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Pandemos
421
Feb 8, 2017
I'm a late-to-rate reviewer that received this product to review free of charge. My confirmation email that told me to start posting was blocked because it had multiple markers for spam, or so says my blocker. I'm not going to sugar coat it. It is not perfect. They asked for a review, and I'm going to be honest. I like it, but definitely do not love it.
TL;DR version...it is a good value for only $24.99. Do I think it is a great light? No. But it's much less expensive than most.
First off. The progression of lighting modes. Mine was Medium, Light, High. I absolutely hate it. It is the worst linear progression of settings there can possibly be, in my experience, and whoever thought it was a good idea shouldn't give ideas. It is a daily thorn in my side. I hear the production version makes more sense, for my purposes. It is now LMH and I applaud that choice.
Light to Med to High, makes sense. Sometimes you need to keep it low to not annoy others when it starts. Then it naturally progresses higher and higher.
High to Med to Light makes sense...sometimes you need to be defensive. Then it naturally progresses lower.
Medium to High to Light makes sense, sometimes you want the most used feature of medium regularly available, but quickly to a bright setting if you need that boost for defensive reasons or otherwise quick need of a high brightness.
Medium to Light to High is incredibly poorly thought out. What a waste. It is almost blinding--but more of an annoyance, if not ready for it--then dim as 3 candles, then incredibly blinding. Seriously, who worked this out in this order? Can't figure out the logic. Otherwise, it's a good value, but really a terrible sequence in my uses. This was a major step back for "why I would buy this." Maybe you like that order, so the old version would have been better.
Besides that, the clip gets caught up a bit, but is okay. The brass gets scratched easy, but it's brass, so you should expect that to be part of the breaking in and adding of character...and it's $25 dollars. Also, the cap could be receded a bit. I had to change the battery 3 times on the VERY FIRST DAY because I kept on accidentally hitting it and activating the light...ON MEDIUM SO IT WOULD BURN OUT FAST...while pulling out my knife for regular duty. Once I switched it to my offhand pocket, it was less of a problem. They need to recede that cap on the back so it doesn't trigger when you breathe on it. Did I mention I hate MLH (the settings, not the college writing format)? So glad they changed it.
For this extremely inexpensive performance light I'm not expecting the best, but just something good and hopefully thought out. It wasn't very well thought out initially, but I'm glad they are adapting after reviews from community members.
From what I've seen so far, they need to recess the cap, make a more streamlined or grippier clip so it doesn't catch on other items in the pocket and fall out so easily. Maybe start with 1 lumen instead of 3. I didn't have a problem with that brightness, but some people seem pretty irritated by it.
The Pros: -Brass gets worn, but I like the petina over time. -Inexpensive -Quite bright! -Good Size -Attractive casing -Glow in the dark bushing makes it easy to find if dropped...but it is VERY short lived on glow.
The Cons: -Cap is flush, not receded. You are going to burn it out a few times before you figure out there's an issue if you aren't careful. -Scratches easily and frequently, but it's brass...that goes with the material. -Clip has poor retention. If you draw your keys out of a pocket, it will catch quite easily. Not an issue for me with a Beta-QR or Surefire, in my experience. But those are much more expensive, again. -Lanyard hole is VERY small.
Overall 8/10. Good value and it works, poor cap design hold it back. Like the LMH change, but to each their own.
MassD
86
Feb 8, 2017
PandemosProduction light will be LMH, so half of your review is irrelevant to the readers.
Pandemos
421
Feb 8, 2017
MassDWhere does it say that?
enianen
62
Feb 8, 2017
Pandemoshttps://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-brass-aaa-pocket-flashlight/talk/1582662, which is linked from a blue box on the description page of the drop.
Pandemos
421
Feb 8, 2017
enianenThanks, found it. "When you power on the samples, they start in medium power mode, then cycle to low, then cycle to high. DB Custom suggested we have them start in low, cycle to medium, then high. It’s a much better choice and Lumintop will be programming the production units as such."
Thank god, the MLH was terrible for daily use.
Pandemos
421
Feb 8, 2017
MassDDidn't see that, my review was based on the experience with the flashlight I received.
