REVIEW: Lumintop TOOL AAA (XP-G2 , 1xAAA/10440)

[Thetasigma]

Rush_Fan: It would appear so, though I like the plastic cases, the brown case is a nice touch to compliment the copper.

realista: There is a certain beauty to copper and even its derivative brasses that I rather enjoy, over the small weight gain. If it weren't for the expense I would probably have more copper lights.

ven: Thanks sir! I apologize for making you spend money, though that seems to be a common issue around here with all the shared enthusiasm.

Great post! Happy Xmas!

Great details. One update, no dimple on my new Maratac Rev3.5 knurling.
Your Tool has the old style dimples I think. In your pic above they look the same as the other presumably pre3.5 Maratac. Excellent detail in your pics too btw, nicely done!

Maratac Rev3 with the extremely rare N219 Wrom head, LOL, on left, Rev3.5 on right

> The particular LED appears to be a little warmer than my D25A's 5000k Nichia

try a side by side beamshots on a piece of printer paper folded at 90 degrees

I think the Wrom N219 is a really nice addition to my selection , it makes me smile.

Enjoy your shiny new copper high CRI clickie, while it lasts (the shine I mean.. ;-))

Thanks Jon! Curious to see if I just received a Tool with new guts and an old batch body, since the dimensions should all be identical.
That is a hilarious typo on the Worm head, hopefully it was just a bad setup of the etching and someone rectifies it.
The tint of the Tool vs the D25A Ti appears to my eye to be warmer in use and the side by side, though not by much. Could be my brain tricking me with the different hotspots though. Anyway, left to right Maratac AAA Brass, 2015 D25A Ti Nichia, Copper Tool Nichia.

In the photo I can't discern any difference between them, though the PWM of the Brass Maratac can be seen. Interestingly there is a high frequency noise that can be seen in the D25A, which only appears in the middle mode of Group 1 whether Moon is enabled or not. Low and Moon do not display this and Eagletac claims that the driver is current controlled.

 

[jon_slider]

left to right Maratac AAA Brass, 2015 D25A Ti Nichia, Copper Tool Nichia.

… the PWM of the Brass Maratac can be seen.
… Eagletac claims that the driver is current controlled.

thanks for the photo, must not have been on high, since the PWM shows. Always suprised how a camera catches it. Eagletac is controversial, imo it Yes has PWM.. here is some evidence:

I ran the time exposure sweep picture I mentioned before and now agree it does look like full on PWM:, L > R, SC52, Quark AA, D25A, MDC AA, ~3 lms:

 

[T45]

The tailcap switch....is it a REVERSE or FORWARD(Momentary)? I have read through 2 reviews and while everyone seems to like a 1xAAA flashlight with a tailcap switch, no one states what TYPE of switch it is. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[chillinn]

The tailcap switch....is it a REVERSE or FORWARD(Momentary)? I have read through 2 reviews and while everyone seems to like a 1xAAA flashlight with a tailcap switch, no one states what TYPE of switch it is. Thanks in advance for your help.

Reverse clicky. Most multimoded clickies are reverse... I can only think of a couple multimoded forward clickies.

 

[Guitartec]

Great review. I actually used your review to base my decision on buying 2 Tools AAAs, one aluminum and one copper. They both get used hard every day in my work and at home as the go-to flash. Both have survived numerous drops with no problems thus far. The only issues I've had so far is both clips have broken which I can't find replacements for, and a few weeks ago, my copper tool was needed at work to search for an important small part that had fallen on the floor, so it got real hot and turned itself off at the worst possible time. I had to put it in a freezer to bring it back to life, which can be bad. Both Tools spend a lot of time being held in my mouth, which is gross but is a real thing many of us do. The clicky has survived with no affects from doing this, meaning the moisture hasn't slipped by the rubber switch protector. All in all, a great little flash with just the right amount of lighting options, and no unnecessary beacons or parasitic issues which hold this light true to its name, ie. it is quite appropriately named "Tool" IMHO. Thanks for your review.

 

[LiftdT4R]

Anyone see the newish Massdrop Tools? I unfortunately missed out on my chance on a silver aluminum AAA Nichia. I'm hoping they do a second run.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-aluminum-aaa-flashlight