Anyone else a little disappointed?

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Bosley

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Before I get flamed, let me start by saying that I love my Arc4+ and think it is a fantastic state-of-the-art flashlight. But here is my problem-- I bought the Arc4+ with the understanding that this was the best 1W light Arc Flashlight could make in terms of output and tint. In light of Peter's post about the Arc4x, I now I find out that it is not even close to the best Arc can do. I paid a premium to get what I thought was the best, but I feel like my brand new Arc4+ is already dated. I wish I had known about the Arc4x before I plunked down my 180 bucks.

I still want the best light I can get from Arc, but now I don't know what to do. I could return my Arc4+ and hope to get an Arc4x on eBay in what is sure to be a feeding frenzy. Or I can keep what I have knowing Arc is already making a much better light. I guess I will keep my Arc4+, try to get an Arc4x, and sell the Arc4+ if I get a 4x for a reasonable price.

I was just curious how the other Arc4+ owners felt about this. I for one am disappointed that my Arc4 "premium" is already second rate.
 

paulr

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Arc 4+ is the best production light, i.e. one that's supposed to be available whenever a customer wants to buy one. Arc 4x is more like a custom light, using an exotic part that only shows up once in a while. Also, the 4+ was always specified as an (overdriven) 1 watt light. I suspect the 4x is using a Lux III.
 

Rothrandir

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the arc4x is not a main product, it's a limited run, and as such, is (and should be) handled completely differently.

i see absolutely nothing whatsoever with the way peter did things. in fact, i don't think they could have been done any better.

maybe peter should just not offer special runs?

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
 

LitFuse

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I don't think the 4x is a "much better light", I think it's a little bit better light. It's the same light, with the same features, with an LS that produces 40% more light. That "sounds" like alot, but in reality I don't think it is.

Anyone can feel free to jump in here and disagree, I am certainly no authority on this subject. But haven't I seen posted on this board where you need to actually "double" the light for the human eye to appreciate it. It's not that you can't tell a difference, it's just that the difference is not as great as "the numbers" would have you thinking it should be.

Plus, there may be issues (full power runtime, etc.) that have yet to be revealed with this model.

I sure would like one too, but I certainly don't consider my Arc 4+ "old news". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Peter
 

Fastlane

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Maybe the Arc4+ is the best for many with all things considered. It depends on what you want. If brightness is the main criteria, it sounds like the 4x has the edge, but not without the trade-off of shorter runtime and LED life.
 

Skyline

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To worry about the 4x is a little ridiculous. Out of how many hundreds of 4+ sold, there have been a total of FOUR 4x (so far). Yeah, it's possible in the future, the 4x will actually become a regular item...but that's no surprise. I would expect that technology improves over time.

Yeah, I admit I felt a little pang of regret that I didn't get in on the 4x action, but then again, I'm pretty happy with what I have. Plus, I have an extra $200 in my wallet to boot.

So yeah, like, whatever. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

bigred

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I'll just cut and paste what I posted in the Arc4x thread.


Man, I don't know about this one. At first I was a little disappointed that I had just bought my ARC4+. I mean, 46 lumens in such a small package is very impressive. But that was just the flashaholic in me talking. Peter stated that this is a "race car" that requires "race gas". I realize that this light is rare, but for EDC, I'll stick with my regular ARC4+. I mean, would you commute to work everyday in a race car that gets 4 mpg? Would you store gallons of expensive race gas at home just so you can drive it? Don't get me wrong, eventually I may consider getting one just for show, but for EDC, I want something in which I can pop 1$ batteries, and have great runtime to boot. Just my opinion. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
 

tsg68

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A) I am not sure this was a planned release. I think Peter may have "discovered" these anomalies within the production run of the Arc4, or at least got ahold of these rare luxeons during it , if so Kudos to Peter for offering these to his customers at large and not hoarding them for close friends and such (I believe he even stated that he himself will not get one till he's released enough) What I get from the offering is that it was a good natured spur of the moment offering to those he thinks of as family and he was being as fair as possible with first come, first serve being the order of the day not to mention the lights were offered at a very low increase in price over the standard Arc4+. I hope he does sell them on ebay now at a tidy profit, he deserves it!

B) Peter by my accounts has always beaten his own deadlines by a significant margin, mostly by a month or so barring outside influence and he has always taken our input to heart sometimes producing exactly what we want despite it being off course for his personal vision (Arc AA, CPF limited edition etc). He has shared things with us that have caused him alot of hassle and headache and really took all our BS in stride and even some good humor.

My point is give the guy a break. He performs consistently for his company, his products and his consumer base (us). If you want guarrantees of first dibs on limited products, have them custom made!

I saw it in time but didn't participate in the sale (got a beautiful Arc4+ already) but man, I enjoyed watching it go down, thanks for the entertainment Peter!

TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

flownosaj

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In one year, I have seen LS's rise from P levels to R's with better tint management in HD's. I have seen LS III's and 5 watters raise the bar to the point that I don't ever see the need to get an incandescent light ever again.

