# TITANER ET20, Titanium AAA light



## HKJ (Mar 14, 2011)

[SIZE=+3]TITANER ET20[/SIZE]












This company has been making titanium lights since 2005 and has now decided to enter the international flash light market, the TITANER ET20 is their entry model. This is a two level light where the light is off with tight head, loosen the head will select high and loosing it even more will select low (From off to low is about half a turn). The light is, of course, made of titanium.









The light is delivered in a small cardboard box and as can be seen on the photo it is marked jewelry (It might be a good idea to substitute another box, if the light is used as a gift to a girl friend). The box contains the light, two spare o-rings, a split ring and an instruction and specification sheet.












The light has a deep LOP (*L*ight *O*range *P*eel) reflector with the led XP-G led at the bottom. There is some GITD (*G*low *i*n *t*he *D*ark) stuff around the led.






The head does not have rifling or knurling, but instead a milled pattern that also works to improve the grip and makes the light look different from other lights. It is also possible to get the light with a more regular pattern.






Moving to the backside of the head the battery connection and the two switches can be seen. These switches are pressed down when the tail is tightened, one controls high/low, the other controls on/off. There is not circuit board visible in this light.









Moving on to the battery tube / tail, the threads is the first thing to look at. They do not look like any other AAA light I have seen, these are square cut and very solid, I do not believe they will ever wear out. It requires just less than two turns to take the battery tube off. There is also an o-ring in a grove, this makes the light waterproof and secures that the light will not unscrew itself.
Inside the battery tube is the usual spring.






On the side of the battery tube is the brand name milled in a special font.






The back end of the battery tube has a very solid eye that can used to mount the light in a key chain



This light is one of the best mechanical build AAA lights I have seen, it looks like it will last forever, it also has a very easy user interface. The huge difference between high and low gives a real low in a two level light, but I would have preferred that low activated before high and a driver that worked better with alkaline. I like the design with the pattern on the head, instead of the typical knurling or groves.



[SIZE=+2]Technical specification and measurements[/SIZE]






This light is designed for 1.5 volt AAA batteries (Alkaline, NiMH, Lithium).

Measured size and weight:
Length: 80.9 mm
Diameter: 14.6 mm
Weight: 38.3 gram with eneloop

The light uses a Cree XP-G R5 led.






In the above table I have used 800mAh eneloop batteries for measuring and estimating the runtime. The estimated lumen are based on the specified 60 lumen and then scaled according to measured brightness. When turned off the light has a small current drain, but this is low enough not to have any impact on battery life.






The voltage scan show that the light is stabilized down to around 1 volt, but this stabilization has a down side, the light can use up to 2 ampere from the battery! The driver did jump up and down in brightness and current when doing this measurement, making it impossible to get an exact curve.






On high the light uses a lot of current and with an alkaline the driver has trouble stabilizing the brightness, but NiMH batteries works fine.

The light uses current control and has no flashing modes.



[SIZE=+2]Comparison to other Flashlights[/SIZE]

TITANER ET20 XP-G R5, Fenix LD01 SS XP-G R5, 4Sevens Preon Revo SS XP-G R4 NW











4Sevens Preon Ti XP-G R5, Olight Xmas 2010 XP-G S2, Klarus Mi10 XP-E R2











For the full comparison to other lights with graphs and beamshots see here.






[SIZE=+2]Notes[/SIZE]

The lights was supplied by TITANER for a review.


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## Russ Prechtl (Mar 14, 2011)

Thanks for the review! Great job as always. Now if they just change the modes to Low/High and dump the funky font, this one could be a real winner.


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## rich297 (Mar 14, 2011)

Very informative review, thank you! I had to laugh at your suggestion to substitute the box if gifting the light. You're quite right, I know my wife would not consider a flashlight (even a titanium one) a piece of jewelery!


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## dongv (Mar 15, 2011)

Such an interesting design. I wonder if they'll have variations of the font on the body from batch to batch.


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## coyote (Mar 16, 2011)

yet another excellent review! thank you HKJ.


