My Inova T2 has a hairline crack in the rippled optical thingie

I'm sorry -- I am not nearly as in-the-know technically about the electronic and optical guts of these flashlights. All I know is that I love LED lights.

I have an Inova T2 and a T3. I carry the T2 daily, and the T3 just sits on a shelf ready and waiting.

I recently noticed that the T2 has a hairline crack in the inner, rippled dome-shaped glass assembly. Actually, the crack is really two cracks, one that comes from the outer edge and extends to near the center of the cone, and one that comes from the opposite side and nearly meets the tip of the other crack.

I don't know how long the cracks have been there. Yeah, once in a while the light gets dropped, and it might have happened in my possession (as opposed to before the light was shipped to me, as in "defect").

I cannot tell any difference in the beam/spot produced by the light. It still works fine and there doesn't seem to be any practical problem created by the presence of the crack(s).

I have tried to see about taking the LED assembly apart, but I don't know how to and it doesn't seem like a simple unscrew operation. That glass part appears to be kinda thin -- not very sturdy. Anyone know if I should be worried? Will this crack be a significant weakness, and what would happen if that glass part simply broke into pieces? Would the light be useless? Would Inova accept it for a repair, and if so, at what cost?

Thanks for any info.

-Jeffrey

My X0 has the same thing since purchase, and i'm not worried about it at all. I'm not even sure whether it's a crack but it's two distinct lines like you mentioned. As you said, it doesn't affect the beam at all regardless of distance and i had actually forgotten about it till i read your post.

Inova lights aren't easy to take apart. You have to go through a freeze process whereby you fill the light with water, and freeze it. Repeating this procedure a few times will cause the stainless steel bezel to pop out of the light, allowing you to access the optic and led. The problem is, the optic may get damaged beyond operation from this method.

Inova warranty is pretty good according to a few members here. If you want to see if they'd take it, drop them an email or give them a call (apparently it's hard to find their number but it's hidden somewhere), and if they will take it...you'll only have to pay to ship the light to them.

If the glass lens breaks, your light just won't have a lens. Probably a bad thing as it will allow dust etc to get inside the light. Possibilty of scratching/damaging the optic and of course, it won't be waterproof anymore.

FWIW, my X0 has been through a few shock heavy incidents and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it in relation to those lines seen on the optic. I'm not even if those lines are indeed cracks.

I vote for, don't worry about it and keep using it like you would. That's what i've done and no problems here.

Delvance said:

Inova lights aren't easy to take apart. You have to go through a freeze process whereby you fill the light with water, and freeze it.

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Surely you are joking. :huh:

delvance said:

If the glass lens breaks, your light just won't have a lens. Probably a bad thing as it will allow dust etc to get inside the light. Possibilty of scratching/damaging the optic and of course, it won't be waterproof anymore.

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I don't regard this light as "waterproof" anyway... But are you confusing the outer glass cover with the thing I am talking about, which is that dome inside the head assembly that has the concentric ring ripples in it? That's where my hairline cracks are...

-Jeffrey

I am not joking regarding the freeze process lol, these Inova lights are built like tanks.

Yes, my X0 has the hairline cracks or whatever they may be on the optic of the torch, not the glass lens, and they are exactly as you have described yours.

Regarding my comments about the glass lens - Sorry, i must've misunderstood this part of your post "That glass part appears to be kinda thin -- not very sturdy. Anyone know if I should be worried?".

If you meant to ask whether the optic is sturdy. My vote would be yes. I've yet to see a report of a an Inova optic mysteriously crumbling inside the torch. My X0 has been through a few incidents where the shock to the torch was very high, no problems with my torch at all.

Hope this helps.

Oh, they're quite water resistant. I'd certainly have no fear of dunking them into water. I've tried directing a jet of water into the Inova X0 tailcap, and the water could not penetrate past the o-ring. The heads of these lights are pretty well sealed...so i'd daresay it'd be very water-resistant/borderline water proof.

This is no crack... The inova-optics have a seam from the casting-process, thats normal.

Is the T3 significantly brighter than the T2? How do they compare?

My T1 has a crack in it too, but I dropped it sever times on very hard (concrete, asphalt) surfaces from pretty good distances (4-6ft). This has not affected the performance as I can tell, and it is still my trusty EDC. And the T3 is brighter by a bit over the T2.

My T2 has a similar line in its TIROS. I believe it's just a molding line left over from the manufacturing process. I don't think it's anything to be concerned about as the TIROS optics are anything but flimsy. The entire TIROS optic is solid plastic about 1.5" thick.

Water resistance on the T1, T2 and T3 should be good to at least a few feet. They're not dive lights (although some (crazy & reckless) people on CPF have admitted to using X series lights for diving) but they'll handle immersion with no problems.

dmz said:

Is the T3 significantly brighter than the T2? How do they compare?

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A T3 is about twice as bright as a T2 at the expense of around half the runtime. See www.flashlightreviews.com for the numbers.

BBL said:

This is no crack... The inova-optics have a seam from the casting-process, thats normal.

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My T3 does not exhibit this seam whereas my X0 does. Perhaps they changed the manufacturing process.

I am told it's a moulding mark and nothing to worry about.

Both my X0's and X03's have the same line it is part of the process manufacturing process. I even read abot it somewhere that sells Inovas, maybe Brightguys? Will have to look again.

My T1 got hairline 'crack' too, but i dont see such a 'hair' in the beam

So i dont care cos it dont effect the beam at all!

peacefuljeffrey said:

Surely you are joking. :huh:

-Jeffrey

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No he's not This is not the same light but the general idea is the same:
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=52043

I exchanged my first X0 for one without visible seam/crack.

I am also told that it is a molding mark. My XO does have it while my 3 T3s and XO3 does not. Maybe the molding process has changed in much newer lights.

I just bought my XO last week and I also noticed the "crack". I went back to the store and they all had it so I assumed it was a normal occurance. the funny thing with mine is, if I use another flashlight to look into the lens of the XO with it off, it doesn't appear. I tried to see the Crack in the pattern but it doesn't show up so I am not letting it bother me. I like the light, although after getting my L1p i wonder why the XO is so big!

fieldops said:

I am also told that it is a molding mark. My XO does have it while my 3 T3s and XO3 does not. Maybe the molding process has changed in much newer lights.

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I think it's a size thing rather than a vintage thing. Visible molding marks are very rare in the large TIROS optics used in the T3 and XO3 while marks are very common in the small T1/T2/XO optics. Maybe the T3/X03 large optics are just polished to a higher QC standard or something. :shrug:

enLIGHTenment said:

I think it's a size thing rather than a vintage thing. Visible molding marks are very rare in the large TIROS optics used in the T3 and XO3 while marks are very common in the small T1/T2/XO optics. Maybe the T3/X03 large optics are just polished to a higher QC standard or something. :shrug:

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You might be on to something there. I checked both my T5s and they don't have it either. Maybe you're right.