Rogue Flashlights by ICON

[Nyctophiliac]

Great, now you in the US can get them without International shipping Charges! Cool.

I actually think that if I had bought it from Brightguy to ship over here in the UK, I may have had to pay more for it than from HKequipment. The customs here seem to scrutinize stuff from the US more than Hong Kong. Strange but true, in my experience. But hey, still looks like a good quality greenie light for my money.


Be lucky....


BTW - Titan, how would you thread those beads onto the flanges?

ABTW - Would the beads come in green too??

 

[TITAN1833]

BTW - Titan, how would you thread those beads onto the flanges?

ABTW - Would the beads come in green too??

LOL this is the last time I quote my dear wife in public :mecry: Anyway she tells me some kind of split bead may work,but she would like them in pink

 

[Raven]

Too little, too late. SF should have offered a A or AA light years ago. Instead, they left a huge opening that Fenix exploited. Now SF has a major competitor, who's beating them on both performance and price point, all because they were too stubborn to produce a flashlight for the civilian market. Now they have no choice but to outsource if they want to keep up, and it's still not going to be enough. The whole thing is just so pathetic and so avoidable. If SF had released a AA or AAA light six or seven years ago, I honestly don't think Fenix could have become the Godzilla that it is. Instead, it won't surprise me to see SF eventually have to outsource their entire lineup. The worst part is that you can search the CPF archives and read my warnings about this years ago. If it was that obvious to some of us, why didn't SF also see the writing on the wall? What a joke. Another American company the victim of their own shortsightedness.

 

[Size15's]

Too little, too late. SF should have offered a A or AA light years ago. Instead, they left a huge opening that Fenix exploited. Now SF has a major competitor, who's beating them on both performance and price point, all because they were too stubborn to produce a flashlight for the civilian market. Now they have no choice but to outsource if they want to keep up, and it's still not going to be enough. The whole thing is just so pathetic and so avoidable. If SF had released a AA or AAA light six or seven years ago, I honestly don't think Fenix could have become the Godzilla that it is. Instead, it won't surprise me to see SF eventually have to outsource their entire lineup. The worst part is that you can search the CPF archives and read my warnings about this years ago. If it was that obvious to some of us, why didn't SF also see the writing on the wall? What a joke. Another American company the victim of their own shortsightedness.

The ICON Rogues are not being aimed at the same audience that Fenix are. ICONs are for mass-market consumers through, hopefully, extensive mainstream retail chains.
If you see Fenix as a a major competitor to SureFire then you don't seem to understand SureFire at all. It appears that for you Fenix is a major competitor to SureFire but then your very being here as a Flashaholic reinforces that you, like pretty much all of us, are not the market SureFire, or ICON for that matter is aiming at.

Al

 

[Nyctophiliac]

Size 15 - Yeah, I don't see the ICONs as military lights. Much too green and shiny. Long live SF's Olive drab HA3 and rough knurling. Their lights look like grenades more than objects d'art.

I'm sure us flashaholics and the World in general is bug enough for both types of light.

That should have said big.


After all, which is better Beef or Fish - discuss.


I'm off for my therapy now,

Be lucky....

 

[Tempest UK]

... SF's Olive drab HA3...

Uh oh, you've done it now

Regards,
Tempest

 

[Vox Clamatis in Deserto]

I just picked up a green one cell Icon Rogue 1 this afternoon at Supremeco in Hong Kong (http://supremeco.com.hk/catalog/index.php). I hadn't seen this CPF thread but knew the light was something new when I saw Paul Kim's name on the store display. Supremeco also has some very interesting PK pictures and a collection of signature PK lights and prototypes, well worth a pilgrimage to the showroom if you're in town.

The light has a large body diameter to match the head rather than the AA battery tube. The body is machined out with three slots to give thin rails along the tube that can be used to attach the lanyard. The rails do bend, they might not bend back if you squeeze them too much. I suppose they increase the surface area of the body for cooling as well.

The packaging has the Mt. Baldy Circle address in Fountain Valley, CA. (same as Surefire) but has the Icon brand at the top. Kinda like Apple, there is a 'Designed by Icon in California' line on the cardboard insert. The blister package on my light looked like it was ready for U.S. and international marketing and had the usual CE, FCC and other logos displayed.

