Gatsby
Enlightened
I've been on a bit of a hiatus from the hobby - other stuff primarily camping/backpacking with my son have taken a front row seat (along with cycling and some other fun and games, plus just plain old real life). Anyway - I've been EDCing mostly an Arc6 (with a K2 TVOD emitter) and an HDS era Novatac 120p also with a K2 TVOD (and trit bezel) for awhile now and they both work great so I haven't been compelled to upgrade really.
However, I was curious about some lights and what is happening in the market - and decided I really wanted to try a titanium light (most of my knives are titanium now in whole or part) - would love a McGizmo but... the price - anyway the control ring also seemed interesting - so I picked up a Sunwayman V10R Ti+ recently off the marketplace. I liked trying an XML - but the overall reviews have been spotty at best for this light so I admit to having a bit of trepidation. It arrived today and, well, I kind of dig it. This one the machining is fine - it's not Chris Reeve machining but I don't see any noticable or significnat marks. The clip is so so - I like the design it just isn't quite substantial enough - doesn't match the McGizmo ti clip on the Arc6 but it isn't any worse than the ti clip on my Boker Anti-MC knife. But the thing I was most afraid of was the titanium button cover... yeah it isn't a piston drive - or even the HDS electronic switch - but it is not nearly as bad as folks had described. Maybe I have a fairly precise "trigger" finger. If there were a Delrin retainer floating around I'd probably try one - but I'm not worked up enough at this point to dig around for some of the after market fixes, time will tell.
The control ring is interesting. I've been around lights long enough (back to the Arc LSHP that started it all) to know what I like in a UI and don't like. I admit that the Arc4/HDS/Novatac/Ra-HDS basic UI remains my favorite - maybe using it for almost a decade has something to do with it. The Arc6 piston drive - particulary given the third "virtual" level is a close second as I can quickly access any of the three programmed levels almost as fast as the HDS UI. I prefer a clickie or with the piston - the ability to have a momentary light which in an EDC is critical. The SWM fills the swich parts - and access is quick as one would expect. You can start on low every time - another thing I like. But it will take some getting used to dialing in the right level. I wonder if my initial thoughts on the fixed level SWM lights might have been premature - as I'm not sure more than 4 discrete levels even as bright as these lights are now - necessarily is needed for most EDC.
Anyway - we'll see how it stands the test of time - maybe these issues will irritate me more - and I do have some high expectations. I have a couple Milky lights - and while a bit of an oddball the fit and finish of the Arc6 (mine at least) is absolutely superb. But for this light - well - at the price point and given the reviews I admit to being rather pleasantly surprised. Sometimes it pays to not expect much!
However, I was curious about some lights and what is happening in the market - and decided I really wanted to try a titanium light (most of my knives are titanium now in whole or part) - would love a McGizmo but... the price - anyway the control ring also seemed interesting - so I picked up a Sunwayman V10R Ti+ recently off the marketplace. I liked trying an XML - but the overall reviews have been spotty at best for this light so I admit to having a bit of trepidation. It arrived today and, well, I kind of dig it. This one the machining is fine - it's not Chris Reeve machining but I don't see any noticable or significnat marks. The clip is so so - I like the design it just isn't quite substantial enough - doesn't match the McGizmo ti clip on the Arc6 but it isn't any worse than the ti clip on my Boker Anti-MC knife. But the thing I was most afraid of was the titanium button cover... yeah it isn't a piston drive - or even the HDS electronic switch - but it is not nearly as bad as folks had described. Maybe I have a fairly precise "trigger" finger. If there were a Delrin retainer floating around I'd probably try one - but I'm not worked up enough at this point to dig around for some of the after market fixes, time will tell.
The control ring is interesting. I've been around lights long enough (back to the Arc LSHP that started it all) to know what I like in a UI and don't like. I admit that the Arc4/HDS/Novatac/Ra-HDS basic UI remains my favorite - maybe using it for almost a decade has something to do with it. The Arc6 piston drive - particulary given the third "virtual" level is a close second as I can quickly access any of the three programmed levels almost as fast as the HDS UI. I prefer a clickie or with the piston - the ability to have a momentary light which in an EDC is critical. The SWM fills the swich parts - and access is quick as one would expect. You can start on low every time - another thing I like. But it will take some getting used to dialing in the right level. I wonder if my initial thoughts on the fixed level SWM lights might have been premature - as I'm not sure more than 4 discrete levels even as bright as these lights are now - necessarily is needed for most EDC.
Anyway - we'll see how it stands the test of time - maybe these issues will irritate me more - and I do have some high expectations. I have a couple Milky lights - and while a bit of an oddball the fit and finish of the Arc6 (mine at least) is absolutely superb. But for this light - well - at the price point and given the reviews I admit to being rather pleasantly surprised. Sometimes it pays to not expect much!
