r2
Enlightened
There has been much discussion about fitting 6AA and 8AA battery configurations into standard 2D flashlight bodies. What about a custom body?
2D Maglites are huge compared to the cheap plastic 2D lights you can get for a couple bucks. The tailcap has room for a spare bulb and the switch mechanism takes as much space as another D cell, plus the head is big to hold the adjustable reflector. Most competitors seem to follow suit, so the Brinkmanns and Garritys are also huge. Why can't we get something with quality construction that is the size of those crappy cheap lights?
Here's what I want to see:
A custom 8AA battery tube. About the size of a 2D tube, but with dividers sticking in from the sides far enough to keep 4 columns of AA cells separate from each other. The tail is a little tricky since the orientation matters. Perhaps a single round tube with a sealed end would be better. It could include a plastic insert to divide the AAs and connect them at the back end. Ideally one could wire it up as 8AA in series or 4AAx2 in parallel/series.
The head would be small, maybe a bit larger than the tube but not much. It could hold 30mm optics or a Carley reflector (not sure of the size on those).
Basically, something like an aluminum version of the PT Surge suitable for 5W LS mods. How much interest would there be in something like this? Can anyone with machining skills/experience estimate what something like this would cost?
There seems to be no middle ground right now--you can get compact, well-built lights that use lithiums (or can only power a 1W emitter) and then you jump up to oversized lights that seem to take pride in being huge. Where are the Tektite 3C sized aluminum lights and the PT Surge sized aluminum lights and the 2D lights that don't look like they should be holding 3D cells? Where are the big lights that don't throw light density out the window?
Please! Someone with the skills help us fill in the gap!
- Russ
2D Maglites are huge compared to the cheap plastic 2D lights you can get for a couple bucks. The tailcap has room for a spare bulb and the switch mechanism takes as much space as another D cell, plus the head is big to hold the adjustable reflector. Most competitors seem to follow suit, so the Brinkmanns and Garritys are also huge. Why can't we get something with quality construction that is the size of those crappy cheap lights?
Here's what I want to see:
A custom 8AA battery tube. About the size of a 2D tube, but with dividers sticking in from the sides far enough to keep 4 columns of AA cells separate from each other. The tail is a little tricky since the orientation matters. Perhaps a single round tube with a sealed end would be better. It could include a plastic insert to divide the AAs and connect them at the back end. Ideally one could wire it up as 8AA in series or 4AAx2 in parallel/series.
The head would be small, maybe a bit larger than the tube but not much. It could hold 30mm optics or a Carley reflector (not sure of the size on those).
Basically, something like an aluminum version of the PT Surge suitable for 5W LS mods. How much interest would there be in something like this? Can anyone with machining skills/experience estimate what something like this would cost?
There seems to be no middle ground right now--you can get compact, well-built lights that use lithiums (or can only power a 1W emitter) and then you jump up to oversized lights that seem to take pride in being huge. Where are the Tektite 3C sized aluminum lights and the PT Surge sized aluminum lights and the 2D lights that don't look like they should be holding 3D cells? Where are the big lights that don't throw light density out the window?
Please! Someone with the skills help us fill in the gap!
- Russ
