Peak Matterhorn AAA (lack of grip) issue & what I did to fix it (pics added)

I have a Peak Matterhorn 1-AAA 3 LED Type III HA Hi-Power (Lug Style) light (my EDC backup to my EDC L1P) and am having an issue with it. For one handed use, I can't hardly turn the light on because it's too slick. It just doesn't seem like the knurling is severe enough to provide any real grip. I don't think there is anything wrong with my light, it's just how they are all made.

Right now (12:06AM) my light is hanging up after three coats of Plasti Dip to the body and head. I will post pics in a few hours when it's completely dry.

Yes, I did lube the threads and o-ring with Nyogel 779ZC and this didn't seem to help- it's all because of the lack of texture on the light and head.

Anybody else have the same problem with this light? I've had mine dangling from my keychain for several months and just love it except for the lack of texture for ease of turning it on.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

A thin strip of skateboard tape on the head (flashlight, not mine) does the job for me.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

srvctec said:

Anybody else have the same problem with this light? I've had mine dangling from my keychain for several months and just love it except for the lack of texture for ease of turning it on.

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Yes!! It is a great light and turns on fairly easily, but there is not enough grip on the head or the body. I bought it with the lug and keychain body and I liked the lug because it was a lot shorter and lighter, but I've switched to the keychain body because it is easier to hold when turning on with one hand. I'm thinking about trying some heat shrink tubing on the head. It has been discussed a little bit on This thead, but mostly discusses the o-ring and not the grip (or lack there of). I think with just a little help this will be a great light.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

xr4fun said:

Yes!! It is a great light and turns on fairly easily, but there is not enough grip on the head or the body.**snip, snip** I think with just a little help this will be a great light.

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Shortly after I posted this thread, I contacted Peak through their contact us link on their website. I mentioned that I love the light, just think it needs a little more knurling with something different for grip on the head. I'll see what they say, if anything.

Maybe if enough of us contact them about this, they'll make this little change for a great little light.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

Here's mine. I put the head thingie on to kill some of the peripheral artifacts, but it makes a great grip enhancer. The o-rings fall on my middle and ring finger. Works for me.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

Thanks for the picture. I'm always interested in new ideas. It looks like I need to go to Home depot and buy an assorted o-ring kit to play around with. I'm also hoping that in the future Peak could add some knurling as this would solve the problem, but it might be a copy right issue. I don't think any of their heads have knurling. Also it would need to be a more aggressive knurling than on the matterhorn body which is almost smooth.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

The mattie's only problem for me is lack of knurling on the head. even if they lightly ribbed it, cut some straight slot's would be Ok. othe then that it's
the best machined 1xAAA IMHO. VDG

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

voodoogreg said:

The mattie's only problem for me is lack of knurling on the head. even if they lightly ribbed it, cut some straight slot's would be Ok. othe then that it's
the best machined 1xAAA IMHO. VDG

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That's exactly what I was thinking- cut some groves or ribs in the flat facets of the head.

I don't mind the head turning kind of stiff- I would just rather have more traction for my fingers. I think the Plasti Dip will work great- at least it has before on other lights and stuff. I'll post pics in a few hours.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

I think if they added curling, it would look like a arc. That could bring up legal complications.

Mine does the same thing, but I haven't added lubed mine up yet to see if that helps.

Some thing that might help is a thinner o-ring. I just took the o-ring off of mine, and now it is really loose. So you could either get a new thinner o-ring, lubercate the o-ring even more, or take it out and have less water resistance in the battery tube.

I would try that to see if it is the o-ring, or the actual threads.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue & what I did to fix it

Here are the pics of the Plasti Dip (3 coats each on head and body) applied and dry. It has fantastic grip now and looks great as well. Works great now- turns easily since there is enough grip.

I just masked off the LEDS by putting masking tape down in the head and pressing it around the edge and then just trimmed it off with an exacto knife before dipping. When it was dry I just trimmed around the edge through the Plasti Dip and removed the masking tape. For the lug end, I cut through the dried Plasti Dip and then just peeled it off revealing the bare lug end.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

offroadcmpr said:

I think if they added curling, it would look like a arc. That could bring up legal complications.

Mine does the same thing, but I haven't added lubed mine up yet to see if that helps.

Some thing that might help is a thinner o-ring. I just took the o-ring off of mine, and now it is really loose. So you could either get a new thinner o-ring, lubercate the o-ring even more, or take it out and have less water resistance in the battery tube.

I would try that to see if it is the o-ring, or the actual threads.

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It is the o-ring. Like I said above, I don't mind it turning kind of stiff since I don't don't want to lose the water resistance by putting a thinner o-ring on it. After I put the Plasti Dip on it, it works perfect now, since there is plenty of grip.

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

Maybe I'm missing it, but how did you plasti-dip the head without getting it on the LEDs??

Re: Peak Matterhorn AAA issue

ACMarina said:

Maybe I'm missing it, but how did you plasti-dip the head without getting it on the LEDs??

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The instructions are above the pics in post #10. I masked it off with masking tape by pressing the tape down in the head and around the inner edge. Then I trimmed the excess tape off around the edge before dipping.

Great job!! I too think it turns just fine, but needs more grip. I think I will be dipping mine.

Just an update. Works GREAT!!

I "carry" my keys hooked to my belt loop when wearing jeans evenings and weekends, so my Peak Matterhorn is always at hand, easy to grab. Up until now I would always grab my Fenix L1P clipped inside my right pants pocket whenever I needed light for any reason because it was too hard to turn on the Peak because of the lack of grip on it. With the Plasti Dip on it, it's like a completely different light. I've used it more today than I have in the last 3 or 4 months, simply because it's so easy to turn on one handed. I used to dread having to use the Peak when I couldn't get to my L1P because my arms were full- no problem anymore.

Wish I had done this when I got the light!

Hope this helps someone else having the same issue with this light.

srvctec said:

Just an update. Works GREAT!!

I "carry" my keys hooked to my belt loop when wearing jeans evenings and weekends, so my Peak Matterhorn is always at hand, easy to grab. Up until now I would always grab my Fenix L1P clipped inside my right pants pocket whenever I needed light for any reason because it was too hard to turn on the Peak because of the lack of grip on it. With the Plasti Dip on it, it's like a completely different light. I've used it more today than I have in the last 3 or 4 months, simply because it's so easy to turn on one handed. I used to dread having to use the Peak when I couldn't get to my L1P because my arms were full- no problem anymore.

Wish I had done this when I got the light!

Hope this helps someone having the same issue with this light.

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Pic's!!! VDG

voodoogreg said:

Pic's!!! VDG

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:huh2: Pics are in post #10.

srvctec said:

:huh2: Pics are in post #10.

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Duh, my bad. just responded to a e-mail notification instead of back to the thead VDG

:bump::bump:

What is your reasoning for not coating the entire body--just the lower 3/4?
How is the light output now since you seem to have covered a little bit of the "grooves" that the 3-LEDs used to create more of a corona?

I had a Matterhorn 3-LED which I lost. I wasn't too heart-broken since it was so hard to turn on/off. I gave away my Matterhorn 1-LED for the same reason. If this is a good solution, I might consider getting another 3-LED. Then again, maybe I'll just stick with the ARC-P since it seems to have done everything right the first time.