread in my forum (this forum).
EDIT: =================================================================================================
inserted here is additional information from some of the posts throughout this thread and some new information about the new flashlight.
=====================================================================================================
The Tri-V flashlight was conceived on a whim. I never expected it to go anywhere. However, as it started to materialize it garnered considerable interest from a small group of flashlight enthusiasts. So, I kept on with it and built prototype. I liked how it worked and so did the other people who played with it. I know many of you have an original Tri-V or had one and understand what it's all about. But for those who are new to this I'm going to try to write up a description about what makes this flashlight different. Everything here pertains to both the original Tri-V and the new Tri-V2 except for the details in the color section. The original Tri-V was released 2 1/2 years ago. So yes, a long period of time has passed but I am finally excited and proud to announce the Tri-V2.
What makes the Tri-V2 unique? That it has 14w of power in your pocket? That it is made of solid 6al4v titanium? That it has a 6 mode selector switch? That it is easy and fast to use? That it is microprocessor controlled user programmable? No, there are other lights that do these things.
It is unique because it is Tri-Variable: it gives multiple power levels, multiple beam patterns and multiple color temperatures of white. All in a small EDC size.
Power
The multiple power levels thing is generally well understood. All of the SPY flashlights have had this feature since the beginning in 2005. But the way the SPY does it, affords you the ability to select the exact amount of light (battery consumption) that you desire with great ease and speed. As an example let's say you're out at night and you need all the light that the SPY can muster without draining the batteries too quickly. Spin the dial all the way up to the full power and then back it off 1 click. In just a split second you will have it set without even looking at it.
Beam
Getting a SPY out of your pocket and projecting a very narrow and powerful beam of light at a tree line that is 300 feet away is fun and useful. That same incredibly strong beam is also a formidable defensive weapon. Or say, using the flood to light up an indoor area with a smooth glow is useful for creating ambiance, for searching for something on the floor or for lighting up a photography subject. The different beam patterns are useful for different things. Additionally, the flood and the reflector can be mixed together creating yet a fourth practical and very useful beam pattern.
Color
There are 3 color temperatures available to the user of a Tri-V2 flashlight. Technically there are 7 color temperatures but I want to talk specifically about 3 of them. The first of the three is the color of the emitter that has the reflector. That is a cool/neutral white color at about 5700 K to 5300 K degrees. The second is the flood emitter that has a warm white color of about 3300 K degrees. And finally the third white color is what you get when you turn on both of these emitters at the same time. Of course this yields the mixing of the 2 colors and that results in a color temperature somewhere between the two. Mixing the bright white spot with its 6500 K temperature with these other two emitters may be useful for some but it does not come in the default configuration.
I can't characterize all that you could do with these variables and so I'm not even going to try. There's a lot to be played with in the mixing of these three emitters and I strived to create programming that will enable the end-user to have fun trying different configurations.
The Tri-V2 will be available with two different color temperatures for the reflector emitter. One is slightly cooler at about 5700 K degrees and the other is more neutral at about 5300 K degrees. I admit they are not hugely different but they are different nevertheless. If you prefer one over the other then please specify it in your order.
Of course if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask them in this thread or in an e-mail. I admit this is a complicated flashlight, not complicated to use, but it took a lot to build this and program it. There is a wealth of information spread across several threads in my forum about this flashlight.
The tri-V2 comes with a new lock mechanism. I know what you're thinking, oh my gosh he changed it again! Well you're right, this time it is easier to use and I find it to be the best so far. Activating it is quite simply achieved by spinning the switch from off all the way to P6 and back to off again very quickly. I find it something that I never do in casual use of the flashlight. Therefore, as before, if you enable this feature with a PU2, you will have a simple and quick way of locking the flashlight so it will not come on in your pack while it is being jostled around.
The SPY flashlight comes with a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser of the light.
The aspheric lens is focused to the plane of the top of the XR-E dome. That means that if you look in it you will see greatly magnified every imperfection in that emitter. Don't do that! 😉
Tri-V2 is not water proof, do not get it wet. If you do get it wet immediately take the batteries out and leave it in a warm place to dry.
