has your titanium light ever saved the day?

Hi. I've been a "lurker" for a little while, first-time poster. I'm in the market for a new single-cell EDC torch (I'm from Scotland, forgive my uncouth language - "flashlight" if you prefer...) and I'm settled on the 4sevens Quark mini 123. (I already have the mini AA, which is awesome, but am lusting after the higher power output of the CR123s =) ). My quandary though, is whether to go for the "standard" aluminium version, or splash out for the titanium version, which is very appealing to me, although I'm finding it difficult to separate my aesthetic response from my self-justifications that "if there's an apocalypse, it'll be more likely to stay intact" (neglecting to account for whether or not _I_ would still be about to use it =P).

I know there have been several threads already discussing the relative merits of titanium vs aluminium, and I don't want to create another such thread - I have read through the existing ones, and they've been most informative (some more informative than I can grasp, with detailed scientific specs of each metal), and some suggesting the point of titanium is purely aesthetic. I've also gathered that titanium is a worse heatsink than aluminium, and is stronger and lighter than steel, but heavier than aluminium (good, concise overview in post 3 of this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?303482-Aluminium-vs.-Titanium), and is obviously more expensive than aluminium (in the UK, it will cost about twice as much for the ti version of the qmini 123 as opposed to the alu version), and I've considered all of these things, and am just hovering on the brink between feeling that it's worth the extra to get the titanium, and feeling that it's not.

What I'm left with, is trying to decide on the practical implications of titanium over aluminium, and there seems to be a dearth of examples where it has (or hasn't) made a difference in "real life" in the threads I've read through. So, specific discussions about the specifications of each metal or aesthetics aside, I wanted to know if anyone had any real-life anecdotes (first person preferably, but "I heard about someone who..." would also be interesting, assuming there is good reason to believe it) about either:

(a) having a titanium light, and the fact that it was titanium actually making a positive difference in a situation.

I can certainly imagine plenty of scenarios, but they're mostly reminiscent of preposterous scenes in action movies, e.g. wedging it in a large metal cog to stop a door from closing and trapping you (seems I'm not the first - see post 22 in this thread: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?248442-EDC-the-Titanium-Quark) but "real-life" scenarios would be great to hear about.

or:

(b) having an aluminium light, and believing that if it had been titanium, a negative outcome of a particular situation could have been a positive outcome instead.

Or indeed, if anyone has any anecdotes that would prove the opposite, I would welcome hearing about that too. I don't expect there to be many accounts of life-and-death scenarios, but more day-to-day situations would be more relevant to my question anyway =)

So, has your titanium light ever saved the day? =)

before there's another alum vs titanium war, check out these threads:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?210564-Titanium-lights-vs-their-Aluminum-Cousins
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...um-version-of-an-existing-aluminum-flashlight

most people with Ti lights probably won't be wedging it under doors or using it to pry heavy objects, but here's a testament to it's ruggedness:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?172108-Ti-PDS-vs.-Highway

I have a Quark 123 Regular in Ti. I EDC my lights in my pocket with my keys, and it's nice just to be able to use a scouring pad to tidy up the finish of the Ti. If it were the Al verision, the anodising would be ruined by now, with no recourse.

I like it for that reason, mostly. That and it's pretty and shiny

As for life-saving scenarios, can't help, sorry. Although, if I were to choose a light to throw at someone in anger, it'd be the Ti Quark. Mostly because I can clean up the finish easily.

I carry a Draco 24/7 on a necklace. Initially, I had the chrome plated aluminum version. But it began to show wear from the being worn all the time. Nothing major, but it was enough to get me thinking about long term durability. I ended up switching over to the titanium version and I've been carrying it for several years now. If it wasn't for the shirt lint that tends to collect in the crevices, it would still look like new. Eventually, I ended up changing all my necklace EDC items over to titanium. Even the necklace. Although it doesn't "rust", aluminum still shows wear and does corrode. For very long term durability, titanium can't be beat in my experience. I've tried the same items in aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium. Aluminum has the weight advantage and SS has the durability. But if it's something you plan to keep for a long time and can swing the cost, titanium gets you both advantages. There have been a couple things I've tried in the cheaper versions to see if they meet my needs, and only after making the decision to add it to the EDC set do I spring for the upgrade to titanium. Of course, then you end up with a SS set that never gets used anymore. Another advantage for me since I have multiple items on my necklace is that titanium items just make a soft "click" when they hit each other as I move around. I can barely hear it and nobody else has ever mentioned being able to hear it. SS and aluminum have a more resonant "ting" that's more noticable.

Hi Pellgarlic and a warm :welcome:


I have a total of 5 Quark Mini's: Al AA, Al CR2, shiny Ti CR2, shiny Ti 123 and satin Ti 123. The one that gets used most times is the latter because I simply love the colour and finish of satin titanium. BTW I buy these lights at 4Sevens.pl
None of these torches has ever saved my day but in all my toys (torches, watches, cameras, etc.) I have always thought that a few quids spent in improving the aspect were money well spent.
So my advice is: go for titanium!

I am extremely hard on my favorite titanium light and if it were aluminum it would have chipped anodize, many dents and dings, and be bare aluminum in several places. Since titanium is harder than aluminum and also does not need to be coated, my titanium light doesn't look like quite the wreck.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?270369-Let-s-see-some-well-used-lights!&p=3347612

Life and death situations, no. But a titanium light makes for a fine EDC that will continue to look good through life's tumbles.