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## archimedes (Mar 16, 2011)

This light looks great (except maybe for the huge carved out letters on the side...).

Are these now available in the US? Their website lists an ET-20A and an ET-20B model with what seems to be the same specs -- what's the difference (and which was reviewed)? 

Their website also suggests future surface treatments are possible, such as anodizing, sandblasting, cera-coating, etc. I think DLC would be awesome for this little light. It also mentions "C & B surface treatment" -- anyone know what that is?

Thanks for the great review.


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## HKJ (Mar 16, 2011)

archimedes said:


> This light looks great (except maybe for the huge carved out letters on the side...).



I like the lettering, it is a nice difference to the usual lettering with a boring font.



archimedes said:


> Are these now available in the US? Their website lists an ET-20A and an ET-20B model with what seems to be the same specs -- what's the difference (and which was reviewed)?



The difference is the groves on the head, the reviewed on is the A. 



archimedes said:


> Their website also suggests future surface treatments are possible, such as anodizing, sandblasting, cera-coating, etc. I think DLC would be awesome for this little light. It also mentions "C & B surface treatment" -- anyone know what that is?



Where did you see that?


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## archimedes (Mar 16, 2011)

HKJ said:


> I like the lettering, it is a nice difference to the usual lettering with a boring font.



Maybe it looks better in person, but the photos remind me of something marked with a tungsten carbide "pen".



HKJ said:


> The difference is the groves on the head, the reviewed on is the A.



Thanks, I do like the deep grooves on the head. I imagine this provides excellent grip. Is it easy to operate one-handed?



HKJ said:


> Where did you see that?


 
Dunno if it's cool to list exact weblinks here, but it's at the bottom of the "Our Story" page, on the titaner (dot)com website.


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## sassaquin (Mar 16, 2011)

archimedes;3595871
Are these now available in the US? .[/QUOTE said:


> I purchased one from Cnqualitygoods.com for $55, but have not received it yet. It is listed under the "special price today" listing at the top of the page.


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## HKJ (Mar 16, 2011)

archimedes said:


> Maybe it looks better in person, but the photos remind me of something marked with a tungsten carbide "pen".



I believe that it is milled with a computer controlled machine.




archimedes said:


> Thanks, I do like the deep grooves on the head. I imagine this provides excellent grip. Is it easy to operate one-handed?



It is not easy one-handed, the o-ring prevents the head from turning easily.



archimedes said:


> Dunno if it's cool to list exact weblinks here, but it's at the bottom of the "Our Story" page, on the titaner (dot)com website.


 
Found it, but I believe that is more general and does not really has anything to do with this light.


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## beerwax (Mar 16, 2011)

thankyou for yet another excellent review HJK


i too have a titaner . heres my 2 cents.

the word titaner on the side looks good (to me) in person, just not so good in the titaner banner advert. i guess it just photographs badly. 

the UI is great, a real breath of fresh air.
the beam/reflector is excellent. unique amongst my humble aaa collection

i do forsee a possible difficulty cleaning under the stainless plate that holds the 2 switch posts, should thread lube seep in there.

cheers.


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## candle lamp (Mar 21, 2011)

Excellent review as usual and thanks for sharing the information! 

In my view, the runtime graph with an alkaline is not good, but really good with an Ni-Mh.
The body seems good quality and looks cool.


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## Theknifereviewer (Mar 23, 2011)

I live this little light its a great light


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## TITANER (Mar 26, 2011)

_Sale post removed_


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## cloggy (Mar 27, 2011)

I too have an ET20 and could'nt be happier with it.I really like the switch operation with tighten for off and loosen from high to low. The floody beam is bright and white with a good centre spot. I have accidentally put the light through a wash cycle and dropped it a couple of times and it still works fine, it is very solidly built. I have bought Titaner products before specifically their pill/battery containers which are also of a high standard.Love the look of the holsters, I shall be buying at least one on Apr. 8.


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## archimedes (Mar 27, 2011)

I really appreciate your explanations and answers to my questions earlier in this thread.

