ARC4 Suggestion

First off, let me say I love my ARC4 Second. The ability to program this light to the levels I want is what sold me on it. I had been carrying an Infinity Ultra, and was pretty happy with that light's performance, especially runtime. Still, there were moments when I wished for the ability to put out some serious lumens, even at the expense of runtime. The ARC4 was just the light I was looking for. Big Power, small size, long runtime. I make the decision on the light/runtime ratio I want. I could go on, but I suspect I'm preaching to the choir.

Anyhow, I do have one little *****, and from that, a suggestion.

A couple of times, while working on the car or something, I have pulled the light from my belt and through my own clumsiness, dropped it on concrete from a height of 3-4 feet. I now have two little dents on the front of the case, right at the lens. Some of the anodizing has chipped off, which I suppose is to be expected, but the dents worry me.
Will it be possible to get the light open if I need to have the lens or something replaced, or is it just cosmetic damage?


Top and Right, top is the larger dent. This image doesn't really show them well, but it was the best I had...


If not, I'm of a mind to think that the metal in this spot was a little thin. A light that's otherwise as strong and capable as this one should be able to withstand a drop like I delivered without anything more than cosmetic damage. While I don't have one to compare, the LS photos I've seen make it look like it's a little beefier at this end.

So, I'd suggest making the walls on the lens end of the light a little thicker, even if it means making the lens and reflector a little smaller.

I'm not complaining, I just figure that suggestions from users are one of the things that ARCflashlight wants from this forum...

Did I mention I love my ARC4?

Airmon

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif
Hmm. I wonder what it would cost to do one in Titanium, maybe polish it rather than anodizing it...

A bezel similar to what's on a MiniMag would work well here. If worst came to worst at least the bezel could be replaced for a lot cheaper than what you are potentially looking at.
I to have a second. Fortunately I havn't dropped it yet.

cheers,
zwf

I was surprised last week when I noticed a small 'dent' in the side of the head of my ARC4+ second. It's a little smaller than what your picture shows. I don't remember dropping it, but one of the kids might have. I was surprised by this. I guess that is the trade off in trying to put so much into a tiny package - the wall might be a little thin in this high impact area.
Jim

I agree. I've had my ARC4 factory second hit a tile floor twice from height of 2 feet in the process of sitting down in the...reading room. I have a couple dents on the thin bezel. I've dropped my LS elsewhere and I've chipped the HA as expected but the thickness prevented denting.

The ARC4 bezel seems much weaker than the rest of the body which is overbuilt. I'd suggest beefing up the bezel and taking a tad off the thickness of the body. That would retain the same weight - the ARC4 is a bit heavy. The titanium idea would help lighten it.

I fired my LS out of a 12 GA. Went through four sheets of drywall. After digging it out of the water heater, only the Kroll's rubber boot looked a little worse for the trip.

Okay.... I'm slowly wrapping my brain around this....

You

Fired your Arc LS

Out of a SHOTGUN???? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Was that an act of love or hate?

I'm trying to picture this myself. Did you fire it atop the shell? It couldn't have been inside a shell!? Fired tail first? And the water heater sounds more impressive than 4 sheets of drywall.

Pretty sure that an LS (0.95") wouldn't fit in a 12g (0.729")barrel. Correct me if I'm off on the diameters. Even a 10g is only .775" diameter.

Just tried it. An LS will not fit in a 12 guage shotgun, either end. Must be a lot of peyote growing around Lake Arrowhead.

It will if you use a primer-only load and out of a -- FLARE gun...(sorry, my meds must be kickin' in) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

It would have to be a 1" (4ga) flare gun or of course a "1940s-era German high explosive grenade". Per http://web4.integraonline.com/~bbroadside/Oddball_Calibers.html

That looks like one hell of a dent/bezel-bend to me. Are you sure that the fall was only 3-4 feet? Is it just the impact area that is effected or is the whole bezel deformed? Is the lens deformed? As I look at my ARC4+ second I would say that it shows wear and use to a slightly greater extent than my arc LS lights. The aluminum is thinner. Perhaps titanium would be a better material choice for a thin walled flashlight like the ARC 4.
I love the ARC4+, it is a great light. It has been my EDC ever since I received it. It has 2 small dings one of them is on the bezel.

