One EDC flashlight to rule them all.

[Nichia!]

I think l found what you looking for

The Egaletac d25c Titanium with nichia 219b 2015 Edition is one of best looking lights and it has one of the best beam shapes ever.. And it has world best Tint Ever made. It is simply gorgeous..

 

[jon_slider]

This has been coming for a while...

sent you a Private Message...

 

[marinemaster]

I second Zebralight and Malkoff
At the end of the day reliability is the most important
The photons coming out of the led have no consciousness what the flashlight looks like

 

[euroken]

I've been switching off between the two below. Not titanium but with McClicky upgrade, simple UI, rugged design, swappable drop ins for output and tint for your needs, I say it's pretty close to perfect...The problem with one EDC flashlight to rule them all is that a single package could easily become obsolete with new output, tints, or UI's...Just my two cents...

 

[Climb14er]

Very nice lights in this thread! With lights becoming more powerful, better quality and higher tech each year, there's no reason for me to sink a lot of money in a light. My last bought light which is my favorite is a Zebralight SC62cw. Small, lightweight, totally reliable, great beam pattern, takes both protected and unprotected 18650's. For the small amount I paid for the light and the quality of the build and design of the light, the SC62cw does everything I need it to do.

 

[marinemaster]

Plus 1 [emoji1303]

 

[marinemaster]

Very nice lights in this thread! With lights becoming more powerful, better quality and higher tech each year, there's no reason for me to sink a lot of money in a light. My last bought light which is my favorite is a Zebralight SC62cw. Small, lightweight, totally reliable, great beam pattern, takes both protected and unprotected 18650's. For the small amount I paid for the light and the quality of the build and design of the light, the SC62cw does everything I need it to do.

Agree 100%

 

[pol77]

So many excellent suggestions! Thank you all!

I am going through the suggestions and looking for something that will tickle my fancy...

I am actually thinking about a modded McGizmo Haiku. I have never modded a flashlight but I have professional experience with electronics and soldering and I have modded PC cases, so the building blocks are there. If only the Haiku was smaller...

I think this journey will take a while.

 

[pol77]

Actually if what you are looking for is an Olight S1R-sized light in Titanium you could just get a titanium Olight S1. The light would have decent build quality, be titanium, have a good UI, be sized similarly to an Olight S1R, and would have over 500 lumen max output.

The biggest downside of course is such a light wouldn't have the elite "bling factor" and wouldn't be as tough as lights with thicker, more heavily built built sidewalls and potted electronics.

I already have 2 titanium S1R II Baton lights, the Summer and Winter limited edition versions. The are very nice for their price point but what I am after is exactly what you are describing, plus I do not enjoy the low CRI and offered tints.

 

[Fireclaw18]

I already have 2 titanium S1R II Baton lights, the Summer and Winter limited edition versions. The are very nice for their price point but what I am after is exactly what you are describing, plus I do not enjoy the low CRI and offered tints.

The tints and CRI can be fixed with a little modding. It shouldn't be hard to swap emitters to something more to your liking. And if you don't want to mod it yourself you could always hire someone like Vinh to do it.

However, modding an inexpensive light definitely won't give you the feeling of having an "elite bling light".

 

[Keitho]

The Emisar D4 Ti could be worth a look, esp in the 18350 size. With the amazing cells in that size available now, this one is a real "show off" piece in copper/Ti, and it really vomits the lumens for a few seconds. On lower levels, light enough to hold in your mouth, and small enough to disappear in the bottom of any pocket. Compared to other Ti, very low cost. Actually, the price is shockingly low to me. And, there are many LED choices and color choices.

But, not really a comparable premium feel to the other Ti lights in this thread. Good, but not hundreds- or thousands of dollars worth of good. Reliability is probably a step below what I would want for a duty light, but good enough for almost anything I do in the 'burbs, especially since I almost always have more than 2 lights on me.

Keep us posted on your search!

 

[pol77]

The tints and CRI can be fixed with a little modding. It shouldn't be hard to swap emitters to something more to your liking. And if you don't want to mod it yourself you could always hire someone like Vinh to do it.

However, modding an inexpensive light definitely won't give you the feeling of having an "elite bling light".

You are quite right. Modding an Olight may make it better but it will not make it premium. Also, Olight front bezels and button bezels are press fit, and I there is a very high possibility the finish will be damaged and / or the fit of the bezels after reassembly will not be perfect (cosmetically and for IPX rating), as they are not made to be removed and reinstalled.

