Those "Love/Hate" Relationship lights

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zespectre

zespectre

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I'm sure many of us have at least one "Love/Hate" Relationship light.
You know, the one that has some quirk or misfire or just plain flaw that drives you nuts but for whatever reason you still love it and keep using it.

In my case...

Nitecore EX10
A light with a beautiful beam, nice color, and a control (piston switch) that I loved from the start and still like a lot
fouled by a horrible parasitic drain when off and a switch that sometimes simply dropped to "moonlight" rather than turning the light off which resulted in a lot of dead batteries for no good reason.

Why do I still use it?
It's a reliable tank with a beam pattern I love for trail hiking. I just unscrew the tailcap when not in use now :p
 
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InvisibleFrodo

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Mini MagLite 2 AA bone stock incandescent. A light I used to use as the perfect example of how not to design a flashlight. Used to hate the beam pattern, which has either a big dark hole in the dead center, or the dark spot doesn't go away until the beam is focused into a tiny spot. And when you do that, as the head of the light is twisted off, less and less light is actually coming out the front of the light. Used to hate the single mode only. Now I look at it as a classic. A cornerstone of flashlight tech. I keep one with a pair of eneloops in it. I can't say I would ever use it as an edc. More of just a relic from a time gone by. Fun to take out and play with every once in a while.

Also gotta put my Cool Fall Spy 007 in here. I had it custom made with a 2700K hi CRI XP-G2. I did 2700K because I wanted something like an incandescent, and I have seen several LEDs for interior lighting that I really liked that where rated at 2700K. Well, the XP-G2's 2700K was quite a bit warmer than I actually expected. It's honestly all my fault as I chose the emitter myself, but I always feel that bit of buyers remorse knowing that it is my most expensive flashlight I've ever purchased, and I really should have chosen a slightly higher CCT.
 
ven

ven

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Maybe the Thrunite T10t and s , love the feel and weight/form of these lights. Yet the modes are not ideal for me, the low level is too low for me, the 20lm level on eneloops is still too low for me as a general use output. Yet the 20lm level bumps up nicely on 14500 fuel, along with the high of around 170lm(fine and works best) jumps maybe up and over 300lm(again fine but can get hot and eats mah). So not a hate, just not perfect yet i enjoy the lights. I am sure there are more, thats the first that sprung to mind. :)
 
ven

ven

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InvisibleFrodo said:
Mini MagLite 2 AA bone stock incandescent. A light I used to use as the perfect example of how not to design a flashlight. Used to hate the beam pattern, which has either a big dark hole in the dead center, or the dark spot doesn't go away until the beam is focused into a tiny spot. And when you do that, as the head of the light is twisted off, less and less light is actually coming out the front of the light. Used to hate the single mode only. Now I look at it as a classic. A cornerstone of flashlight tech. I keep one with a pair of eneloops in it. I can't say I would ever use it as an edc. More of just a relic from a time gone by. Fun to take out and play with every once in a while.

Also gotta put my Cool Fall Spy 007 in here. I had it custom made with a 2700K hi CRI XP-G2. I did 2700K because I wanted something like an incandescent, and I have seen several LEDs for interior lighting that I really liked that where rated at 2700K. Well, the XP-G2's 2700K was quite a bit warmer than I actually expected. It's honestly all my fault as I chose the emitter myself, but I always feel that bit of buyers remorse knowing that it is my most expensive flashlight I've ever purchased, and I really should have chosen a slightly higher CCT.
Click to expand...


That 007 certainly needs to get an emitter swap............it has to have one to your preference. You need to enjoy and love using that very special light, 2nd best is not an option:)
 
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InvisibleFrodo

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ven said:
That 007 certainly needs to get an emitter swap............it has to have one to your preference. You need to enjoy and love using that very special light, 2nd best is not an option:)
Click to expand...

I know. I've thought many times about trying to contact Dave at Cool Fall. If I were to have anyone, including you, modify the light, it would void the sweet lifetime warranty the light has. Which I understand. And technically, Dave doesn't offer modification service on his lights. So I feel bad trying to ask him for some special treatment. I absolutely love the light. It's fantastic. Even my emitter I chose isn't bad. It almost can't be considering it is still 90+ CRI. And the brass centering ring that perfectly matches the reflector and the emitter make for a simply FLAWLESS beam pattern.

Anyone reading this, know that the spy is an absolutely amazing flashlight, and the part I'm complaining about is literally the only part I was in full control of. The only fault that I find in my light is literally all my own fault.
 
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noboneshotdog

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I love/hate my Olight R50 Pro. Love the 26650 size, the super fast charging dock, the great UI. Absolutely hate the fact that constantly turns on in its holster due to the protruding button.

I just sold it to a friend who doesn't use holsters and am awaiting my ZL SC600 IV HI as it's replacement work light.
 
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LGT

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My peak eigers nw and high cri QTC. I love the tint, the wall of light and small size of these lights, but the QTC is all over the place. Shake it a little and the output changes dramatically from high to low or low to wherever.
 
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Taz80

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Jetbeam RRT26, love the look and feel of the light, its built like a tank, the magnetic ring U.I. and the beam. Hate that I have to run it on two 18350's to get close to the rated lumens, and that damn battery level indicator that flashes green all the time when in standby.
 
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InvisibleFrodo

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LGT said:
My peak eigers nw and high cri QTC. I love the tint, the wall of light and small size of these lights, but the QTC is all over the place. Shake it a little and the output changes dramatically from high to low or low to wherever.
Click to expand...

I literally wish they had an option to ditch the QTC and get a single output only light. I feel that would increase the reliability of the light.
 
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ZMZ67

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zespectre said:
I'm sure many of us have at least one "Love/Hate" Relationship light.
You know, the one that has some quirk or misfire or just plain flaw that drives you nuts but for whatever reason you still love it and keep using it.

In my case...

Nitecore EX10
A light with a beautiful beam, nice color, and a control (piston switch) that I loved from the start and still like a lot
fouled by a horrible parasitic drain when off and a switch that sometimes simply dropped to "moonlight" rather than turning the light off which resulted in a lot of dead batteries for no good reason.

Why do I still use it?
It's a reliable tank with a beam pattern I love for trail hiking. I just unscrew the tailcap when not in use now :p
Click to expand...


I don't remember having the same problems with my EX10. The parasitic drain didn't seem to be that bad to me and I don't recall having failures at turning off.I wonder if you got a bad light or I just got lucky with mine? The main reasons I quit using it for a regular EDC is the lack of a true neutral LED(the Osram GD that I have isn't too bad though) and the fact that a lot of people were encountering body failures from some of the lights being machined too thin. I didn't want to chance having mine break since it is such an innovative light.
I actually have a couple EX10s and still keep one as an "active reserve" for my EDC rotation. One of the more unique small EDC lights lights I own with no real successor since it was discontinued.
 
Last edited:
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gurdygurds

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Dude you can totally get a Peak light without QTC!!! Bob is a Peak dealer and has bunch of "non QTC" lights. I've even called Peak directly and had them build me a light with a specific output. Never understood why people thought their customer service is not good. Try here: http://em-mgt.com/newsite/small-pocket-lights/
I too loved the idea of QTC and playing with it but hated how jumpy it was. My QTC Eiger didn't stay in my possession long.

InvisibleFrodo said:
I literally wish they had an option to ditch the QTC and get a single output only light. I feel that would increase the reliability of the light.
Click to expand...
 
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