drmaxx
Enlightened
Thank you all. Interesting and informative, but not very helpful (if you know what I mean. ..). 
Review UPDATED: SureFire Titan AAA Black 15/125 Lumen Warning: Pic Heavy
- Thread starter Str8stroke
- Start date
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I don't own any of their products yet but as for this product it seems that:
1. Poor manufacturing tolerances and/or poor design resulted in them releasing for sale a AAA flashlight in which the batteries do not fit properly. This flashlight should be able to accept all AAA cells just like every other AAA keychain light out there. Trying to pass it off as varying AAA cell tolerances from the battery manufacturers is ludicrous.
2. Plastic lens in a keychain light is a deal breaker. While it may be high quality (whatever that means)it is still plastic and plastic scratches more easier then a quality glass lens.
3. It has the word Titan and then in big letters PAT PENDING!! I don't want Surefires Patent Office name status emblazoned on the side of a flashlight.
4. It does not tail stand .. a feature I use a lot in my LD01
5. The retail price they are charging for a light of this very mediocre quality is outrageous.
Hopefully SureFires second attempt at a single AAA light will be a homerun but for the above reasons I will not be purchasing this light. I am considering the Fenix E05 2014 edt
1. Poor manufacturing tolerances and/or poor design resulted in them releasing for sale a AAA flashlight in which the batteries do not fit properly. This flashlight should be able to accept all AAA cells just like every other AAA keychain light out there. Trying to pass it off as varying AAA cell tolerances from the battery manufacturers is ludicrous.
2. Plastic lens in a keychain light is a deal breaker. While it may be high quality (whatever that means)it is still plastic and plastic scratches more easier then a quality glass lens.
3. It has the word Titan and then in big letters PAT PENDING!! I don't want Surefires Patent Office name status emblazoned on the side of a flashlight.
4. It does not tail stand .. a feature I use a lot in my LD01
5. The retail price they are charging for a light of this very mediocre quality is outrageous.
Hopefully SureFires second attempt at a single AAA light will be a homerun but for the above reasons I will not be purchasing this light. I am considering the Fenix E05 2014 edt
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880arm
Flashlight Enthusiast
Yup, it sounds like this light's not for you. Perhaps this thread would be of more interest to you.
Admittedly I probably am over critical of this light since every light has its faults. Its just that I would have really liked for this one to be my first SureFire. I always respected the legendary name.
Bimmerboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
As we all experience various frustrations, I understand the feeling. That said, I think your post (#122) is way off, and could use more consideration in basically every sentence. I'm saying this pretty gently considering, among other things, the accusations based on no evidence, of poor manufacturing processes, then trying to cover it up.
Not a single post in this thread has provided the inside diameter of this light to even establish a baseline measurement, much less input from various owners to check consistency. And for anyone to poo poo the notion that there might be variations in soft, sticky labels applied onto batteries is in my estimation, as the saying goes, ludicrous.
Oh yeah, that's much less likely than Surefire's machines flopping around cutting inconsistent bores. Calipers, anyone?
I'm aware of any criticism of the venerable SureFire name will draw some heat but I think my criticisms are reasonable. Reviews indicate that people who purchased this light are having issues with the AAA cells fitting very snugly to the point of having the use needle nose pliers to extract the cells. To me that indicates either poor design or poor manufacturing tolerance. If you have a better explanation please post it here.
The words "pat pending" is clearly printed on the light.
If the light has a UCL lens then I am mistaken on that point but reviewers have said the lens is plastic.
Reviewers have stated that the light does not tail stand.
My comment about the inclusion of a nimh cell was borne of frustration and I will edit it out.
and I just read somewhere on here that the actual output is almost spot on 123 lumens and to tell you the truth for a single AAA light that is pretty awesome and really almost negates all my above critisms anyway. So even though its not for me I can see many people wanting this really bad.
I'm editing and reediting my posts so much I think I have a touch of OCD.
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Good link but it seems the Fenix E05 has its faults also...sigh.
880arm
Flashlight Enthusiast
I think every product has faults when it's subjected to enough scrutiny, all the more so when enthusiasts are doing the scrutinizing :thumbsup:
In my opinion, much of what we classify as "faults" or "issues" are instances where a product doesn't meet the expectations of any given person. Of course, this varies a lot from person to person. This is an imperfect analogy, but you could liken it to how machine marks and slight imperfections might be described as "adding character" to a custom or one-off product while the same attributes could be viewed as egregious flaws in a much less expensive mass produced item. I learned a personal lesson about this when the SureFire E1B Backup was introduced. I absolutely loved the performance of its predecessor, the EB1 Backup, and as I waited months and months for the new version, my expectations just kept getting higher. This led to some disappointment on my part when it was finally released which almost made me overlook what a great light it actually is. This is just a general observation and not intended to rebut any of the Titan issues under discussion, whether actual or perceived.
