What does a well worn Titanium EDC light look like?

[moses]

Curious. I don't really care whether a light is Ti or Aluminum. Type 3 anodized AL lights have been durable for me.

Curious about the interest in titanium. Theoretically, they are more durable etc. But practically is it really any different in daily use?

Anyways, curious what a bare Titanium light looks like after lots of daily use when dropped, scratched etc.

Mo

 

[mknewman]

Mine looks like new. It's far, far tougher than aluminium.

 

[Crenshaw]

Ti is stronger than aluminium in general, as in, it wont dent as easily. But uncoated Ti does not resist scratches as well as HA coated aluminium does.

So if you had a bare aluminium light, it would scratch easier, and dent easier than Ti.

Ti is also heavier than aluminium. IIRC, its 60% heavier, but twice as strong.

Crenshaw

 

[Yucca Patrol]

My "stonewashed" titanium bodied Nitecore EX10 is probably the most worn looking as it started out with a matte finish. It now has lots of little tiny surface scratches, but none of them can be felt with a fingernail, they can only be seen. I'm very impressed with the durability of the titanium. I've dropped it plenty of times and not a dent or scratch to be found

 

[fareast]

I too wanted to see the effects of EDC on a Ti light. I have a Ti watch but I think a Ti light would have different lifes so to try and see I ordered a Ti whistle from Russtang and put it on my keyring for several months. Since I am not really careful with my keyring it and the light on the ring got heavily dropped dozens of times. The main differences I found with my usage are what many have said about Ti already:

- it does dent but to a much much lesser extent than Al (HA/Anoz III);
- it scratches much easier than Al but these scratches are only visible and you can't really feel them at all.
- it feels not cold (warm is not a right word here) to touch (it conducts heat far worse than AL hence the perceived difference in temp when touching the metal).

 

[deranged_coder]

I have a McGizmo LunaSol 20 that I have EDC'd in a front pants pocket ever since I got it. It has sat in there with keys, pens, etc. It has been dropped, tossed around, etc. by an energetic toddler onto carpeting, wooden floors, concrete, etc. It has even survived the toddler dribble + gnaw test.

It has some visible scratches but the surface still feels smooth. No dents that I can see. It has been very durable.

 

[Kid9P]

 

[Bullzeyebill]

That looks well "driven over".

Bill

 

[sol-leks]

Thanks for starting this thread. Now it will be even harder waiting for my illuminati to come in the mail.

 

[moses]

Kid9P.

Yowzer.

Mo

 

[carrot]

Haha, my McLux Ti PD looks almost like that....

 

[Th232]

Note that the pic Kid9P posted was after it (and its owner) were in a motorcycle accident. Here's a picture of it after it was restored:

For me personally, my Lunasol has held up pretty well, there're minor scratches on it, but they blend in a lot better than chips on the anodising of my NEX.

 

[OfficerCamp]

I'll tell you in a few months after I spend some quality time with my Preon1 clicky, this is definately going to be my new pocket beater.

Also keep in mind, HA is a coating (which you surely already know). Titanium is titanium through the entire light, so there is nothing to "wear off" or "chip". If ti is scratched up bad, hit it with some 0000 steel wool and make your mirror finish into a scotch brite finish, or take it to a local shop to be polished (cheap).

 

[headophile]

anyone got pics of a regulary used titanium aaa edc? i've yet to get a real keychain duty light and i'm looking into titanium for that.

 

[roguesw]

These two flashlights are stored with my keys in my bag. This is the image after 1 year of usage. The flashlight on the left is a McGizmo Titanium 2x123 clicky.
The flashlight on the right is a McGizmo PR Aluminum head with a Type 3 anodize black cap.

You can see after 1 year, the raw Al head has a lot of pitting and scratching and the dents are very deep. Also, the raw Al has a milky finish, raw Al oxidising. The raw oxidised Al feels very rough to the touch. The Type 3 anodize black cap has no dents some scratches. It has held up pretty well.

The Titanium body on the left has minor scratches, no pitting unlike the raw Al head. The swirls are not deep, cant be felt by the finger nail and can be removed easily with 0000 wire brush. The Titanium is still as shiny as the day I bought it.

On another note, the Titanium light has an Al McGizmo Pr-T head. Some people on the board are concerned with galvanic oxidising between Al and Ti parts. The light has been used for the last year daily and I havent experienced any problem yet.

 

[headophile]

^

looks great for 1 year with keys compared to the bare aluminum. i've had no problem with the durability of HAIII so far but i just want something different for this purpose.

 

[jblackwood]

That McGizmo (forget the model) that's been through a motorcycle accident is my favorite before-and-after set of pictures. I totally agree with everything said (I'd better, I EDC a Ti light) but I also feel like Ti is a bit of man jewelry. As far as man jewelry that we can pass on to our progeny goes, we're limited to watches. But expensive, heirloom quality watches (like Rolex, etc.) are, well, expensive. If you carry a light as often as you wear a watch and compare the costs in the two, Ti flashlights are pretty inexpensive. I consider most Ti lights to be heirloom quality. I only own three (two McGizmo's and one Lummi Wee), but those three are lights I'd be proud to hand down to my kids, if they were into flashlights like we are.

Back to the thread topic, though. My Lunasol 20 rides in the back pocket of my pants along with my change pouch. The clip would take the most abuse, but it looks like new. Of course, I've only had it since this summer. It's bead blasted so I'm dreading the first major scratch. It's still pristine, though.

 

[Ggmesquita]

Great thread! I was looking for something like this!

I just started EDC a Quark 123 Ti. It will be nice to see the changes on the finnish as time goes by.
It would be great if more people would post pictures of their Ti EDCs...

Gg

 

[semifiction]

interesting thread. titanium seems to age pretty well. welcome more pictures of well-worn lights though

 

[carrot]

(click the images for the full-sized version)