Flashlightlens "UCL"

in another thread somebody mentioned they weren't sure if they would order a ucl cause they're clumsy. that got me thinking, how much of a drop would the ucl hold up to? it seems pretty secure and tight against the o-ring. wanted to hear everybodys thoughts on this.

Originally posted by tkl:
in another thread somebody mentioned they weren't sure if they would order a ucl cause they're clumsy. that got me thinking, how much of a drop would the ucl hold up to? it seems pretty secure and tight against the o-ring. wanted to hear everybodys thoughts on this.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That has concerned me also. I have the UCL and had planned to order a spare, but If the UCL lens is relatively fragile it might make more sense to order a Boroflote version.

I know that Flashlightlens makes his products a little thicker for durability, but I don't believe that he has specifically addressed this issue.

Even though most of us won't be using our Tigerlights in a correctional environment, we want them to be as safe to operate as possible.

Brightnorm

Chris (flashlightlens) is looking into tempering of the UCL. He said he'd post when he gathered more info, but I he posted that he was out last week enjoying the holidays. I guess the tempering wouldn't prevent fracture any better, but at least it would keep it from being so dangerous if it did break.

Hey everyone,
My meeting with TigerLight on 12/21 addressed some of these issues. Here's what we found out.

Because of the way the reflector is dampened on the TigerLight, the lenses will break if the flashlight is thrown onto a hard surface - like concrete. The reason it breaks is because the design of the flashlight allows lens will move very easily. This is true of the poly lenses as well. You can push on the lens and you'll see what I mean. This allows the lens to slam into the inside of the bezel when subjected to a sharp impact, causing the lens to break. A thicker lens will actually lessen this effect.

We were able to substantially help this by either doubling up the lens or removing the o-ring where the bezel meets the body. This tightened up the entire assembly and didn't allow the lens to impact the inside of the bezel as hard. After removing the o-ring, we were able to drop the light from about 10-15 feet without breakage (on concrete).

The solution? Not sure yet. I'm toying with the idea of some sort of shoulder washer to surround the lens - or maybe an o-ring. TL is interested in using these lenses, so I'm sure we'll come up with a durability retrofit.

There was no arguement about this - if you are planning on using your TL in a rugged environment and can't risk having a lens break becuase of an impact, stick with the poly. If you don't subject your light to impacts and like the idea of having your light be about 7 or 8% brighter, go with the UCL.

I'll keep everyone updated.

Chris

PS - we put a TL face-down on a desk for 5 minutes to heat the lens up and then shoved it into a bowl filled with snow. The result? Nothing - the lens stood up to this just fine. The fact theat the lens passes more light means it will stay cooler. No need to worry about thermal shock breakage.

flahslightlens, thanks so much!

can you please tell me if my ucl will survive a shock from about 6 feet? i don't use mine in a rough enviroment, just general utility where i might drop it from shoulder heighth.

i guess it shatters into hundreds of peices when it breaks? any plans to temper them?

Originally posted by flashlightlens.com:
we put a TL face-down on a desk for 5 minutes to heat the lens up and then shoved it into a bowl filled with snow.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Skunkworks. Real-world testing. I love it.

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Originally posted by flashlightlens.com:
.....There was no arguement about this - if you are planning on using your TL in a rugged environment and can't risk having a lens break becuase of an impact, stick with the poly. If you don't subject your light to impacts and like the idea of having your light be about 7 or 8% brighter, go with the UCL....

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Surefire uses Pyrex in its lights intended for combat. I've not read reports or complaints of these lenses shattering.

Would multi-coated Borofloat lenses be a good compromise between UCL transmisability and Lexan toughness?

Brightnorm

From the specs I've read, Borofloat and Pyrex are just a little bit stronger than float glass. I imagine that SF has a pretty high success with Pyrex based on the fact that the lens is so much smaller than the TL's. With a 55mm diameter lens, there is more mass and a larger surface area that are subjected to the elements.

Combat readiness is why I chose the poly lens. I had a partner through his light at a car jacker,I wont name the light but it sounds like rag fight, and it busted into several pieces. The lens bursted the lens ring flew off and the tail cap came off sending the rechargeable battery rolling down the street.

My partner was so discusted he went and bought a SL 20X. By the way he never collected the pieces of his rag. This was while TL was still in development, but I took that information with me to the shop. Considerations were made right down to the best thread to prevent the light from rappidly disassembliung upon impact.

That said, I would use the glass lens for every day use such as camping and around the house. keep a poly lens for those days when the spouse starts throwing things.

Thanks

Randy and Chris,

Thanks for that info.

Brightnorm

If anyone starts throwing these things, shouldn't the filament break first?

I did keep the poly lens after replacing it with glass. Just in case.

Originally posted by Marty Weiner:
I did keep the poly lens after replacing it with glass. Just in case.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">me too.