Mini review of an odd gathering of lights!

I just got down from a 2 week trip from Alaska, through southeast, then Canada and when I got to my brothers house there were a bunch of lights waiting for me!






I don't know why, but this is one of the most exciting shipments I've ever received, but for different reasons than you might think.
Incredible as it may seem, possibly the most exciting light for me here is the MillerMods Arc-AA!
Don't get me wrong, I'm overwhelmed with the Tri-V as well, but it's the Arc that I've spent the most time with the last couple of days, and it's the one that I just keep going to. I just absolutely love the smooth, slightly coolish, but decently neutral beam tint, not to mention the flawlessly smooth beam.
This makes my second Arc-AA, both of which I'm enamored with, but with the perfection of the MillerMods light, I think I'll see some of my non-modded Arcs start going away.
One thing that has been noted by others in the past, and I've also noted it with my AAA version, that MillerMods Arcs actually seem to have 3 levels available, and although there is some fiddling around to get the false low to set securely, it's there and the light coming from these far too acknowledged lights. If there's a light that needs to be further refined and recognized it's the MillerMods Arcs!
The place it primarily would benefit from would be getting the 3 levels to be more easily accessible, which since they are designed as a 2 level light, may never be possible. Still, even as a 2 level light, you need one of these!
One final plus I got was the GID paint on the reflector surface, which is unbelievably bright and needs to be looked into by anyone who is an extreme low level fan, as am I. (BeaconofLight, are you hearing me?)
This GID reflector treatment actually allows you to navigate in the dark for at least 10 minutes if not longer - maybe I need to do a runtime test on it alone!
Now my second Arc-AA joins my MillerMods Arc-AAA as two of my most special lights!

Next I now have a Ti Preon, which I bought just a week after selling my Ti Preon, except that this one has been textured and anodized to be the visual and sensual opposite of the slippery/blingy appearance of the original. Now I have a Preon that is pretty likely to stay here with me for the long run!

Then comes the Wee NS, the first light to at least make it to neck carry status, giving my Draco a short vacation. Why a short vacation? Because the level is higher than I'd like it to be, if it has to be a single level, and also because of the fact that there is only one level.
However it is a most excellent light with a couple of refinements internally that set it as a strong contender for 'best tiny light' against the Drake/Draco, which the Modamags win primarily with their multiple levels, but also lightness and wider, smoother beam pattern.
Make no mistake though; the Wee puts out a smooth enough beam pattern that I'm quite happy with it, and it mainly loses out only due the the over the top excellence of the McGizmo/Modamag collaboration on the Dracos reflector/emitter pairing.

There's been enough said by people so much more eloquent than I about the Tri-V that I'll just post a couple more pics that I had fun taking today.

Tri-V and Koi! Tri-V と恋をしています！ The Tri-V in love!



If anyone has anything to contribute on especially the three lights I've mini-reviewed here please feel free to weigh in!

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

I like the texture on the Preon. I hadn't seen a Tri-V before, it looks .. alien :duh2:

What did the Koi think?

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

I'd be interested if you could add any further info regarding your MillerMods Arcs. :huh:

(I just purchased a few used Arc AAA's on CPF/MP without really knowing that much about them (yet) and I was wondering what I might have gotten myself into...)

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

Yes more on Miller Mods and are they still being done?


Also, you didnt really mention much about the TriV at all:shrug:

Those things are in the top 5% of the coolest lights ever made IMHO.

what do you think of it?

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

Can someone provide a link for that Tri-V thing... it looks awesome!

Maybe an informational link and a link to a good place to buy it.

Sorry to be link-lazy, but I'm sure somebody here on CPF will take care of me! Thank you in advance.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

wow looks great, is that an MCE? can we get some beamshots?

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

heey! what about the glowy things that emit light?

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

Quension said:

I like the texture on the Preon. I hadn't seen a Tri-V before, it looks .. alien :duh2:

What did the Koi think?

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I think I'm going to keep this Preon, with the more grippy feel and muted color, I like it!

I think the Koi like the Tri-V, but they saw little use for it and were soon more interested in food.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

For anyone wanting more info on the Tri-V, here is the main thread on it!

There's been so much written about it by some very good writers and I thought I'd focus on some of the lights that I got in the same shipment which are not so much in the spotlight as the Tri-V lately.

