White Photon EDC retired

Wife gave me an ARC AAA Premium over the weekend - that retired one of my EDC Photons (the white one). I am sooo impressed with this! I think the clip looks dorky compared to the rest of the (elegant) light so I prised it off after fiddling with it (tried using it to clip the light to a hat brim - it worked, but not well).

Haven't decided EXACTLY how I'm going to carry it so for now it's in the same pocket I formerly stowed the white Photon in, but...

Keychain carry has never appealed to me - which keychain? Don't like big gobs of stuff dangling from the ignition anyway (possibly a good location for the retired Photon - on my daily driver personal vehicle key set).

Tried it in shirt pocket while the clip was still on - nope. Doesn't work with the Monte Blancs and PDA that already reside there.

Blue jeans are not everyday wear for me, but the watch pocket on them is pretty handy - I liked that. Not many of my everyday wear trousers have a similar pocket, though (I avoid wearing a suit most of the time) - and I'm not gonna change my wardrobe to accomodate a gadget anyway.

Possibly neck carry... but on a quick-detach mounting of some sort.

Any ideas from you ARC AAA owners?

Regards,

Tom

Tom:

I resorted to attaching mine to a small whistle and keeping it in the change pocket inside my dress pants. Here is a pic of the setup:

http://home.earthlink.net/~cthompson001/id1.html

FWIW: the knurling on the AAA will do a number on plastic after a while.


Chris

I usually carry my Arc AAA in one of my front pockets or on my right side, lodged between my belt and side belt loop, with the clip, well, clipped to the belt loop and the body of the light resting against my belt. Seems to work just fine.

Tom,

I'm not an Arc AAA owner, But I carry my CMG Infinity Ultra (which I like a lot) tagged to a traser glowring.

I tried for some time having it clipped to other items like whistle etc. but found it didn't work for precisely the reason that you don't want to put your's on your keyring.

Any way the glowrings are cool and I can allways locate it easily beside my bed at night or whatever.

-james

Unfortunately, glowrings are not legal in the USA. You take a chance in getting and having them in your possession. Pete

Pete - Are they tritium powered? Don't guess I knew that stuff is so verbotten/regulated here in the land of the free (Disclaimer: I don't even have any sight inserts or glowing watch dials... er, I don't even OWN a watch... no, wait, that was "radium paint"...) Seems like a pretty stupid regulatory law. (Even stupider if it's a statute.) Somebody help me; I'm starting up on a soapbox...

I've never been that interested in the glow stuff anyway - tritium half-life is too short, for one thing. But the idea of glow tubes/rings/etc. (?) is very interesting to me.

That explains some chatter I ran across on CPF. Speaking of CPF... if you value your time, DON'T sign up there - arrrgh! It's a tar pit - too much interesting stuff going on over there... But you already knew that.

Regards,

Tom

PS - thanks for the ideas, everyone. I think the little rascal is just gonna stay in my pocket for now, but with a small lanyard on it. Not forever - that HA-III is already brutal on some other objects in that pocket (I *LIKE* that finish!)

Yes, it is tritium powered. Watches, compasses, gun sites and there is 1 commercial flashlight that have tritium trasers which are all legal. Pete

Thanks, Pete. Emitters (sources) are regulated here, I'm sure (good idea IMHO). Do you know if it is simply that the manufacturer of trasers (?? generic speak or ??? only recently heard of them) is not licensed/regulated to business here or what? Although I personally have no interest in aquiring that sort of thing, it sounds on CPF as if some folks ARE interested.

I suppose I'm a bureaucrat myself, so I am extra vigalant in my own little corner of the planet to stamp out the "bad" aspects of my bureaucracy while retaining the "good" aspects of it - from a citizen viewpoint. Some days I rail more than others... I'm very fortunate to have intelligent, perceptive, and loyal folks working for me, but DANG, some folks (citizens) want the darndest things at times! Ehm, that's another topic... sorry - it WAS one of those days...

Take a "pass" if you don't know - I'm only a little curious anyway. So many windmills, so little time... <sigh>

Tom

Hi Tom,

Congratulations! Breakaway lanyard/neck carry works great for me. Also attached is a glow in the dark Fox 40 whistle and a Brunton watchband compass.

The GITD whistle provides a nice (albeit faint) locating glow, which I can easily find on the nightstand for those middle of the night trips.

These items have several split rings (steel, had brass split rings but they reacted with prespiration) that are clipped on the snaphook of the lanyard.

Caution notice: While most folks are already aware of this, we do have many readers of the forum and I don't want to inadvertantly "lead anyone astray"... Please keep the compass away from any steel, electronics and/or electrical devices when you are really using it the compass, lest you find that it indicates north just about every direction you turn it. LOL.

Regards,
Comanche7

ps I would venture that after carrying the Photon all this time, you don't retire it, but probably relocate it to a vehicle / toolbox / or handy scout age kid. <img src="images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Commanche7,

Yeah, well, the white Photon is now in my personal FAK - kids all have 2 each already - one color (red, orange, or yellow for long run times) and one white - they hafta keep mitts off my stuff <grin>. My red Photon remains in my left pocket as before.

Good ideas on the neck carry - thanks. I have a Photon logo neck lanyard, but not sure I want to wear that EDC... was thinking about using ID tag chain (dog tag chain) with the silencer (tubing). Pretty cheap at the PX and easy to keep clean. But looking for the right quick-disconnect right now - I know what I want; have one in my EDC right now that ties a little lockback knife and a BSA hotspark together. Same idea as a tiny fastek, but different mechanicals - simpler and more robust <gasp>.