I keep the IluminaTi AAA twisty on my keychain, in my pocket. It has never turned on by itself (thus draining the battery) nor has the head ever twisted off by itself (and thus had the potential to be lost), like my Fenix LOD CE did. The galling of the threads, that most see as a detriment, I find as a +. So if you want a torch that will be guaranteed turn ON, as saving the day, when you need it theres your justification. Also, it looks as good as the day I bought it 2 years on, while the Fenix was gouged and pitted.

So it appears that the question really is: buy one Ti light, or TWO Aluminium lights.

I have a 4Sevens mini 123 TI and love the look and durability of it but it does get very hot very quickly on high. The threads were also a little gritty at first too but they've smoothed out now.

@jjoustfrost - I appreciate your concerns, and I'd just like to stress that I'm aware of the number of other threads dedicated to the "titanium vs aluminium" argument, and I specifically didn't want to re-hash something that has already been hashed (?) to death, and I tried hard to avoid that. I was after some empirical evidence from personal experience to backup the theoretical assertions about titanium's ruggedness/strength etc, and thought my question was different enough to warrant a new thread. I had in fact already read both the threads you linked to, as well as several others, and hadn't really found what I was looking for, which is anecdotal evidence to back up the theories.

I get what has been said already about the scientific comparisons between titanium and aluminium, but what I'm interested in is how often these factors actually have a discernible impact in real peoples' lives. The "172108-Ti-PDS-vs.-Highway" thread that you linked to is a fine example of this (even a "concrete" example one could argue =P), and I thank you for highlighting that one (although I had actually already seen it =P).

mvyrmnd said:

if I were to choose a light to throw at someone in anger, it'd be the Ti Quark. Mostly because I can clean up the finish easily.

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+1 for ti... =D

@ carrot - that's some good real-life evidence =) Can I ask what kind of situations you use your light in that results in it looking like that? Especially the wear shown in the second and fourth images. Not that it's off-putting - I'm of the mind that a bit of wear adds to the character of an item (which I could actually count against titanium =P but in contrast, with an anodized alu light I'd worry that where the anodizing wears away, the exposed alu would be more susceptible to corrosion and further/worse wear). As long as it doesn't limit its functionality, I'm in favour of the "well travelled" look =)

dss_777 said:

So it appears that the question really is: buy one Ti light, or TWO Aluminium lights.

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Heh! =) Actually, it's more like "buy one ti light, or one aluminium light and have some cash to spend on one of my numerous other *holisms (my flashaholism being a recent development, in addition to several others - guitar-and-recording-kit-aholism, camera-gear-holism, computer-gadget-aholism, bushcraft-related-stuff-aholism etc... =P).

Thefo said:

I have a 4Sevens mini 123 TI and love the look and durability of it but it does get very hot very quickly on high.

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This is a bit of a concern, and one that has been raised before in other threads too, but not as strongly as you have stated here - when you say "very hot", does it get too hot to hold? And how quickly is "quickly"? And is this when using primaries or rechargeables? i.e. is the heat level due simply to the titanium's lesser thermal conductivity, or due to the use of higher voltage batteries? As I plan to use primaries this would be pertinent for me. And do you happen to have experienced an alu version of the same light on high to compare the heat levels?

This is a bit of a concern, and one that has been raised before in other threads too, but not as strongly as you have stated here - when you say "very hot", does it get too hot to hold? And how quickly is "quickly"? And is this when using primaries or rechargeable s? i.e. is the heat level due simply to the titanium's lesser thermal conductivity, or due to the use of higher voltage batteries? As I plan to use primaries this would be pertinent for me. And do you happen to have experienced an alu version of the same light on high to compare the heat levels?[/QUOTE]

I wear mine using the neck lanyard so it's not always "in hand" when running on high which means you don't notice it since the lanyard allows it sit low on the chest and a shirt or coat acts as an insulator. As a general rule I tend to not run it on high for too long as it gets borderline uncomfortable to hold. I always run primaries in it because Li Ions (I'm told) can damage the light if run on high. My thoughts are because the mini series is a physically smaller light and the sidewalls are thinner than a normal Quark that this contributes to the excess heat (less heat sinking) Unfortunately I do not have the Alu version for a side by side comparison, sorry...I've been considering picking up an Alu version though.

pellgarlic said:

@ carrot - that's some good real-life evidence =) Can I ask what kind of situations you use your light in that results in it looking like that? Especially the wear shown in the second and fourth images. Not that it's off-putting - I'm of the mind that a bit of wear adds to the character of an item (which I could actually count against titanium =P but in contrast, with an anodized alu light I'd worry that where the anodizing wears away, the exposed alu would be more susceptible to corrosion and further/worse wear). As long as it doesn't limit its functionality, I'm in favour of the "well travelled" look =)

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Well, I like adventures and the McGizmo is my constant travel companion. I believe most of the damage is "road rash" from mountain biking in Colorado but it has seen its fair share of mishaps besides that along the way. I have also accidentally bounced it across asphalt when riding on some roads. I'm not always using it... but I know it's always there when I need it thanks to the extremely strong pocket clip and robust overall design.