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Detailed
Information:
Have you ever picked up something and it just seems
that from the moment it goes in your hand you can tell
that it's something special? It seems to be solid, well
built, and has all the features you think it should
and then some. Then you fiddle with it a little bit
and discover a flaw in the design of one part that holds
it back from recognizing its full potential. You can
probably live with the flaw, but you say to yourself
"Why didn't they take care of this obvious shortcoming?"
Well, the Litepro Light Rover I is almost a superior
light, and may still be a worthwhile purchase for a
lot of folks regardless. However it contains that one
flaw that holds it back. Please read on...
First off, the body. Solid aluminum, anodized silver
or black for corrosion resistance inside and out. The
sample reviewed was silver and has a very nice satin
polished look. The body is round with flat panels on
opposite sides which provide space for the corporate
logo and actually do help the flashlight fit comfortably
in the hand. The size of the light seems "just right"
to me. Well proportioned and balanced. Knurling is found
around the center of the body for grip and the knurling
is neither overly aggressive nor too shallow. The round
head has an octagonal section, like a large machine
nut, which serves as an anti-roll device when it is
set upon its side. Just behind the octagonal area is
a tapered section which includes a groove with a notched
rubber ring for aesthetics and grip. The tailcap has
parallel grooves to improve grip when twisting for on/off.
The bezel contains a collimator lens to focus the light
from the Luxeon Star high dome emitter. The light is
a spectacular white with great color rendition. Output
is very good as well, considering the balance that was
decided upon by the manufacturer between brightness
and runtime. A regulator circuit tucked inside the bezel
provides for constant output for 6-8 hours (advertised).
The spot was a little off center in the sample provided
which has very little impact on its usefulness. However,
I can be very picky at times (a good quality if you
do reviews) and I discovered that the head can be opened
and the centering fixed. It is sealed by the manufacturer
with epoxy but the octagonal head and flat sides on
the body allow wrenches to be easily applied. Note that
opening the light in this manner WILL void your warranty.
You will ruin the O-ring in the head and may mar the
body if you don't cushion the wrenches with a piece
of leather or other tough material, but it will pop
open exposing a ring with two holes screwed inside the
head. A pair of snap ring pliers can be used to twist
out the ring and the emitter/circuit unit will drop
into your hand. My emitter was not sitting flat on its
platform and a gentle push snapped it in place. Again
this was a MINOR issue, but I managed to put only one
nick on the body, replace the O-ring, and I'm extremely
happy with the results.
Ah... but now as we look at the other end of the light
we come to the crux of the problem. The switch. The
switch is a "tactical type" tailcap. This means that
you twist (tighten) it for constant on or press on the
button on the end of the tailcap for momentary. The
momentary button is nicely done, not too high a profile
for accidental activation to happen easily, but not
so small that you can't find it and use it easily. It's
sealed with an O-ring on the inside for some water resistance
as well, and in general seems to be well executed. The
twisting action, however, has something to be desired.
Now, you may be willing to live with the problems I
found, and perhaps I'm being too picky, but the tailcap
has issues from both an engineering standpoint and a
machining precision standpoint. First let's start by
turning the light on. You twist the tailcap (tighten)
and it turns on. However the tailcap twists rather easily;
too easily. It turns out that the O-ring on the tailcap,
which should provide both water resistance and twist
resistance to prevent accidental activation doesn't
engage the body until the light is all the way on. This
means that if the light is twisted to "off" water can
get in. There is also no resistance to prevent the tailcap
from unscrewing all the way or for it to tighten back
up and turn on in your pocket. Next, if you twist with
your thumb and forefinger to "off", as you would normally
do with a "tactical" style tailcap, pressing in on the
entire tailcap causes it to lean and turn the light
on. So it may look like it's off, but put it in your
pocket or belt sheath and it comes back on again. This
is due to poor machining tolerances with the threads.
