Armytek Wizard Pro Prototype Long-Term Testing

[EsthetiX]

You should expect double the runtime since they are half the price. :) All kidding aside the orbs are awesome batteries that utilize the same exact cell. So I doubt you would see much of a difference.

Thanks for the reply. That's what I thought. I haven't read into the differences between protected and unprotected. I was mostly just checking to see if I'd get more output. I use those orbs in my TK35 (which shares them with the wizard). Great batteries. Will need to pick up a couple extra 18650s so thanks again for that.

 

[cronus]

Isn't the AR coating applied on the inside? Or to both sides? The similar area on mine is center top with a surrounding halo. I had assumed that that this clearer area was the defective area but I see what you mean about the surrounding area giving off a brighter reflection. In which case three quarters of the lens coating on mine is incomplete.

Quality lenses will have the AR coating on both sides (light needs to transition through both sides, so reflection losses are experienced twice).

 

[EsthetiX]

Re: Thank goodness for the Interwebs

I don’t think your theory is accurate as I am unable to reproduce it. But after sifting through all the posts, what I suspect is the problem is something that hasn’t been mentioned yet. 1st​ of all I think it is a software problem and not a hardware problem. I also think it is related with the lockout feature (when you press the button and then hold it down to let it cycle through all of the modes and then turns off). I think somehow the light is getting stuck in an infinite loop and then the only way to unlock it is to drain the circuit as others have mentioned.

I am unable to reproduce the issue as well. It sounds to me like there may have been a bad batch at some point and must have been corrected.

 

[Knight_Light]

Thanks for the reply. That's what I thought. I haven't read into the differences between protected and unprotected. I was mostly just checking to see if I'd get more output. I use those orbs in my TK35 (which shares them with the wizard). Great batteries. Will need to pick up a couple extra 18650s so thanks again for that.

You're welcome. The only bit of advice I would give you is that your TK35 should have its own set of batteries that are closely matched in capacity and age. Mixing them with the wizard might cause them to be mismatched down the road.

 

[Knight_Light]

Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

I am one of the people that likes the Armytek Wizard Pro UI. But like everything else it has room for improvement (at least to me). Several weeks ago while testing the preproduction model I came up with what I feel is an improved UI that I sent to Armytek as a suggestion for future models.


The idea behind this UI is that most people either concentrate on lower lumen outputs or higher lumen outputs when trying to perform a certain task. This UI enables the user to focus on either lower lumen outputs or higher lumen outputs for a particular task without losing the flexibility to jump from lower output to higher output when the task either changes or demands it (in essence creating 2 separate headlamps that are both easily accessible). It also has the added benefit of having all of the modes available without turning the light off (which to me is very important especially when engaging in activities such as caving).


They proposed new Armytek UI can be seen in the 2nd​ part of the review under the heading “Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:” here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...otype-Long-Term-Testing&p=4221726#post4221726


I would love to hear what you guys think about this proposed change in the UI.

 

[EsthetiX]

You're welcome. The only bit of advice I would give you is that your TK35 should have its own set of batteries that are closely matched in capacity and age. Mixing them with the wizard might cause them to be mismatched down the road.

I'm keen on that. Thanks. I should have specified for others so they didn't get the wrong idea. Capacities should always be the same

 

[syracuse]

Re: Thank goodness for the Interwebs

I am unable to reproduce the issue as well. It sounds to me like there may have been a bad batch at some point and must have been corrected.

Did you turn off the state indicator when you try to reproduce the lockup issue? I just doubt that it might occur with every production units...

 

[EsthetiX]

Re: Thank goodness for the Interwebs

Did you turn off the state indicator when you try to reproduce the lockup issue? I just doubt that it might occur with every production units...

Yes, of course.

 

[Beacon of Light]

Re: Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

can we vote this time about the UI? I would like it to be able to not only go from low to high, but back to low again, and I don't mean by just holding in the button to cycle through all other levels and modes. In a Zebralight I can double click and toggle between 2 levels. This is not possible with the Armytek. Let them change that and the lag time between levels when holding the button down. They could cut that time in half and then it wouldn't seem as sluggish when cycling through light levels.

Also if they are considering a change in the UI, could they add a true firefly level like .05 lumen? Thrunite's original firefly level was .04 lumens and it is perfect. My biggest gripe is .5 lumens is not low enough, and I'd be happy if they made that firefly 2 with a much lower Firefly 1 level. They could ditch one of the higher modes like your proposed section 2. Cyclying through my light the 30 lumens is the highest I would ever need and anything over 115 lumens seems unnecessary to me never mind 1100 lumens. To be honest most of the 115 lumen to 1100 lumen modes don't seem all that different to me.

I am one of the people that likes the Armytek Wizard Pro UI. But like everything else it has room for improvement (at least to me). Several weeks ago while testing the preproduction model I came up with what I feel is an improved UI that I sent to Armytek as a suggestion for future models.


