Review: Tactica Talon

Here's a thing. How often do you find yourself in need of a tool for a quick fix? A loose screw, a non-twist bottle, a package to open. Often, the tool you need is buried in a drawer or lost in the tool shed, turning a 20 second job into 5-10 minutes. Or worse, you find yourself in a tricky tool situation away from home. Even the most efficient bug out bag or EDC can be a pain to rummage through. There's only so much you can load your cargo kilt up with before you get the jingle-shakes or worse, slippage. One solution to this is to combine multiple tools in to one lightweight system.

One such system is the Tactica M100 Talon. It certainly qualifies a "the tool you keep with you". It's lightweight, compact, versatile and might just be your new best prepping lifestyle friend. Whether it's mountain biking, snowboarding or just around the house, the Tactica Talon has got your back. Right there in your back pocket.

The Talon is designed and made in Melbourne. My home town so it was especially exciting or me to back and support the Kickstarter for it. So, here's what it is. Primarily a Hex bit driver, with a climbing carbiner form factor. At its core a hardened stainless steel frame wrapped in a pocket tech friendly lightweight composite material that won't scratch your valuable iDevices as well as being 40% lighter than titanium.

Inside the body of the composite component is a space for two 1/4" hex drivers retained by a removable silicone rubber slot-plug (Phillips + flat head included). The narrow-eye of the tool is cut to act as a multi-wrench with two versions being Imperial - 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16in or the Metric - 5, 6.25, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14mm versions. Both versions have a 1/4" Hex socket built into the body as a heavy duty driver. The "mouth" of the storage slot is the primary hex driver, and is fitted with magnetic tool retainer in its side to assist with that.

The big end of the "wide-eye" of the carabiner is also fitted with a bottle opener. A raised notch on the "back" of the tool acts as a snag free, TSA safe Package Opener. ( ha, so they say. )

Inside the lip of the wrench holes are rulers, on either side, metric on one and imperial on the other. They are only small so you wont be checking fish-size or the like but perfect for sizing hardware like drill bits and bolts up. Beside the bottle opener in the "eye" is a hole drilled for a key chain split-ring. keeping it out of the way for using the wrench.
I don't think I'd use this at all as this isn't a tool I would put on a keychain, but it certainly could work for that. One thing I did like about its design is the view-port cut through the side which shows you if a hex- bit is inside. not quite big enough to see what kind of head, but certainly a sanity check to see if its one or two tools stored with a quick back and forth rattle check.

The slot-plug has two friction lugs to hold it in place but is fully removable, which makes the whole assembly easier to put together and reduces the chance of it tearing after repeated use but the fat that it could become detached and lost and the stored hexbits along with it is a small worry. The slot-plug is tight fitting and I have no such worry of it coming loose by accident.

My biggest gripe was the out-of-the-box realization that it shared the "form factor" of a Carabiner, it was in fact NOT set up to clip open. Few moving parts means simpler manufacturing and a stronger overall design.it would be convenient if it would auto-clip to bags, packs and pants, but it is narrow enough that it can be clipped to an existing carabiner and hung ready for use. Measuring in at 80mm x 40mm x 12mm (3.154"x1.57"x0.47") and weighing in at a slight 45g (1.6 oz).

Given its composite encapsulation and lack of any sharp or rough edges, it makes an excellent pocket carry. Ready when you need it and not wearing holes or scratching screens.

The angle of the primary hex driver lends itself to the Talon siting nicely in the palm of the hand though the short hex-bits can leave the access to whatever is being driven to be quite tight. It's certainly not a tool for hard and everyday use, get full sized driver for that. This is a tool for small jobs and "I just need to fix this one thing" jobs. It will however, put together an Ikea Billy bookshelf up like no-ones business.