I can do the soldering etc quite easily, but I would rather have a flashlight you can open by unscrewing something.

 

[pol77]

The Emisar D4 Ti could be worth a look, esp in the 18350 size. With the amazing cells in that size available now, this one is a real "show off" piece in copper/Ti, and it really vomits the lumens for a few seconds. On lower levels, light enough to hold in your mouth, and small enough to disappear in the bottom of any pocket. Compared to other Ti, very low cost. Actually, the price is shockingly low to me. And, there are many LED choices and color choices.

But, not really a comparable premium feel to the other Ti lights in this thread. Good, but not hundreds- or thousands of dollars worth of good. Reliability is probably a step below what I would want for a duty light, but good enough for almost anything I do in the 'burbs, especially since I almost always have more than 2 lights on me.

Keep us posted on your search!

Hi and thanks for the suggestion. The light seems OK, but I do not see it as a premium light. Also, the copper is a deal breaker for me. It is either Titanium or Copper, but not a mixture of both, for me.

It made me think though. There are options for Nichia 219C 5000K 90 CRI and SST-20 95CRI in various titns. I am not familiar with the SST-20 line. Are they any good (for a neutral tint - high CRI freak)?

 

[Thetasigma]

Hi and thanks for the suggestion. The light seems OK, but I do not see it as a premium light. Also, the copper is a deal breaker for me. It is either Titanium or Copper, but not a mixture of both, for me.

It made me think though. There are options for Nichia 219C 5000K 90 CRI and SST-20 95CRI in various titns. I am not familiar with the SST-20 line. Are they any good (for a neutral tint - high CRI freak)?

The SST-20 line is as throwy or better than an XP-L HI of a similar CCT, as for CRI the 3000K-4000K range are high CRI and are nicer than a 219C, but not quite R9080 219B nice. Tints are usually clean and pleasant, especially if you can get ones binned below BBL.

 

[Fireclaw18]

The SST-20 line is as throwy or better than an XP-L HI of a similar CCT, as for CRI the 3000K-4000K range are high CRI and are nicer than a 219C, but not quite R9080 219B nice. Tints are usually clean and pleasant, especially if you can get ones binned below BBL.

From what I read on BLF pretty much all the SST20 that anyone has been able to obtain are above the black body line. You get a nice throwy 95 CRI beam that really brings out the red... but unfortunately everything has a greenish tint.

 

[jon_slider]

This is a Titanium light with magnetic rotary.. imo it is among the best of the best, but I would still swap the LED to N219b 4500k 9080. And it can only be found on the used market, there is no current production:

 

[jon_slider]

Now one of the realities about magnetic rotaries. They drift. The brightness changes by itself, by as much as 50%, after I let go of the dial..

here is an example, of a magnetic rotary in the same family as the RRT-01, called a Niteye Eye10. This is a stock light, no LED mods.
Note how the numbers on the light meter change when Im NOT touching the light:


and here is an example of a mechanical rotary, that does not drift. Note that the numbers on the meter do NOT Drift, when Im not touching the light.. This is what real regulation looks like:


Magnetic rotaries are very cool, but, dont put them on a light meter if you dont want to know whether they are regulated.. cause they are NOT.

ps, turn your volume down when you watch those videos.. there is no soundtrack, just cars driving by on a rainy day, and my cat telling me its time for dinner.. ;-)

 

[GMUGNIER]

This is a Titanium light with magnetic rotary.. imo it is among the best of the best, but I would still swap the LED to N219b 4500k 9080. And it can only be found on the used market, there is no current production:

You might want to do some research prior to swapping the emitter - This light has a mag control and changing the led may render it completely useless. There are several threads on this exact subject here on CPF..

 

[pol77]

Thanks guys. It looks like it would be better to get something with a mechanical rotary then, both for reliability and ease of emitter change, as this is something I want to do...

 

[thenikjones]

Mechanical rotary is in the Cool Fall SPY? That has my favourite UI hands-down.

If you can afford one then they are certainly lovely, but you'll likely still want something else if you keep looking at CPF. In the same vein, if you buy a nice watch, keep away from watch forums as there is always something else to catch your eye.

My current EDC is an Oveready e series head on a SF body (or McGizmo battery tube) but the SPY still has my heart.