Push Button Activation

I know there is interest in push button activation. Please consider this. Push Botton activation may be good on lights carried on a belt, vehical, or on a shelf at home but how about on a pocket carried light. Do we really need push button activation at this time on the existing ARC line. I carry an ARC-LS in the watch pocket of my jeans and carry an ARC on a keychain. Push Button activation would not be practical in different carry modes.

On a tactical light, push button is needed. On a utility light, it is not a need.

Carry your push botton light on your belt. Carry your utility light in your pocket.

I keep a 6 or 9 volt SureFire on my belt. I keep Arc's In my pocket. More than 95% of my personal carry flashlight use is via the Arc's nowdays. This has saved tremendously on batteries. I find no disadvantage of having to twist the light on to use. If I need fast or super bright light, I grap a SureFire. If I want practical usable no super hurry, I grap a true working mans light, An Arc-LS.

Now when small sized Led lights come out that exceed 60 lumens in an E-2 sized package, we are talking about a whole new ballgame.

If the 5watt LS ends up being a two 123 flashlight by Arc, I will change my tune fast. I would be asking for a tail switch and a bezel down carry clip. This still would not stop me from carring the current format of the Arc-ls. I would still have a single cell Arc-Ls in pocket sized format that cannot come on in a pocket for 95% of usage and would have a bright larger light for those times when I needed more light, was in a hurry or both.

I agree with you on the Arc sized lights. Push button not needed. Anything PAL sized or larger I wish to have a button, tail or barrel, switch. The thread that is going on now about the PWM switch looks very interesting. I waiting to see if it is anything I can understand and use. For some reason there does not seem much interest in it.

I find your comments interesting and I think it boils down to what the lights are typically used for. I am not involved in tactical situations personally and it has been my experience that the need or desire for momentary illumination decreases with the size and brightness of the light. For over 10 years I have had various small LED lights on my key chain for momentary illumination, IE. find the key hole, part or thing that fell under the seat or work bench, check the phone number or address,etc.

Prior to switching to an Arc AAA, I had a Photon which was the first key ring LED light that had an always on function as well as momentary. I don't think I ever used the always on feature. I switched to the Arc AAA because it is robust, waterproof and uses "normal batteries". Of course I like the regulated circuit within as well. With switching to the Arc AAA, the only thing I miss is the instant, one handed, momentary on feature of its predecessors.

On larger lights like the SureFire line, I would prefer that the button on the tail give you momentary contact on partial depression and toggle from on to off with full depression. I would like to see the screw in or out of the tail cap remain for lock out.

With that said, if the integrity or the size of light is compromised by a switching mechanisim,it is not a good move.

For what it's worth, my wife declined my offer to switch out her photon with an Arc AAA because of the switching function. IMHO, the Arc AAA and ARC LS don't fit in the same category of EDU (every day use).

- Don

- Don

Hmmm. I got the same thing from my wife. She doesn't like to use two hands to turn the Arc on. She carries a Photon.

Well, a true flashaholic should carry both an Arc and a photon...

YC

YC,
We're talking wives here. Someday you'll understand but by then it will be to late
My wife has only two flaws that come to mind right now:

1) she married me
2) she is by no means a flashaholic or gizmologist; when she has trouble sleeping she has me tell her what I worked on in the shop that day.....

Yeah. Why does everybody assume that when I mention what my wife does that she's somehow *me* - or that she even remotely cares about flashlights???

Ain't the case. She just puts up with the flashlights. Barely.

I have a lady friend in Oklahoma that appreciates good lights. I have her an E-1 a year ago, when I went down and visited her three week ago. I found that she had it on her keychain. It was clipped to her pocket with the keys dangling inside. The clip kept the keys from balling up at the bottom. She has gone through a couple of dozen batteries. She said that it was one of the most useful things anyone had given her. I promptly produced and Arc-LS second for her. She thought it was great once I showed her all the packs and told her about it. It quicly went onto the keychain too. She keeps the E1 on the keychain to keep the keys off of the bottom of the pocket but she is now using the Arc-most of the time.

Don, Darell,
You guys have a point there..

Anyway, going right back on topic here... There have been times where I have both an Arc LS and a E2 on me that I've grabbed the E2 just because I needed that "moment of light" for a few seconds. Twisting on the Arc LS is for when I know I'll be needing light for more than 10 seconds.

YC

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by McGizmo:
YC,
We're talking wives here. Someday you'll understand but by then it will be to late

My wife has only two flaws that come to mind right now:

1) she married me
2) she is by no means a flashaholic or gizmologist; when she has trouble sleeping she has me tell her what I worked on in the shop that day.....

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Gizmologist - now that's a word that describes some of us very well. Good one, Don.

Regarding the push button thing, I find that, especially with Surefires, I use the lock out feature - which makes it kind of hard to use it one-handed. A pushbutton is good, but depending on the configuration, chance of accidental activation is higher, especially if carried in a bag or something.

Although, after lubing it a bit, I'm able to activate my Arc LE one handed without any trouble..

Graham

Darell,
Spoken like a true flashaholic!

Just a slight modification of the official CPF motto: "Buy them Both."

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by darell:
Yes, after proper lubrication, there are several things that are easier with one hand.... but I digress.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Man, I almost wrote 'turn on' instead of 'activation' but figured that using the words lubrication and turn-on in the same sentence would be just asking Darell to post something wierd.
Didn't make any difference though...I should know better than to underestimate good old 'Does it have a Dimmer' Darell.

Graham

Personally, I would like to see the LS with
a push button.I use my E2 almost exclusivly
with the "mom-on". This is a function of the way I use it. I am constantly uncliping and re-cliping the thing as i inspect trailers.
The only way for the LS to replace my E2 would be "mom-on" and a nice pocket clip.

Lets not forget either - in the case of the Arc LS, with lithium batteries it has a runtime of around 4 hours at near full brightness. Whereas SF lights only have about a 1 hour runtime, so there is a greater tendency to use it on a momentary basis to save battery life.

If I'm using my Arc LS, I turn it on and leave it on until I'm sure I don't need it anymore..

Graham

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Graham:
after lubing it a bit, I'm able to activate my Arc LE one handed without any trouble.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yes, after proper lubrication, there are several things that are easier with one hand.... but I digress.

It all comes down to what everybody has really already said: There are times when a momentary tail button is GREAT, and there are times when a twist-on is a better answer. So the answer, as always, is to buy many of each type of light, and carry them all.