The idea behind this UI is that most people either concentrate on lower lumen outputs or higher lumen outputs when trying to perform a certain task. This UI enables the user to focus on either lower lumen outputs or higher lumen outputs for a particular task without losing the flexibility to jump from lower output to higher output when the task either changes or demands it (in essence creating 2 separate headlamps that are both easily accessible). It also has the added benefit of having all of the modes available without turning the light off (which to me is very important especially when engaging in activities such as caving).


They proposed new Armytek UI can be seen in the 2nd​ part of the review under the heading “Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:” here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...otype-Long-Term-Testing&p=4221726#post4221726


I would love to hear what you guys think about this proposed change in the UI.

 

[bluemax_1]

Re: Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

2. Cyclying through my light the 30 lumens is the highest I would ever need and anything over 115 lumens seems unnecessary to me never mind 1100 lumens. To be honest most of the 115 lumen to 1100 lumen modes don't seem all that different to me.

Do people go on car forums and say, "I bought a new Porsche 911 Turbo. To be honest, all I do is get groceries in it, and anything over 40mph seems unnecessary to me let alone 199mph. I never go higher than 2nd gear", or, "I just bought a minivan. To be honest, I only drive myself around. All those other seats seem unnecessary. I really only need one"?

I don't get it. If I'm looking for a pocket knife, I buy a pocket knife. I don't buy a machete or sword and then talk about how all that extra blade length is unnecessary and how difficult this thing is to fit in a pocket.


Max

 

[Beacon of Light]

Re: Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

If ANYONE makes a dedicated headlamp with JUST lower levels that boasts super long runtimes, then I guess you will have to enlighten me please. Until then, my post is legit.

To make your analogy correct you should change the 40mph to 140mph. Be honest there isn't a lot of difference between 140 and 199 when people are cool to travel at 70-80mph.

I also used to have a minivan (1994-2004)and I never traveled with passengers in that thing. I found the back bench seats unneccessary and took them out and they reside in my garage now as a place to sit the recycle bins.

Do people go on car forums and say, "I bought a new Porsche 911 Turbo. To be honest, all I do is get groceries in it, and anything over 40mph seems unnecessary to me let alone 199mph. I never go higher than 2nd gear", or, "I just bought a minivan. To be honest, I only drive myself around. All those other seats seem unnecessary. I really only need one"?

I don't get it. If I'm looking for a pocket knife, I buy a pocket knife. I don't buy a machete or sword and then talk about how all that extra blade length is unnecessary and how difficult this thing is to fit in a pocket.


Max

 

[cronus]

Re: Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

can we vote this time about the UI? I would like it to be able to not only go from low to high, but back to low again, and I don't mean by just holding in the button to cycle through all other levels and modes. In a Zebralight I can double click and toggle between 2 levels. This is not possible with the Armytek. Let them change that and the lag time between levels when holding the button down. They could cut that time in half and then it wouldn't seem as sluggish when cycling through light levels.

Also if they are considering a change in the UI, could they add a true firefly level like .05 lumen? Thrunite's original firefly level was .04 lumens and it is perfect. My biggest gripe is .5 lumens is not low enough, and I'd be happy if they made that firefly 2 with a much lower Firefly 1 level. They could ditch one of the higher modes like your proposed section 2. Cyclying through my light the 30 lumens is the highest I would ever need and anything over 115 lumens seems unnecessary to me never mind 1100 lumens. To be honest most of the 115 lumen to 1100 lumen modes don't seem all that different to me.

On the Wiz Pro, double-clicking toggles between Trubo and the last main mode you were using. This may not be just like the Zebralight, but it works fine for me.
Also, if you are in a firefly mode, it doesn't blast you by going straight to Turbo. it goes to Low first. Then another double-click goes to Turbo.
Overall I think the UI is fairly well thought out. I do agree that the delay between mode changes when holding the button could be shorter.

 

[psychbeat]

I'm surprised anyone would want to use this large-ish headlamp for low lumen tasks rather than something like an H501 or 51/31 etc?
I do have an H60W that I use at work (running a printing press) or on stage(playing guitar in a touring rock band) but the H60W is much smaller/lighter than the wiz.


I think the UI is overly complicated as well & trying to do too much with a single button.

I have a few zebralights & a spark.
The sparks 4modes & double click for turbo seems to be fine in most situations for me EXCEPT for the stupid 5min stepdown which is dangerous IMO.

I guess I just don't need to be constantly fiddling with my light while hiking biking or working on trails.
I'd rather set it & forget it & get on with the work/fun at hand.

My fave UI is my dual p60 helmet light (Cavelight).
Lo/Hi with last mode memory.

Just some perspective from a frequent headlamp user and enthusiast!!

 

[EsthetiX]

Re: Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

I think I found a solution for Beacon of Light.

AND

 

[ArcticHighlander]

Try pushing the button with your nail, mine is not overly stiff in the center, its about double the stiffness of the zebralight, but thats good, because its not recessed

Pushing with the nail definitely makes it much easier. I have had anther flashlight with a rubber cover over the button that eventually tore through after being used heavily over a long period of time just with an easy press of the finger. So it makes me a little concerned that regular stiff pushes with a nail might eventually cause a tear and possibly compromise its waterproofness.

