Glass lenses at Kai? Cheapest source for ROP bulbs?

Anyone have any experiences with the glass lenses at Kai? Are just regular old glass? You get 5 for $3.

Also, where's the cheapest place to buy ROP bulbs? I got my last set from someone in the marketplace.

bimemrboy318 said:

Anyone have any experiences with the glass lenses at Kai? Are just regular old glass? You get 5 for $3.

Also, where's the cheapest place to buy ROP bulbs? I got my last set from someone in the marketplace.

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I don't have any experience with the Kai lenses.

I'm not sure about "cheapest," but I had good luck with Lighthound when I put together my ROP. Here's the Pelican bulb set:

Pelican Big D Rechargeable Lamp Set FL-3854
http://www.lighthound.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1070

You could also get your lens (borofloat or UCL; different people choose one or the other) there to save on shipping from multiple places.

Make sure to use the CPF discount as seen here:

"CPF Specials" webpages/dealers
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=56067

-Rick

I bought a set of those lenses from Kai, as well as a smooth cammed/camless reflector. The glass works, but doesn't appear as "clear" as something higher quality would be, and the reflector is overall pretty decent however the center hole where the bulb comes through is not cut out very smooth (has some rough edges, I'm going to have to put it on the drill press and shave it a hair larger as the ROP bulb is rubbing on a sharp edge ATM.

Kai's lenses appear to be just plain glass, but they are an improvement on the stock plastic lens.
Norm

I would like to buy the 3853 pack - the 7.2v version.

Anyone know a source for these?

I got my 3854's from Lighthound, but they only sell those.

mdocod said:

...and the reflector is overall pretty decent however the center hole where the bulb comes through is not cut out very smooth (has some rough edges, I'm going to have to put it on the drill press and shave it a hair larger as the ROP bulb is rubbing on a sharp edge ATM.

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Can you adjust the beam correctly with your KD reflector? I can adjust mine slightly, but never get it to the tightest spot(which is what I want), quite frustrating.

yea my KAI seems to adjust without any problems.... however.. It does restrict the bulb from coming as far forward in the reflector, which may have a negative effect on some bulbs whose filaments are positioned farther from the base. Mine focuses great, has a few expected rings but is much tighter that I was getting from the stock mag reflector for some reason.

mdocod said:

yea my KAI seems to adjust without any problems.... however.. It does restrict the bulb from coming as far forward in the reflector, which may have a negative effect on some bulbs whose filaments are positioned farther from the base. Mine focuses great, has a few expected rings but is much tighter that I was getting from the stock mag reflector for some reason.

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Thanks for the answere. Mine is very hard to focus. First I thought that was because of the reflector being divided in two parts, not one piece as the original. But apparently that's not the reason? My beam has plenty of artifacts too.

Lobo said:

Can you adjust the beam correctly with your KD reflector? I can adjust mine slightly, but never get it to the tightest spot(which is what I want), quite frustrating.

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If I put my reflector in with just the reflector piece, the spring on the lamp holder is fully extended and I would have to unscrew the head OFF to get it to a spot focus... If I put the screw attachment on there to get the "stock" style of focusing, it pushes the lamp back to compress the spring in the light to get a tighter focus.

I think I would have to take the switch out, compress the spring and use something to hold it compressed to get it to focus right. My first thought was wrapping it with electrical tape, but since I've replaced everything else plastic around that, I think electrical tape might not be so great...

Kai's lenses are an improvement over plastic if for no other reason than for the scratch resistance. They are not as clear as UCL lenses like those from flashlightlens.com, but they are clearer than stock plastic and work great otherwise. You would be hard pressed to see the difference once installed. Can't beat the price either.

His reflectors work great with ROP bulbs, less so with 1185 bulbs (can't focus all the way to spot on mine). FM reflectors are slightly higher quality and $10-15 more.

Pelican 3854 bulb packs are usually $7-10 anywhere you look. I wouldn't pay more than that, but I try to combine them with other purchases to save on shipping. As has been said, lighthound is usually very reliable for these.

Hope that helps
-Pete