Uhhh, do these guys realize right angle headlamp exist? lmao
Also, they just picked a Samsung LH351D with a micro TIR lens that has a wide beam…
It’s just a normal flashlight with some right angle headlamp DNA.
Does it look like it is plastic to anyone else? So we have a relatively cheap LED, cheap optic… cheap plastic body (bad heat management?) … but huge price ??
The only thing unique is the accelerometer for changing brightness. If it is anything like my phone, it probably gets confused too easily.
Anyway, hard pass.
Maglite tried this a while back with the XL100, except the light was rotated along its central axis (by twisting your wrist). It also depended on which way the light was facing as to whether you got strobe, SOS, etc. Not a very good idea when you can’t see the writing on the tail in the dark…
They’re selling that light now for $20. Granted, it’s a 3xAAA with much lower output…
Mag did the accelerometer for changing brightness thing over 10 years ago and it was really horrible to use or get an accurate output setting. For this light, the ergos are the only draw for me. A front clip light that directed down at 45 degrees would also be great. But this light isn’t it.
Sure, do what you want. You seem to be assuming that people here aren’t all over this thing because of the cost. My assumption is that people here aren’t all over it because it’s slick marketing laid over an underwhelming light that doesn’t bring any useful new features to the table.
I’ve got a lot of lights that cost a whole lot more than this one, so that isn’t really a consideration. My consideration for a light purchase is simply “does it perform a task I need done better than the tool I already have?” I scroll through that ad and the answer is simply no.
Why are you being so sour that people here don't find this light as amazing as you do?
I smelled a shill form the get-go, and not a very good one.
They advertise you wearing this on your vest while fishing, How do you change modes? You have to take the light of just to change modes defeats the purpose? Imagine being a on rocky boat trying to change brightness lol. I do some times wear lights on my hat while fishing i guess you could maybe hold the button and tilt your head but its a fairly awkward movement to change modes.
Would be interested if it were going for around $70. Keep the screw driver and the other freebies.
The OP lens is interesting..."We designed a lens that’s actually 200 microlenses together." They could have just picked some random OP lens and save some development time and expense.
Looks a lot like a Fitorch ER26. But the ER26 has a swivel head and magnetic charging, and I think a better clip. About $70, wait for a sale.
Beaded optics are nothing new and I doubt they themselves designed it from scratch. This company seems to like to credit themselves for doing things that have been done before.
I do like the adjustable clip and the ergonomics but the way my dog walks me I’d be messing with the output every couple of seconds.
They got Batman for the voiceover though…that’s something.
Sorry if I come across sour, yes the video is very cheesy. and yes you are entitled to your opinion, again sorry.
“Patented” is an instant turn-off for me — and I say that as someone who has 78 issued US patents. They are a necessary evil in our current system, but I would gladly give all of mine away in exchange for abolishing the concept.
When a company says “patented”, what they mean to convey is “super innovative”, but it’s really just the age-old logical fallacy known as “appeal to authority”. What they’re really saying is, “our thing is super innovative because the federal government says so; if it seems like just a normal flashlight with the head at a weird angle, that’s because you’re stupid.”
More importantly, it’s marketing 101 that you explain how your product benefits the consumer, not how it screws your competitors. The literal meaning of “patented” is “we have a government-enforced monopoly for 17 years”. Great for you, terrible for everyone else.
… 45degree angle . Why not 48 or 38? We can set any angle on L or T shape headlamps and have free hands! Why not to make just a horizontal clip for headlamp to wear it on your front pocket or pant belt? BTW its nice to wear headlamp on neck too.
I’m all for innovation and new designs, so I’m glad these guys are trying something a bit different.
That said, some flaws prevent me being interested in this light (mostly covered already):
1) tilt to adjust brightness is a bit of a gimmick for me, as others have said, how’d you change brightness if it’s clipped to your belt etc…?
2) I don’t agree with their super-ergonomic design claims, if I’m out walking, this design will require me to walk around with my arm up like a t-rex… I still find tube lights with side button most convenient.
3) Didn’t watch the video (I hate the dumbing down, “video-ification” of communicating) but how does this work as a headlamp? I want the light pointing where I’m looking!.
As an additional comment, my first impression was that this was a tilt forward/back for brightness light, which would have actually made more sense (tip forward to light your feet, requires less light than pointing up at the path ahead).
Can’t wait til we get a BLF light that does this.
If it could run something like MicroPython then you could potentially record and create different interfaces with the accelerometer and machine learning.
Some ideas:
- Shake for strobe
- Beacon mode when dropped (accidentally)
- Turn off thermal step down if being thrown
- Don’t turn on in pocket
And please don’t forget: “Gimme all ya got” (if you need to jump over the bad guys).
Ten years or so ago I remember Maglite introduced these 1in diameter cylindrical LED 3XAA LED flashlights with tailswitch. I got the 200XL model, and it was a programmable multimode light that used position sensing for its UI. What I loved most is the same as the the big innovative feature on the Darkfade:
Hold the button down and twist the light axially for variable ramping brightness. It was incredibly intuitive and simple to use compared to the L-M-H-Strobe-SOS sequential UI hell, hold for OFF that plagued almost all lights at that time. That motion sensing of the 200XL was sheer genius and I wonder why it was unique to that Mag 200XL... until the Darkfade.
The price is way too high, but at least they're using a Samsung LH351D and user swap 18650s. Darkfade is very proud of its charging circuit offering full functionality connected to a Powerbank with USB-C. Clearly a near field flood task light with that lens.
I applaud any attempt at innovation and give them credit for that. 45 degrees, hmm? Alas the price is a deal breaker. A for effort, Darkfade.
There’s a program called GlovePIE that allows actions from a Wii remote to emulate keyboard/mouse actions. Might be worth looking into if you’re interested in this kind of thing.