Glad they "saw the light", as it were and changed the progression. I'll rework my review to reflect that in a bit.
jon_slider
77
Feb 8, 2017
Pandemoswell, the production version will be LMH with a 3 lumen low.
my pet peeve is, I wish the Low was 1 lumen or less
Pandemos
421
Feb 9, 2017
jon_slider1 lumen is nice on my Beta QR, I'd totally agree with that. Less than a lumen, I wouldn't have much use. I really don't see where 3 lumens is "too bright", though. It's a directional beam, so if you need to keep from distracting people, point it at the ground. The ground isn't going to reflect a lot from 3 lumens unless you are somewhere with waxed/shiny floors.
jon_slider
77
Feb 9, 2017
Pandemos> really don't see where 3 lumens is "too bright" Compare your 1 lumen Beta to your 3 lumen Tool, when you wake up in the dark to go pee.. I prefer the 1 lumen for fully dark adapted situations
Pandemos
421
Feb 9, 2017
MassD100% Relevant now. Thanks for the heads up.
Pandemos
421
Feb 9, 2017
jon_sliderHasn't been an issue for me, I've used it for just that. Maybe I have quick irises or something. But I get where you're coming from.
Zmanz
15
Feb 11, 2017
PandemosAlthough you hate the M-L-H i absolutely love it. I received my cree Ti version a few days ago and have been using it since for work. It coming on in M is perfect for me and my use. I love one click on instead of progressing through low to get m. M is perfect for lighting up equipment in the early mornings doing a walk around. I carry it in my busy pocket and have yet to have it dislodge becasue of the clip catching. I love this Ti for my purpose but the l-m-h of production will be better suited for everything else but work for me. As for the button I haven't had it turn on yet unless i wanted it on. Maybe the little split ring i added prevents it I dont know.
MassD
86
Feb 12, 2017
PandemosOther than what Jon said about waking up in the middle of the night, other situations that call for sub lumen mode include reading the menu in very dark restaurants (did that many times), and changing camera settings when doing astro-photography.
In short, whenever your eyes are already acclimated to complete or almost complete darkness, one lumen or less is all you need to see what's very close to you. Anything brighter is either unnecessary or even undesirable (fellow astrophotographers frown upon anyone shining anything other than firefly brightness.)
Pistonsandgears
1
Feb 12, 2017
jon_sliderI agree also, I wish the low was lower. My favorite light for such things is my Thrunite Ti which is 0.5 lumens on low, for me it is plenty of light to get around a dark room without tripping on things. It also defaults to come on in the low setting so I don't have to cycle through medium to get to it (as I do on the titanium Lumintop and copper Maratac) I am glad to see they at least fixed the sequence on this brass version.
Sinbadj
5
Feb 14, 2017
MassDWhy make such a fuzz over a personal preference like sequence? I for example like all my lights having the same sequence, all being replacement for fenixld01 most convenient to me is m-l-h You like the settings or not, apart from the build-quality. Something to vote about :-) ?
MassD
86
Feb 14, 2017
SinbadjSomebody else is being fussy, because if you read through the threads, you'll notice I actually advocate the factory default. Some 'expert' came in and convinced Massdrop to get the default changed.
Sinbadj
5
Feb 14, 2017
MassDThanks for reply MassD. You're absolutely right: did not read carefully.. wasnt meant offensive anyway :-) but yeah, was wondering. Sorry to mix you up in my confusion 😵 And thanks for clearing out 👌thats what light s about!
MassD
86
Feb 14, 2017
SinbadjThanks for your positive comment. It sure brightens my day!
Zmanz
15
Feb 14, 2017
MassDI agree..... after using the Ti a few more days i quite like the factory default modes. But like above its all personal preference. I will made due with any of the Tool series its a fantastic little light. Cant wait till these brass beauties show up.
nuke
34
Jan 23, 2020
PistonsandgearsI wish this light was programmable so we could activate an extra-low "firefly" mode, and choose whether the light turns on from dimmest-to-brightest or brightest-to-dimmest. Firefly mode is also sometimes called moonlight mode or a sublumen mode, because it's less than 1 lumen of light. I own an L3 Illumination L08 Nichia 219, and love that I was able to purchase it with 4 modes of output which turn on in order of XL-L-M-H, which are 0.09, 3, 30, and 90 lumens. I frequently use the firefly mode since it's still plenty of light in a dark indoor room, is much less likely to disturb my roommates, and lets the battery last way longer! I used to own an L3 Illumination L10, which was the same as the L08 except with a AA battery and High brightness increased to 120 lumens. Streamlight allows programming with their TEN-TAP system. The Skilhunt M200 has an extremely powerful customizable UI. There are 8 brightness levels built in, and you can program the cycling to go between just two of those brightnesses, or all of the brightnesses, or anything in between. See more details about this programming in the post at http://budgetlightforum.com/node/71618
(Edited)