Go further and do more than single flat or a Phillips head will do but the great minds at Tactica came up with this; a12 Bit Toolpack giving you a great selection of hex bits to use. They have chosen a solid cross selection of bits that would cover most circumstances whether it's at home, work or on your next adventure. The Toolpack contains the following hex bits: Phillips #0, #1, #2 Flathead #3, #4, #5 Allen key sizes 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and most excitedly Torx T10, T15, T25. The full set weighs only 80g (2.8 oz) a small price to pay for the added utility of having the right head to hand.

The collection of bits are titanium coated (for longer wear protection) and ruggedly ground, for greater fortitude. Comparing the included bits with those of the MiniInch tool pen systems and they are stubbier and more ruggedly produced than the grey MiniInch bits but otherwise fully compatible, other than being unable to store two in the Talon's internal storage due to length.

There have been reports that the box opener tool blunts after limited use, but given it is a spire of plastic, I'm neither surprised nor concerned. My only other gripe with it is the lack of an integral clipping mechanism as previously mentioned. And the wide turning circle of the main hex driver which is a bit tricky in tight spots.

Review: Platatac - OC spray Pouch MkIV

As I mentioned in my LD-60 flashlight review, I mentioned that I lost a bunch of stuff when my car was broken into. One thing I lost was my Hexbright v1 torch too which I kept in a Platatac ASP pouch.

So, when my replacement Hexbright came in the mail, I needed a new pouch for it, and I had noted that the ASP (expandable baton) pouch didn't quite fit the light, being a little too long, allowing the light to be accidentally switched on.


I popped into the Platatac retail shop with my new Hexbright, and the guys helped me out wiuth a better fitting pouch. This is the OC spray Pouch Mk IV.

The pouch is around 15cm (6") in overall length, and 5x5cm (2"x2") at the base it fits the Hexbright really well. The pouch is fitted with a press-stud closure as well as a 50mm webbing pull tab for good grip and release. This is a lot quieter than a patch of hook and loop, and less bulky than a Fastex clip. The 500d Codrura body is taped and double stitched which gives all its high stress points extra strength.
 

The top of the pouch is open, which keeps the light (or your OC spray, if thats what you're packing) in place, but gives you access by swiveling the lid out of the way, without popping the press stud. A grommet in the bottom of the pouch give you drainage, for those quick jaunts into bodies of water that happen from time to time when you live adventurous lives.

Equipped with the standard PALS/MOLLE fittings that all of the Platatac pouches. I use this as a belt pouch by fitting the tab through the second MOLLE loop, giving you a quite wide, but very secure belt loop. It has a fair amount of travel on a regular belt, but couple it with the loops of a belt like the Platatac SICC belt and you have a rock solid platform for your light (or, you know, OC spray). I'm allergic to capsicum, so I try to avoid pepper spray. This is a solid utility pouch, and if you have an odd shaped or sized item, I recommend taking it into a shop, asking for advice.

Review: Fenix - TK-51 light

I had the good fortune to be introduced to Braent Hong,
Asia Pacific Sales Manager for Fenixlight Limited at the SSAA SHOT Expo by my friends at LEGear Australia and made an impression about my love of all things lighting.

He recommended I contact their marketing department, and sign up to be a beta-tester, and after many month of negotiations, I received this pre-release TK-51 model light. This is a BIG light, and it certainly performs.Here it is stacked against the HexBright crowd-funded light, I have covered previously.

Let me tell you about the TK-51 ....
At 18.8cm (7.4") long and having a grip diameter of 4.8 cm (1.9"), and weighing 430g without the batteries, this is quite a serious hand held light. At the buisness end, it features two  Cree XM-L 2 (U2) LED's, in a tear-drop configuration of reflectors.

The body of the light is made of machined aircraft alumiunium, Type III hard-anodized and features a toughened and anti-reflective coated glass facing. The two Cree LED's sit in differing reflectors, one large and deep, the other quite shallow. Both reflectors were mirror finished. The glass was in-set from a smooth lip.

The tail-cap was crenelated, and two of the opposing crenelations feature a strap hole for securing a lanyard. The tail cap unscrews to expose the battery holder, which is well labeled to ensure that not only the battery holder, but the batteries themselves are properly loaded, avoiding any misloads.