As you all know the Tri-V2 is similar to the original Tri-V. The big differences are the mark 4 version of the STFu converter board and the replacement of the MC-E with an XP-G emitter. Much has already been said about the emitter replacement but I will recap by saying that it makes the light much more rounded and makes for the practicality of running the flood and reflector at the same time, a feature that I have included in the default programming. The new converter board primarily came about due to the need of having greater fidelity in the current source circuitry. It now has a more stable output in the very low levels. But one of the other big advantages of the new Texas Instruments buck converter IC is increased efficiency.
My thanks go out yet again to Wayne (dat2zip) for designing the all new circuit. It is an amazing feat of engineering. It is so tiny yet so complex and when it does its job, its complexity goes unnoticed, as it should.
It has been 2 1/2 years since I started the process to build more Tri-V flashlights. I'm very excited to finally be bringing these new lights to market. Truth be known, after the first batch of Tri-V flashlights, I swore I wouldn't build this flashlight again. It's so incredibly labor-intensive that I just didn't want to do it. But in the months after the sale, I received a large number of requests for more of these flashlights. The retail price of the Tri-V is unchanged at $3200. However the CPF discount for the new flashlight is changing. Essentially, the price will increase by 20% over the original Tri-V. The Tri-V2 in standard finish is $2395. The optional SW GG finish is the same price ($400) as it is for any of the SPY flashlights. Therefor the Tri-V2 with the SW GG is $2795.
For the sale this week, there will be approximately 25+ flashlights available. There may be a few more before the end of the year. Next year, I will be able to build more once I get more of the new converter boards. None of these first 25 has the SW GG finish. I do however have 4 tri-V2 bodies prepped for SW GG. I will make them available to the first four people who order them when the sale is posted. If more than four people post that they want the SW GG version of the flashlight, that's no problem I will extend this pricing to them until the flashlights are built and shipped.
I am still working on photos.
Cheers
Dave
EDIT:
I have some more news. I just received a box full of 12 exotic leather holsters made by none other than Art of the Hide. They will be available to purchase one per flashlight. They will not be available separately. The price is $300. If you want one it will ship with your flashlight. When I post the sale I will have a photo of each of the holsters with a number beside each one. So please do not forget to specify which number holster you want. They're all right-handed, in other words if you put them on your right side the flashlight will be facing forward. Putting them on your left side is not really that big of a deal and would work if that's how you roll. Some are black and some are brown there are several different hides. They are drop dead beautiful.
click image for larger view
4 shark
4 alligator
3 elephant (#1,2 and 5)
1 water buffalo (#12)
F=flood
R=reflector
S=spot
P1 is F @ 5 mA
P2 is F&R @ 50 mA
P3 is F&R @ 200 mA
P4 is F&R @ 1000 mA
P5 is F @ 800 mA
P6 is S @ 1000 mA
There are still 4 configuration slots. And of course you can program the settings to anything you like.
Cheers
Dave
Please, PayPal allows you to enter several separate "gift" addresses. I'm talking about a physical addresses like of your home, your work or your school. Please enter those addresses ahead of time. That way if you want me to send to an alternate address you can select it at the time of payment. I do not like typing in addresses.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is the original post in this thread:
There will be a Tri-V2. It is in the works now and I thought I would put up this thread so I can put up some of the details as they come. And have a central place to answer the questions I have been getting in email.
The Tri-V2 is almost identical to the Tri-V. It looks the same on the outside save for the flood emitter. I am replacing the flood emitter: the MC-E will now be an XP-G. This change is going to make mixing the flood and the reflector better as they will both have the same output when both are on. The look of the flood area is not completely done but it will likely be very similar to the Tri-V's flood emitter.
The other two emitters are not changing. I looked at replacing the spot emitter but there is nothing as good as the XR-E when setting behind the aspheric lens.
I am thinking about running some SW GG prototypes of the Tri-V2. I do not know how this will turn out but I will post some pics of that. We will see.
Cheers
Dave
Last edited:
