The "new" Muyshondt Aeon MKIII

(I hope to do a more proper commentary and post better photos, but I just couldn't wait to post my initial impressions of this awesome little light!)

Preface: flashaholics are a fickle lot. Moving from grail to grail in search of the "perfect" light and seemingly never finding it. We come close, but then the siren song of another light calls us away. I've languished for some time looking for that perfect light, and while no light is "perfect", my initial impressions of this little titanium Aeon MKIII are that it is about as close as I hope to get any time soon.

No, it's not a flame thrower but I have those. No, it doesn't have uber low but I have that. What it is, is a lightweight, well made, drop dead gorgeous, perfect (yes, perfect) beamed little EDC that is simply a home run...and a light that I intend to carry every day for a very long time.

The packaging is downright elegant. No "lipstick" tube any more, but who cares? The light arrives in a very nice box, wrapped in a cloth bag.



It's VERY small. Shown here next to a Lumintop Ti Tool



And so lightweight that you hardly know you are carrying it. Lest you fear losing the light, just do as I do and clip it to your pocket. This clip is awesome and believe me, the light isn't going anywhere. And the light is so small that it doesn't get in the way.


I have bunches of CR2 cells. The one that I pulled out to use is due to expire in 2017 and produces only 2.93V, so I'm not totally confident about my sphere reading of 110 lumen on high. Enrique rates it at 180 and I plan to test it again with a fresh CR2 cell.

But oh, my, that beam. Shaped perfectly, and the tint is slightly rosy perfection. Smooth, no tint shift that I can see. I haven't gushed over a beam like this since the first Haiku 119V.

Here it is next to the previously shown Ti Tool with 219B emitter. I love the beam out of this little light, but was shocked that it looks almost greenish next to the rosy, beautiful beam from the Aeon's 219B



The clicky is smooth and positive. The build is exquisite. The clip is near perfection - big words from one (me) who doesn't care for clips!

Downsides? It's one expensive little thimble of titanium! But American made (sorry, international friends) craftsmanship doesn't come cheap, and Muyshondt lights have traditionally held their values very well. I see no reason why that won't be true of this one. Also, for you rechargeable battery fans, you are gonna have to go outside the box a bit - primary CR2s (not the most common battery but a form factor that I love) are the order of the day. Thankfully, I have a bunch of CR2s and Muyshondt lights traditionally have been battery vampires.

Scout24 and I were talking today about the relative lack of fanfare around this little light, which is surprising. I expect that will change once more people get their hands on one. $450 for ti or $295 for Al isn't going to make this an everyman's light, but if you are willing to spring for it, you won't regret it. And if you don't like it, it'll probably go quickly on the second hand market. But not mine - it's a keeper! Thanks, Enrique!

Very Nice, I received an Aluminum Blue and a Sheath, too, several weeks ago...it is a very nice, extremely well made light. I have had most of Enrique's creations and this one is exceptional. I plan on posting pictures, when I get time!

Ti Mk. III here. Nice writeup Dan, I echo your sentiments!

Thanks, gents. I've finally accepted that I need several different types of lights - a powerful light for early dog walks (loving my Zebralight SC600MKIII HI), a headlight for my early morning runs (Zebralight H32w), and an EDC that can double as bedside light. The first 2 are pretty consistent and rarely (never on the headlight) do I waver. What has been inconsistent is the EDC light. That one light that I carry all day long.

With all the lights I've owned through the years and this hobby/obsession, up to now I usually preferred a AAA light of some variation, most recently the Lumintop Tool Ti with the 219B emitter. Surefire Titans (A and Plus), copper Lumintops, etc., etc. Small and bright enough.

The Aeon is going to take over that role! Heck, I even used it on the dog walk this morning and that beautiful beam will spoil you. When my HDS FDE Rotary with 219B finally arrives it may take over the dog walking job, but it looks as though this Aeon will be the EDC for a long time to come.

More tint shots. This first shot is my beloved Zebralight SC62w. The light is not claimed to be high CRI, but I've always loved the tint. The ZL is on the left, the Aeon on the right.



Now is my newest acquisition (other than the Aeon), the Zebralight SC600 MKIII HI. Right out of the gate I noticed that the tint wasn't as desirable to me as the SC62w, but I still love the light for its power, throw and interface. But the tint from the Aeon really reveals some 'greenish' tendencies...



I wish I still had my original high CRI Haiku - I'd love to compare it to this Aeon. The Aeon now joins that Haiku as, in my mind, the best, most natural tint (for my tastes) that I've seen.

What kind of cr2 brand do you use? Is there a difference between Duracell and Energizers? Energizers cost x2 more than Duracell.

Right now I have a Duracell Ultra in mine. Don't know the answer to your other question.

