Nitrolon is underrated

[Woods Walker]

I intentionally purchased some plastic tail caps knowing full well they were fake as the intention was to pack as an inexpensive backup for SF or even Malkoff should the clicky fail. Turned out to be one of my better ideas. The fake plastic tail cap in terms of connectivity is the best tail cap I own for P60 stuff. It works with every host I tried and about every omnivore combo. I mean everything from pre lockout to SolarFore.

Left original right copy.

I should test it for water resistance. Al bezel and plastic body was one of the first things I learned on CPF back in the M60/P60L days. G2Z with AL bezel running M61NL, G3 with Al bezel running M31L with original twisty tail cap but also clicky modified one and MD1.5 with 219B M31LL with copy tail which is backup for the Malkoff clicky.

 

[kj2]

Nitrolon this is an excellent, warm material. Perhaps it would be cool worthwhile to make
a whole-aluminum flashlight, but with a thin ~ 2 mm coating of nitrolone.

They already do that. Plastic doesn't go well with electricity. Have multiple SF lights, and when you unscrew the tailcap, you can see the metal. The outside coating is nitrolon. The rest is metal.

 

[bykfixer]

I've seen this logic used for other items too on forums and I personally believe the only way keeping quiet helps counterfeiters is by keeping consumers in the dark. It doesn't hold water. You don't think that they buy an original to work from?? They can analyze a real one in hand six ways to Sunday and make it perfect if they want. They know the flaws - you're not giving them any revolutionary insight. But why spend the extra money to correct the tiny things if it's close enough to fool most people as is? Sad but true.

I don't want to drag this thread further off topic with the counterfeiting issue, but I'll just briefly respond here.

Yes, of course, whoever is ripping off copies has the resources to buy an authentic original item to reverse engineer it.

They presumably want to fool the most people possible, yet create the cheapest and shoddiest product able to do so.

These goals are at odds, though.

So by maximin game theory, only the more "obvious" flaws get "corrected" because those cost sales, and changes cost money.

Publishing those flaws makes it easier for others to detect fakes, and thereby increases pressure for corresponding changes in later iterations ... :sigh:



Yes, that's just it, stated more succinctly.

:touche:
In the tan trunks... weighing in at....

Eh, just kidding
:buddies:

But seriously, I love, love, love me some yellow nitrolon.

 

[desert.snake]

They already do that. Plastic doesn't go well with electricity. Have multiple SF lights, and when you unscrew the tailcap, you can see the metal. The outside coating is nitrolon. The rest is metal.

Not really, what they do, inside the place where the module is put anyway, nitrolon.
Metal inside - thin metal tube, it can be seen here.

It can also be seen that the strength of nitrolone is not sufficient in extreme applications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VGKtPeHX1I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lptpDgCE0N4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mI70lWY7cg

I mean to a whole aluminum flashlight, adding a thin layer of nitrolone for better grip.

 

[Dave D]

I'm pondering getting a G2 and, possibly, a G3. I like the idea of a light that I can give to one of the kids and not worry about the floor or the light being damaged if they drop it. I rarely use more than 100 lumens, so heat dissipation is not often a concern for me.

There are G2s on Ebay, but no G3s. I may have missed my chance to pick one up.

--flatline

They are available in Europe.

G3 Incan - http://www.flashlightshop.de/index.php?cPath=31_50&osCsid=91ae2b7900ce87df2ce6ac9714d79747

G3 LED Yellow - http://www.flashlightshop.de/produc...=7961&osCsid=91ae2b7900ce87df2ce6ac9714d79747

 

[etc]

The counterfeit ones ship from China and have a generic picture with shoddy descriptions. They generally run about ~$20. With respect to the lights themselves, I've no idea. Maybe someone else can comment on that, but I'd rather not risk the cash lol.

Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.


But honestly, I had no idea. I could understand expensive Surefire lights, their high-end models. But cheap foreign junk copying cheap domestic junk, for about the same price. Well, not really "junk", I am being facetious.

 

[etc]

They already do that. Plastic doesn't go well with electricity. Have multiple SF lights, and when you unscrew the tailcap, you can see the metal. The outside coating is nitrolon. The rest is metal.

I see, so Nitrolon lights are not really nitrolon, just the coating is nitrolon.

 

[Woods Walker]

 

[flatline]

So is there a list of well regarded non-metal flashlight somewhere?

