Re: Innova X1: how about a wide beam version
Raven, that's a great idea.
There's a noticeable performance (brightness) drop-off between my old Infinity Ultra-G and my new Gerber Infinity Ultra, and the Gerber's finish isn't as tough, either.
While ALL Inovas are nifty THROW-biased lights, it looks like there could be a real market opportunity here for them. The Inova X1 is about 0.7 longer than the Ultra, but that shouldn't thwart re-engineering its optics to make it a good "spiller" like the old CMG Infinity Ultra.
On the other hand, the X1 occupies such a unique product niche, Inova may be reluctant to mess with its image. Then, there's also the competition from the multiple PEAK lights and Peter Gransee's new ARC line-up for them to consider.
My green LED X1 "spotlight" throws a 7 ft. wide beam at 50 ft. in non-ambient lit shadows Outside. So, I'd hate to see it eliminated for another spill-light. If Inova could make an ADDITIONAL spill version as you suggest (and at a similar cost), I think they'd have a winner.