What is the "Benefit" in Copper/Titanium/brass lights ?

And it makes your hands smell good… if you like copper.

I think the “exotic materials are pretty much all about aesthetics and having something different.

From a practical perspective, I conclude that aluminum is by far the best material for modern LED flashlights.

  • Aluminum - Pros: very lightweight, good thermal properties (good conductivity and when dark-anodized excellent emissivity), threads work well, can be anodized. Low-cost. Cons: bare aluminum scratches easily. Anodizing can wear off… especially common with cheaper Type II anodizing. Silvery scratches are quite visible against dark-colored anodizing. Polished bare aluminum does not have good thermal emissivity.
  • Titanium - Pros: lightest weight of the exotic materials found in commonly available flashlights. Looks stylish when polished. Much more durable than bare aluminum. Can be anodized or PVD coated. Cons: considerably heavier than aluminum, worse thermal properties, Ti on Ti tends to produce gritty threads.
  • Copper - Pros: looks gorgeous without patina. Some may like the darker patina. Bare copper self-cleans itself of germs via the oligodynamic effect. Excellent heat transfer. Cons: Very heavy. Polished copper has low emissivity compared to dark anodized aluminum (it doesn’t radiate heat well). Heat conductivity may be a bit too good if it means there is no portion of the light cool enough to hold on to. Not very durable if dropped.
  • Brass - Pros: looks similar to copper. Doesn’t dramatically develop a dark patina like pure copper. Cons: Very heavy. Thermal transfer is not as good as copper or aluminum.
  • Stainless Steel - Pros: looks stylish. Extremely strong and durable. Cons: tremendously heavy. Very poor thermal properties.

From a practical perspective, Aluminum wins hands down. It’s just a better material to build a practical flashlight out of. The biggest downside of aluminum is it doesn’t wear well and may not feel special since most lights are aluminum.

Most people aren’t flashaholics like us and regard their flashlights as tools. They don’t care if their flashlight looks scuffed so long as it still works fine. The ultimate purpose of a flashlight is to produce light.

I have titanium and copper lights, and I sometimes EDC them. But sometimes it feels a bit awkward grabbing a light for EDC that is 70% heavier than the aluminum version sitting on the shelf next to it, just so I can have something that looks prettier when not in operation.

Durability counts for a lot when you are relying on a light. Things feel more secure when using a Ti/Cu light than when using aluminum (think coke can, LOL). So aluminum around the house and town, but Ti/Cu on the trail or at least aluminum with a stainless steel bezel. But that is just me, you can always take some extra flashlights.

When I was in the Marines (and still smoked) I had a brass zippo I carried for years. The natural patina on it kind of told its own story. I think I even had a stain on it from a few drops of blood.

Think “old penny”. :smiling_imp:

After a while, they turn brownish and can almost pass for wood.

Dunno. I never got it. I’d prefer that nice deep salmon-pink of pure clean shiny Cu, which only lasts when coated. One little chip in the coating, and you don’t just recoat the chip, but essentially gotta strip it down completely, repolish it, and recoat it.

Aluminium is PLENTY durable, much of climbing safety gear is made out of aluminium

99.9 % of what fails in a flashlight with use (not initial quality defect) aint gonna be the aluminium body

It will be chips, the soldering, the bat, the switch, etc …

As to why these fancy metals …

BLING !!!

Performance wise it doesnt matter in practical use

What do you coat your copper lights with after you polish them?

No idea, as I ain’t got any. Some kind of clearcoat, though.

That’s funny because the patina of copper and brass is arguably even worst looking. It will turn into a smelly rotten antique flashlight pretty quickly.

A aluminum light with multiple scratches and dents will also developed a kind of ‘’patina’’ that has its own charm too. But since its a super cheap material found everywhere it will be considered ugly.

Titanium: very nice strong material but very bad thermal conductivity which rules out its use for any high-powered flashlight for me

Copper: excellent thermal conductivity but high weight and also copper/copper oxides are toxic and nothing that I want in contact with my skin all the time

Brass: just "meh" ;)

Just a curiosity, has anybody try submerging a copper flashligth in ketchup to clean it out. May be stripping the internals and switch first?

thank you, everybody, for this valuable information.

@ZEUSFL, don’t do that. The reason it works is that ketchup contains acetic acid(vinegar), and a tiny bit of phosphoric acid.