As you can see this is very small. All I know is that it fell off my desk (3 feet) and hit somthing harder than aluminum on the floor. But it is there. Can you also see the wear in the bezel ring anodizing? It is there too. To get the equivalent on my arc LSH it took my kid (4) dropping on to the sidewalk.
Ok the damage on the LSH is worse. But then it was a 3-4 foot drop onto cement. No anno wear either.

In my opinion while all ARC Flashlights are built very well, the LS series are heaver duty than the ARC4 series.
I tend to baby my lights at least at first.
That Ding/bezel-bend that you have there seems to be pretty extreeme for a 3-4 foot fall. It is too bad really. Maybe if you sweet talk Peter he will fix it or replace it for a nominal charge to you. From my experience he really wants us to be happy even if we buy the seconds.
Yaesumofo

i'd still say the arc4 is way heavier duty than the ls, since everything is potted.

i don't have an arc4, so i can't comment on the wall thickness, but is it thin enough that a blow might bend it over and make removing the retainer ring difficult?

as far as titanium, that would be a bad idea. very little thermal conductivity, more expensive to purchase, and more expensive to machine.

[ QUOTE ]
Rothrandir said:
i'd still say the arc4 is way heavier duty than the ls, since everything is potted.

i don't have an arc4, so i can't comment on the wall thickness, but is it thin enough that a blow might bend it over and make removing the retainer ring difficult?

as far as titanium, that would be a bad idea. very little thermal conductivity, more expensive to purchase, and more expensive to machine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I just like titanium. It would work fine in the scope of the ARC4. Yes more $$ harder to work with and so forth. It would still function fine. As to the Heavydutyness of the ARC4 vs the ARC LS series. I have both. I have droped both I have carried both and the ARC LS is certainly heavier DUTY than the ARC4.
If potting alone made somthing heavy duty I might agree with you. But that is not the only factor. Aluminum thickness is a factor (possibly more important than potting)where the LS series wins over the ARC4.
Yaesumofo

An ARC LS shot out of a shotgun????

Does that constitute a new term for a "Shot in the dark"?
Or maybe "light' weapons fire. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

if you somehow got hold of a titanium arc4, i think you'd be surprised just how short runtimes you'd get before the thermal sensor kicked in.

potting does a lot to affect durability. when you drop something, what breaks it is the g-force of the sudden stop. i've heard of cases where the leds get completely severed, due to this.
however, the leds being potted, this will not happen, which makes them more robust.

so you could [theoretically] drop an arc ls and an arc4 on a tile floor from 10ft, and the arc4 should survive (unless maybe it landed directly on the tail switch), but the arc ls may not, because the led could be severed.
if the arc4 landed on the bezel, some damage to the lip might occur, but it wouldn't affect function, unless it was enough to inhibit removal of the lens, but even then, it would still clasify as "working".

the arc4 is plenty thick in most areas anyway, since the reflector is integral, but at the top, it's thinner because you need to facilitate a retaining ring.

My dent looks like Airmon's, but smaller. I anticipate it will make removing the retaining ring more difficult but not impossible. All you need is a short band of material at the lip to strengthen it.

I don't expect Peter to replace the entire outer sleeve of my ARC4 since it was my fault and doesn't affect it's operation - it's stricly cosmetic.

My Arc 4+ Premium has a ding a bit like yours Airmon, maybe not quite as bad, I noticed it within a week of getting the light. I'm sure that I hadn't dropped or stepped on it, and even if I'd had I would'nt expect the case to deform.
In every other way this light is perfect
I'm just worried that I won't be able to change the lens in the future.

I've dropped my 4+ many times and have not noticed any dents or dings. Perhaps through sheer luck it hasn't landed on it's bezel. Although, on my 4+ the retaining ring, while tight, sits almost imperceptibly above the bezel. How does the retaining ring sit in other 4+'s?

Hey guys, I was just kidding! Actually I am so impressed with the ruggedness of my LS, especially after reading about another CPF member's LS that was fine when he dug it out of the drywall after falling into the fan of an engine he was tuning.
I just wanted to poke some fun at the Arc4 owners. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/poke2.gif
I never thought I was going to cause such stir!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif
Brian