Copper looks pretty. Some like it bright and shiny, others like to have a patina develop. I like bright and shiny. To me Copper lights are shelf queens. They can be extra pretty when the CU is combined with polished S/S. But those are also shelf queens to me. Too heavy to drop in a pocket.
I think it’s just looks. Why do some women like gold? There are much better materials to make jewelry out of but, the gold gets em every time.
I got rid of most of my copper lights. A Reylight, Olight and Maratac are all that remain. The Reylight is the only one that gets carried. The Olight and Maratac are in the wife’s purse. She could care less about flashlights but she sure does like the copper lights. You also can’t leave anything with aux lights laying around. They will find their way into her purse as well. I use to have a D4v2, now I only have visitation rights.
3. Looks. Some of them are very nice looking. FW3a is outstanding in Cu.
4. Fit and finish. In my limited experence some Cu lights are better made than the Al version.
The oligodynamic effect that kills germs works if the copper has a patina. It doesn’t need to be shiny.
However, I don’t think it can have a protective coating like Protectaclear on it. The copper metal must be exposed.
COVID-19 was tested to see how long it survives on various materials. Copper was one of the specific materials tested. These were the results:
Airborne - 3 hours
Copper - 4 hours
Fibrous material like cloth - 24 hours
Hard material (plastic, steel, etc.) - 3 days
The article I read didn’t test COVID-19 for it, but copper alloys like Brass also have self-disinfecting effect. It’s not as strong or as fast as pure copper though.
Aesthetics is the only reason why I got myself a few lights out of copper. It’s a sexy material, the way it tarnishes. But it’s certainly not the ideal material for flashlight casings. Great for a driver pill. Excellent thermal venting in that application. But it’s heavy, dents easily, and it’s more expensive than steel or aluminum alloy.
It’s understandable why copper is still used so much. I have been very drawn to buying more flashlights made of copper, simply because it looks so great. Thankfully, I’ve been good at resisting. The only regret I have in getting one was the Astrolux A01. It’s like a small bone, heavy and kind of silly for its size.
Because Old Lumens is a god on this forum and he built one from scratch by hand with his genius use of old tools in his garage, and it looked beautiful.
Everybody dreams of being able to build a light like that, but few have the skills.
But everybody can buy one and have the vicarious thrill of the master. just my 2¢
I only like copper for it’s thermal properties.
I tend to use them exclusively in the house, mostly these two hand made fellas.
I don’t really care for varying patina which happens when handling so a solid copper light with a little cf covering works for me. Keeps the light from feeling scalding hot on max while also conducting enough heat to the hand.