New Ti Lights
Flashlights and Titanium go together like peanut butter and jelly, ketchup and mustard, porn and the Internet...you get the idea. But the cost of machining lights out of titanium is prohibitively high. Ti is usually the medium of a custom maker. But a few companies of jumped into the Ti fray. JetBeam released the TC-R2 (and other, smaller run Ti lights), Sunwayman released the V10R Ti. 4sevens has a series of Ti lights, many of which are out of production.
But a new company has thrown their hat into the Ti arena and the results are really promising. Eagletac announced that they are doing special versions of their D25 series in all titanium. This is a pretty cool deal. The D25 line looked impressive to begin with: a simple UI (twisty, three main outputs with hidden SOS), a bolted on clip, and the ability to tailstand. The form factor is excellent. But then there is the bleeding edge emitters (XMLs) with awesome output. These aren't fakey numbers either, they are using ANSI lumen standards (a more controlled form of measuring lumens). Both the single cell CR123a and AA lights are among the best in their class in terms of output and runtime. Even without the titanium, these are bitchin' lights.
But with the titanium...ahhhh! Sublime. Here is a shot of the D25A Mini Ti (the CR123a light):
That is one good looking light. The price is not too bad either--around $65. All in all, I think this is a good light to spend some of your Christmas cash on. There is an older S2 emitter out there, so be careful (not that it really matters, but I know I'd rather have the XML if I had the choice).
As I was writing this I was talking to my wife, a chemistry professor. She knows her elements, right? So I told her: "You know, there are people out there that really like Titanium". Her response? "You know, you are one of them, right?"
Yes. I admit it. I have a problem. I love Titanium.
Then she threw down the gauntlet. Titanium is nothing really. Silver, eh...Gold, well okay, but nothing special.
"You really want a rare metal to fashion into a flashlight," she says to me, "get one made out of Rhodium, then I will be impressed."
Rhodium, FYI, is a super inert version of platinum. Only rarer, more useful, and vastly more expensive. It is by far, the most expensive metal (as of 2010, it is roughly $88K a kilogram while gold was $36K). So, Photon Fanatic, how about it? An all rhodium light.
But a new company has thrown their hat into the Ti arena and the results are really promising. Eagletac announced that they are doing special versions of their D25 series in all titanium. This is a pretty cool deal. The D25 line looked impressive to begin with: a simple UI (twisty, three main outputs with hidden SOS), a bolted on clip, and the ability to tailstand. The form factor is excellent. But then there is the bleeding edge emitters (XMLs) with awesome output. These aren't fakey numbers either, they are using ANSI lumen standards (a more controlled form of measuring lumens). Both the single cell CR123a and AA lights are among the best in their class in terms of output and runtime. Even without the titanium, these are bitchin' lights.
But with the titanium...ahhhh! Sublime. Here is a shot of the D25A Mini Ti (the CR123a light):
That is one good looking light. The price is not too bad either--around $65. All in all, I think this is a good light to spend some of your Christmas cash on. There is an older S2 emitter out there, so be careful (not that it really matters, but I know I'd rather have the XML if I had the choice).
As I was writing this I was talking to my wife, a chemistry professor. She knows her elements, right? So I told her: "You know, there are people out there that really like Titanium". Her response? "You know, you are one of them, right?"
Yes. I admit it. I have a problem. I love Titanium.
Then she threw down the gauntlet. Titanium is nothing really. Silver, eh...Gold, well okay, but nothing special.
"You really want a rare metal to fashion into a flashlight," she says to me, "get one made out of Rhodium, then I will be impressed."
Rhodium, FYI, is a super inert version of platinum. Only rarer, more useful, and vastly more expensive. It is by far, the most expensive metal (as of 2010, it is roughly $88K a kilogram while gold was $36K). So, Photon Fanatic, how about it? An all rhodium light.