Twilight of the Nautilus...

[fyrstormer]

- or -

The Last of the Nautili...

- - -

Take your pick.

Anyway, I finally broke down and bought a Nautilus from 4Sevens early last week, which arrived much faster than I expected (there was a delivery notice in my mailbox on Tuesday evening, which I couldn't pick up because I was OOT for T-Day), and what do you know -- they're out of stock now. As I recall, the sale was for the last five of them, and I think I might have bought the very last one. Did anyone else snag one between 11/22-11/30?

It's a nice little light, all in all; the brass-on-titanium threading works very well. There were some burrs left over from the knurling process, but I was able to remove those with a carbide rubber block and a high-speed cotton buffer. I wasn't too happy with the pressure on the threads at first, but I peeled off the thick foam ring on the back of the head and replaced it with a much thinner ring originally intended for a Petite Killer, and now the action is much lighter, and it turns as smooth as a poorly-worded analogy. (actually, somewhat smoother in fact. :devil

I don't know how easy or hard it is to get replacement foam rings for Petite Killers, seeing how PhotonFanatic's work is small-volume, but if you have a Nautilus or an Aeon that doesn't turn as smooth as you'd like, a Petite Killer foam ring is a worthy mod. I'd even suggest it as a standard part on future Aeons, but I don't know where PF gets them from so I can't recommend a source.

 

[THE_dAY]

Congrats on a really solid light.

I have one in HAIII and couldn't be happier with it.

One of the best beams I've seen from Cree or any LED, and the best regulated runtimes on earth!

BTW, my aluminum version doesn't have any problems with the foam donut, smooth action regardless.

Would love to see pics of your Ti version..

 

[Outdoors Fanatic]

You lucky SOB!!

Congratulations.

 

[fyrstormer]

Well, I'm comparing it primarily to my McGizmo XR19, since that's the other titanium Cree-based light I have. (okay, I have a Haiku too, but...well, I dunno, I picked the XR19.)

It seems to be about as bright as the XR19, with better tint, though it doesn't throw as far but it has a smaller reflector so that's understandable.

Since it has brass-on-titanium threads, it doesn't need the special grease I made for my Gizmos, which is nice.

Obviously it's considerably smaller than the XR19, though it needs to be smaller because it doesn't have a pocket clip to keep it from bunching up with my keys into an uncomfortable bulge in my pocket.

It runs on a CR123, like most of my other lights, which makes it a nice backup light in case, I dunno, my XR19 takes a direct hit from a tactical nuclear weapon, or something similarly destructive.

The twisty interface is similar to the PD interface, but lacks the instant-momentary-on function of the PD interface, though that's not nearly so important now that I've lightened the twisting action by replacing the foam disc on the back of the head.

I really like knurling, and the Nautilus has an excellent example of it. I also like the unique fold-away keyring, though I'm probably never going to keep it on a keychain so that's more of an aesthetic thing for me than anything else. The center rib that the keyring hooks into is screaming for a tritium marker slot; that would be a good addition to the design I think.

A very nice little light indeed.

 

[Gatsby]

The Nautilus is an attractive little package - I've pondered pulling the trigger but lack of RCR123 support and my affection for clickies kept me from doing so. I had a CR2 Ion that was a fine little light and the twist action on it was absolutely superb.

How does it compare size wise to the Arc6?

 

[fyrstormer]

The Nautilus is an attractive little package - I've pondered pulling the trigger but lack of RCR123 support and my affection for clickies kept me from doing so. I had a CR2 Ion that was a fine little light and the twist action on it was absolutely superb.

How does it compare size wise to the Arc6?

I was originally a fan of twisties, but I can't deny the convenience of a clicky for single-hand use, which of course is why the PD switch is so nice -- especially Nitecore's version. The lack of RCR123 support is a little irritating, but I don't expect I'll be using this light as my primary when I've got...hmm...is it bad if I can't remember offhand how many McGizmos I own now? :huh:

Anyway, it's a good compact light, and I finally decided to get one when I knew they must be running out, because I've wanted one irrationally since I first saw it. (somehow the Aeon doesn't have the same appeal for me, I dunno why; possibly because of the non-standard battery.) I didn't think to check its size compared to the Arc6; all I know is it's 69mm x 20mm when measured with a battery installed and the switch off, so it's definitely down there. It's smaller than a Nitecore EX10, I know that much.

 

[GarageBoy]

Amazing light. It's TINY compared to the Arc6, only slightly longer than the CR2 ion, noticible size difference compared to Fenix P2Ds and other similar lights
It's the perfect, "carry alot, use little" light