hbk_rey
Enlightened
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2014
- Messages
- 503
For submission to the Review forum.
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Thanks Dale for his nice work, I got his permission to post the review.
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I was contacted last week by Rey about his newest little AA/14500 light made from solid brass. He asked if I'd be interested in doing this review and taking some pictures and I was more than happy to oblige! Rey has been making some really nice lights and they've certainly outdone themselves with this one!
As you can see, this came to me with a brushed finish and a nice mirrored clip. The light is meticulously prepared top to bottom, the finish is very uniform and quite pleasing to the eye and also surprisingly easy to hold onto. This one takes a regular Alkaline AA cell or if more power is desired (and one knows what they are doing with these more powerful cells) the 14500 Li-ion cell can also be used.
This sample has a Nichia 219C with a warm white tint that is seemingly in the 4000K range, it's warm but not extremely so, which is actually quite pleasant in this small light with an AA cell, the tint bin complements the brass and is easy on the eyes. The reflector is a mild orange peel with a semi-hybrid cone at the base, as such it gives a smooth but again surprisingly tight beam profile. Surprise is a key element with this light, I was continually amazed as I opened it up for these pictures.
Testing showed the following results using a new Alkaline Copper Top 1.5V cell…
Level___Current___Lumens
1…………0.003A…….0.069
2…………0.047A…….4.002
3…………0.391A…..30.774
4………..1.325A……86.94
Energizer Lithium Primary 1.5V
Level___Current___Lumens
1……….0.003A………0.00 on the meter
2……….0.044A………2.09
3……….0.389A…….33.496
4……….1.323A…..106.95
And with a freshly charged dark purple Efest 14500 650mAh cell…
Level___Current___Lumens
1………..0.001A……..0.00345 (firefly, barely glowing)
2………..0.063A……10.212
3………..0.477A……96.945
4………..1.83A……362.25
[Above numbers edited on 9.13.16 at 5:04PM to reflect accuracy. Sorry about that!]
The tail cap has a SS button with a slot for a tritium vial already machined in. The slot is amply deep, the button clears the brass for easy tail standing, and the operation is smooth and easy in a reverse clicky format. If the button is stressed, pushed from the side, it can drag a little. I'm finding 4 modes, starting with a true firefly and stepping up in nice increments that make it a very usable EDC. I can easily see this in the suit pocket of a business man or woman, or carried in a small handbag or clutch in an equally plush office setting for a female from a nice secretarial job to a lawyer. Obviously it would work well in a myriad of user situations, make note though that the solid brass construction is substantial, you're not going to lose this one in a pocket as it's weighty enough to remember it's there!
Well machined at every turn, notice the rounded bevel around the switch button. Easy on the fingers or fine gloves.
This kind of attention to detail prevails throughout the build of this little brass light and I for one very much appreciate the effort.
Removing the tail cap to put in a cell has the pocket clip retained by the o-ring. It will come off without removing the o-ring if you wish, but it's secure enough to not lose with a cell change in most normal type situations where a reasonable person is paying attention.
As you can see in these two pics, above and below this sentence, threading is clean and robust, heavy enough pitch to make it easy to engage and not get in a bind. This IS brass, so a person should exercise some care though as the threads will be prone to damage otherwise. Just something to keep in mind.
Notice too the fitment of the retaining ring, the care given to even have flat bottom holes in the tiny access holes of the retaining ring! Well done, this shows someone that knows flashlights and works with them regularly is behind the design on this, to every last detail. Even the cord hole in the pocket clip, also serving to keep the light from rolling far when laid down.
Thread fitment on all sections is snug, well backed by the o-rings, and there is already a bit of grease in place where needed.
The driver is held into the light engine with an external retaining ring, a neat idea in a small light such as this. If you must remove the light engine, the retaining ring comes out first (it's in the same threads as the pill itself) and it is a bit tedious re-inserting this pill and keeping the driver in place… it has tabs on either side that fit into slots on the pill and then opposing these slots are narrower tweezer slots for pill removal. All in all well thought out and executed.
Taking the tail cap assembly apart shows once again that somebody was really thinking here! There is a nicely machined brass cup that presses a sealing rubber boot into the end of the tail cap so it's water proof and yet the SS external button has an easy use. The retaining ring fits perfectly, everything is just really well done here! Surprised again, was I!
The fitment of every tiny piece, the machining, just extraordinarily well done at every turn! Bravo!
The pill is no different, housing the Nichia emitter with a nicely done centering/isolation disc that cups the reflector perfectly.
The driver is a dual board design, I didn't remove it for these pics but probably will later at some point and I'll get pics then of the driver components and layout.
The reflector is well done, apparently designed and made for this light as I don't recall seeing anything quite like it before, from the external fitment at the base to the cone style hybrid like design at the emitter. The result is a nice focus that will have this light becoming a favorite to use.
Will you just Look at how exquisitely machined these threads in the head are?! Superb! Again, surprised by the attention to detail and fitment. Beautiful work!
Even a bit of crenelated bezel style, so you can see if the light is on when standing on it's head.
And even the lens is 2 side AR coated with a nice purple reflection indicative of a quality coating. Not leaving any stone unturned, there is a bevel on the edge of the glass as with any nicely done lens.
