Arc AAA

Hi,
just a short one: is it normal that an Arc AAA does not
have any lens at all? Doesn't that expose the LED to
possible damage?

that is normal dont worry about the led it will be fine.

It helps keep it clean when you put it through the laundry. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The LED doesn't (or at least shouldn't!) stick out beyond the aluminum, so it's pretty well protected. The LED is theoretically subject to damage, but it's pretty unlikely, and I haven't heard reports of problems because of that. I've been carrying Arc AAAs for a couple years now on my keychain and haven't seen as much as a scratch on the LED. A lens lowers the light output a bit (they are never perfectly clear) and would probably be more likely to suffer damage than the LED in the current design. I wouldn't worry about it, though you could check with Peter to see if damage due to that part of the design would be covered under warranty.

- Russ

I've had a Photon II on my keys for over 5 years now. The LED is completely exposed and I've never even bothered to look closely to see if it's scratched up yet. There are probably some scratches. The effect would be to diffuse the beam a little and maybe reduce output by the tiniest bit. In practice there's no difference at all. And in the Arc's case, the LED is reasonably well protected by the surrounding aluminum. So I wouldn't worry about this.