Prometheus Alpha

Krumbbs1976

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I wanted the ti alpha.. till i read it was grade 2 titanium.. so no real dent resistance. And they have balls asking that much for that grade of ti also.. 600+ i mean come on.
 

n3mo

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Mar 26, 2018
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I wanted the ti alpha.. till i read it was grade 2 titanium.. so no real dent resistance. And they have balls asking that much for that grade of ti also.. 600+ i mean come on.

650 surely is a high price, but read the description why Jason chose the material he does.

From the product description..
"Ah yes, thermal conductivity. We are producing a lot of lumens and that makes a lot of heat. Deep grooving on the head helps get heat out of the light and into the environmet as quickly as possible. Everyone is going to ask why this light is made from CP2 (Grade 2) titanium and not from 6Al/4V (Grade 5) titanium. Sure, 6/4 is stronger...but we are making a flashlight, not a fighter jet. Strength doesn't really matter when aluminum will do just fine.

What the flashlight maker should concern themselves with is thermal conductivity. CP2 titanium conducts heat 3x better than 6/4 titanium. End of discussion? If you are making a light with this much power out of Grade 5 then you have no idea how to engineer a flashlight."
 

desert.snake

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17e7d83339a3710e4c68d6c363c7629d.jpg


Here is a quick picture.
Lights used were a malkoff mdc with 16650 body, Prometheus alpha ready made, malkoff md2 and surefire 6p.

Could you still take a photo of their rays nearby? It would be very interesting and useful to everyone :) I see an old video, but here the comparison is only with 6PX 200 lm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XcN7Fmr4Ys
 
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archer6817j

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Just FYI, CP2 is more expensive than 6/4 ;)

Also, "no real dent resistance" ... it's still titanium. Lots of lights are made from aluminum, brass, and copper which are all signifcantly softer that CP2 titanium.
 

Ozythemandias

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As a previous post points out, CP2 is more thermally conductive than 6/4.

But less than the other comparisons, aluminum, copper, brass.

From a purely practical perspective you'd be much better off just using aluminum, cheaper, lighter, maybe marginally softer than cp2, better thermals etc.

If you're going to go with titanium for increased durability, then make it a significant increase.
 

Tachead

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Yep, I have always said Ti(any grade)is a terrible flashlight material. I prefer materials that add to the performance not take away from it. But, to each their own I suppose, some people like to wear jewelry.
 
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archer6817j

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If you're going to go with titanium for increased durability, then make it a significant increase.

We don't use Ti for increased durability. We make Ti lights primarily because people want to buy titanium lights. Secondarily titanium is bio-compatible for people who have sensitivity to things like nickel, and it's corrosion resistant for people who regularly use lights in a marine or other corrosive environments. I assume the latter use cases are far and few.

We use CP2 on the Alpha because it's a better engineering choice. We use 6/4 on the Delta because it machines better and the copper pill obviates the need for the superior thermal conductivity of CP2. My design decisions are primarily about proper engineering.
 
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From a purely practical perspective you're much better off just using materials your customers want to buy. That way you stay in business and therefore can provide groceries for your family.

~ Chance :p
 

Ozythemandias

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We don't use Ti for increased durability. We make Ti lights primarily because people want to buy titanium lights. Secondarily titanium is bio-compatible for people who have sensitivity to things like nickel, and it's corrosion resistant for people who regularly use lights in a marine or other corrosive environments. I assume the latter use cases are far and few.

We use CP2 on the Alpha because it's a better engineering choice. We use 6/4 on the Delta because it machines better and the copper pill obviates the need for the superior thermal conductivity of CP2. My design decisions are primarily about proper engineering.

It does seem like you put a lot of thought into this and as the expert I defer to you, and give you kudos for actually having reasoning backing up your design decisions
 

InvisibleFrodo

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Sep 16, 2014
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I get the impression Jason is not about to do what all the other kids are doing just because that's what they're doing.
Although as CG pointed out, 6/4 is what the customer wants because of perceptions that it is a "superior" material.
Hence the Delta being available in 6/4, but as Jason pointed out, the copper pill enables the light to be made with 6/4 without too much compromise.
 

nbp

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Dec 16, 2007
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If anyone can show me even one report here of a titanium flashlight suffering harm as a result of the poor thermal conductivity of the shell I will be very surprised. Thousands of titanium lights have been made and sold here and cannot recall a single instance where someone had a problem that could be pinned on their titanium construction. Despite this, folks drone on and on about how "terrible" Ti is for a flashlight material. If you like aluminum, great! There are tons of amazing Al lights! But those who want to make or buy Ti lights don't need to be criticized for their choice. I don't see Ti fans ripping Al fans for their choice.
 
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