Elzetta G-Line

Now that Elzetta has decided to sell some "globally sourced" products the call G-EDC and some micro USB port batteries the idea has been somewhat contreversial.
"Blasphemy" has been said about the strictly Made in USA tactical light company to make a deal with an outsider to produce their next step in flashlights. Streamlight and Pelican did it a while ago. Yet they did not have the loyal following Elzetta has.

Point of this thread is to break away from the Elzetta best kept secret thread in discussing the G-Line so I hope folks don't mind. In my view the 'best kept secret thread' is all about the line of products they now call Z-Line. The love or not so love aspects of their military grade products. So I hope people don't mind keeping it that way and discussing the globally sourced, "affordable" line seperately. If not this thread will continue. If they do mind this thread will fizzle out.

So far I have acquired a pair of the EDC AA lights and a few of their batteries. It's still too early to say thumbs up or down about the batteries. I've replaced an RCR by NiteCore in my PKDL PR-1 and in time will know if the 700 mAh 2.59Wh capacity is going to outlast the 650 mAh 2.4Wh Nitecore or not. But I do feel comfortable that the PR-1 won't "pop" the circuit protection since it is the fuel source supplied with Elzetta's EDC 123 light that touts about the same output with an RCR as my PR-1.

Their 1000 mAh 1.2 volt AA battery replaced an eneloop pro in my old unregulated Coast HP-1 light. It is a 950 mAh eneloop pro. I placed it in that light to check on the over discharge protection device built into the battery.

Even though both batteries are the same dimensions as the RCR and NIMH by eneloop the capacty is stated to be a wee bit better. They both have a micro USB charge port and each come with a 275mm (11") cord with USB 2.0 on one end and micro USB on the other end.

Now the AA flashlight is a number JetBeam built with some Elzetta improvements for reliability. My only concern there is potential QC issues if they chose a factory that has slack inspections. Thus far the two lights have been flawless. I keep one as a night stand light for it's 1.5 lumen low that tosses the beam forward instead of flooding the first few feet like my Sofirn C01 does, which in my view causes a low output to appear more bright than I prefer during a 2am nature call or if deciding that bump in the night warrants the next down you hear to be POW. The spill is enough to keep me from goose stepping into furniture without waking the Mrs. I definitely prefer the beam to reach out like the AA does.
The 30 lumen medium, again tosses light forward very well and plenty of spill illuminates an area the width of my periphals without causing night blindness. Very useable for every day tasks and shadow busting close up crevices in daylight such as inspecting a dusty USB port or lighting an escape route in a windowless building during a power cut.
The high beam appears more than a 150 lumen light would suggest. Lots of throw, lots of spill.

Now the o'ring up front allows the light to be rated dust restistant and water tight. A great thing for the technician working in less than ideal conditions but……that causes it to put up a bit of a fight when trying to use it with one hand. So I have found at times when using one handed it can skip the mode it's memory had it on to the next setting. I prefer to activate the twisty head light with two hands for that reason. At times with one hand I did not activate it far enough to complete the circuit well so when I reached that point it had skipped to the next setting. If one insists on one hand only use of the twisty head they may find the resistance caused by the o'ring to be frustrating until they have practiced enough with the light to instictively loosen or tighten the head to the best point.

So far I have not purchased the 123 light as I'm happy with the PR-1 I carry every day. Simply put I prefer the 200 lumen medium and Elzetta chose 100 lumens for medium. But they did include a lo/lo for that one at 0.5 lumens. So that one has a hi/me/lo/lo-lo interface.

Hopefully Elzetta is successful with the G-Line.

sub'd

Nice! I will have to try one eventually.

Just gave a look on these. It's Jetbeam JET-1 and JET-II just named Elzetta.
Or am i missing something?[emoji15]


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They were JetBeam blanks with Elzetta improvements according to Elzetta. Elzetta looked at the JetBeam "guts" and changed up some of the weak points and had those installed.
It's not unlike a time when a Husky and a Craftsman ratchet were begun on the same assembly line and when they reached a point one went right to receive the Husky approved gears while the other went left to receive the better Craftsman approved gears.