I understand that the beauty of titanium is the reason for the natural finish. Still, if you ever do decide to make a run of these with diamond-like coating (DLC), I would personally be very interested in this.


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## LSH001 (Apr 12, 2011)

Wow,i really like this special flashlights.Although i have some good AAA flashlights ,but never have one like this.Unique engraving and fascinating waves , i also think it can provide good grip.Special square thread that make the flashlight east to take the body off,great.:thumbsup:
I do like this unique font ,it looks very interesting.
HKJ,thank you very much for this great review.

By the way,new guy to say :wave:


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## cy (Apr 14, 2011)

looks like a very nicely made light... any feedback from first users yet?


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## DavidS (Apr 16, 2011)

What's going on here? - seem to be a bunch of posts removed as well as #14 edited out!


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## bltkmt (May 4, 2011)

I received mine recently and find it to be a nicely made, quality light. However, it is quite a bit larger than I expected...much larger than my other AAA lights.


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## greg c (May 5, 2011)

It looks like Titaner is the reborn Versati company (can anyone confirm or deny?). Their first light the ET10 was nice...until the switch mechanisms started failing (some even right out of the box). The switching mechanism of this light looks very similar. Having been burned with no response from the old Versati I'm finding it hard to get excited about this one.


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## Captain Spaulding (May 10, 2011)

I was looking at one in the marketplace and of course searched for a review and got here. I will say it looks interesting. One thing, and I dont know its just me or what, but it looks small/reasonably sized in your hand, but compared to the other lights show (many of which I have owned) it is MUCH larger than I expected. ( like bltkmt said)...




greg c said:


> It looks like Titaner is the reborn Versati company (can anyone confirm or deny?). Their first light the ET10 was nice...until the switch mechanisms started failing (some even right out of the box). The switching mechanism of this light looks very similar. Having been burned with no response from the old Versati I'm finding it hard to get excited about this one.



Their website drives me crazy (guess thats off topic) so I had a hard time stumbling through it, but if your concern with the switching mechanism is valid, Id really like to know about a warranty... Anybody have info on that?


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## bltkmt (May 10, 2011)

I like the switching mechanism so far, but have no real history with it yet and never had an ET10. The light is bigger than most AAA lights, but in some respects that is nice - it fits the hand better. Also, the beam is very floody and white - I like it.


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## Captain Spaulding (May 11, 2011)

> The light is delivered in a small cardboard box and as can be seen on the photo it is marked jewelry (It might be a good idea to substitute another box, if the light is used as a gift to a girl friend)



hahaha, I just noticed this. Oh man would my girlfriend be PISSED if I presented her with a big box marked "Jewelry" and it contained a flashlight.  She would probably stick it in my eye.


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## HKJ (May 11, 2011)

Captain Spaulding said:


> hahaha, I just noticed this. Oh man would my girlfriend be PISSED if I presented her with a big box marked "Jewelry" and it contained a flashlight.  She would probably stick it in my eye.


 
I believe that they have changed to another type of box that is safer to use as a gift box.


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## Norm (May 11, 2011)

The post below jogged my memory, mine arrived the same as below.
Norm


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## sassaquin (May 11, 2011)

Mine came in a box nicely packaged in another box. No "jewelry" markings on either box.

Titaner is one of the nicer lights I've bought this year and the seller gave great communication and fast shipping. The holster given as a free gift is very high quality with a great design. No regrets on this light.


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## Zeruel (May 11, 2011)

Mine isn't a jewellery box, which is fine by mine.


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## Captain Spaulding (May 13, 2011)

Well I got a PM'd response about the Titaner warranty question I had... They told me that it is a 30 day unconditional with a free *50 year warranty.* Which immediately made me wonder about 51 years  . 

Nice, _almost_ lifetime. As long as the company is around in 50 years I suppose. Think im gonna check one out.


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## Captain Spaulding (Jun 2, 2011)

So I received my Titaner light, whistle, and carabiner today. Always fun to get a new package!

