18650 momentary bright dim

[pdreyfuss]

Hello everyone
I bought a Fenix PD35 and it is pretty good, but not perfect in my opinion. Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm wondering if there is something more like what I want out there, meaning very bright to very dim, 1 or 2 18650 batteries, beam focus, momentary switch, not all controls in the tailcap. The PD35 has two controls which is good, but it's still undesirable to cycle through all brightness levels to get the one you want especially if you want dim and have to cycle through bright first. Also the spring in the tailcap is very hard and I may try to change it, but it may be too difficult.
Peter

 

[Wiggle]

Armytek Predator/Viking Pro perhaps? Can be customized to do almost anything you want, can go as low as 0.1 lumens. Predator has tight focus, Viking a bit more spread. Momentary switch and all level changes are handled using head twists. Runs on 1 x 18650.

 

[TheVat26]

So you're looking for something like a rotary switch or magnetic ring, and that has a focusing lens? If so, I haven't heard of that configuration in a turn key light. Hopefully someone more enlightened has a better suggestion.

 

[yellow]

choosing light levels just from the switch is the easiest and most rugged way to do so + makes for the smallest light ...
(so I do not see, how someone can like things like the PD35. That additional switch is no gain at all and only adds 1/3 length)

going from high to low is, for me, again a point to not get that piece --> seach for models that go low to high

5 light levels ? --> three is perfect

cycle through all of them --> get a light (engine) with remember last setting.
Then You have to cycle the first time when using, but then (at that special day/use) the light will go on in that best suited level, if You had turned it off before
(or, get one without remember, now always starting in low. But then there is cycling needed every time the light was switched off)


recommendation:
Solarforce 18650 host,
P60 led insert from member nailbender --> three level L>M>H, remember last setting,
You can find everything at customlites.com, or in his thread in sub forum CPF custom and modified ("P60 modules - ...)

 

[pdreyfuss]

Thanks for your help. I also have a Mag-Tac. Judging from this one and my other admittedly limited experience, it looks as if the manufacturers have trouble getting the beam focus/spread to work as well as one might want. (The PD35 has fixed focus and the Mag-Tac does it poorly.) Is there one that does a good job here?

 

[pdreyfuss]

I'm guessing they dislike changeable focus because the reflector can't act like much of a heat sink (?)

 

[yellow]

heat sink and heat path come from the mounting base of the led,
and its "connection" to the metal body (acting as a heatsink)

focusing device and/or focusing mechanism have nothing to do with that
(and if it had, the whole light is constructed wrongly)

 

[pdreyfuss]

It seems to be hard to find a changeable focus that works well - if I suggested the wrong reason, I still wonder why - or are they available? The Mag-Tac has changeable focus but it doesn't work well. The PD35 and from what I can see the Solarforce ones have fixed focus.