Just wanted to share what’s been going on in my head for a while….
My EDC light is my most used light. This is a special situation and it calls for special light…
So what qualities do I want it to possess?
- Price
I can actually pay a lot for the most used light. In coins per use or coins per hour of use - that will be a cheap light anyway. And even a small improvement over cheaper lights mutiplied by lots of use becomes much larger - so it’s worth paying extra to get a better light.
But when I pay a lot I try to avoid spending on things I don’t need. Brand name? Doesn’t matter. Uniqueness? Doesn’t matter. Made by ABC? Doesn’t matter. Made in XYZ? Doesn’t matter. Has a feature X that I may use once in a lifetime? Doesn’t matter. - Longevity
Did I speak about price per use or per hour of use?
The longer a light lasts the more use it will have over its lifetime. So I want this light to work well for many years. This is well worth paying extra for. I see several major factors to it.- upgradability
To stay as a top performer over the years - the light needs at least swappable LEDs. Swappable driver would be a plus as well as non-proprietary MCPCB (so I can use any LED package) - toughness
The light must not break in a fatal way. But it should also resist non-fatal damage well. Including cosmetic. If the light looks good I’ll be much happier to use it years after the purchase than if it doesn’t. - replaceable cell
LiPo lights won’t perform well when getting a lot of use for many years. If the light uses LiPo - it must be some standard format and it must be fairly easy to replace. If it uses a cell size for which only 1 manufacturer is known (10250/26350/…) - it should be able to use a more common cell as a fallback even if it needs a body extension for that. - serviceability
In general things should be easier to fix than they are to break. Not always doable…but a good goal. - independence from proprietary tech
It has a bluetooth app? That app may not work with my next phone. Configuration via website? The website may die with its owner a year from now.
These are not really a problem as long as they cover optional features only and the light is fully functional without them. But when I consider them as stuff that may die long before the host does - I don’t value them much…. - spare parts
Spares should be available. Best from more than 1 source. Custom ones could be provided with light (lens?)
- upgradability
- Size and weight
I use the light a lot but I carry it way more. It must deliver enough utility to justify its bulk. It should provide significantly more utility than any significantly less bulky light.
I said it should be tough…but definitely not overbuilt. Using quality material means a lot here.
It should also avoid bulky features unless they add a lot of value.
I should give a special mention to RovyVon Aurora here. Plastic body + LiPo = really low weight. At the small size when you drop a light, impact energy is low so it shouldn’t break. I don’t know if they are tough enough to last (I know they are not serviceable though). And I wonder how will they look as they accumulate scratches. But they could be durable and if they are - they are awesome in what they deliver for the weight. - Performance
When it comes to performance the light must be a top notch for the size/weight. It should be the top notch. That’s another reason not to overbuild….because a year after the purchase a brand X will release a light with a larger cell and larger optics that will punk yours for a fraction of price while being just marginally larger. - Optics
They must produce a beam shape that matches my needs well.
Optics are a big part of what makes a light perform. Also - unlike LEDs they can last as long as the host….but are not guaranteed to; they tend to be one of the more damage-prone parts.
So optics should be of very high quality.
One can spend really a lot of money on optics. Many hundreds of dollars per light with stock parts, way more with custom. A limit is needed somewhere… For my dream EDC I would choose the limit above what nearly all lights spend. But nowhere near the top.
I am willing to pay half the light price in optics. If a certain light needs complex optics they can cost even twice as much as the rest. - UI
This is critical. Must be very comfortable for my needs. This applies to both physical UI and to firmware.
I’d like to specifically mention battery check. Pulling a DMM every time I try to check battery is not good UI. BLF lights tend do well here but many others fail.
Another special mention goes to 1-handed operation. It’s not strictly necessary but very useful. And it should be not just possible but actually comfortable. All small twisties fail to be comfortable for me. I’ve had one small side-switch light - and the switch needs to be found before use which is a comfort failure as well. - Runtime
Must be enough for a single day. Should be enough for a week.
Even 10180 does it for me so for me it’s just a secondary parameter. A larger cell might be preferred to get higher currents though. - Looks
Must be OK. But more than OK has a lot of value, I’d say that the light should look very well.
So … what light would it be?
- 14250 unibody with 14500 extension
- 14500 is a fallback for the case that I can’t source new 14250 cells, but would be used also when I predict the need for more energy
- aspheric zoomie
- I love aspheric flooders for EDC and zoomie is just better
- 2 lenses
- a strong lens is needed for efficiency. A single strong lens focuses badly. 2 weaker ones would be just as strong but focus better
- plastic - for low weight and cost
- as high quality as one can get w/out polishing (which is costly)
- multilayer AR coated
- both are the same - that’s not optimal for performance but should reduce cost
- 16 mm diameter, 14 mm focal length?
- collar catching light that doesn’t hit the lens
- finely machined aluminum
- maybe MgF2 coated unless that’s too expensive
- note: dual-lens setup allows to collect light from a wide angle. Not much light is left for the collar. Compared with Wavien Collar such setup:
- will give much more light OTF
- will throw much less
- will not block the flood beam quite as much
- overall the flood beam would be quite narrow, it’s hard to fix that. But the idea is to have it not too narrow.
- twisty zooming action
- I often stated how I loved push-pull zoomies. But for this light I’d choose a twisty
- won’t accidentally zoom in our out while being pulled out
- better waterproofing and thermals are a plus as well
- steel or titanium bezel - as thin as possible
- Alu 7068 body. Or 7034. OK, 7075 would do as well
- I read that 7068 is 3-4 times costlier than 6061. Doesn’t seem to make a meaningful difference here.
- very tough anodization
- tail e-switch
- lighted, indicating battery voltage (green-50-yellow-30-red-10%-none)
- I often expressed my love for QTC twisties and similar UIs. I still love them but for a neck light I prefer a switch.
- high-cri LED
- so many cool options…hard to decide
- Nicha 319A with its hexagonal die :heart_eyes:
- SST-20 with its small die for good throw (and collar will make it rosier)
- LH351D with its superb efficacy
- Luxeon Z ES would probably throw best but with small output
- so many cool options…hard to decide
- FET or FET+1 driver
- though FET-based linear would be significantly better - for compatibility with future LEDs
- carried on the neck
