Momentary-On twisties

I'd like to know what twisty switch lights people know of that will activate momentarily when the twist head is pulled back toward the body. My Romisen RC-C3 does this (when the head is turned just enough to go off but not a lot farther). I read a post that said the Fenix P1D does it also. What about the EX10/D10? Any other twist types you can think of? Just to be clear, I'm not talking about momentary-on via a tailcap button.

Thanks!
:wave:

Well basically any light with anodized threads and no anodizing on the end of the tube (where it contacts the end of the tailcap) should be able to do this, as long as there is some "play" in the threads to allow the tailcap to be moved a very small amount forwards so it can touch the end of the body tube.

Mjolnir said:

Well basically any light with anodized threads and no anodizing on the end of the tube (where it contacts the end of the tailcap) should be able to do this, as long as there is some "play" in the threads to allow the tailcap to be moved a very small amount forwards so it can touch the end of the body tube.

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Hmmm, well... I'm not sure if I made my question clear enough. Because I don't think I understand how tailcaps come into play. Twist switches involve a head that screws onto a body, right? If my RC-C3's head is tightened to 'on' and I loosen the tailcap, I have to very nearly remove the tailcap altogether before the light turns off.

I'd also like to ask you P1D owners, and anyone else with a multi-mode twisty that will go on momentariily by pulling the head against the body, another question as well: have you ever tried seeing if you can change modes by doing the momentary thing repeatedly (like twisting and untwisting quickly for mode change)? It would be interesting if this were possible. My C3 is single mode so I can't try anything like that.

Gerber Infinity Ultra - its tailcap can provide momentary on. on my unit, the tailcap also has some play so that it can be used as a momentary clicky. this is not, however, precisely what you are asking for as i need to press, not twist the tailcap. please note that the newer version of this light is a tail-twisty, not a head-twisty - though one can grasp the tailcap with "pinky" and/or ring finger and twist the "head" to achieve constant "on".

i'll have to check some other twisties when i get home fr/work.


as far as your second question goes. i do precisely that w/all of my Olights. i play with the head positioning until i find the "sweet" spot that allows me to change modes by merely pressing on the head. generally it only works when pressing on one particular side of the head (haven't played around yet with using a small piece of Scotch Magic Tape to attempt to semi-"lock" the head to the "sweet" spot). i try to remember the position the body clip in my hand, when possible, depending upon which model Olight, such that it serves to remind me which side to press on. changing modes rapidly using only one hand is very easy to do once the "sweet" spot is located. i have eleven Olights (not counting the Ti Infinitum and M30 which, of course, are not operated in the fashion about which you are inquiring) which i have successfully and consistently performed this one-handed "pressing" mode change operation.

EX10 isn't really a twisty light. I have a couple and I don't expect it to work with an EX10.

Sgt. Burkett will do it.

It doesn't matter if it is the tail or the head that you twist to turn on; the concept is still the same. When the head is tightened, the back of the head makes contact with the end of the tube, which is not anodized. Since the anodization is non conductive, the circuit must be completed this way. If you can manually push the head/tailcap against the body tube when it is not tightened all the way, then it will turn on.

When this happens it is a sign of a little excess play in the threads. Really well machined threads should have very little play IMO and twisties that have a lot of play can be considered to have sloppy threads.

Oddjob said:

When this happens it is a sign of a little excess play in the threads. Really well machined threads should have very little play IMO and twisties that have a lot of play can be considered to have sloppy threads.

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I hope that doesn't discourage people from commenting if their lights do this. After all, we're talking about Olights and Fenixes doing it.

Personally, I consider this way of gaining momentary-on a useful, convenient feature. I want to know what lights are capable of this because it could help me decide which lights I want to buy next. And I guess some other folks might like to know the same info so they know which lights not to buy... that's ok, to each his own.

divine said:

EX10 isn't really a twisty light. I have a couple and I don't expect it to work with an EX10.

Sgt. Burkett will do it.

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Well, I bought a Nitecore D10 on the forum and it arrived today. Of course it can work as a twisty if one desires. And I found that if I turn it just until it goes off, I can indeed pull back on the head and activate it in momentary mode.

But then, the PD makes it pretty easy to activate for momentary or for whatever function. As I had hoped, it feels much nicer to push than the usual clickies. And the knurling makes it quite secure to either cigar-hold or to twist one-handed. Suddenly I don't like my other EDCs very well.

I have two D10's. One is my Q5, the other is my GDP. My GDP does what the OP describes. My Q5 doesn't. Funny thing is, 4sevens has no idea what I'm talking about! They keep referring me to the original instructions and how I'm supposed to have momentary when I unscrew the light when I depress the piston. :scowl:
I'm glad that someone else it talking about this. I EDC my GDP and I wish it wouldn't do this. Maybe I'll switch the heads and see if that helps.

Rexlion said:

I hope that doesn't discourage people from commenting if their lights do this. After all, we're talking about Olights and Fenixes doing it.

Personally, I consider this way of gaining momentary-on a useful, convenient feature. I want to know what lights are capable of this because it could help me decide which lights I want to buy next. And I guess some other folks might like to know the same info so they know which lights not to buy... that's ok, to each his own.

Click to expand...

There are many lights that provide this "feature".

I don't think there is a generalisation, because even for a given model, there is some variation in how tight or loose the threads are from one light to another.

I would be a little concerned that continually pushing down on a twisty head would result in further wear on the threads.

Gerbr IU & Gerber LX1.

twist till its near "on", there is some give that allows it to be "clicked" on.

As has been said, every tighten-on twisty does this to varying degrees. Also, it is not necessarily a sign of sloppy threads - larger threads inherently do this from further out.

All of my lights (SureFire, Fenix, ASP, generic) can be activated in this manner, except for my Coast LED Lenser DigiTac I. The Coast has a forward clicky switch, and when the switch is activated, the tail cap needs to be virtually completely unscrewed before the light goes out. The rest are a mix of twisty, forward clicky and reverse clicky switches.

I'm glad I read this thread, because now I know how to get momentary on from my PD30 when desired.