keychain attachment strength Maratac AAA vs ITP A3

Decided one of these will be my new EDC keychain light. I like the looks of the Maratac better, but am concerned about selfbuilt's assessment of its keychain attachment point: "frankly seems a little thin and fragile to me".
Anyone have any real-world experience to help me determine whether the maratac's attachment is robust enough to handle EDC usage?

arficus said:

Decided one of these will be my new EDC keychain light. I like the looks of the Maratac better, but am concerned about selfbuilt's assessment of its keychain attachment point: "frankly seems a little thin and fragile to me".
Anyone have any real-world experience to help me determine whether the maratac's attachment is robust enough to handle EDC usage?

Click to expand...

My brother's using an ITP on his keychain... about 3 months now. The split ring is stretched out of shape now.

I have been using an iTP AAA 3 mode natural with original split ring on my keys since they came out. No problems with split ring or attachment point at all. Finish is holding up extremely well too.

I went with some braided line through the attachment hole & tied a little ti A3 to the lanyard pin in a thin ti pocketknife. No wear on the light & the braided line is much stonger than the factory keychain. Had to thread it through the tiny hole with a tooth pick, but it is much more secure & won't wear out the attachment point (a consideration on an aluminum A3).

The Maratac would also scratch up anything else in your pocket, more so than the ITP.
The ITP is also about 1/3 less when shipping is taken into consideration vs the Maratac.

i had a maratac on my keychain for a couple of months. i was extemely happy with it until the spring clip flew off when pulling the keys from my front pocket. i edc an itp now. it's pretty much the same light with a more secure attachment mechanism. it's a great tool. go get one. go. go now.

-jim

sabre7 said:

I have been using an iTP AAA 3 mode natural with original split ring on my keys since they came out. No problems with split ring or attachment point at all. Finish is holding up extremely well too.

Click to expand...

ditto

There is an aftermarket fix that was previously posted about for the Maratac that I did after my keyring attachment broke (from me taking it on and off for no reason! ).

Available at most any hardware store for about $.40, a 1/2" external snap ring works perfect. It gives 2 holes to put a split ring through and is 10x stronger than the factory attachment...I would say its ALMOST impossible for the snap ring to come off.

The only down side is it will spin 360 degrees, which also allows the clip to rotate too.

A very cheap, easy and dependable solution.

No contest!

If you want to put it on a keychain, get the iTP model. If you're going to mainly use the clip for pocket carry, and you'd like it to tailstand, get the Maratac version.

I have the iTP A2 and the key-ring is not good ... At first I thought that the five links were welded , but they are not ... I don't carry it as a keyring as I use the clip instead ... I wear the torch clipped into a small pocket with a flap over it , to prevent the car seat-belt from dislodging it ... I nearly lost another torch this way but luckily I found the torch in the car at the side of the seat ... Hence the pocket with a flap.

The Lobster-claw catch that came on the A2 keychain is very good ... If the chain was removed and just a good quality split-ring was used to connect it to the torch , that would be great to clip to your keys.

Personally my two sets of keys (house and car) each have a small 2 X CR2032 light attatched ... It is smaller and neater than the bigger ones ... However , I always have the A2 with me at all times ... Though , in the bedroom and lounge I have a Solarforce L2 and L2i.

Good Luck with your search for your ideal keychain attatchment ... Now if the A2 chain links were welded that really would be great.
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My daily carry is my ITP A3,rubbish key clip on it as standard so dispensed with,in the UK we have plenty of close out shops so bought a little key light just to get a really decent lobster claw and chain,much better than the issued one but used that on another light,I either shirt pocket it or put it on a neck lanyard depending on what I am wearing.The chain and clip that come with the A1 is much better though.

mcnair55 said:

My daily carry is my ITP A3, rubbish key clip on it as standard so dispensed with,in the UK we have plenty of close out shops so bought a little key light just to get a really decent lobster claw and chain,much better than the issued one but used that on another light,I either shirt pocket it or put it on a neck lanyard depending on what I am wearing.The chain and clip that come with the A1 is much better though.

Click to expand...

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Is the A1 chain welded-link because my A2 chain isn't welded ... I checked with a magnifying glass and there were gaps of up to one millimetre visible ...
If it was welded it would be a great key-chain ... Someone on CPF lost a iTP torch because a link opened on the chain.

I don't know if it would be possible to have the five individual links welded properly ... Wouldn't know who to ask ... Anyway , the lobster-claw is very good and could be used with just a single (good quality) strong split-ring attached to the torch ... Luckily I use the pocket clip but I don't like to see a good quality lobster-claw go to waste.
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I didn't like the chain thing that came on the A3 so i took it off and just put a standard key ring on it and I haven't had any problems

arficus said:

Decided one of these will be my new EDC keychain light. I like the looks of the Maratac better, but am concerned about selfbuilt's assessment of its keychain attachment point: "frankly seems a little thin and fragile to me".
Anyone have any real-world experience to help me determine whether the maratac's attachment is robust enough to handle EDC usage?

Click to expand...

Don't have the Maratac, but do have the ITP on a keychain. I got one of Berkeley Point's more robust split rings plus the microclip they sell for easy attachment/deattachment. So far, so good. Tried their nanoclip first, which fit ok, but the little hinge piece popped out at some point and disappeared so I wouldn't recommend that one even though it takes up less room on the keychain - not robust enough, IMHO. The ITP has a nice hole in the end for a split ring and, unless the split ring breaks, it can't come loose. Don't know if the Maratac is as robust.

I have an ITP A3 and i replaced the split ring with this one and it is ALOT thicker and more solid.

The size 5 doesnt fit (its to small) so i went with the size 6 (in the link)

Brian

Some are posting information about the split ring which is fine and always helpful but the OP is wondering about the attachment point on the light. I've had no problems with any of mine and I've got one attached to keys and the rest on lanyards. It holds a minimum of 17 lbs in three directions. I don't have a video of that but I do have a video testing the AA key attachment ring, which performed admirably.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2At...t&p=7587BF7BDEFFE65D&playnext_from=PL&index=6

I have an itp A1 (the RCR123 one), stainless steel. I took off the chain doodad and just used the existing little ring that attaches directly to the flashlight to my bigger ring dealie that contains my car opener thingee. That ring is then attached to the Main keyring.

As a bonus, I hold the light and the car-opener as I slip my keys into my pocket. Then they go in last. This keeps them from clumping as my phone holds them in place nicely.

I've had no problems at all with this. I was afraid the chain might come loose or the lobster-ring thingee would come off so I removed them.

OCD said:

There is an aftermarket fix that was previously posted about for the Maratac that I did after my keyring attachment broke (from me taking it on and off for no reason! ).

Available at most any hardware store for about $.40, a 1/2" external snap ring works perfect. It gives 2 holes to put a split ring through and is 10x stronger than the factory attachment...I would say its ALMOST impossible for the snap ring to come off.

The only down side is it will spin 360 degrees, which also allows the clip to rotate too.

A very cheap, easy and dependable solution.

Click to expand...

Could someone please post a picture of this product. I have seen snap rings but don't understand how a snap ring would help.

Here's a link to a post with picture.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?239571-Maratac-AAA-Q5-(Part-3)&p=3069205&viewfull=1#post3069205