# Show Your McGizmos!



## RichS (Apr 13, 2010)

I finally got my very first McGizmo - the Haiku XP-G and am just blown away. McGizmo's are built to be ultra-reliable, highly functional, but aside from that they are truly a work of art. I'd love to see some of the old models along side some of the new.

So let's see 'em! I'll start with my very humble collection of 1. (I'll compensate by posting several pictures of it..)


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## Scottiver (Apr 14, 2010)

I love that Haiku/Seiko combination. I already have the Haiku, now I must have one of those Seiko's, very cool. :thumbsup:


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## SuperTrouper (Apr 14, 2010)

Oh no. I can tell this thread is the one that'll finally make me weaken and buy one. If I can find one to buy that is!


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## Kiessling (Apr 14, 2010)

OK ...


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## Light11 (Apr 14, 2010)

Awesome pics kiessling,Alien meets Mcgizmo :twothumbs


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## scout24 (Apr 15, 2010)

RichS- What is the backround? Looks like leather, very nice...:thumbsup:


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## nfetterly (Apr 15, 2010)

I would love to post a photo of my McGizmos together! Unfortunately in the last year I don't believe they have been together. I had my Haiku & LS20 at Matt's - the last run of holesters he made he used my lights to shape / fit the holesters. Now I have a bunch of them off at modomag's exotic coating (DLC Ti Mule getting recoated) and just over a week ago my TiPD & 27LT went to DatiLed's for XP-G transfusion....






Last Spring...





Hmm, Haiku is now a BB Haiku

The photo below was for a small review of the Sundrop XR-U that I put in Don's thread as I was one of the first to receive one. I swapped the creemator head (e1b head) off the 2-pak McClicky over to the 1-Pak XR-U body & the XR-U head on the ano'd 2-pak


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## compasillo (Apr 15, 2010)

You guys don't have mercy on us, the unfortunate McGizmo no-owners :mecryyet)


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## RichS (Apr 15, 2010)

Keissling - nice lights - I love those smooth battery tubes..very clean looking design. Are you using a black light in the background of the first pic? And that McGizmo/Alien pic is just sick...:devil:

nfetterly - nice collection! :huh: Who did the special anodizing on that 2 pak? That looks very nicely done..




scout24 said:


> RichS- What is the backround? Looks like leather, very nice...:thumbsup:


 
Nope, it just a vinyl ottoman with a leather-looking pattern. I was just watching TV one night and set my Haiku down on the ottoman and thought, hmmm, that would make a nice pic!


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## fyrstormer (Apr 15, 2010)

That's a great set of pictures, RichS. Your Haiku almost looks like it's been laquered.

Here's my humble collection:











For some weird reason I left my Sapphire out of the lineup, so here it is too, showing a Raw Ti who wears the pants around here:


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## RichS (Apr 16, 2010)

fyrstormer said:


> That's a great set of pictures, RichS. Your Haiku almost looks like it's been laquered.
> 
> Here's my humble collection:


 
:bow:.............._Humble_ collection?!

Very, very nice collection fyrstormer...so I have to ask - which is your favorite McGizmo and why? Also - how does the Haiku stack up in your opinion compared to the legendary PD?


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## scout24 (Apr 16, 2010)

*e: Show Your McGizmos!*

Some of the family... Easy to see where that new kid gets his fins from!


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## WBryan (Apr 16, 2010)

Wowza!! Some bad *** lights! I will post a few asap!:twothumbs


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## Kiessling (Apr 16, 2010)

RichS said:


> Keissling - nice lights - I love those smooth battery tubes..very clean looking design. Are you using a black light in the background of the first pic? And that McGizmo/Alien pic is just sick...:devil:



It is just blue and red light. It's a very old pic.


Some more: 






















bernie


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## RichS (Apr 19, 2010)

Kiessling said:


> bernie


 
I absolutely love the form factor of this one Bernie - I've seen (and drooled over) it before. Do you have any specs on it or a link to to an old thread about it?


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## Kiessling (Apr 19, 2010)

Here are Don's build notes:
http://www.dmcleish.com/CPF/McT-plus/index.html

This one is among my most prized lights of all time. It is pure CPF history. It is very old, about 2003 IIRC. Which puts it well before other lights with the dual beam feature.

The specs aren't that impressive any more. The flood of the 6x3mm Lichia LEDs is about as bright as a Photon Microlight of today, the LuxV at the center (U-bin) is less than today's Cree and whatnot flashlights.
But that's not the point of this light anyway. 

bernie


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## Per-Sev (Apr 20, 2010)

This my Haiku XP-G AA2 my first McGizmo


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## SFfanman (Apr 20, 2010)

Per-Sev said:


> This my Haiku XP-G AA2 my first McGizmo


 

Is it me or does that remind you of a snake in the swamplands awaiting its prey? :naughty:


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## chipwillis (Apr 21, 2010)

some nice stuff there.


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## bf1 (Apr 21, 2010)

*Gotta love McGizmos!!!*


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## Kiessling (Apr 21, 2010)

Gotta love the showoff-threads


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## Dioni (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow.. this thread is stunning!  Kiessling, nice pic of the "eight passenger" :laughing:

[PS.: it is as the 1st movie of the Alien was renamed here].


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## bf1 (Apr 21, 2010)

*Three of my favorite McGizmos...only time will tell.*


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## Per-Sev (Apr 21, 2010)

Kiessling said:


> Gotta love the showoff-threads


What are the two lights in the last picture,I really like the way the lens is done are they for a special purpose. Thanks


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## WBryan (Apr 21, 2010)

The second one from the bottom is just killer. What kind of finish is that?