A Pleasure Rey, very well made light through and through and I very much enjoyed doing the review on it. Well done, as usual!
--------
Thanks Dale for his nice work, I got his permission to post the review.
------
I was contacted last week by Rey about his newest little AA/14500 light made from solid brass. He asked if I'd be interested in doing this review and taking some pictures and I was more than happy to oblige! Rey has been making some really nice lights and they've certainly outdone themselves with this one!
As you can see, this came to me with a brushed finish and a nice mirrored clip. The light is meticulously prepared top to bottom, the finish is very uniform and quite pleasing to the eye and also surprisingly easy to hold onto. This one takes a regular Alkaline AA cell or if more power is desired (and one knows what they are doing with these more powerful cells) the 14500 Li-ion cell can also be used.
This sample has a Nichia 219C with a warm white tint that is seemingly in the 4000K range, it's warm but not extremely so, which is actually quite pleasant in this small light with an AA cell, the tint bin complements the brass and is easy on the eyes. The reflector is a mild orange peel with a semi-hybrid cone at the base, as such it gives a smooth but again surprisingly tight beam profile. Surprise is a key element with this light, I was continually amazed as I opened it up for these pictures.
Testing showed the following results using a new Alkaline Copper Top 1.5V cell…
Level___Current___Lumens
1…………0.003A…….0.069
2…………0.047A…….4.002
3…………0.391A…..30.774
4………..1.325A……86.94
Energizer Lithium Primary 1.5V
Level___Current___Lumens
1……….0.003A………0.00 on the meter
2……….0.044A………2.09
3……….0.389A…….33.496
4……….1.323A…..106.95
And with a freshly charged dark purple Efest 14500 650mAh cell…
Level___Current___Lumens
1………..0.001A……..0.00345 (firefly, barely glowing)
2………..0.063A……10.212
3………..0.477A……96.945
4………..1.83A……362.25
[Above numbers edited on 9.13.16 at 5:04PM to reflect accuracy. Sorry about that!]
The tail cap has a SS button with a slot for a tritium vial already machined in. The slot is amply deep, the button clears the brass for easy tail standing, and the operation is smooth and easy in a reverse clicky format. If the button is stressed, pushed from the side, it can drag a little. I'm finding 4 modes, starting with a true firefly and stepping up in nice increments that make it a very usable EDC. I can easily see this in the suit pocket of a business man or woman, or carried in a small handbag or clutch in an equally plush office setting for a female from a nice secretarial job to a lawyer. Obviously it would work well in a myriad of user situations, make note though that the solid brass construction is substantial, you're not going to lose this one in a pocket as it's weighty enough to remember it's there!
Well machined at every turn, notice the rounded bevel around the switch button. Easy on the fingers or fine gloves.
Removing the tail cap to put in a cell has the pocket clip retained by the o-ring. It will come off without removing the o-ring if you wish, but it's secure enough to not lose with a cell change in most normal type situations where a reasonable person is paying attention.
As you can see in these two pics, above and below this sentence, threading is clean and robust, heavy enough pitch to make it easy to engage and not get in a bind. This IS brass, so a person should exercise some care though as the threads will be prone to damage otherwise. Just something to keep in mind.
Notice too the fitment of the retaining ring, the care given to even have flat bottom holes in the tiny access holes of the retaining ring! Well done, this shows someone that knows flashlights and works with them regularly is behind the design on this, to every last detail. Even the cord hole in the pocket clip, also serving to keep the light from rolling far when laid down.
Thread fitment on all sections is snug, well backed by the o-rings, and there is already a bit of grease in place where needed.
The driver is held into the light engine with an external retaining ring, a neat idea in a small light such as this. If you must remove the light engine, the retaining ring comes out first (it's in the same threads as the pill itself) and it is a bit tedious re-inserting this pill and keeping the driver in place… it has tabs on either side that fit into slots on the pill and then opposing these slots are narrower tweezer slots for pill removal. All in all well thought out and executed.
Taking the tail cap assembly apart shows once again that somebody was really thinking here! There is a nicely machined brass cup that presses a sealing rubber boot into the end of the tail cap so it's water proof and yet the SS external button has an easy use. The retaining ring fits perfectly, everything is just really well done here! Surprised again, was I!
The fitment of every tiny piece, the machining, just extraordinarily well done at every turn! Bravo!
The pill is no different, housing the Nichia emitter with a nicely done centering/isolation disc that cups the reflector perfectly.
The driver is a dual board design, I didn't remove it for these pics but probably will later at some point and I'll get pics then of the driver components and layout.
The reflector is well done, apparently designed and made for this light as I don't recall seeing anything quite like it before, from the external fitment at the base to the cone style hybrid like design at the emitter. The result is a nice focus that will have this light becoming a favorite to use.
Will you just Look at how exquisitely machined these threads in the head are?! Superb! Again, surprised by the attention to detail and fitment. Beautiful work!
Even a bit of crenelated bezel style, so you can see if the light is on when standing on it's head.
And even the lens is 2 side AR coated with a nice purple reflection indicative of a quality coating. Not leaving any stone unturned, there is a bevel on the edge of the glass as with any nicely done lens.
A Pleasure Rey, very well made light through and through and I very much enjoyed doing the review on it. Well done, as usual!
