ITP A3 EOS BLACK Q5 LED Upgrade question?

shane73

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Oct 28, 2010
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I have a small quick question. I have spent the last 3 weeks reading over the forums here trying to find me the right AAA light. I have it narrowed down to about 10 I think. More I hang around here, the more I just want to buy all 10 though. I have been taking in all the information on clickies, lens, leds, batteries, and so on. I just haven't seen one of my main questions. On the lights where you turn the lens to cut it on and off (twistie?) like on the ITP A3 EOS Q5 Upgrade, When you are not using the light and its turned off, is the lens turned tight? Reason I ask is because I bought several different cree lights off of ebay. I carried each one of them around with me for a few days to see which one I like the best and its one like the ITP A3 EOS. The only problem with it is the lens has to be in the loosened position for it to be off. A few times when I went to pull it out of my pocket, the lens had almost unscrewed its self off where it wasnt tight. I know if I carried one like this around with me, I would loose the lens in no time. I know its a cheap one so I was just wondring if the good ones worked different. I have carried a keychain Maglite around with me for over a year and it has to be loosened to be turned on and tight to be turned off. That works perfect.

Thanks for offering such a great place here for everyone to learn about lights before they buy them!
 

purelite

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Nov 9, 2005
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Hi Shane.

Most twisty lites are loosen for off.

There are a cpl that tighten for off. One I can think of is Arcmania Extreme III which is a AAA lite available at Lighthound. Problem is it is EXPENSIVE!!

The only other one I can think of is the VersaTi AAA. That one is also expensive and is a total flood beam and almost useless in most situations.

I went thru the same deliberations as you and became convinced that a tighten for off was what I needed. Then I got one and you know what? The lite would come ON in my pocket if I didnt make sure the head was super tite using two hands . Then I would have a dead battery when I needed the lite!!

So, I have gone back to a loosen for off AAA and we will see if I ever have the head come off. If it does at least it will drop into my pocket and I will be able to put it all back together and still have a useable battery .

Its seems to be what we have to deal with in a small pocket twisty light. Reliable simple but not perfect. Maybe a AAA clicky lite would be better for you? Though the best of those to me is the Liteflux LFX2T which is rarer than hens teeth .
 
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joe1512

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Jan 7, 2010
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The A3 has a rubber O-ring. Once you tighten it a certain amount,the o-ring provides resistance.

So fully tightened, the light is turned on. Once untightened even a fraction of an inch, the light goes off.

The o-ring makes it hard to unscrew(loosen) for a full 360 degree revolution and so I turn it 180 degrees (half a rotation) to turn the light off.

I have never had any issues at all with the head falling off or threatening to, since the head is plenty tight for at least another half of a revolution.
 

Nasty

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Sep 5, 2005
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As stated, even 1/16th of a turn will lock the light off. I've never had it unscrew by itself at all.

It's a rockin' little light.
 

NonSenCe

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on itp a3 it takes about 4 complete turns to head to fall off.

and like said to turn it off it only takes few degrees of turning.

i personally do turn more than needed. but only about the natural amount of twist what i one can make without changing grip.. one hand keeps the bezel and other turns in toward myself. or i just kinda let it "roll" or "spin" once between my fingers like i turn a nut into threads or close the cap of cola bottle . (if that makes any sense :))

so 90degrees is very common.

and those lights that are used more rarely (yep, got a few of them) i turn about half a turn. (now both hands turn to opposite directions)

-yeah i tested this, to see how i actually do operate it, as i wrote this.

the o-ring is tight enough to resist opening accidentally.. havent had one turn on or off without intention. nor ever had a head fall.
 

purelite

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Nov 9, 2005
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I would suggest turning the head more than a few degrees as most seem to do here anyway. With just turning the head enough to cut the output you can still activate the light by pushing sideways on the head. I have had an instance where the light was on in my pocket while seated on a plane because I only turned it to just off. A good soliod 1/2 turn minimum is a good idea IMHO

I have never had a head completely fall off of a loosen for off light either so its probably the best overal route for an EDC but if I carried one on my keychain I would peridodically feel the need to check it. I have read a few stories on CPF about people losing their heads.
 

Buckley

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Aug 29, 2009
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I carried an EOS daily for nearly a year, clipped to a small swiss army knife in my right front pants pocket. After use I would turn it approximately 90 degrees to deactivate the light. I never had any problems with the head loosening further.

The EOS is a great little light, one of the great bargains to be had in led-land. Buy it; you won't be disappointed.

And :welcome:
 

shane73

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Oct 28, 2010
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I will give the little a ITP a try. If im going to loose a head I rather it be on a $16 light rather than a $70 light. I am a contractor and I tend to be rough on things. I have wore a necklace 2 or 3 different times and either hung myself or broke it with in a month. I have never had a watch over 6 months before I broke it. When I got married, I destroyed my wedding ring in a year. Whats left of it is in the safe. I have 3 spare cell phones here in the drawer because I usually go through them every 6 months or so. Whats on the inside of my pockets will usually last alot longer. I had to go from plastic lighters to metal because I kept leaning up against something and breaking them.
I am getting alot older and slower now so I do seem to be slowing down and not as rough on things. I am going to order the ITP right now and start looking for a clickie. I did run across a clickie last night that looks like a pretty good one - Tiablo E3A Exquisite. Is there any other good clickies out there around $30 that is close to the ITP as far as size, quality, Low MED High, brightness, and has a good loop to hook a keychain? Thanks for everyones replys.
 

amstone

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Oct 27, 2010
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I am very rough on small items also. I have carried a ITP a3 variant Maratac AAA stainless for the past 6 months and it is new in function and not so bad in finish (save a few dings from decent drops). I have never "lost" the head or even had it be any looser then I left it.
 
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Buckley

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Being so hard on your accessories, shane73, you may be better served by either the stainless steel EOS or, better yet, the IlluminaTi.
 
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