Mine came in the same package as Zeruel's which I think is much more appropriate than a jewelry type box. I got it at work in the mail so I had to rob the AAA eneloop from my Ti-Killer which is definitely not fully charged. I am impressed! The light definitely feels like quality in your hand. The engraving and texturing both look much better in person and I think they are quite tasteful. I need to lube up the threads but cant do that till i get home but Im pretty sure that with lubed threads, I will be able to operate it with one hand.

I REALLY like the "reverse twisty" where it is off when fully tightened down. I wish my Ti-Killer was this way. It just makes so much more sense, especially for a key-chain light. I am always afraid that even though my Killer takes many many turns to loosen the head all the way, that I may one day lose the head altogether by it unscrewing in my pocket. That would be an expensive loss, especially with the Ti-Killer and it would render the light unusable of course. With the head fully tightened down, it is highly unlikely to accidentally come off and get lost. In fact, I wish all my head-twisties were like the Titaner. The only other light I have owned that works like this was my Damascus Dear123. Also, as said above, the threads are square cut and huge. Superman couldn't cross thread this thing if he tried.

The whistle is really slick and its going in my safety kit for hiking so I dont end up like the guy in the "127 hours" movie. The carabiner is well made, but smaller than I was anticipating which is my fault as I didnt read the specs that were listed.

All in all, I am stoked with this purchase. ALSO, I take back all my comments about the website driving me crazy. It appears that they re-did all of the English parts and instead of being hard-to-read broken English, it looks like it was written my an English major! Nice touch. I definitely respect people that are bilingual, but reading a website full of improper grammar, mis-translations, and out-of-order words is incredibly frustrating. 

Much better. Night and day difference. Nice work Titaner team!

Even though there are already plenty of pics, I will post up one when I get home. Pretty happy with this purchase :thumbsup:

EDIT: Oh, and the GITD at the base of the emitter, nice touch! Id like to do this on other lights.


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## Captain Spaulding (Jun 2, 2011)

EDIT: just realized duplicate post


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## Captain Spaulding (Jun 5, 2011)

So Ive carried it for a couple days and must say it has exceeded my expectations. The low is great for nighttime bathroom navigation without waking the girlfriend and its really floody. I have my LD01 if Im needing a AAA with throw so this Titaner fits in a good place in my collection. I know they dont get much love on these boards but when Im impressed by a light, I still have to voice it!

And it matches nicely with my Spydie with black lanyard and skulls of course.:devil:


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## smarkum (Jun 8, 2011)

I LOVE this lite too. It lives on my GITD lanyard on my nightstand. I have discovered that a chapstick lid fits perfectly over the end for a diffuser. I added some glow power mixture to the chapstick lid . . . and I have a pretty cool diffuser that will and does glow! 
I'm going to drill a small hole in the lid so that it can hang on the lanyard loose without fear of it getting lost. Sometimes I feel like a diffuser, sometimes I don't. Great little lite IMHO.


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## bltkmt (Jun 8, 2011)

I have been using mine every night and as a nightstand light. Yes, it is larger than other AAA lights but I don't see that as a negative. The large head makes it easy to twist and switch modes (much easier than my tiny DQG mini). The beam is floody and white - perfect for my needs. Great light!


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## LEDAdd1ct (Jul 27, 2011)

If you wanted to go straight to low, how much do you have to twist to bypass high and go directly to low mode?


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## HKJ (Jul 27, 2011)

LEDAdd1ct said:


> If you wanted to go straight to low, how much do you have to twist to bypass high and go directly to low mode?


 
As I wrote at the start of the review, about half a turn.


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## LEDAdd1ct (Jul 27, 2011)

Sorry, HKJ. I did read the whole thread, but I must have gotten excited and either missed that part or in my "awesome light" frenzy plumb forgot. Thank you for the review. :thumbsup:


LEDAdd1ct


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## jag-engr (Sep 28, 2011)

The Titaner ET20 does seem to be a descendant of the VersaTi ET10. I'd say overall it is an improvement (better threading, brighter emitter, OP reflector), but I'm sad to see that they abandoned the awesome tail design of the VersaTi - that was really the best thing about it.