Come this time next year, I see Arc offering a light that can get into the conservative 50-60+ lumen range. It will cost a little more, but you get what you pay for.

I didn't see anything wrong with the way Peter introduced the 4X, I't just not the way I would have done it. There may be some people out there who have now decided they would wait even a bit longer to get the options they wanted (like brightness, knurling, switch guard), but I'm guessing that they are smaller in numbers. Plus, isn't that what B/S/T is for when we want to upgrade? Everyone gets what they want...we're only renting the lights /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Just give it time.

-Jason
 

flownosaj

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[ QUOTE ]
bigred said:
Peter stated that this is a "race car" that requires "race gas"... I mean, would you commute to work everyday in a race car that gets 4 mpg? Would you store gallons of expensive race gas at home just so you can drive it?

[/ QUOTE ]

The great thing about the Arc4 is that you don't always have to have the engine firing on all cylinders...it will only be as bright as the battery can handle. And it's not like you're not always going to have it on super-duper-burning-your-retinas bright.

Just my $0.02

-Jason
 

Gransee

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You have a good understanding tsg68. I did not know the x was possible. My next light was going to be the Arc5. It is still coming of course. We are very forunate we could take advantage of this opprotunity so quickly. Having a micro really helps in that area. I discovered the possibility and had this shipped in less than a week. The whole experience has been quite a rush.

The fact that I myself carry an Arc4+ shows just how rare the x is. I think there are some of you that are even more obsessed about this art than I am and I think you should have this light.

Peter
 

kitelights

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The luxeons used in the 4x are "freak" luxeons. They come in with all the others and OCCASIONALLY an unusually bright freak one will show up. Out of all the ones that have been used so far, there have been FOUR. There's no way of predicting when some MIGHT show up. I don't think I even want to know how many 1W luxeons are discarded by ARC and never used in production because they don't make ARC standards. Do you expect this to be the new stardard? Should ARC discard 99% of all the Luxeons that they buy? You think there's a backlog for the 4+, try making the 4x the standard and they'd have to be several thousand dollars each for ARC to stay in business.

Peter doesn't even have one of these for himself, but put these up for us anal retentive flashaholics so that 4 of us might have a shot at the holy grail. He GAVE them away with only a $15 premium surcharge. He shared his find with us. I would say that he was extremely unselfish.

Talk about the luxeon lottery. These were a result of that lottery, but to an extent that none of us could have imagined, and Peter shared the winnings.

Hopefully, this is an insight into the future of what the manufactuer will be capable of producing on a consistant basis.
 

tsg68

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[ QUOTE ]
Gransee said:
I discovered the possibility and had this shipped in less than a week. The whole experience has been quite a rush.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can only imagine, it's cool to be a speed boat among a sea of ships on occasion, eh?

TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 

Gone Jeepin

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I was not put out by the 4X announcement at all. I just got my 4+ earlier this week and am very happy. The announcement of the 4X was just really exciting to me. The message it sent to me was that PG and the Arc family are still hard at work producing even better things.

If I feel any pangs of disappointment and regret it would be leaving my trusty LSH-P or newer LSHF at home when the Arc4+ is in my pocket. All are tops as EDC lights and I have grown so very comfortable with their form factor.
 

JollyRoger

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You also have to keep in mind that the greatest thing about the ARC4 series is NOT really about the max brightness...but about the increased utility that PWM and multiple brightness levels offers the user...in the small "ARC" package that we're accustomed to.

I'm not at all disappointed that my light may be a few or many lumens dimmer (in its max mode) than the brightest ARC4X....it's still VERY useful to me...and far more useful than a single or simple dual brightness level light.
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

dtsoll

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The only thing...*sniffle*...I am disappointed about....*sniffle, sniffle* is that I don't have any of the forementioned lights in my grubby hands *full out bawling** Doug /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 

kongfuchicken

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That reminds me, when I was a kid I always wanted one of these Turbodude action figurine... It could bend his knees, say three different phrases and even had a super turbo laser ...led in its arms. I never got one cos' it was sold out nearly as soon as it got out.
Well, I got over it! Oh yeah! I'm super over it! I'm so over it, I'm orbiting it....
OH WHY?... *breaks up sobbing like a kid*
WHY DID MY DAD WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY?!?
WHY ME?
... *goes to scream in a sofa cushion*
 

tsg68

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[ QUOTE ]
Gone Jeepin said:
If I feel any pangs of disappointment and regret it would be leaving my trusty LSH-P or newer LSHF at home when the Arc4+ is in my pocket. All are tops as EDC lights and I have grown so very comfortable with their form factor.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh man, I know your pain!! I hate leaving my trusty LSH-P at home now, I want to make a special case for it or something. That light, along with my AAA LE (which will continue to swing around my neck as backup) helped me through both the blackout here in NYC and the power outages after Isabel and the subsequent cleanup from the flooding at my parent's house, not to mention numerous trips and work duties, it's like an old buddy!!

Doug, don't worry man, your Arc4+ will come soon!!

TSG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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