really need your rec! drake vs draco vs cr2 ion vs nautilus vs?

really need your help. so ready to pull the trigger on something, i got the itch.

i have an Orb Wee Ti 50, NovaTac 120P, Lithium Glo-Toob (white), and black Fenix L0D CE Q4 on the way. i already have an Arc-AAA Premium. love the good small lights. just got into this recently, so im a n00b.

my "gentlemans" EDC during the day will probably be the Wee. so now essentially i want to get a hard/bombproof light for the rest of the time. something thats as rugged as the Arc-P but with more oomph.

my reqs are:
- under 3" in length, the shorter the better
- under 0.8" in diameter, the closer to 0.5" the better
- lanyard/ring hole
- can tailstand
- prefer at least 2 modes, high and low
- prefer the high is at least 75+ lumens, but something like the CR2 Ion + an upgrade would be ok
- waterproof to some degree, solid o-rings
- nice knurling
- very rugged
- can buy it online, and fairly quickly. no crazy custom esoteric ones. for now...

the ones ive been trying to decide between (but am open to others):
- Ti Drake
- Ti Draco
- Muyshondt Nautilus
- CR2 Ion with Cree XR-E upgrade (Q5-WG)
- *Special Edition Q5* Fenix Digital P1D CE (dont feel that rugged to me)
- Hyperion CE-R Cree LED (runtime?)
- Exolion Stainless Steel CR2 (lumens?)

leaning towards the top 4, in order. are the drakes/dracos pretty rugged? help please! would love any preferences within these (best 1-2) or other suggestions. thanks :wave:

Personally, I only have experience with the Draco and I absolutely love it. I initially got a chrome one but after wearing it on a neck chain 24/7 the finish was starting to wear off. So I was left with no choice but to buy a second Ti one! I wish I had just bit the bullet and got the Ti one from the start. Based on my own preferences, I don't think the slight reduction in length on the Drake would be worth the tradeoff in brightness.

modamag said:

....The reason why the output of the Drake is significantly less than that of the Draco is because the battery is only 1/2 the capacity....
REMEMBER EVERYONE: The tradeoff between the Drake: Draco is brightness: size respectively. Runtime should remain relatively constant.....

Click to expand...

BTW: This post by ModaMag has picture showing both the size difference and the beamshot difference.

I have the top 4 (both Ti CR2 Ions, original Cree and XRE)
Draco has resided on my key chain for over a year.

For a rugged pocket carry light the Nautilus would be my choice, due to regulation, power (high, low) overall build and I really like the "feel". I carry a ti and have tested a Alum proto.

If it is for a keyring, the Draco or Drake would be my and is my 1st choice.......today would purchase a Ti !

Good Luck....


Cr2 Ion (orig), Nautilus, Cr2 Ion upgrade

Draco AAA w/ turbo, Drake, Draco


I have done reviews on the Nautilus, Draco and Ions.........let me know if you want links......you can search on my profile and "threads started".

jeffb

thanks for the replies. yeah i have a feeling its between the nautilus and draco. and depending on how intoxicated i am later, i may get all 3 (with the drake) lol. dont think ill be disappointed with any of them from reading CPF.

If it were me I like the Nautilus. I do not own one but it appears to be very solid and it does have very nice runtime/brightness. I like the fact it was made as small as possible and still uses a battery with decent storage capacity for when you want either punch or runtime.

Something else you may want to consider that is built very well (but only has 1 output mode) is a Peak Pacific. It can be ordered in AA pocket tube format which will keep it very compact. You can also decide on what drive level you would like (Low Power, High Power, Ultra Power, or Super Power). The electronics are potted and the overall construction/anadizing is high quality. A nice solid light.

For me personally the Draco is the ultimate keychain light. Small enough to ride with my keys without even noticing it is there until i need it.
Tough, been on my keys for half a year now without the slightest show of wear besides a tiny smudge on the etching of the serial number.
And if needed bright enough to light up an entire 4 story building at 30m away.

The CR2 Ion would be my preferred back up EDC due to it's long run time and pure flood beam profile.

Now the Nautilus is a whole different animal. It's a CR123 based light so it's gonna be a bit bulky for keychain duty (at least for me), even tho it's probably the smallest CR123 light out there.

Hmmm . . . these are very different lights.

The Drake/Draco are great keychain lights, something you always have with you and can use for a short time whenever needed. But it's really not a light for using more than a few minutes at a time.

The Nautilus is heavier duty and can be used comfortably for extended periods (i.e., more than few seconds/minutes) .

These are both great lights, really the top notch in the two categories.

What you really need is two of each. I keep a Draco on each on my two sets of keys, and a Nautilus in each of my two cars.

thanks!

i just put in an order for a Ti Draco. the nautilus sounds awesome, and i may still (ok fine, most likely will) get one eventually, but i was really looking for something the size of an arc or fenix L0D. the nautilus is a bit too thick (diameter), and the draco looks just right. plus with the different modes its right in the sweet spot. so there ya go.

my reqs are:
- under 3" in length, the shorter the better
- under 0.8" in diameter, the closer to 0.5" the better
- lanyard/ring hole
- can tailstand
- prefer at least 2 modes, high and low
- prefer the high is at least 75+ lumens, but something like the CR2 Ion + an upgrade would be ok
- waterproof to some degree, solid o-rings
- nice knurling
- very rugged
- can buy it online, and fairly quickly. no crazy custom esoteric ones. for now...
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Hmmmmm, those specs sound just like the LOD Q4 that you already have on order? I'd check that out first as I think it's just what you're lookin' for. I have one and even on nimh's it's beautiful. On 10440's it's just insane

BTW......I see you say you have a BLACK LOD Q4 on order. If it's black I think you got a regular LOD-CE 50 lumen. I think the RED LOD Q4 75 lumen would fit your needs much better. Maybe see if you can cancel the order? Unless, of course, the red color bothers you

i got the red, but couldnt stand the red so i returned it. i did like the light though, and they do have the Q4 75 lumen in black on ebay so i nabbed that just to have.

the problem with the L0D is that it doesnt feel that rugged, id like better grip/knurling and something thicker walled and more solid feeling, like the Arc.