The light does feel large for a 1 AA unit and the beam is pure Surefire without the usual Cree dark circle from what I can see. The reflector has an orange peel texture, the tint on mine wins the lottery as far as I'm concerned. The hotspot is tighter than my Fenix's and the spill is more uniform. 50 lumens seems reasonable compared to a couple of lights I have with me. The Cree emitter seems to have the silver rather than gold base just like my Nitecore Extreme Infinity. Gotta love the keylime green anodizing and lanyard, not sure I'd use this color for a duty light though.

The pushbutton switch feels good, hope it lasts, this tends to be the achilles heel of my Fenix and Nitecore lights.

The price was HK$380, about US$49. Supremeco seemed to have black, titanium and green lights in both single and double AA models, check out the online catalog.

I might go back tomorrow and snag a two cell model...

Uh, just realized, they are closed for Chinese New Year tomorrow, I'll wait on the two cell version until it is available in the U.S.

 

[RyanA]

$49 US seems pretty reasonable to me. I guess we'll see what the price is when these lights reach the US. I think they'll do well though. A nice simple interface, reasonable output, and a good expectation of quality. Although that's one thing that's a bit of a conundrum. The distancing from Surefire. The fact that the Icon lights have been headed up by PK sells it for me. But I don't know if many average consumers are aware of his super photon powers. But it is still reassuring to know that there is the surefire quality implied. No TIR optic though... what gives.:sigh:

I'm kidding. I get it. TIR might not be good for a mass market approach.

 

[Bullzeyebill]

I ordered single cell model from BrightGuy. Almost $46.00 with shipping. I think they offer discount for CPF, but I forgot what code was, and did not take time to research. Will be available after Feb 1, and they won't charge my card till it ships.

Bill

 

[Nyctophiliac]

Uh oh, you've done it now

Regards,
Tempest

Sorry what I meant to say was Mil-A-8625 Type III Class 2 military specification finish that SureFire uses.

Bit of a tip of the slongue! My bad.



Be lucky...

 

[Flying Turtle]

I also wondered about those thin rails being a weak point, not that it would affect performance. As far a marketability goes, I'm afraid $30-$40 would deter most of the great unlit, even with a Surefire pedigree.

Geoff

 

[ja10]

I just picked up a green one cell Icon Rogue 1 this afternoon at Supremeco in Hong Kong (http://supremeco.com.hk/catalog/index.php). I hadn't seen this CPF thread but knew the light was something new when I saw Paul Kim's name on the store display. Supremeco also has some very interesting PK pictures and a collection of signature PK lights and prototypes, well worth a pilgrimage to the showroom if you're in town.

The light has a large body diameter to match the head rather than the AA battery tube. The body is machined out with three slots to give thin rails along the tube that can be used to attach the lanyard. The rails do bend, they might not bend back if you squeeze them too much. I suppose they increase the surface area of the body for cooling as well.

The packaging has the Mt. Baldy Circle address in Fountain Valley, CA. (same as Surefire) but has the Icon brand at the top. Kinda like Apple, there is a 'Designed by Icon in California' line on the cardboard insert. The blister package on my light looked like it was ready for U.S. and international marketing and had the usual CE, FCC and other logos displayed.

The light does feel large for a 1 AA unit and the beam is pure Surefire without the usual Cree dark circle from what I can see. The reflector has an orange peel texture, the tint on mine wins the lottery as far as I'm concerned. The hotspot is tighter than my Fenix's and the spill is more uniform. 50 lumens seems reasonable compared to a couple of lights I have with me. The Cree emitter seems to have the silver rather than gold base just like my Nitecore Extreme Infinity. Gotta love the keylime green anodizing and lanyard, not sure I'd use this color for a duty light though.

The pushbutton switch feels good, hope it lasts, this tends to be the achilles heel of my Fenix and Nitecore lights.

The price was HK$380, about US$49. Supremeco seemed to have black, titanium and green lights in both single and double AA models, check out the online catalog.

