Review: Hypetac P1A SS (1x AAA)

The switch sticks out 3 mm no matter if it's on or off.

Nice! Decent price for a Shiningbeam light. Thanks so much for the great review! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.

Yesterdays Fire is today's Tac!

Marc.

Wait, no more fandyfire?!? No!!!

Thank you Mr. Admin!

BTW, maybe I should reserve the brand name "FireTac"

Over on CPF is a review of the Bronte RA02. This is probably the same light as the Hypetac P1A in a slightly different exterior and with minor tweaks on the electronics. By the way, that review is a lot more thorough than mine and every interested user might want to double check, because most of it applies to the P1A as well.

The packaging looks the same, overall design is the same, the underside of the circuit board looks the same, brightness levels are also in the same range.

I think that Hypetac and Bronte are just sales brands and their flashlights are manufactured in the same factory.

After having used this light for some time I discovered a little design flaw that sometimes shows when using rechargeable batteries.

I noticed that sometimes when shaking the light it would flash on even with the switch in the off-position, other times after switching off it would stay on and needed a few shakes to go off.

To illustrate what was going on, first I'll show you a side-by-side-shot of an alkaline AAA cell and a rechargeable AAA cell. Note that on the rechargeable cell the negative pole takes up the whole area of the cylinder bottom:




And here's a schematic drawing of the P1A battery tube (click to enlarge):


At the end of the battery tube, there is a metal ledge around the spring with very little clearance to the negative battery end. When using a rechargeable battery, the negative pole sometimes touches that ledge and, bypassing the switch, closes the circuit.

My solution was to cut out a washer with an outer diameter of 10mm and an inner diameter of 6mm and place it inside the battery tube on top of that ledge. At first I cut it out od a .5mm guitar pick, but that was already too thick. I am using .2mm carton now and I didn't encounter this effect ever since.

I guess in Germany you have different types of batteries. In the US negative poles are always flat and take up the whole end.

That's interesting, didn't know that! That means even more batteries would be affected.

Of course there's also a possibility that my particular light is missing some isolation piece in the bottom, but I somehow doubt that. And I won't order a second one to check

Just a minor status update - I have grown so fond of that little bugger that I almost feel naked when I leave the house without it.

The pocket clip is doing a great job since I bent it to increase the tension, and the light it is perfectly reliable with the diy washer mod.

You have to carry it clipped to a pocket though, I had it in a jacket pocket a few times and it managed to turn on and drain a battery once.

Hi,

I know that this is a really old review thread, but I just got one of these from shiningbeam.com, and at least initially, I’m finding it very nice. I have several AAA twisties, including a ITP A3 EOS (upgraded) and an Illumina Ti, which are much smaller, but I really like having a clicky switch on a AAA light, which is what this HypeTac has.

Also, I like that it turns on in medium mode instead of high or low. A good compromise IMO.

Besides the clicky, the stainless steel light really “caught my eye”. It’s actually pretty nice aesthetically, and not just a plain shiny tube, but the grooves on the head and tail end give it a kind of “designer” look.

Finally, re. the clip: I don’t wear pens or lights in my shirt or pants pockets, but I ordered a lobster claw from shiningbeam.com at the same time, I put the split ring on the clip, and will wear it like that on a belt loop. I also do the same when I’m carrying the ITP and Illumina Ti (but not all at the same time :)!)…

Thanks for the review and pics.

Jim

P.S. Has anyone tried this light with a 10440 yet?

Glad you like it!

Concerning the 10440 cells, the manufacturer states that it is alkaline/NiMH only, so personally, I wouldn't try it just to be safe.
However, if you are a more daring fella than me...

Hi,

This light has been out for awhile, so I was hoping that someone else had tried it :)…

In general, what would determine if it’s safe or not? Is it the # of amps that the driver is spec’ed for? Or something else?

Jim

P.S. Besides, I don’t have any 10440s yet :)…

Well first of all, the driver components must be rated for the higher voltage. If that is the case, the thermal path of the LED must be good enough to wick the additional heat away.

It's really hard to predict anything, it could be an instant driver fry, or it could work fine at first but with a reduced lifespan...

You could try and ask the manufacturer, I think they've got a contact form somewhere on http://www.hypetac.com/

I may do that (ask mfr), but I’m always hesitant to do that, lest they say “no” :)…

“It’s easier to say you’re sorry than to ask for permission” or something like that.

Jim

In case you like coloured flashlight, the Hypetac P1A's almost identical twin brother, the Bronte RA02 is available in red and blue for $ 22 @ manafont:

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/bronte-ra02-cree-xpg-r5-led-95lumen-3mode-flashlight-aaa-red-p-12828

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/bronte-ra02-cree-xpg-r5-led-95lumen-3mode-flashlight-aaa-blue-p-12827

There's also a 2AAA version (RA03) available for only $2 more.

Shining Beam has the 2xAAA one also (http://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/the-73/HypeTac-P2A-SS-LED/Detail) also, in stainless, which would be domestic in the U.S.

Jim

Right! The black aluminum version seems to be sold out though.

Hi Steve,

Do you know if this’ll take 10440 batteries?

Jim

According to DX, the Bronte RA02 takes 10440 cells, but I wouldn't count on that, as the manufacturer doesn't state anything like that...