AardvarkSagus
Flashlight Enthusiast
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
The excellent design power of NeoFab has banded together with the manufacturing and distribution power of Battery Junction's Titanium Innovations brand to develop a high quality drop-in for P60 compatible lights. Can this match-up live up the the expectations inherent to such an undertaking?
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
Meat and Potatoes
Anyone who has any footing in the flashlight market will instantly be able to identify the target this dynamic duo has squarely in their sights. I'll leave that alone for now however and instead focus strictly on its own merit.
The D1000 is one of the select few lights that are designed to strictly do one thing, and do it well. There are no multiple modes in this drop-in. You only get on and off, and you're happy about it! The simplicity of this design make it that much more useful because once you drop the module into your favorite host, (played today by a well worn but still very functional Surefire G2) you have a light that requires literally no training to operate. There are no button press sequences to potentially forget in a moment of panic. Because of that, this makes an excellent tactical light or emergency backup tool.
If my information is correct, Neofab has chosen to use an R3 bin XP-E LED to be the meat of this drop-in. It has been paired with a very tightly focused lens, rather than a reflector to collimate the beam. Any long time reader of my musings will remember that these optical devices are, at least conceptually, very high ranking in my book. I have always preferred the gradual taper of the beam's spill down to absolutely nothing, rather than having to deal with a sharp drop-off at the edge the way a reflector handles things. The center hotspot, though less well defined than many other lensed lights, is very tightly focused. The corona and spill are a very gradual transition down to nothing. A welcome overall shape, to be sure.
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
Machined from a solid body of bronze, with epoxy protecting any exposed circuitry, the drop-in body appears very durable and shock resistant. All the machining appears to be top notch and high quality. I have no doubts about its ability to handle rough treatment and be able to walk away smiling.
Constructive Criticism
As I mentioned, I have usually been a very big fan of the use of lensing rather than reflectors for their superior beam shape. The reality of them however has often been a trade-off between overall shape, and quality of the beam within that spread. The loss has been one of ringyness and minor artifacts, though usually not enough to drastically affect my opinion. This module is no different. There is a bit of irregular banded concentric rings surrounding the center spot that are a less than desirable side effect. That spot itself isn't quite as well centered as I would prefer either. Thankfully both are minor enough to not cause any consternation during actual use, especially outdoors, but I still hope for improvement over time.
Once again we find that simple goals are always that much harder to critique. When something does what it is designed to do, oftentimes suggested improvements are really nothing more than looking for a different product. Instead I am going to use this space to reiterate how I believe that the partnership between Titanium Innovations and NeoFab was a very good move. The established distribution network will help to get more NeoFab products into the hands of more people, and I hope it is a partnership that will continue.
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
Conclusions
There are no illusions that this product is anything but marketed directly at the Malkoff M60. The machined bronze, the use of lensing, all point toward that iconic industry leader. On an individual scale, the D1000 appears to me to be a quality drop-in that does its job well. The beam appears tighter and slightly brighter, but with a few more artifacts than the Malkoff. The differences here all seem to come down to personal preference. For me, the D1000 performs well enough that it is definitely a contender.
Provided for review by the kind folks at BatteryJunction and NeoFab.
The excellent design power of NeoFab has banded together with the manufacturing and distribution power of Battery Junction's Titanium Innovations brand to develop a high quality drop-in for P60 compatible lights. Can this match-up live up the the expectations inherent to such an undertaking?
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
Meat and Potatoes
Anyone who has any footing in the flashlight market will instantly be able to identify the target this dynamic duo has squarely in their sights. I'll leave that alone for now however and instead focus strictly on its own merit.
The D1000 is one of the select few lights that are designed to strictly do one thing, and do it well. There are no multiple modes in this drop-in. You only get on and off, and you're happy about it! The simplicity of this design make it that much more useful because once you drop the module into your favorite host, (played today by a well worn but still very functional Surefire G2) you have a light that requires literally no training to operate. There are no button press sequences to potentially forget in a moment of panic. Because of that, this makes an excellent tactical light or emergency backup tool.
If my information is correct, Neofab has chosen to use an R3 bin XP-E LED to be the meat of this drop-in. It has been paired with a very tightly focused lens, rather than a reflector to collimate the beam. Any long time reader of my musings will remember that these optical devices are, at least conceptually, very high ranking in my book. I have always preferred the gradual taper of the beam's spill down to absolutely nothing, rather than having to deal with a sharp drop-off at the edge the way a reflector handles things. The center hotspot, though less well defined than many other lensed lights, is very tightly focused. The corona and spill are a very gradual transition down to nothing. A welcome overall shape, to be sure.
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
Machined from a solid body of bronze, with epoxy protecting any exposed circuitry, the drop-in body appears very durable and shock resistant. All the machining appears to be top notch and high quality. I have no doubts about its ability to handle rough treatment and be able to walk away smiling.
Constructive Criticism
As I mentioned, I have usually been a very big fan of the use of lensing rather than reflectors for their superior beam shape. The reality of them however has often been a trade-off between overall shape, and quality of the beam within that spread. The loss has been one of ringyness and minor artifacts, though usually not enough to drastically affect my opinion. This module is no different. There is a bit of irregular banded concentric rings surrounding the center spot that are a less than desirable side effect. That spot itself isn't quite as well centered as I would prefer either. Thankfully both are minor enough to not cause any consternation during actual use, especially outdoors, but I still hope for improvement over time.
Once again we find that simple goals are always that much harder to critique. When something does what it is designed to do, oftentimes suggested improvements are really nothing more than looking for a different product. Instead I am going to use this space to reiterate how I believe that the partnership between Titanium Innovations and NeoFab was a very good move. The established distribution network will help to get more NeoFab products into the hands of more people, and I hope it is a partnership that will continue.
Titanium Innovations D1000 by NeoFab
Conclusions
There are no illusions that this product is anything but marketed directly at the Malkoff M60. The machined bronze, the use of lensing, all point toward that iconic industry leader. On an individual scale, the D1000 appears to me to be a quality drop-in that does its job well. The beam appears tighter and slightly brighter, but with a few more artifacts than the Malkoff. The differences here all seem to come down to personal preference. For me, the D1000 performs well enough that it is definitely a contender.
Provided for review by the kind folks at BatteryJunction and NeoFab.