I know tint is subjective. There are any number of high CR-I lights out there that are enjoyed by many. My first comparison to the new Aeon was my 200lm 219B HDS Rotary. The Rotary's tint is fantastic. With nothing to compare it to, it is a wonderfully natural looking standard to compare all others to. Turn it on next to the Aeon, and it's probably pushing 1000k warmer. No joke. Next, with Dan's words on my screen, was my 119v Haiku. Again, a wonderful, natural looking, slightly throwier beam than the HDS. Deeper, narrower reflector, to be expected. Next to the Aeon, it's rosy. I'm running around now trying to make the Aeon tint "Look" something next to other lights. So far, no luck. Everything I try is "something" in comparison to it. A true neutral.

The beam is beautiful. Slightly floody as you would expect with a small shallow reflector, but a nice hotspot and spill. The base of the reflector wraps right up to the emitter, the milled wording is tasteful and subtle, the red O-rings are a nice touch. Attention to detail is evident, from the writing on the LE and the switch, the teardrops milled into the head, and the "M" on the pocketclip. It fits nicely in the watch pocket of a pair of Carhart jeans, clips solidly to a pair of sweats or kakhis, or even a shirt pocket. The reverse clicky has a better feel than I thought it would. Low and medium are great around the house at night, high is adequate for dog walking or most daytime tasks I used it for. Very unobtrusive after carrying a compact 18650 or 1x123 light for years. I'm a knurling fan, but don't miss it as much as I thought I would without the twisty interface. It's well done, but shallow and fairly smooth. Definitely not a pocket shredder. The clip gives plenty of grip when using the tail clicky. I think it's a keeper...

Scout's comments are SO dead on the money. I can't speak to the HDS tint, but will be able to soon as I received a shipping notice for my FDE High CRI Rotary today! (Yay).

The detail that Enrique put into this little light - the tiny little touches, such as:

I'm looking to buy the Aluminium blue. I'm glad you like yours.

I had a 'bright' idea last night (sorry - couldn't resist.) I'm a big believer in rechargeable cells, but as we all know the Aeon is primaries only unless you opt for some of the 3V RCR2s that are out there. Since I have around 30 primaries (including 12 brand new Duracells) I'm just gonna stick with primaries.

This Aeon is truly my EDC, and the short explanation of this long narrative is I want to know and be confident how long I can expect it to run, hence a run time test. I don't have any gear to measure drop in voltage, etc. So last night I took this battery:



...that is obviously an older cell. Got it quite a while back. It started at 2.94 V after being in my Aeon since I received it Monday. Bought a little app called "Lapse It Pro" for my iPhone 6 and set it up to take a shot every 2 minutes. Started it at 7:23 Central time last night and figured it would stop sometime during the night. I'm an early riser and at 4:30 this morning I wandered in to take a look and much to my surprise, it's still going strong. Incidentally, the Aeon was running on the medium setting. Here's the time lapse. Early on you can see that I had to make some adjustments to the phone so it wouldn't fall over!


This 14 second video represents 9 hours. And you can see that there's no visible drop in output. The battery is showing 2.75V this morning. So I'm going to suspend the test for now, but take the light to my office and continue the run time test there the old fashioned way - just time it until it stops.

Clearly this is going to be, in the tradition of all of Enrique's lights, a battery miser

Thanks for the run time test, run4jc. Will be interested to see how it ends. Enrique said he would be putting out updated run times himself, but that may not be a priority with him.

Thanks also for starting this thread. I think this Muyshondt discussion shouldn't be limited to those to happen to check the titanium forum--aluminum in now available! This light is hands-down my favorite EDC and I don't see that changing until there is a serious advance in LED efficiency. I loved my Aeon Mk II, but the clicky UI with half-press level changes and increased output of Mk III have caused the older light to be retired. I'm a big HDS fan and use my rotary often, but Muyshondt's tiny size means the Mk III is always in my pocket. Not so with Henry's lights.

Hoosier Light said:

Thanks for the run time test, run4jc. Will be interested to see how it ends. Enrique said he would be putting out updated run times himself, but that may not be a priority with him.

Thanks also for starting this thread. I think this Muyshondt discussion shouldn't be limited to those to happen to check the titanium forum--aluminum in now available! This light is hands-down my favorite EDC and I don't see that changing until there is a serious advance in LED efficiency. I loved my Aeon Mk II, but the clicky UI with half-press level changes and increased output of Mk III have caused the older light to be retired. I'm a big HDS fan and use my rotary often, but Muyshondt's tiny size means the Mk III is always in my pocket. Not so with Henry's lights.

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My pleasure, and thanks for the kind words. Incidentally, I let it run at work pretty much all day today. Another 7 ½ hours. The light has dropped out of regulation and I suspended the test and will resume overnight with the time lapse. I wanted to take beam shots tonight but we have some storms headed in...maybe tomorrow night. So we are at 14 ½ hours from a cell that was at 2.94V when I started the test. Last time I checked the cell this afternoon it was at 2.45V but I ran it a bit more after that. I'll check the voltage again before starting the test.