I posted this info in the general Titan discussion thread. To provide some background, the first Titan-A I received had fitment issues with Eneloops and lithium batteries. I suspected at the time that the steel insert was the bottleneck causing the tight fit. I then purchased a second Titan-A which had been "fixed" by removing the steel insert and could accept any type of battery.
Although I didn't mention it in that post, I also popped the insert out of the original Titan-A and the tubes were otherwise identical between the two lights. I agree with your statement about variation in battery label thickness.
Str8stroke
Flashlight Enthusiast
HighLight, you will probably find there is no real perfect light. Hence why manufactures offer and we can own so many. Price, by no means, equates to a individuals product satisfaction. Experiences & expectations can vary greatly. Sometimes, I buy lights based solely on looks. Performance maybe secondary. Of course the opposite applies sometimes. I may buy based on performance not looks.
To expound further on obvious information we all know, but often forget. For some folks, price is a small part of the equation. Collectors, of any item, often buy items that perform horribly, if they even perform at all. But, they do it to complete a set or "have one of each model". Often times they have no intention of use other than visual gain or set completion. Also, never forget that saying, "one mans junk, another mans treasure". Obviously, this holds true in the world of light collecting.
Of course I fully understand there are tons of folks who will likely buy the Titan to use it. It will likely serve the average person very well. The flaming of a manufacture, or custom builder over product price points is a beat dog. I imagine the target audience for this particular light is NOT the ever vigilant flashlight connoisseur.
Many folks, like me, find Surefire stands behind its products in ways other manufactures can only dream about. This has been stated numerous times. In fact so much so, I almost cringe typing it. They hopefully have dozens of well paid employees who make a good honest living and can support their families and communities. Surefire is, some may say was, a leader in illumination innovation. Some of these innovations have helped, and continue to help, save lives of military, civilian, and LEO's all over the world.
Research, development, and continual product support has its inherent costs. These costs plus profits must be passed on to the consumer in order to have a viable business model. I can only imagine how much thought goes in to the pricing of their products. Therefore, to some, the products may seem like a fair price or seem like a rip off. At the end of the day, if you don't like it, don't buy it. But it isn't helpful to flame it. I normally PM folks and suggest they send their concerns with the manufacture directly to the manufacture. I feel that is the most helpful approach for everyone. In some cases, if you haven't owned the product, it's pretty lame to post your negative conclusions based on others opinions or experiences. Some times, its best to speak with your wallet. Trust me, they will hear you.
My rambling on that topic is done for now.
Now: I plan to complete a review on the New Titan Plus real soon. I plan to put some side by side comparisons with the "regular" AAA Titan. Hopefully it will help guide and inform others. I am still doing some testing. So far, even with its minor faults, I really like it. Is it a home run?? Well I own or have owned over 300 lights. Reality is, I may have only a handful of home runs. Most of them are custom builds or mods. Others experiences may vary.
Y'all have a great weekend!
To expound further on obvious information we all know, but often forget. For some folks, price is a small part of the equation. Collectors, of any item, often buy items that perform horribly, if they even perform at all. But, they do it to complete a set or "have one of each model". Often times they have no intention of use other than visual gain or set completion. Also, never forget that saying, "one mans junk, another mans treasure". Obviously, this holds true in the world of light collecting.
Of course I fully understand there are tons of folks who will likely buy the Titan to use it. It will likely serve the average person very well. The flaming of a manufacture, or custom builder over product price points is a beat dog. I imagine the target audience for this particular light is NOT the ever vigilant flashlight connoisseur.
Many folks, like me, find Surefire stands behind its products in ways other manufactures can only dream about. This has been stated numerous times. In fact so much so, I almost cringe typing it. They hopefully have dozens of well paid employees who make a good honest living and can support their families and communities. Surefire is, some may say was, a leader in illumination innovation. Some of these innovations have helped, and continue to help, save lives of military, civilian, and LEO's all over the world.