I wonder if any future iterations of this light will once again have both a solid lanyard loop and a trit slot. Tail-standing would be nice, too, but I don't use it a whole lot with small lights.

I also agree with all the other posters that it would be nice to see the low mode come on first.


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## HKJ (Sep 28, 2011)

jag-engr said:


> The Titaner ET20 does seem to be a descendant of the VersaTi ET10. I'd say overall it is an improvement (better threading, brighter emitter, OP reflector), but I'm sad to see that they abandoned the awesome tail design of the VersaTi - that was really the best thing about it.



The only thing that looks related is the name, everything else is different


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## jag-engr (Sep 30, 2011)

HKJ said:


> The only thing that looks related is the name, everything else is different


 The switching mechanism looks very similar to me, as well.


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## HKJ (Sep 30, 2011)

jag-engr said:


> The switching mechanism looks very similar to me, as well.



The similarity is that both are loose head to turn on and two levels.
The looks are not that similar:


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## m1ke (Oct 1, 2011)

Can anyone report on the smoothness of the thread? Just wondering whether it's troublesome like titanium can be.


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## HKJ (Oct 1, 2011)

m1ke said:


> Can anyone report on the smoothness of the thread? Just wondering whether it's troublesome like titanium can be.


 
On my copy it is very smooth, this has probably something to do with the large size of the threads.


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## beerwax (Oct 1, 2011)

both of my titaners have good smooth threads. cheers


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## m1ke (Oct 2, 2011)

Thanks for the input, HKJ and beerwax, I appreciate it. Might have to pick one up; I really like the idea of unscrewing it to turn it on.


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## Captain Spaulding (Oct 18, 2011)

Well it looks like I can no longer endorse this light.

It has always had a very small fan club, but I really liked the light and always posted positives any time someone posted negatives. I rarely bash a light but I have given these people plenty of opportunities to make this right. 

Long story short, I have sent numerous emails to all of the possible contacts I can find regarding Titaner as my light stopped working correctly. Not a single response. This is supposed to have a warranty and it does no good if you cant even get a response. 

This light lasted me less than four months (I have been trying to contact them for weeks). I never abuse my lights. This light has never been dropped or submerged in water (even though its supposed to be waterproof). It hasnt even been my sole EDC as god knows I have a grip of lights and rarely carry the same one two days in a row. Id say its safe to say this light has been on a shelf as much as it has been in my pocket. Plus Im a desk jockey at work so its not like this thing has seen combat.

Dont recommend this to anybody. 50 year warranty.... Right... Im positive they wont be around in 50 years. Not that it matters, they wont even respond to my warranty claim on a 4 month old light.





Captain Spaulding said:


> Well I got a PM'd response about the Titaner warranty question I had... They told me that it is a 30 day unconditional with a free *50 year warranty.* Which immediately made me wonder about 51 years  .
> 
> Nice, _almost_ lifetime. As long as the company is around in 50 years I suppose. Think im gonna check one out.



From the Titaner profile page:



> [h=5]About TITANER[/h]Biography*We will be the best!*



RIght.... Junk.


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## choombak (Nov 30, 2011)

Captain Spaulding said:


> Well it looks like I can no longer endorse this light.
> 
> It has always had a very small fan club, but I really liked the light and always posted positives any time someone posted negatives. I rarely bash a light but I have given these people plenty of opportunities to make this right.
> 
> ...



I happened to come across this post, and got the attention of Titaner staff. I have PM'ed you the response, and hope your light gets fixed soon.


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## njet212 (Apr 12, 2013)

I had trouble with my ET20, i can't turn off the flashlight. Emailed the customer service and i don't get any respond yet. The 50 years warranty looks great, but the execution is poor.


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## bltkmt (Apr 15, 2013)

I never use this light anymore...mine works just fine, but I find it too big for an AAA light.


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