Why Cu?

Copper lights - what is the attraction?

To me they are heavy, smelly, expensive, and get tarnished and scratched.

Not trying to be mean (really I am just bored hunkering in and sheltering down), just curious
Or should I say “Cu-rious” - see what I did there? (bored)

So, fans of copper, why are you fan of copper?

I have a copper 1xAAA light which is
a. silly - copper’s one advantage is better heat distribution but
b. a 1xAAA does not make enough heat to need it

I like it - but mostly that is because it has a good UI and it cost $10 from massdrop.
I’d probably like it better if it was aluminum.

So again, what are the reasons for copper?

  1. heat dissipation

looks cool

I just chose one as a BLF OL Contest prize - it will be my first.
I guess my thoughts were that the more it’s dropped and scratched, the more rustic and rugged it will look. It’s an active/evolving surface finish that never really looks damaged after the new scratch patinas. It’s for my daughter to play with, so it seemed a good choice.

Copper kills coronavirus.

2. in the dark, it’s easier to find than black (of course, when they’re off).
3. when borrowed, it’s more likely returned (looks do play a part in this).
4. my wife said: “that’s cute!”

Looks.

Pretty counts!

Honestly if it wasn’t for heat dissipation it was mostly for patina purposes.
I’m enjoying the mild patina of my Astrolux S41 from my thigh sweat

my first decent light was bought around 2007, a fenix p1d q5. 500 lumens seemed like 10,000 at that time. in the 10+ years i’ve been buying decent lights, i’ve never bought anything other than aluminum. i’ve never understood the attraction to things like copper, brass, and titanium for a flashlight.

Kills bad virus, hopefully…. :+1: :beer:

I haven’t looked it up, but I kinda suspect the copper needs to be clean and bare to kill germs. A patina or grime is going to prevent the virus from touching the copper.

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.

Thigh sweat? I carry mine in my back pocket.Enough on that topic :question:

Love it!

I don’t care for copper lights, either, but if we all liked the same things, it would be a boring world.

I personally never thought old pennies were attractive, to begin with.

Chris

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 clear coated ones don’t tarnish.

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.

The BLF Special Edition/KRONOS CUX5 is coated… almost 6 yrs old now…

Copper flashlights are pretty, and prettier when the patina come.
But I keep mine as small as possible, I avoid bigger than 16340 flashlights.