Research, development, and continual product support has its inherent costs. These costs plus profits must be passed on to the consumer in order to have a viable business model. I can only imagine how much thought goes in to the pricing of their products. Therefore, to some, the products may seem like a fair price or seem like a rip off. At the end of the day, if you don't like it, don't buy it. But it isn't helpful to flame it. I normally PM folks and suggest they send their concerns with the manufacture directly to the manufacture. I feel that is the most helpful approach for everyone. In some cases, if you haven't owned the product, it's pretty lame to post your negative conclusions based on others opinions or experiences. Some times, its best to speak with your wallet. Trust me, they will hear you.
My rambling on that topic is done for now.
Now: I plan to complete a review on the New Titan Plus real soon. I plan to put some side by side comparisons with the "regular" AAA Titan. Hopefully it will help guide and inform others. I am still doing some testing. So far, even with its minor faults, I really like it. Is it a home run?? Well I own or have owned over 300 lights. Reality is, I may have only a handful of home runs. Most of them are custom builds or mods. Others experiences may vary.
Y'all have a great weekend!
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RI Chevy
Flashlight Enthusiast
AMEN! Well stated.
Looking forward to the reviews.
Looking forward to the reviews.
Thank you for doing this! Eager to read the review when you post it!
Bimmerboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
880arm - Thanks for the info! :thumbsup:
However, I would've said the same thing to defend any quality brand. Making wild accusations of poor design or manufacturing with no inside knowledge of design discussions, decision making, or manufacturing processes inside a company is not a good thing. The people at Surefire are not idiots.
BTW... as for the outrageous price for a mediocre light, I can only say LOL. I'll likely be buying one when I have a little money again.
Not sure why your statement is prefaced by this. However, I can speculate that it's either to somehow convey objectivity to your criticisms, or subtly belittle the opposing viewpoint.
However, I would've said the same thing to defend any quality brand. Making wild accusations of poor design or manufacturing with no inside knowledge of design discussions, decision making, or manufacturing processes inside a company is not a good thing. The people at Surefire are not idiots.
I believe some plausible explanations have already been suggested in this thread.
Then don't get one until the patent goes through, and they no longer have to put that on the light. Even with it on there now, this is a big deal? I've seen "patent applied for" on all kinds of things throughout life. One good example of many is one of the classic Gibson guitar pickups sought after by collectors, with the design still in use to this day. It's called the P.A.F.
It won't be a problem. I speculate the decision there is that it's a keychain light that will get dropped many times. The plastic lens won't shatter, and coated will pass every bit as much light as a UCL. They can have scratch resistant coatings as well. If you had any idea the abuse my 12 year old plastic lens glasses have been through... and I still use them every day. Either way, the lens should be fairly well protected. I like glass myself for the ultimate in scratch prevention, but then I never drop my lights (watch me drop one tonight since I just jinxed myself).
Many keychain lights do not.
BTW... as for the outrageous price for a mediocre light, I can only say LOL. I'll likely be buying one when I have a little money again.
Vox Clamatis in Deserto
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,126
Any idea which patent application this refers to? The Titan Plus also has the 'PAT. PENDING' notation but, for example an EB2 and a Titan T1A sitting on my desk do not (but they do list explicit patent numbers on the side).
There have been earlier SureFire patent grants for, I believe, the twisty actuation. Are applications pending for the faceted flood reflector and the pull off tailcap (on the Titan Plus) perhaps?
Looking through SF pending patent apps there are some interesting things like the LED through the lens microcontroller programmability that may have been abandoned.
Anybody know what's pending on these AAA Titan's?
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parnass
Flashlight Enthusiast
It could refer to Surefire's "proprietary faceted reflector that shapes the light from its high-performance LED into a broad, smooth MaxVision Beam™."
kelmo
Flashlight Enthusiast
Battery update.
I finally had to change out my battery. As expected I had to use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the lithium cell I installed. It came out along with a sleeve that was installed at the throat of the battery tube. Without the sleeve lithium cells fit nicely and the light works perfectly without it. I recently purchased another Titan and it came without the before mentioned sleeve but the battery tube was still milled for one.
I left my light in my pocket when swimming this summer. It is water proof!
kelmo
I finally had to change out my battery. As expected I had to use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the lithium cell I installed. It came out along with a sleeve that was installed at the throat of the battery tube. Without the sleeve lithium cells fit nicely and the light works perfectly without it. I recently purchased another Titan and it came without the before mentioned sleeve but the battery tube was still milled for one.
I left my light in my pocket when swimming this summer. It is water proof!
kelmo
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TOPDOG9000
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2016
- Messages
- 8
I have the Titan Plus and so far has been great. No issues at all. Turns on every time and one of the brightest lights in this size. I have been using eneloop pros and energizer lithium.