Just in this thread we've mentioned the following:
Surefire G2 (and variants)
NexTorch GT6A-S
Streamlight Polytac
Solarforce P1

Now that you can get 200+ lumens without needing to sink a whole lot of heat, it seems like this type of body should be more popular than it is.

I purchased 2 of the NexTorch (at $8 each, I just couldn't resist) and I'm very impressed with them. But I'm still tempted to get a yellow G2 or Polytac (yellow is just awesome!).

--flatline

 

[novice]

flatline,
There used to be an orange GT6A-S. It originally came with an led, not incan, light engine, and the bezel was not metal. I used to have one several years ago, and I don't know what happened to it. I also came across two websites that claim to have a yellow GT6A-S, but the photos show only a black model, and I don't know if the descriptions can be trusted. Both of those sites charge close to $30. I could PM the URL addresses if you would like.

You might also want to check out the underwater kinetics selection at uwk.com, and princeton tec lights at princetontec.com.

I'm not sure what your operational parameters of "well-regarded" may or may not entail. I got a princeton tec Amp 3 several years ago that I was disappointed in, but some of the other Princeton tec lights might be substantially better.

 

[flatline]

Anyone know if the Streamlight PolyTac 88850 will happily run on li-ion?

--flatline

 

[Dirty wage guy]

I love this thread and it's awesome to see so many nitro fans. Hopefully enough people will chime in and makers will take note that there's definitely a market for nitrolon lights. Lots of money to be made there.

I'll post my nitro collection sometime, but they are by far some of my favorite lights especially when I'm working in the garage. When you're under the car and need both hands, the G2 feels a heck of a lot nicer on the teeth than a metal light when you gotta hold it with your mouth. Lol
I probably grossed a lot of folks out with that, but that's just how ol'dirty gets down

 

[bykfixer]

There was a teeth hold thread at one point....

 

[etc]

I love this thread and it's awesome to see so many nitro fans. Hopefully enough people will chime in and makers will take note that there's definitely a market for nitrolon lights. Lots of money to be made there.

I'll post my nitro collection sometime, but they are by far some of my favorite lights especially when I'm working in the garage. When you're under the car and need both hands, the G2 feels a heck of a lot nicer on the teeth than a metal light when you gotta hold it with your mouth. Lol
I probably grossed a lot of folks out with that, but that's just how ol'dirty gets down

You know, I completely forgot about this one.

I had this jr. Luxeon eons ago and I used the teeth hold trick and eventually ended up eating half the paint off of it.

Well, not half but you get the idea.


Plastic doesn't get as cold in your mouth and paint doesn't end up in your mouth either. G2x is small and light enough to employ that method.

 

[SG688]

The Blackhawk X6P and X9P are made in Spain plastic incandescents using P60 size modules. I liked the aluminum X6 so much that I bought 3. Forward clickie tailcap and SF thread compatible.

$20 eBay. $36 Amazon

 

[tech25]

The light that I keep in my car is a Surfire G2 with the metal head and a malkoff M61L drop in. I carried it as my primary work light for years before I upgraded to an MD2.

I used the light this past winter (is it over yet?) on a really cold night and got to appreciate the difference between a metal body and a nitrolon body. I usually have my MD2 in a holster so my body heat keeps it from getting too cold so I never really thought about it. One day after work I had put my MD2 in the glove compartment, when I pulled it out later that night, the MD2 was so cold that I was very grateful for the nitrolon light next to it.

 

[etc]

The Blackhawk X6P and X9P are made in Spain plastic incandescents using P60 size modules. I liked the aluminum X6 so much that I bought 3. Forward clickie tailcap and SF thread compatible.

$20 eBay. $36 Amazon

Hm, interesting. Pic?

 

[FREI]

So is there a list of well regarded non-metal flashlight somewhere?

Just in this thread we've mentioned the following:
Surefire G2 (and variants)
NexTorch GT6A-S
Streamlight Polytac
Solarforce P1

Now that you can get 200+ lumens without needing to sink a whole lot of heat, it seems like this type of body should be more popular than it is.

I purchased 2 of the NexTorch (at $8 each, I just couldn't resist) and I'm very impressed with them. But I'm still tempted to get a yellow G2 or Polytac (yellow is just awesome!).

--flatline

Inforce has also polymer flashlights

 

[SG688]

 

[flatline]

I got a G2 earlier this week. I think I like it better than the 6P.

I was expecting it to be of obviously better quality than the NexTorch (based purely on the price difference and brand name reputation), but in reality, they seem to be of similar quality.

--flatline