Or maybe a tiny Kydex "holster" for it??? Like a neck knife sheath. I dunno - just thinking "out loud".

Because it's a new toy, I paid attention today to how often I used it - gad! I have real flashlights readily available, but... I never noticed before how often I used to just use the white Photon in my pocket as it was right there right when I wanted a little light.

Oh, btw - yes, it WILL cut a maglight without so much as a scratch on itself - right thru the maglight's anodizing and into the body with just one stroke. That is some tough anodizing on the ARC AAA! (RH C55, I think) And the output evenness and all blows me away - I shoulda got one of these sooner!

This carry stuff is coming to a head for me. I felt like I needed a batbelt after I retired and it's getting to me more and more. Civvies suck compared to BDUs - few pockets, and they're mostly impractical. Took me a long time to figure out how to stow bare minimums in my civvie clothing. I have/had a few minor gripes about BDUs (the old field trouser has a few better features, like flaps on the slit pockets), but overall...

Nice to hear good things about the ARC AAA from so many forum members (although I suspect some of you are flashaholics who escaped from CPF, LoL).

I gotta get some work done...

Regards,

Tom

see you've already mentioned the CPF, if you have a look round the ARC forum, there is a bloke who makes kydex "holsters" for want of a better word., they are designed for use on a keyring, but i'm sure that people use them in a lanyard setup as well. can't remember the name, maybe try a search on kydex in the arc forum.
steve

found it, didn't take long, this is the website,select produts, then scroll way down the page, here is a picture of what i was talking about, you can see a mag solitaire/arc aaa in a holster attached to the carabiner
hope this helps
steve

Steve,

Thank you - I guess that approach works.

Tom

Tom,
Get yourself a pair of Royal Robbins pants, or go to a place like "The Gap" and buy some Cargo pants - they come in and out of style. Picture "Dockers" but with cargo pockets. AKA - Kahki colored BDUs. I LIKE pockets - LOTS of pockets. I ket lonely without POCKETS

BTW Did I mention I like pants with lots of large pockets?
<img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hi - I'm another Arc AAA convert - have had Photons on the keyring for several years, which won't change, but the AAA is now on a bead lanyard around my neck. My next change will be to add a Berkely point clip - I've seen this on CPF and I really like the flexibility it offers (second post on the thread linked below).
Clip on Arc AAA

I like the idea of the clip on the Arc rather than on the tether point - the Arc can come on and off quickly, and could be attached somewhere else for lighting as needed, freeing up your hands. I just ordered several of these "stainless steel mini clips" from Berkeley Point (berkelypoint.com). They're a bit pricey, but they have very good word of mouth on CPF. Lots of other interesting odds and ends on Berkeley Point, as well.
Anyway, I'll post once I get them in and get a chance to try this method.
Dave

My understanding is that the NRC views key-chain tracers as a novelty item and therefore is not permitted in the US. As far I know, all European countries do allow them, as they are sold openly, from several sources, so I do not believe product safety is at issue. There is a US based company that produces tritium markers for military and industrial purposes. US based private citizens (mainly CPF members) who have contacted the company have been told they cannot sell to individuals, that even those sold to legitiment industrial companies for safety markers, must be licensed to possess the markers and must register with the NRC the location of the markers. By the way there is a new X2 version of the traser, looks really cool. Pete

Tom,

Radioactive material is regulated everywhere in the US by the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) either themselves or through state agreements.

As far as the cool little luminous sources go, you are correct in that the manufacturer has to get a general license for the device from the NRC. Like most dealings with bureaucracy, this takes time and money, and most manufacturers don't see it as worth the trouble for the amount of money that they may make. You are correct that it is foolish to limit such products when they pose absolutely no hazard to human health or the environment. But such is what happens as government grows.

And exactly how long of a half life do you think you need anyway? Twelve years isn't good enough for you? They may get a little dimmer, but you can probably still use a glow ring for out to 50 years or so (depends on how much they start out with). <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I guess I shouldn't complain too much about all these stupid regulations, since they pay me alot of money to keep my employer in compliance, but it still irks me if I think about it too much.

Take care...

Greg

Check this web site, at one time he was planning on producing a holster for the ARC AAA. Pete
http://www.mnsi.net/~nbtnoel/
I see someone already posted the site.

Thanks for the info, everyone!

tom, found another interesting post on the cpf, there is a shop in texas i think that sells kydex by the sqft, i think off the top of my head it was $4.50 for 1sqft, and $6 for 2sqft, just heat with a hot air gun and away you go, i'll have a look and try and link it all up, here let see if this works!
all the best steve


oh just found the site, its on the second page, www.texasknife.com

Hi - Got my Berkeley Point clips in the mail yesterday. Very nice, well-made, good tension in the gate of the clip. To attach it to my Arc as in the photo in my previous post, I had to first remove the tiny split ring from the Arc AAA, then use a very fine-nosed pair of needlenose pliers to pry open the split ring enough to fit around the base of the clip. A lot of other implements would do the job, but I don't think your fingernail would - my thumb's sore just from prying the split ring enough to get the pliers into it.
Then, the split ring went back onto the Arc. I really like this setup - although the clips are bit bigger than I'd thought they'd be, it works nicely, and clips on and off the lanyard easily. An added bonus is the clip adds enough length to the Arc to make it a bit easier to hold - it allows more than a two-finger grip.
Berkeley Point also makes tiny 2.5 mm quick links, which could replace the tiny split ring.
So, these hardware bits from Berkeley Point are spendy, but very well made.
(Standard disclaimers - I have no interest in Arcs or BP - just a pleased customer)
Dave