Speaking of batteries, it is designed to take three 3.7V Li-ion 18650 batteries, which for those who don't know are the big-brother of the CR-123A batteries becoming so prevalent in the resilient gear market. It will also take six of the CR123A's in place of the 18650's, and even the 3.2V 16340. In the absence of a full load, it will even operate with one or two batteries alone, but at much reduced performance.


the TK-51 has some interesting controls, with individual controls for the spot and flood LED's, which ramp up from Low, to Medium, Medium-high and High modes, each accessible by a tap of the appropriate control. It also features a memory, such that the on/off button will recall the previous settings for both LED's. Momentary Strobe can be produced at any time by holding either LED controller, and cycles between two distinct flash frequencies. Momentary "TURBO" mode is achieved by depressing the on/off button, and gives full power to both LED's. Which is a LOT.

Each LED has a Lumen output of 10, 150, 400 and 900. This effectively ramps up with a button press for each LED control, offering considerable control of light output for the user, given their need. with a Single LED runtime, running from 420h at Low for a single LED, to 1h 45min for both LED on high, there is also considerable operational variety. I found that the buttons were perhaps -too- easy to press, being raised from the surface, and had a very light pressure needed to activate.

Fenix state the beam distance is effective to 425m, with a peak beam intensity of 45200 cd. Put simply, it packs a whole lot of light, and can throw it a long way.

This shot is of the TK-51 with both LED's at high, in TURBO mode, putting out 1800 lumen, and lighting up my whole street. I angled the spot down, so as not to side-blind passing cars at the end of the road.

Low Flood

Low Spot

The low flood and spot were hard to catch on my iPhone 5s, but the reflective paint of my old car glinted well enough, remember, this is 10 lumen

Medium Flood

Medium Spot

The medium options, at 150 lumen match most over the counter service station and supermarket lights that I've had. My trusty "household blackout light", the 5.11 ATAC-A1 is only 103 lumen (but off a single AA) .

Medium High Flood

Medium High Spot

At Medium High, the TK-51 is putting out 400 lumen from each LED, doubling that of my CR123A powered Surefire 6pX.

High Flood

High Spot

At High, the LED's are outputting 900 lumen, which even outstrips my HexBright FLEX, and is just shy of my new car headlights. On top of that, the built in circuitry has both output lock-out, meaning that it will produce the same light output for as long as the charge allows, then drop to the next level, and so on, rather than dimming gradually. At the lowest power levels, the light will blink its LED's three times as a last-ditch indicator of power loss. There is also overheat protection, which down-shifts the output until the light cools. During my use if the light, the finely machined texture on the grip was good in the hand, and the light had surprisingly good balance. I hate to think what it would feel like wielded in anger.

Combined with the mass of the light, its 1m shock resistance, and IPX-8 (2m) water resistance, this is a serious light, for serious use. I bought rechargeable batteries for it, and a charger, which comes wit ha car-adapter, which I think will greatly expand the use I get from this light. Now to find a pouch for it!

Review: HexBright - FLEX Programable light

I'm really excited to be bringing this one to you. This is another Kickstarter project that I backed ages ago, (Launched: May 21, 2011Funding successful : Jul 19, 2011) that finally arrived about a month ago. 

That's a long time, you might say. It was. However, creator Christian Carlberg made it up to me and all the other backers with his constant step-by-step updates, keeping us up to date with every design iteration, testing run and exchange of parts. The included videos of the whole process kept the faith, and my interest the whole, long, wait.

When it finally arrived, I was as thrilled as could be. This is the HexBright FLEX, open-source programmable, rugged, high-performance light. (Here, stacked up against my Surefire 6PX)

Christian pitched the HexBright as "a stylish, rugged, high-power compact light you can use as-is or reprogram however you want using open-source code." and yes, it is all those things!