My HDS High CRI Rotary that I've been waiting on for 2 months arrived tonight. BEAUTIFUL beam. Scout24 opined on the comparison of the Aeon versus said HDS, and he is spot on. I LOVE the beam from the HDS, but the Aeon is more 'neutral' and represents such a lack of tint. Shoot, gimme the HDS, Aeon and maybe a Zebralight headlight and a couple of Fenix E01s and I could be happy for a long time! (So glad I don't have to....)

Okay, figured this was worth new post. Started the Aeon on medium one more time last night at 7:06. Based on the time laps it finally quit at around 9:26.

Time lapse here - it goes quickly. You can see the light start to dim then in the next couple of frames it has shut off. Don't know how rapid the taper was - the time lapse was set to grab a frame every 2 minutes:



So let's do the math: started with an older cell that already was down to 2.94V. Ran it on medium (25 lumen setting - plenty of light for most tasks) for 7 hours. Ran it another 7:30. Then finally another 2:20. That's just shy of 17 hours on an already partially drained battery. When Enrique originally posted info for the light he estimated 13:15 so this blows way past that estimate.

I continue to be impressed with this little light and plan to (weather permitting) take some beam shots tonight.

Hard to believe that I've had this little light for 2 months now. In that 2 months the light has become firmly ensconced as my EDC. Scout24 said it best over in the sales thread with this post when he pointed out, "tint, output, cell life and the clip."

The tint remains my favorite out of my entire collection. The only ones even close are my 2 HDS High CRI 219B. I used a couple of cells for run time testing, then put in a fresh Duracell with an expiration date of March 2017, and I haven't changed it since. Granted, no long sessions on high, but the light is used daily for anything from lighting a room to helping me read fine print. This is one of the few clips I ever really liked. I like the clip on my ZL SC62w - I like the clip on this light. Scout24 commented on how well it stays put, and that's absolutely a fact. But the other nice thing is due to the diminutive size of the light and the design of the clip, it isn't obtrusive when I don't use it - just dropping the light in my pocket.

No babying either. From day one it's been in my pocket with keys, change and whatnot. I can't find a mark on it.

I wish the low was just a bit lower, but that's a MINOR thing. It's still very low. I wish it had forward clicky and momentary. But that's a MINOR thing. I said it in the OP, $450 is no small sum to pay for a tiny EDC, but after 2 months the cost is a distant memory. The enjoyment and utility of the light are daily reminders of the value of such a useful little tool.

Tigger likes it, too...


Kinda comical along side my Hinderer XM-18 3 ½ inch skinner...


Flashaholics search for the "Holy Grail" of lights. I submit that there is no such single light for any of us, but perhaps a few that fit that description for each of us. This light is absolutely one of mine.

You guys aren't making it easy for me to not own one of these little gems!! I have to keep telling myself that my 219b D25C Ti is plenty Aeon like at 1/8th the cost. "Damn you life, you always get in the way!"

Hey Jason - I can't speak to the Eagletac since I don't own one. Looks like it would be an awesome light to own and is brighter and can use RCRs, yes? I'm a big RCR advocate and have been since bitten by the flashaholism bug. But this little Aeon is SO small and SO well made - and it runs for SO long on a CR2 and I have quite the supply. I love my 2 HDS lights with 219B in them and use them almost exclusively for dog walks and nightstand duty. But the Aeon is just so small with such high quality and the PERFECT beam (YMMV) so it has retained EDC duty since the day I got it. It's "just enough" output in a perfect size and weight for me. With the perfect beam (for me).

Life does get in the way! Hope you are well.

run4jc said:

Hey Jason - I can't speak to the Eagletac since I don't own one. Looks like it would be an awesome light to own and is brighter and can use RCRs, yes? I'm a big RCR advocate and have been since bitten by the flashaholism bug. But this little Aeon is SO small and SO well made - and it runs for SO long on a CR2 and I have quite the supply. I love my 2 HDS lights with 219B in them and use them almost exclusively for dog walks and nightstand duty. But the Aeon is just so small with such high quality and the PERFECT beam (YMMV) so it has retained EDC duty since the day I got it. It's "just enough" output in a perfect size and weight for me. With the perfect beam (for me).

Life does get in the way! Hope you are well.

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All is well my friend! We are going to be buying our own house again finally which is a big reason I am a value shopper so to speak these days. Ski racing and trips to CO also eat into a large portion of fun money as well. The D25C Ti with the 219b emitter is actually quite impressive esp. considering the cost. It will run on rechargeables but it causes the high mode to revert to turbo. I just run it with primaries I get from work and rarely use turbo. I also upgraded mine with a clip from McGizmo. That being said I know without handling one that it is no Aeon MK III. I'm pretty sure I would love the Aeon for all the reasons you do. Hopefully one will find its way into my pocket sooner or later. Have a great weekend!

Well, not to take the thread OT, but I value your opinion. I ordered 1 of these Eagletacs. Gotta give it a try. I don't need to spending money on lights but if you like it, I gotta try it. Got Going Gear's last one.

Took this pick last night, light on med.

Sorry to go OT. Now back to the Aeon MK III.