I might go back tomorrow and snag a two cell model...

Uh, just realized, they are closed for Chinese New Year tomorrow, I'll wait on the two cell version until it is available in the U.S.

Thanks for the review! Any chance for some pictures?

 

[65535]

I'm thinking some para cord or something in those rails could add strength to them and give a nice grip.

 

[DHart]

Thats what she said!!!

DAMN that works for EVERYTHING!!!
Had to...:nana:

Good one DaFAB!

 

[Vox Clamatis in Deserto]

Thanks for the review! Any chance for some pictures?

I don't have a good camera with me here on the road, I do wish I had taken some shots with my point and shoot in the Supremeco showroom if they would allow it. The Surefires they had were perhaps 30 percent more than U.S. list price.

My light looks like the one in this link posted earlier on the thread by jchoo:

http://www.knifegallery.co.kr/shop/shopdetail.html?brandcode=066001000004

The green color is just a little lighter and more subtle than it appears in the linked photos.

The low mode has visible PWM strobing, perhaps a couple of hundred hertz, but definitely noticable when you move an object rapidly through the beam. The high beam seems to be continuous.

I'm off to Singapore tonight, will see who sells Surefires and check on the Icons. Everything may well be closed for New Year's.

The product packaging on the Icon light does indicate to me that it will be hanging on the rack in Wal-Mart and Lowe's soon. If it really hits the mass market, I would think the price will be under $30 before long.

 

[thesurefire]

I played with one of these at a flashlight store in Hong Kong. The asking price was about 50 dollars. It was too big, ugly, and didnt feel surefire quality. Unless the product improves or drastically drops in price i dont think these will be very successful. at a 50 dollar price point they need to compete with fenix, and be a clear victor over the 20 dollar magLED. Given the choice between the fenix l2t and one of these, id take the fenix.

 

[Sgt. LED]

Heatsinking good, bad, or ugly?

Are they difficult to take apart for modding?

 

[marinemaster]

I think most of you watch Formula 1, I am sure. It is well known that designers of F1 cars do work on road cars design as well. Same here. PK does design the Surefire lights and it looks like he also designed the ICON. I like the new ground up design. Even if the design is good the light is only as good as the quality of the materials used. I am wondering who the manufacturer is ? I think that PK is pure genius and the SF design by him are excellent. I hope this will be the case with ICON.

 

[Vox Clamatis in Deserto]

Heatsinking good, bad, or ugly?

Are they difficult to take apart for modding?

Looking in the head, the pill doesn't seem to be potted, there is a threaded retaining washer that should easily come out with the right size pin wrench. You can see this washer on one of the Knife Gallery pictures on the link posted earlier. A similar threaded washer secures the switch assembly inside the body. I can't tell much about the heatsinking in the head but the head does seem to mate thermally with the body and those cutouts should help add surface area as previously mentioned.

Some more observations:

The head has very fine circumferential ribbing on the outside. There is coarser ribbing on some but not all parts of the body, the rest of the body has the same microfine ribbing as the head.

With the thin rails and pronounced slots, it looks like you could peel a carrot with this light. Fortunately, the sharp edges are beveled somewhat.

Without the lanyard, the light will easily roll off a table and drop test itself onto the floor. There are grooves around the head and body that could possibly host a snap on clip.

The 'tailcap lockout' is actually done with the head since there is no tailcap. An eighth of a turn locks the light out, there are no 'witness marks' like on the Surefires. The tail button is large and easy to click so the lockout is a good idea for travel and storage.

The blister pack has a 'try me' arrow to get you to push the button to see the beam, definitely a mass market packaging technique I would think.

If this funky new light took 123's, had the PK logo and was a Surefire, it would sell for several hundred dollars based on past experience, e.g. the Surefire Porcupines.

Oh well, everything is indeed closed for New Year's here in Singapore, don't know if the Icon lights have made it to Lion City yet or not.

 

[rotorthrust]

Yes, the ICON lights have reached Singapore. Saw it at Sheares Technologies, lots of stock for both the single and double cells model. 3 colours each model. But they are closed till 2 Feb 09, for Chinese New Year holiday.