The tailcap actually wobbles on the threads. (A fix
for this is currently being implemented by the manufacturer
- see the Updates, below)
So to sum it up, poor machining tolerances can cause the "off" tailcap to turn
on accidentally from pressure on the whole tailcap,
poor engineering design causes the O-ring to disengage
from the body when the light is in any position except
"on" which allows the tailcap to both spin freely and
allow the entry of water. This was a serious disappointment
for me considering the quality I saw in the rest of
the light.
Now on the good news side, I found a fix for all of
the tailcap issues that can be instituted for the low,
low additional cost of about $0.23. Simply replace the
original tailcap O-ring with a #35 O-ring (11/16 x 9/16
x 1/16) from Home Depot. These can be found in the faucet
repair aisle. Remove the original ring, lube up the
replacement with some silicone grease and install. This
O-ring is significantly thicker, engages the body earlier,
and prevents the tailcap from wobbling on the threads.
The tailcap may be a bit difficult to twist with the
larger O-ring, but in my opinion it's better to have
a light that's a little tough to turn on than to have
a light with dead batteries. The pushbutton momentary
switch works just fine as well. This little twenty-three
cent fix saves the light from being relegated to the
kitchen drawer or worse.
It could have been just that the light I received was
a fluke. It may have just been defective. So I decided
to check on that and contacted the manufacturer. They
were already aware of these problems so it appears to
be a pervasive issue. As a result, I am told that the
next production run will incorporate a number of fixes
for these issues and the fixes will be applied to their
other upcoming Luxeon products as well. In the meantime,
if you get a first production run light you have two
choices, deal with it and just be careful with the switch,
or perform the simple tailcap fix described above to
help prevent problems. Despite this issue, I still think
that if this light fits your needs it is a worthwhile
purchase based upon all its other good qualities. Just
perform the quick fix I described for the tailcap, or
come up with one of your own.
Water resistance is marginal as a result of the O-ring
in the tailcap disengaging from the body almost immediately
upon turning it off. Performing the tailcap fix I described
above fixes this as well. The push button portion of
the switch does seal with an O-ring when in the "off"
position and the head is sealed with epoxy and an O-ring
as well.
The Light Rover I is powered by two 123A lithium batteries that should keep it going for 6-8 hours (advertised). Remove the tailcap to replace the batteries. Output is regulated and the manufacturer states that light output should remain constant during the useful life of the batteries. I have yet to test this and will try to create a runtime plot in the near future.
The Light Rover I comes in a nice presentation box with batteries and a nylon belt sheath. The sheath is of average quality and has a cover flap that seals with velcro.
What I Liked: Beautiful white output, Great color rendition, Regulated, Nice body design, Easy battery change
What I Didn't Like: Not water resistant
with stock tailcap O-ring, Risk of accidental activation
due to tailcap design/machining problems.
Other Things I Noticed: Slightly off center beam on sample provided, can be fixed if you have the same problem and are willing to void your warranty
Conclusions: The Litepro Light
Rover I is another one of those lights that I really,
really wanted to like, and I do like it despite the
fact that it is going through some manufacturing "growing
pains". It has really great potential, which I
am sure will be realized once the tailcap problems are
worked out. My quick fix does work, but is still not
the optimal solution. A very good light with one flaw
that holds it back. At least the user can easily fix
it themselves with very little cost and effort.
UPDATE: I have been in contact
with Lightpro and they are currently implementing an
O-ring fix on the lights they are shipping. I'm told
they are using O-rings of a size and type which allow
for easy use of the switch and yet provide the benefits
of adequate switching resistance and support for the
threads. I am waiting to see if they send me one to
test on the light I have. If so, I'll provide full details
when available.
UPDATE 2: I received the O-rings
from Lightpro and they do work in the manner described
in my fix. They help prevent tailcap wobble and also
assist in retention of the tailcap. Lightpro has chosen
to use EPDM self-lubricating O-rings which makes the
light a little easier to use than normal O-rings. So
far Lightpro has been very responsive in addressing
all of the concerns I brought to their attention. Kudos!
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