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## Light11 (Apr 21, 2010)

Per-Sev said:


> What are the two lights in the last picture,I really like the way the lens is done are they for a special purpose. Thanks


 
Lunasol 20 and Lunasol 27 (LS20 and LS27)


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## Per-Sev (Apr 21, 2010)

Light11 said:


> Lunasol 20 and Lunasol 27 (LS20 and LS27)


Thanks I just did a search on them and I figured it was a duel purpose light but I could not tell if those were LED'S around the center one. Thanks


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## lisantica (Apr 23, 2010)

Here are my 3. 
A modded by McGizmo L1 PR-T-917, a 3S Sundrop and a Sapphire from the first run, not the newer 25 version.


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## Kiessling (Apr 23, 2010)

WBryan said:


> The second one from the bottom is just killer. What kind of finish is that?





Light11 said:


> Lunasol 20 and Lunasol 27 (LS20 and LS27)



It is an Aleph2 with a swirl Type2 ano. There were a bunch of those in different color combos out there back then.

LS20 and LS27, yes.

berie


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## fyrstormer (Apr 25, 2010)

lisantica said:


>


This is a great pic, because it gives a sense of scale. Anyone who's handled an Arc AAA knows how big (i.e. small) the Sapphire at the bottom is, and you can see the Sundrop just above it is only slightly longer.


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## fyrstormer (Apr 25, 2010)

RichS said:


> :bow:.............._Humble_ collection?!
> 
> Very, very nice collection fyrstormer...so I have to ask - which is your favorite McGizmo and why? Also - how does the Haiku stack up in your opinion compared to the legendary PD?


Well, I didn't want to toot my own horn _too _much... Besides, it looks like bf1 has got us all beat with his 15-light collection. 

It's hard to say which one's my favorite. My personality is such that if I have two of the same thing, I will waste an inordinate amount of time picking which one to use, so I've tried to collect as diverse a set of Gizmos as possible. The only two that really overlap are the PD-S and the XR19, because the only meaningful difference there is the brand of emitter. So, here's what I think of each one:

* Mule:* great for area illumination. I put a UV emitter in this one, because the ultra-wide dispersion means I'll see fluorescence even if I don't know what I'm looking for yet. The nickel-plate needs periodic polishing, though; I really wish there were an all-titanium version of this.

* Arc6:* This is my go-to light when I don't need to worry about battery life, I don't want to worry about damaging my light, and I want the option to melt people's faces at a moment's notice. Even if it catches fire, I can always buy another head. The anodized threads on the head feel really nice on the titanium threads in the PD Pak, and it can use regular grease instead of Krytox or TiTi Twister. (that's my new name for the ti thread lube I formulated. ) This one usually goes to the office with me.

* Sundrop:* More focused than the Mule, but still perfectly-even illumination. Great for macro photography where camera flash would cause highlight burnout.

* McLux3-T:* This one's as close to a shelf queen as I can stand to have. It doesn't see a lot of use because it's so rare, but I sometimes use it for reading in bed. The lack of a push-switch is problematic for outdoor use, but again, it's more of a collector's item than anything else.

* PD-S:* It's a classic, there's not much else I can say. It doesn't matter that it's outmoded and not as bright as newer lights. It's like owning a classic muscle car; it was, and still is, the pinnacle of its vintage.

* XR19:* I had this one upgraded from a Cree Q2 to a Q5, and now it's noticeably brighter than the PD-S. It can throw a little better too. Also, I'm deathly afraid of losing the PD-S, so this one sees more use than the PD-S, but other than that it's comparable in every way.

* Haiku:* The barn-burner of the bunch. (well, except for the Arc6.) Being designed specifically to be operated entirely with one hand is a huge plus when I'm carrying stuff, or when it's cold and I don't want to take my other hand out of my pocket, or when I want instant access to lots of light. Plus the fins are damn cool. I'd say it's just as iconic as the PD-S, just reflective of a different set of design parameters. I won't be getting rid of it.

* Lunasol 20:* Useful when I'm going to be primarily working on stuff up-close, but I'll occasionally need to shoot a beam far away. It sees lots of use when I'm running wires in the basement of my dad's girlfriend's house, which is older than dirt and has a rat's nest of wiring stapled to the rafters. I put it on a C-Pak, partly to free up a PD Pak to use with my Arc6, but also because I think its split personality is more useful when the beam I get isn't dependent on how strong/tired my thumb is.

* McGizmonster:* I put this together from an Aleph 1 head, a McLux1 Clicky Pak, and a Seoul P4 GDuP light engine. It's like a build-your-own-Haiku kit, though admittedly not as bright, but it throws really far nonetheless.


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## RichS (Apr 26, 2010)

bf1 said:


>


 
Unbelievable BF1...your collection posts never cease to amaze me.. I was pretty excited about finally getting my hands on *1 *McGizmo, until I saw your "Pile 'O McGizmos"....:sigh:

So I have to ask you since you are extremely familiar with Don's work - how do think the Haiku stacks up with his previous legendary EDC lights like the PD-S, etc.?


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## RichS (Apr 26, 2010)

fyrstormer said:


> It's hard to say which one's my favorite. My personality is such that if I have two of the same thing, I will waste an inordinate amount of time picking which one to use, so I've tried to collect as diverse a set of Gizmos as possible. The only two that really overlap are the PD-S and the XR19, because the only meaningful difference there is the brand of emitter. So, here's what I think of each one...


 
Thanks so much for taking the time to give some of us - who aren't able to own one of each - a very useful comparison review of Don's other creations! :twothumbs


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## easilyled (Apr 27, 2010)

bf1 said:


> *Three of my favorite McGizmos...only time will tell.*



The 2 Ti 27LT prototypes pictured here are amongst the rarest and most coveted lights Don ever made. I think there are only 4 in existence.

Magnificent, bf1.


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## kaichu dento (May 8, 2010)

Here's a Sundrop on lettuce!


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