PK made some lights for RealTree for a time. On the outside they looked just like his PL-2 but on the inside the Realtree had less durable stuff that RealTree approved. Nothing wrong with JetBeam lights. But the Elzetta redesigned them for improved reliability before having their logo added.

Oh that sounds promising. Would love to run them on 14500/16340


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The 123 comes with an RCR.
The AA an Nimh. They reccomend not to use 3 volt AA's saying the light will get too hot.

Got word back from Elzetta that they like the idea of offering wrist lanyards with the lanyard rings they sell.

bykfixer said:

Nothing wrong with JetBeam lights. But the Elzetta redesigned them for improved reliability before having their logo added.

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Nice! I'm a JETBeam fan to begin with so Elzetta upgrading them is a no-brainer!

The idea has indeed come to pass.

Elzetta is now including the wrist lanyard and ring on their site for the same price of the past offering of the ring by itself.

Such a Good Deal that I just ordered three.

I had three rings on my to order list for awhile.

The inclusion of the wrist lanyard pushed me over the edge.

Thanks BK.

Jim

bykfixer said:

Got word back from Elzetta that they like the idea of offering wrist lanyards with the lanyard rings they sell.

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JB is one the the top tier CN manufacturers. I am a fan of theirs, along with Weltool. Will be picking up a couple of G-EDC-AA...

AstroTurf said:

The idea has indeed come to pass.

Elzetta is now including the wrist lanyard and ring on their site for the same price of the past offering of the ring by itself.

Such a Good Deal that I just ordered three.

I had three rings on my to order list for awhile.

The inclusion of the wrist lanyard pushed me over the edge.

Thanks BK.

Jim

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Everytime I placed an order at Elzetta I tossed lanyard rings into the cart. The wire thin makes it practially non existant compared to many and it being a little oversize made it not poke your side when the light is clipped on. I always liked the strap drooping by my side so that a quick grab/tug with a finger or two could deploy the light. But I always had to buy the strap itself somewhere else. I used to think "man if only Elzetta sold wrist straps"……

When my first aa G arrived I really liked the included wrist strap. So when I read they now include the G-Line type wrist strap with their wire ring I smiled and thought "if only they had done it three years ago"…… Not meaning to complain. Just that many of my previous wrist straps suuuuuuck!! I also like how they mention the breakaway feature.

If the G-Line proves successful we can look for things that either venture away from the JetBeam models like included magnet or screw on clip, or perhaps we'll see the JetBeam include the Elzetta upgrades. Win-win either way.

I have to say I fall under the "Blasphemy" column.
Now that Elzetta has sold out I won't give them my money just like I don't give Streamlight any. It's sad to see this, especially since there is a huge new push towards domestic manufacturing due to Covid. I suspect Gene Malkoff will see boost in sales and that's a good thing...

Tachead said:

I have to say I fall under the "Blasphemy" column.
Now that Elzetta has sold out I won't give them my money just like I don't give Streamlight any. It's sad to see this, especially since there is a huge new push towards domestic manufacturing due to Covid. I suspect Gene Malkoff will see boost in sales and that's a good thing...

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Just so I understand - So your reference to Streamlight isn't because they are selling some products which are not of their own design(?), but rather because some of their products are produced on off-shore lines (which is the case), right?

When design engineer PK left SureFire and started his own company many stayed away because his lights were made in China. Many stopped buying Streamlight products when they began showing up with made in China on the package.

Meanwhile many others buy Asian made lights because they are priced for less. Elzetta entered the non domestic made product line with 'G for Global' knowing that many would say "hell no" to those hoping that some who say "$150 for a flashlight? Are you crazy? " would perhaps take a second look at Elzetta products if it were say $40 or $60. It was a big risk. They still sell domestic made products so another gamble was that those who paid $40 for a double a light might look at something like the Alpha later on.