 

[ArcticHighlander]

I definitely prefer the switch on the Armytek better. Granted I have probably stronger fingers from climbing then most, but I have no issues pressing the switch. Don't get me wrong the switch on the zebra light is nice. But I prefer the Armytek as I have yet to have it activate on me by accident. And the biggest point for me, is utilizing the headlamp with heavy gloves. It is nearly impossible with the zebra light. That's something nobody on here has even brought up. To me being able to operate with heavy gloves is important, it is a critical point in favor of the Armytek.

You must have both powerful and small hands if you can manipulate that button with heavy gloves. I have xxl to xxxl size hands and just a pair of heavy leather gloves would make it impossible, let alone trying to use a pair of heavy winter gloves or mittens. :)

 

[petr9999]

we got 10 years warranty right? i wouldnt call that inproper use

 

[ArcticHighlander]

I'd like to see them change the step down to the next higher level or the one just below that. The massive step down and loss of light they have now could result in an accident if on a bike trail or bad hill. I'd also like to see them have a similar range of lumen choices to that of the SC600MKII:

Light Output (OTF Lumens)
High: H1 900Lm for the first 5 min and then step down to 500Lm (2hrs)
or H2 500Lm (2.1hrs) / 270 Lm / 4Hz Strobe
Medium: M1 90Lm (18hrs)
or M2 27Lm (50hrs)
Low: L1 3.0Lm (280hrs)
or L2 0.6Lm / 0.1Lm / 0.02Lm

I don't like to continually change settings, just set a few preferences, for the most part. Preferably low, medium and high. But I'd like to have the full range of options available for when they are needed or useful.

 

[stp]

Re: Proposed New Armytek Wizard Pro UI:

I would love to hear what you guys think about this proposed change in the UI.

I like your version better, would just add from off: double click for last memorized section 2, triple for turbo, quad for strobe. I'm not sure if press and hold from off should put you in mode 1 or rather in last memorized mode from section 1 (I see advantages both ways)

But...you just kinda "zebrafied" the predator ;). The biggest difference between these lights for me is ZL Ui has more efficient way to access any of the preselected modes from on and off but Predator is much, much better in accessing turbo from other modes when on and switching between turbo and section 2. IMHO one is targeted at outdoor people the second more at tactical crowd. I don't think its possible to make both crowds happy with one one-button UI.

Now with your UI look what happened witch switching temporarily between Turbo and section2. Previously it was doubleclick and hold for Turbo, relase to go back. Now it's tripleclick for turbo, doubleclick to go back. With stiff button it could bother after few tries. So to summarize your UI is better for me than the original but for others could be worst.

Now when I started to think about it there should be implemented tripleclick and hold and double click and hold for temporarily accessing different modes in your UI.

Btw. It could be even more "zebrafied" if we would move 550 lm mode to section 3, 30 lm to section 2 and add new low-low to section 1. At that stage you would need to consider if section 3 should be added to other sections for access with double click or not. It has some advantages and some drawbacks. IMHO much more drawbacks.

Also you need to consider what happens when the light is waiting for user to finish clicks...for example when On: click, click (switch section now or wait?), click (turbo now or wait?), click (ah he wanted strobe). There are some traps in deciding if light should act immediately and eventually correct action later in case of more clicks or wait to confirm end of clicks. Example of it you will see when doubleclicking from off in ZL UI.

Another trap in your UI: there may be confusion between for example highest mode in section 1 and lowest in section 2 for inexperienced user. So he will not be sure if he is currently in section 1 or 2 if he don't remember what he used before. He thinks that he is in 1, press and hold to get to firefly and starts ramping light higher instead of lower. To operate current UI's in ZL and Predator you don't need to know where you are, it helps but its not needed because you always have click and hold for ramp up through entire or most of spectrum of lumens output. In your case click and hold will ramp trough half of the modes and they all will be close in output.

PS. Keep in mind that I didn't have Predator in my hands so its all based on how I understand the UI's

 

[ArcticHighlander]

If you want to try the lubrication method before making permanent modifications, whatever your lubricant of choice, here are 1,000+ words of applying it in a tidy fashion.

Put the lubricant on the tip of something blunt (a flat ended toothpick will work fine)
Raise the supporting strap of the silicon loop
Place the lubricant on the silicon or the flashlight
Rotate the flashlight to evenly spread the lubricant
Repeat the procedure for the other silicon loop
Wipe off excess

Thanks for the tips. I used some Super Lube synthetic grease on the back end of a match stick. It was a bit messy even using just a small amount as the fit is so tight that it squeezes out any excess around the sides. But it wasn't difficult to clean up. And it made a huge difference. It was unusable as a headlamp before and this made it possible to adjust with just one hand. It's still stiffer than I'd like but now it's functional.