To open or not?

I have a Swiss Army Inova flashlight, new in package, that's got a copyright date of 2006 on the package. It was bought for Christmas last year, but as I couldn't get three, they didn't get gifted. My question is, should I crack it open any time soon to extract the included alkaline batteries from the light lest they leak. It seems to be a 4.x watt Luxeon K2 according to the hexagonal heat sink on the die, and the published specs... this also means an excuse to fire it up for a quick look, but mostly I'm not sure whether to keep it or gift it and as time goes on, the issue becomes more pressing - I'd rather someone (me) appreciate it (a little) than nobody enjoy it at all, but I can't think of who I'd give it to, and it's getting more tempting by the month.

You could give it to me I would love to have an Inova.

What type of batteries does it use?

I have two of the 2AA Vics (Inovas). The have a nice hot spot and plenty of spill -- virtually free of artifacts. One has a cold tint and the other is creamy white. The build quality is excellent. They don't throw nearly as far as Cree lights so you might be disappointed if you expect to use it as a long range outdoor light. I prefer the 2AA Vic to my 2AA Mini Maglite with TLE5 drop in.

The 2AAA Vic (shown below) is nice and small and just as well built as the 2AA, but is much dimmer. Its output reminds me of the current 3rd generation Inova X1.

OK, so you have a light, nip and you can't figure out what to do with it.

OK. I'll wait till the book comes out.

It's the 2xAA light. I've always loved Inovas - they're my gold standard for regulation and beam quality since the first reflectored XO. Thus, I can't bring myself to give it to someone who wouldn't use or appreciate it, or would let it sit and leak. I'm just worried I'll do the second.

Would you consider trading it?

I can tell you from bitter experience that if you want to keep the light in working order, open it!

Not just because of the alkies that might leak, but Inova's parent company used some p*ss poor type of lube on the threads... The type that seems to evaporate if the lights sit on a store's shelf. Had this happen with two, 2AA versions, of the Vic lights. On both of my samples, the lube was pretty much non-existent. One of the lights was completely damaged beyond repair, due to the severe lack of lube. I saved the other one, only by applying obscene amounts of lube; and twisting the head back & forth very slowly until it came off. Then I was able to replace the dead batteries inside. (They hadn't leaked, but they were completely dead).

Thank you, Monocrom. Whether I decide to trade it or not, I'll pull it out for maintenance. How can the severe lack of lube damage the threads while sitting and not being corroded by battery acid, though?

Lockpicker, go ahead and send me an offer, worst I can say is no.

Anyone know if these are inherently more moddable than standard Inovas? And are they head-twisties? Nobody has a good UI description on the 'net.

PM sent.

Chrontius said:

Thank you, Monocrom. Whether I decide to trade it or not, I'll pull it out for maintenance. How can the severe lack of lube damage the threads while sitting and not being corroded by battery acid, though?

Click to expand...

The threads on both of my samples were not cut evenly. A surprising lack of Q.C., considering the Vic lights are made by Inova's parent company. Instead of the threads being cut in a circular fashion, they feel as though they were cut in an oval fashion. Bit tough to describe. But you can feel it when trying to unscrew the head from the body.

(BTW, the Vic lights are all head-twisties. Turn the head a bit to switch the light on. Keep turning it all the way to swap out the batteries. That's it right there).

With my surviving sample, after I got the head off, I could see that indeed the threads were not cut evenly. With the damaged sample, the head became hopelessly stuck. That sample was the first one I bought. Silly me, I just assumed that Inova's parent company would build the Vic line of lights to the same high standards as the Inova X and T series of lights. (Apparently not)!

When the head got hopelessly stuck, it meant I couldn't swap out the dead cells. Who knows, perhaps on that sample the alkies did leak; helping the head to become completely stuck.

But who needs leaking alkies when the company that made your light didn't cut the threads properly or evenly, and either applied very little lube; or a type of lube that evaporates inside of a sealed flashlight.

All of my Gerber lights came with too much lube on the threads. Ironically, Inova's parent company should take a page out of Gerber's book.

Very, very little lube, the usual thin whitish paste. Very fine threads, same as my XO and X5.

Two Duracells, stated expiration of 2013, positive toward tailcap. No polarity markings anywhere - I hope they're reverse-polarity protected.

Luxeon <strike>K2, no TFFC</strike> 3. Hexagonal heat sink under die is silver, not copper of some sort like most? Does this indicate a particularly old/low bin? (No, wrong LED). Specs indicate it's driven at 4.8 watts, so that's a bit of overdrive.

Inova's usual beautiful beam quality, slightly narrower heat sink than the reflectored 1.4 watt XO, I think. The hotspot is narrower, and there's more corona than said XO, however.

Head is exactly 1.00" across. Tail is 0.80" across, knurling is 0.81" across, and everything's about 3mm shorter than a Mini Mag (5.64" long vs. 5.82"). Any Mag or Executive series diffusers/filters should fit, as should most/all Mag accessories that don't thread on (and, obviously, LED dropins or bulbs).

No momentary, as mentioned before. UI is a simple head twisty, righty tighty makes lighty. Aside from the backwards twisting and backwards batteries, this is a perfect drop-in replacement for the Mini-Mag for non-powerusers and will be instantly usable to its full potential.

I've forgotten how much I like thin lights. 0.72 is too thin, 1.00 is too fat, 0.80 is just right. If the A2L is the size of an E2E, I'll probably get one.