Maybe some of you know this brand I founded years ago… well, it would be a long story to tell you how comes the company, with its excellent reputation among divers and cavers closed its doors, but the thing is that it was back in 2011, months after I was fired from my own company…
Well, it took me a lot of work, investment and time to recover what we started back in 2004, but finally we are proud to announce that we are here again. We are still focussed in our niche of high end diving lights, keeping the genetics of our products, and releasing some new things, such as the pure flood light you can see below.
We have made lights for exploration, and because of it we had an idea, to reinterpret and recreate a beautiful flashlight that was made exclusively for Apollo project missions. We could say the only flashlight that has landed on the moon. We have made Kickstarter project of it.
_(Not as big as it seems on the picture, it was just a 2xAA flashlight that was carried on the suit.)
_
I will be more than happy to explain you all the details you want about them and reply to any question if you want to know more, but if you don’t mind and in order to keep things organized I will start a new thread for each topic.
Josey Wales both of the lights look amazing, the first one is a work of art.
Please give us some details. Emitter, battery size, lumens, amps, price? all the good stuff.
Thanks Will,
You can check them on the website, but to start with I can tell you that it is a 92 mm long light with a pure flood ultra efficient beam, high CRI, 4000ºK… and of course water resistant to –200 meter. Has 4 working modes.
Welcome to the forum! I’m familiar with Barbolight, although I’ve never had one myself. Those old lights had a really good reputation though, so I’m glad to see you making a comeback. I had seen that Apollo penlight replica kickstarter already but somehow I had missed that someone actually associated with the original was involved with the project. That makes it more compelling to me. It definitely appeals to both the collector and the astronomy buff in me, but I’ve been on the fence about actually buying in. I’ll have to revisit it.
Oh, and that floodlight looks amazing. Are those Nichia 219c’s?
Well, no one associated with the original product is involved on the “reborn” of the light. We have been involved in underwater exploration, but that is all the coincidence.
And to be honest is not an exact replica, but a fully functional flashlight updated to nowadays finest technology. Externally is 99% similar to the original one, and we even have used a warm white high CRI LED, but it is waterproof, way brighter, has a wide beam, with a floody, not blinding, high CRI light intended for confined environments, map and instruments reading.
On the Apollo the emitter is a CREE XPL-HI, 3000ºK high CRI. absolutelly underdriven to 1 watt, which is giving us amazing performance.
On the V04 they are Refond 2835 0,5 watt double chip. used on industrial light, with an efficiency over 140 lm/watt. Also high CRI; 4000ºK. (we do make many regular lighting devices and after analyzing hundreds of LEDs those ones are some of the best you can find. Max drive current is 1400 mA on the board.
I’m strangely tempted by this light. I think its just beautiful, and the price isn’t bad really (eur 115). Plus being dive-rated to 200m is really cool, even if its not something I need. But I’m not familiar with those LEDs, and at “only” 595 lumens in a mule arrangement, it won’t really be a lot of light. I’m not one of those lumen chasers normally, even though we all love a ton of output every once in a while, but still mules feel weak anyway.
I would like some more information than what’s on the site though. It looks like a multi-mode light but no sign of a switch, which isn’t surprising with such a pressure rating. I assume its a twisty, but would like that confirmed. And does it just work like a normal twisty - cycle it off and back on to change modes?
Tomorrow I’ll open a thread on this light. Yes, as you guessed is a twist-on light; if you cycle off-on in less than 2 seconds, it will switch to the next mode. If it is longer than 2 seconds, it will start again on high mode.
595 lm is the real amount of lumen, and it looks and feels like a lot of light. It is hard to say this, but after testing many lights with precise and expensive equipment (Everfine integrating spheres and goniophotometers) , we can say that the majority of flashlight makers are not accurate when it comes to describe the lumen output; they all do tend to fail on the upper side. Of course, there is serious people, but in general the pressure from the “cheaters” is very high and even fair manufacturers with quality products tend to be optimistic. Why this situation? Mostly because an accurate integrating sphere won’t be less than 5000 US$, and the average user or distributor can’t invest on them. I have tested well known brands which products are usually overrated by a 50% to 75% factor. Even close friends have told me many times to use the same “standards” as competitors and I must confess I have been tempted by this, but I would rather spend time on posts like this… at the end a lumen is a lumen, not 1,5 lumens.
Thank you for the response and I’ll wait for your “official” thread to have more discussion on it. I’m very intrigued to say the least. And I know exactly what you mean about the inaccuracies in lumen measurements. I (and many of us here) are familiar with how that works. And its not just a “budget China” problem - many well known, trustworthy brands use calculated or “emitter” lumens instead of real out-the-front measurements. Its good to know you guys are reporting actual numbers.
There will be in less than three weeks permanent stock of lights and parts in USA as well as service center (in LA to start with), as well as in many other countries. In France, UK, SPAIN… we need to update that on the website.
Yes, it does get renewal when maintenance is done. Thanks for pointing that, we will rewrite it to leave no doubt on it.
Replacement of all o-rings (tailcap and head, total 3. We just use high quality NBR o-rings).
Replacement of polycarbonate lens.
Cleaning old lubricant and lubricate again (our lubricant can last more than two years).
Resealing again the external ring.
Test on pressure chamber.
No shipping included (it will be within your country).
Price: 30 US$
We will offer too an advanced maintenance, and this means the previous procedure plus replacing the whole light engine for an upgraded one (if technology has advanced… and it will) and the batteries, but at this point we can’t tell prices. Batteries at that point will cost way less than now, and there isa big chance that we will be using 20700 instead of 18650.
But I’m not familiar with those LEDs, and at “only” 595 lumens in a mule arrangement, it won’t really be a lot of light. I’m not one of those lumen chasers normally, even though we all love a ton of output every once in a while, but still mules feel weak anyway.