Quality of ARC products

I have to say that the quality of Arc products is great.

I have not had the pleasure of using any flashlight built as well as the Arc-LS, the AAA's are good as well.

The only lights I have seen that seem to be even close in construction quality would be SureFire but that does not measure up. I am not comparing Arc to SureFire in use, they are different animals for different jobs.

I cannot imagine anyone building a more robust light that just drips of quality as what I have found in the Arc-LS.

Everyday when I leave the house, I grab my Arc-LS, an Arc-AAA, and an SureFire E2 or a 9Z.

Equipped with these lights, I feel I am ready for any portable lighting need that might come my way. I do carry three lights but they are compact enough that it is never a burden, even considering all of the other things I carry on a daily basis.

When you do grab the lights when you leave the house, do you somehow know how much battery power is left in the lights?

Do you carry spares batteries?

YC

Yes, I know the condition of the batteries and I do carry spares.

In the console of my truck I keep a hurricane lamp with what I call dims. These are batteries that I have pulled from SureFire lights at the first sign of percieved lower output. The quantity in the hurricane lamp vary.

I also keep 1-2 boxes of a dozen new 123's in the console. When one box becomes empty, I replace it.

On my keychain, I carry a stainless steel tube with two fresh 123's with electrical tape over the contacts in it. The stainless steel tube is from WrackWorks.

I do not carry extra batteries for the Arc-AAA. If the battery in the Arc-AAA goes bad when using it. An Arc-LS or A SureFire will have to fill its role until I get a replacement battery for it at home.

oh, I guess I did not full answer the question. I always know that the SureFire has fresh brand new batteries, it is also the light on my person that is used the least nowdays. I only fall on the SureFire when I feel I need its output. The Arc-LS is used for utilitarian tasks, I don't concern myself with the condition of this battery, I want to use it up and I have spares for when I do. The Arc-AAA is not used as much since the arrival of the LS but it is still used when I think about it and know that the brightness of the LS is overkill.

I just received my Arc-LS. I am very impressed by it. I felt as if I were holding a Surefire. Built like a tank and the finish is fantastic. I really like the natural HA. I now have three lights in natural finish (LS, LE and E2e) and hope more companys offer it.

I just got my Arc LS 'first quality' lights - one white and one cyan. They are very nice - the white one gives a nice warm white light.

The cyan is also very bright, much brighter than the white one..

Graham

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Graham:

The cyan is also very bright, much brighter than the white one..
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I like the cyan alot - very bright. Perfect for outdoor activites. Too bad they are on the endangered (if not extinct) list.

does anyone have any other opinions on the cyan color? Possibly any beam shots? I'm considering getting that color when they are available again. Thanks!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LEDagent:
does anyone have any other opinions on the cyan color? Possibly any beam shots? I'm considering getting that color when they are available again. Thanks!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

LEDagent,

Found some old pictures posted by Gransee around Christmas. Shows most colors side by side with the white. You can check it out here

Aloha

Those pictures show the color of the cyan (and blue) pretty well, but IMHO the colored LS's are quite a bit brighter then the white, which the pictures do not show.

By what attributes are you judging quality? I only have had an SLS and I would say the machining quality wasn't as good as a mag light even. Certainly no surefire.

dave cave, I'm glad you asked that question before I did. I was thinking the same thing. Nothing against the 2nd's, but remember they are 2nd's. I would expect the quality of the final product to be top notch.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cave dave:
By what attributes are you judging quality? I only have had an SLS and I would say the machining quality wasn't as good as a mag light even. Certainly no surefire.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

mine ls second #393 looks great on the outside.probably only a second because of a fingerprint in the lense.got to look hard for it though.
who cares about the inside?
finish inside is a bit coarse but does not affect its performance at all.
worrying about the inside of a flashlight is like worrying about the same machine marks inside an engines oil pan.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by cave dave:
By what attributes are you judging quality? I only have had an SLS and I would say the machining quality wasn't as good as a mag light even. Certainly no surefire.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What part of the light had poor machining quality? Basically everything or just a certain part?

My veiw:
I thought the SLS head was perfect in every way possible. The 2-AA tube was good, very close to perfect but knurling was just a little off. The 1-AA & CR123 were good but I don't like the knuring quality on them at all, Much worse than 2-AA tube. I also didn't like the HA color variations but I knew what I was buying (a second) and I am very happy with it. I can always purchase different battery tubes as they become available if I wish.

My LS is a first. #512. Machining is perfect inside and out. Color is also a perfect match between body and head. Beam is dead center. What more can I say? I'm happy with it.

Hmmm, I thought that the serial numbers were ending at 500. I have been babying the ones that I have since they are numbered. I was going to wait until I got one with no numbers before I started tearing one up by hard daily use.

When are the serial numbers comming to an end???

Perhaps I have been lucky. I am sitting in a room with 6 SureFire lights and two Arc-LS's in it. The construction on the Arc-LS's seem more robust and better quality than the Surefires.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JonSidneyB:
Hmmm, I thought that the serial numbers were ending at 500. I have been babying the ones that I have since they are numbered. I was going to wait until I got one with no numbers before I started tearing one up by hard daily use.

When are the serial numbers comming to an end???<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

We picked a three digit serial number because we have no plans to exceed 1000 numbered units. Once all back orders are fulfilled (that will be the day!), we will start making regular units.

Peter

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gransee:
We picked a three digit serial number because we have no plans to exceed 1000 numbered units. Once all back orders are fulfilled (that will be the day!), we will start making regular units.

Peter<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

LOL Peter,

this means we only need to keep the orders coming in - you never be able to clear the backlog - you will keep on making numbered units so you only need to open the ordering systeem once in a while for this to work out

Klaus