Pretty odd looking selection of lights I thought, which is what spurred me to post this thread.

For those interested n the MillerMods Arcs, I'll try to answer any questions you've got, but I can say this; I think they're far too ignored, which may be a result of the difficulty he had in meeting desired quotas by members wishing to buy them.

If you like the soft, floody light of the Arcs but wish the blue hotspot would not only lose it's bluish tint, but also disappear altogether, leaving only the soft wash of light with no color variation from edge to soft edge, you need to find one, or contact him directly to see if he'll still do these wonderful mods.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

Being the seller of your ARC I am delighted to read how pleased you are with your purchase and with such highly esteemed company as the Tri-V. Best wishes to those who would like the Miller Mod on their AA ARC as Mr. Miller seemed somewhat reluctant from the beginning. Six months later it was in my mail and worth the wait.
For those who are interested in the after glow. There are past threads of where to buy "glow paint" and how mix it.

Cheers,
Scott

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

Being the seller of your ARC I am delighted to read how pleased you are with your purchase and with such highly esteemed company as the Tri-V. Best wishes to those who would like the Miller Mod on their AA ARC as Mr. Miller seemed somewhat reluctant from the beginning. Six months later it was in my mail and worth the wait.
For those who are interested in the after glow. There are past threads of where to buy "glow paint" and how mix it.

Cheers,
Scott

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

kaichu dento said:

For anyone wanting more info on the Tri-V, here is the main thread on it!

Click to expand...

It looked awesome until I saw the price.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

iowatollah said:

Being the seller of your ARC I am delighted to read how pleased you are with your purchase and with such highly esteemed company as the Tri-V. Best wishes to those who would like the Miller Mod on their AA ARC as Mr. Miller seemed somewhat reluctant from the beginning. Six months later it was in my mail and worth the wait.
For those who are interested in the after glow. There are past threads of where to buy "glow paint" and how mix it.

Cheers,
Scott

Click to expand...

I felt really weird getting that group of lights and finding myself playing more with the MillerMod Arc than the Tri-V! I look forward to using it every night but never even looked at the other lights last night. Well, to tell the truth I used my LF2XTi quite a bit in searching for my lost Ti Clicky, which I finally found this morning outside watching the koi!

yalskey said:

It looked awesome until I saw the price.

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Both it and the price are awesome, but these are the only light tool capable of what they do, and the way in which they operate is unmatched by anything else available on earth!

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

kaichu dento said:

Both it and the price are awesome, but these are the only light tool capable of what they do, and the way in which they operate is unmatched by anything else available on earth!

Click to expand...

I agree that "it" is awesome, but I'm not sure you could convince me that spending $2k+ (heavily discounted "sales" price) is an "awesome" idea. Oh, and believe me, if I hit the lottery, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Also, in my opinion, it's a bit clunky / wonky / weird in appearance for me.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

There was simply no other way for Data to cram three disparately different emitters into one compact light but it really does feel nice in the hand, and the switching is the best there is, bar none.

If you want bright, it'll go up to 3 amps and also beat everything else, including a Titan for low by going all the way down to .01 amp!

Anyway, not made for the market at large, the whole run of about 25 sold out rather quickly and there are a few members now using theirs as EDC's.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

Yay! Kaichu, I love this thread!

Thanks for posting--super cool and fun assortment of goodies...

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

I thought you might be glad to see I finally got a Wee! I've worn it on my neck lanyard the last couple days, but it's always on high and I think my Draco is about ready to come back out!

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

kaichu dento said:

I thought you might be glad to see I finally got a Wee! I've worn it on my neck lanyard the last couple days, but it's always on high and I think my Draco is about ready to come back out!

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I really loved the Wee I had. I thought the beam was super smooth (although this was in my cpf infancy). I'm surprised and excited to hear that the Drake/Draco has an even smoother beam. One day I will try one of those guys out.

Re: Mini review of an odd assortment of lights I've just received!

The Wee most definitely has a very smooth beam and I love the fact that it's got such a fat hotspot too.

At 100 lumens it's close to my Draco in output and they both have just about the same neutral tint which I think you know is my favorite.

Re: Mini review of an odd gathering!

I think other responsabilities may have taken Eric, aka Miller Mods in a different direction. Too bad because he did some brilliant work- maybe he will resurface someday when his life is less hectic.