You have probably seen the prototype before. The robust, functional design, powered by Wayne Yamaguchi’s (dat2zip’s) current-regulated BadBoy, was born in Don McLeish’s (McGizmo’s) garage many months ago. It has slowly evolved into this handsome and functional production unit.
A team of dedicated CPF flashaholics (we have become "SkunkLights") is contemplating a small production run of this unique torch. We will be selling the lights as turn-key units and should also have a number of loose parts available for the DIY'ers in the crowd. There are no future production runs scheduled. The light will not be inexpensive and there will be no warranty offered - thus the call for flashlight enthusiasts! This light is a custom design from the ground up - quality in design, function and style was the goal.
We are building this flashlight because it provides everything that we personally wanted in our own EDC torch. Certainly there are brighter 1W Luxeon-based lights available. There are smaller ones, and ones with longer runtime. There are some with full multi-year warranties, and there are some that claim to do everything but wash the windows. The McLux is, in our minds, simply the most perfectly balanced LED EDC torch in existence. The uniqueness of this torch comes from the combination of features that is found nowhere else. The McLux offers swappable optics, a tail-standing switch guard with accessory ports, a bezel-down clip, Surefire and Arc compatibility - all in one compact, beautifully styled light. Items like the switch, the clip, the lens, and the optics are user-replaceable. If you ever manage to break anything, a few dollars would typically get you rolling again. If the McLux head is not your cup of tea, the McLux body can host an LS head (with the addition of a simple battery-lengthening adapter) or a KL1 directly. You like the head but not the body? Screw the McLux head onto an E1 body, and you're good to go.
As mentioned before, we will probably offer a limited quantity of component pieces for Do-It-Yourselfers. The cheapest way to make a high-quality LED light may well turn out to be screwing a Surefire KL1 onto a McLux body. Others may find that the McLux head on an E1e body is the better choice. By purchasing the pieces separately, you can build a light to your needs. You would have your choice of Wayne's converter boards, your choice of heads and your choice of bodies to use with the various McLux pieces. We are confident that the McLux head will support a 5W short-runtime configuration because the thermal management of the McLux design utilizes a heat sink bulkhead which is integral to the head itself. The LED slug to sink bulkhead is the only thermal barrier between the LED and the outside. This is NOT your father's 1W Luxeon flashlight!
What else can we say? The McLux is the light that we want to own and carry. Now we need to hear if you feel the same way. Please share your interest level with us and let us know if there are any questions we can answer.
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