My threshold was $35 at first, until I paid $55 for a SureFire. No way was I paying $100, until I bought my first Malkoff. After that $150 for an Elzetta Bones was not so painful.

bykfixer said:

My threshold was $35 at first, until I paid $55 for a SureFire. No way was I paying $100, until I bought my first Malkoff. After that $150 for an Elzetta Bones was not so painful.

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Kinda off topic, but I must admit I chuckled out loud and thought, "no s**t" because there are hundreds - if not thousands - of members here that started down this flashaholic pathway with those exact thoughts. Now, $300-$400 for a flashlight is something I've done multiple times, whereas, fifteen years ago, I became almost apoplectic with myself for spending something like ~$27 for an Arc AAA. :laughing:

wacbzz said:

Kinda off topic, but I must admit I chuckled out loud and thought, "no s**t" because there are hundreds - if not thousands - of members here that started down this flashaholic pathway with those exact thoughts. Now, $300-$400 for a flashlight is something I've done multiple times, whereas, fifteen years ago, I became almost apoplectic with myself for spending something like ~$27 for an Arc AAA. :laughing:

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I guess that's how it works - rather insidious, huh?. I must confess I recently spent $122 for the most expensive light I've ever purchased, and I felt a little guilty - but you guys are making me feel better about it!

I won't presume to tell anyone how to spend their money! That said, I'm not sure how the Z-line lights are diminished due to the existence of the G-line. Personally I have long considered the JETBeams to be about the best of the Chinese lights, so if Elzetta is going through and "tuning them up" I'd say a good thing just got better!

My reservations with Elzetta is that it seems they're moving cooler with the new AVS heads. I consider that a mistake! For "tactical" use and certainly for WML use I greatly prefer a warm-to-neutral tint. But I'll probably have to buy one just to try it out.

Elzetta starts a "Global" line that's made in China, yet refuses to even ship anything to Europe. Would have gotten Elzettas long ago if they only didn't refuse to sell them to me. This whole situation is ridiculous. If I want an affordable flashlight, I buy Chinese, not Elzetta. How many people even know Elzetta? Not many. And the kind of people who do (aka us) certainly won't care much for their G line. Its diluting their brand. Its like Rolex starting to offer a cheaper line of watches with modified Sellita movements to appeal to a broader market. No one needs that. That's my take anyway.

You'd be surprised how many of the millions of first responders, security folks and enforcement divisions know of Elzetta.

One day a few years ago I was strapped to a desk for my work and stepped outside the office for my 10am smoke break. Outside the building the ATF was finishing up a raid in the parking lot where a gun running operation from New York would park a car with cash in the parking lot. A crew from Washington DC would pickup the car and leave a car with guns. When I popped out the door the driver of the car with guns was being placed into the back seat of a Dodge pickup truck in hand cuffs. The truck drove off and agents began removing protective gear and placing the stuff into the trunk of a couple of cars. Each one of those burley gentlemen had Elzetta flashlights fastened to their belt. Some Bravos, some Charlies.

Many companies won't ship outside the US for various reasons. But that is another subject for another time.

bykfixer said:

You'd be surprised how many of the millions of first responders, security folks and enforcement divisions know of Elzetta.

One day a few years ago I was strapped to a desk for my work and stepped outside the office for my 10am smoke break. Outside the building the ATF was finishing up a raid in the parking lot where a gun running operation from New York would park a car with cash in the parking lot. A crew from Washington DC would pickup the car and leave a car with guns. When I popped out the door the driver of the car with guns was being placed into the back seat of a Dodge pickup truck in hand cuffs. The truck drove off and agents began removing protective gear and placing the stuff into the trunk of a couple of cars. Each one of those burley gentlemen had Elzetta flashlights fastened to their belt. Some Bravos, some Charlies.

Many companies won't ship outside the US for various reasons. But that is another subject for another time.

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And how many of those burley gentlemen would be interested in a rebranded AA Jetbeam?

Elzettas reason for refusing to ship was "No CE certification". I don't remember Malkoff being CE certified. I'm not gonna go into that.