 

The Flex has a max light output of 500 lumens thanks to the
CREE XM-L U2 LED super bright LED light source that sits at the pointy end behind the TIR Lens. The lens is made from PMMA, optical grade acrylic.

What does that give me? According to the Kickstarter page, and the Hexbright site, that means you have a High Mode output of 500 Lumens for 1 hour, a Medium Mode output of 175 Lumens for 8 hours or a Low Mode, 50 Lumens for 30 hours. Five HUNDRED Lumens. The Surefire 6Px is listed with a 200L output, and the 5-11 ATAC A1has a 103 Lumen output rating.

For those interested in color temperature, the FLEX sits at  5380K - which apparently is "just shy of daylight". Thanks to all that circuitry, you also have regulated light output, the light stays constant and has a 1.6amp max output, thanks to the USB rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, which is apparently 3.7 VDC 2400 mAh, 4.8 Amp Protected). All that circuitry however, isn't just for power-metering, it also houses the programability of the unit.


The HexBright Flex comes shipped with default program modes of high (500 LM), medium (350 LM), low (200 LM), and blinky. but by plugging the FLEX into a computer via the micro-USB port, and then loading code with Arduino software. (You need to do some downloads first, both the USB drivers, the Arduino application and then the Arduino code files for whatever programs you want to run.

Part of the fun about this light is that versatility. As well as the press button at the tail-cap, the circuit board also has a temperature sensor, which can be used to monitor the lights heat for emergency shut-off due to overheating, but also can be used to report ambient temperature (reporting through flashes of the tail-button LED's). It also features a accelerometer which enables rotation and tap based signals to be used to govern the light (ie, rotate to dim or brighten, or tap to change settings, or message)

The inner housing rotates out via heavy set threads at the -tip- of the light, rather than the tail, which was a cool addition, and seals up with a well-seated o-ring gasket at the tail end. Accessing the USB port can be achieved by simply unscrewing the tail cap enough to expose it. It also means I can charge it via my solar chargers.
 

The body of the FLEX was machined from solid hexagonal aircraft-grade aluminium bar stock. both the tailcap, and the internal carrier body with its threaded end are made of the same stock, giving you a rock-solid construction. The tailcap button is a translucent rubber, also fully sealed, allows you to see the green and red status lights (charging, and mode-changing).

 
 At 145mm by 34mm, and weighing in at 215 g  (5.7" long by 1.3" , 7.6 oz) this is big for a pocket torch, but all that body houses the electronics, AND acts as a heat sink for the mighty CREE XM-L U2 LED. The knurled tailcap end is ever so slightly raised above the hexagonal sides of the main body, so the FLEX doesn't sit quite as flat as i'd have liked, but the meaty finger groves and that hexagonal body make it an ergonomic dream to wield or stuff a pocket with. A couple of narrow lanyard holes in the tailcap give you a carry-loop option.

Here's me doing a bit of an indoor test and comparison with my Surefire and ATAC A1, turning a cave into day.

Outside, the limitations of my iPhone to capture good night footage don't do the FLEX justice, but all the same, 500 Lumen is nothing to be scoffed at. I'm not sure if my car-headlights are this bright (bigger, yes, but as bright? I'm not sure).

Once I connected my FLEX to a PC, and messed around with the Arduino programs I found online, I settled with LOW-MED-HIGH, hold for flashy, hold and tap for strobe, and using the accelerometer, "go to sleep after 20 seconds of inactivity/wake on movement" for that "find your light in the dark tent" option. 

Going LOW-MED-HIGH at the tap of the button means I dont dazzle myself unnecessarily, or give my self away too badly if I am being careful about light discipline.  

Here's the comparison shots of the LOW-MED-HIGH settings indoors.

The HexBright FLEX is an awesome piece of engineering, I was really pleased to have received mine, even after the deliciously long wait, thanks to Christian's awesome updates and cute videos. This is definitely going into my EDC load, and my main concern is learn how to code new programs for it!


Non-US enquiries,  contact Christian directly at christian@hexbright.com