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.
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.