You can just use a bath of 2,5% citric acid/lemon juice solution to remove the oxides.

Putting a light in ketchup is not a good idea. Tons of waste and the smell of ketchup on the light.

I guess for each their own. To my eyes chips and scratches are damage and as noted - they tend to really stand out with alu typically having a very different colour from anodization.
Oxidation is not damage to me. It just forms some pattern. Scratches and dents happen too…but normally they are not standing out that much. Actually patina hides them a bit.

To me it’s the opposite - when on a trail I don’t care about looks and take something lightweight. Reliability? Connections are the things that fail the most for me, I’m yet to experience a body failure.
And redundancy is king. I did have a double-failure (and walked with a cell phone light) but such cases exceedingly rare. :wink:

I often hold my neck lights in my mouth. For just this reason I have mixed feelings about that Astrolux A01 Cu…

I like the lightweight Ti offers plus its shiny (well, sorta). I love the smooth, shiny finish of my SS lights… but aluminum really does work great. With a quality HA finish, especially in olive or natural, they look good for a long time, plus a bit of pocket wear on the EDC only ads character.

Titanium: if you don’t care about electrical conductivity, TIAl alloys offer superb yield strength and resistance per weight, so a 4mm thick battery tube can be shrunk down to 2mm, granting you weight savings. Also, since base hardness is higher than aluminium and steel, it doesn’t scratch as easily. Chemical resistance is superb.
Other than that, in the context of flashlights, it’s actually worse than aluminium. More expensive in alloy form. Significantly more expensive in pure form. Actually denser. Much worse electrical and thermal conductivity.

The best application for it in flashlights are weight savings in the battery tube.

Aluminium: Quite low cost. High electrical and thermal conductivity. Lowest density. Easily machinable. Thick anodization can actually make it super durable. Good resistance to corrosion and basic oxidation. Highest thermal capacity per weight.
Worse thermal and electrical conductivity per volume vs copper. Softer than steel and titanium alloys. However, good anodization, as mentioned before, can make it super durable.
Very poor chemical resistance. Most environmentally friendly in terms of mineral extraction and availability.

Copper: Best thermal and electrical conductivity. Easily machinable. Decent chemical resistance. Highest thermal capacity per volume. Can easily be electroplated for some gorgeous surface finishes.
Extremely dense. Very high cost. Softer than aluminium. Oxidizes quite rapidly. Very bad environmental costs in terms of mineral extraction and availability.

Stainless steel: Lowest cost. Highest resistance if weight isn’t a concern. Very high chemical resistance.
High density. Very poor thermal and electrical conductivity. Making stainless steel is actually quite environmentally friendly in terms of mineral extraction. Chromium however, especially hexavalent chromium…

TLDR: Best EDC light design.

Stainless steel bezel.
Titanium-aluminium battery tube.
Nickel plated copper pill.
Aluminium heatsink, with anodized fins.
Beryllium copper springs.
AR glass lens.

I like mine because it’s different.
I Flitz it occasionaly just for fun.

!!

!!

copper is heavy, soft, turns a color i don;t like, and can make your hands smell funny
brass will do that too, make your hand smell funny

ti is lighter, but not really that hard, and expensive, and not a great heat conductor
i do not have a titanium bike either - aluminum is fine for bike and flashlight!

aluminum is cheap and can be anodized pretty colors, heat dissipation and cost are ok with me

wle

“You never have the wind with you - it’s either against you, or you’re having a good day.”
—Daniel Behrman, “The Man Who Loved Bicycles”.


Above.

That pertains to us sailors too mate. Running and reaching only.


Stainless. Nice and shiny.
AND heavy.
Copper goes lovely varying shades of dark and light.
and heavy. Great.
I dislike artificial looking shiny bright Copper. Brass.

Aluminium.
Black, Med Grey, and RED.
Nicest of colours. Heated. Any colour brings out a nice shade too.

It’s all personal. I prefer Med Grey and Black to anything else in a torch.
Heavy and stained Copper for my “different”, and stainless ones.
Nichia 219b, and Cree 5000ish in LED,s.

Convoy C8+ in Copper. MY next waited for light. NW beam.

Waiting. Waiting.

i would still wash my hands!!!
ie not depend on the light, if you are really worried about germs