New Retail Product: Stor-A-Cell Battery Carriers

Hi all, I guess you can tell I'm on a bit of a roll here with the new products. As always, my goal is to bring you more awesome and these little battery carriers are just another step in that direction. The carriers are made the the good ol' USA and were originally designed for pilots to keep spare batteries organized in their flight bags.

This is a 15 second exposure. Check out the "moon shine" material!
Most of us just call it Glow in the Dark or GITD :) 

It just so happens they'll do the same job in your junk drawer. They are also great for travel or if your job requires you to have spare batteries on had. Of course they also work with rechargeable batteries, so keep an eye out on the blog because I'll be getting in some Sanyo Eneloop NiMh AAA and AA batteries in the next couple of weeks!

New Retail Product: LRI X-Light Micro!

Hi everyone,

A couple years ago I was at the SHOT show and had the opportunity to meet David Allen, the founder of LRI. He was incredibly nice, unassuming, and even had some kind words to say about my little case of custom lights. There are several versions, but X-Light Micro (below) is my favorite...and it's about the size of a quarter! If you don't need more convincing, you can get one from my store! 

Flavors: Clear and Black

David is credited with being the "father" of the micro-light, which he first started manufacturing at his kitchen table back in 1993. He's basically the flashlight maker from whence the rest of us came. I know, cool right? Ever since we met I've wanted to carry his products for the same reasons you should buy one:

1. He's a great guy. He and his wife run a company of 30 people out of a small town in Oregon known colloquially as the "light house." I like knowing who makes my stuff and I especially like buying it if I know they are good folks. I'll even pay a premium for that. Call me old fashioned. 
2. All of the products are 100% manufactured in the US when this would be the perfect product to make overseas and triple your profits overnight. I guess they care more about their product than profit, which is a (very) rare thing these days. 
3. These lights friggin' rock. This tiny little light has a microprocessor in it making the LED smoothly dim-able and able to deliver 3 different strobe modes, an SOS mode, and a "signal" mode where the button works only in "momentary" mode so you can tap out your message in Morse code. You DO know Morse code right? Wow, that's good because I don't...but I could learn some day. 
4. Runs for 12 hours on a single set of batteries...on full blast. That means for keychain use...That might last me a year or more. The lithium coin cells should store for 3-5 years. 

Glow in the dark = Awesome
(in case that needed clarification)

NEW PRODUCT: Klhip Ultimate Clipper

Huh? Yes, I've decided to carry a nail clipper. You can imagine how awesome it is, because I'm sure you know that I wouldn't sell anything that wasn't the pinnacle of awesome. This link will take you to the new product page on my website. I spend plenty of characters relating just how awesome it is on that page so I won't rehash everything here. Suffice to say, you should check it out.

I've also reorganized navigation for "the store" so please provide any feedback you might have! 

In this case, you can actually believe the marketing stuff written on the box

In short, I love this thing for two reasons. First, it works so well you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Second, it's actually the pet-project of a fellow I know from my days in the fly fishing industry. He's a designer/maker like myself and just got inspired one day and came up with, oh you know, something revolutionary. Not a bad day eh? Now if I could only sell as many flashlights as they sell clippers...

I Recommend: PIAA wiper blades will change your life...

Bold title right? I'm not joking around though. PIAA wiper blades will change your life. There, I said it twice. Sometimes when I'm zooming down the freeway surrounded by a sea of cars going 80, I wonder how so many people manage to successfully pilot a vehicle when it takes so little for all of it to go wrong. Then it rains...the veil between order and chaos draws a bit thinner. Suddenly those little things you've been ignoring are (in the case of wiper blades) staring you right in the face. People ignore their wipers until it's too late...and at that point its often dangerous.

Buy the standard PIAA Super Silicone wipers. DO NOT buy the fancy new types...they screwed up the engineering and the wiper will not touch the windshield with even pressure and that causes streaks! 

Put on some PIAA wipers and you will actually look forward to driving in a downpour. Once again, I'm not joking around. PIAA wipers arent just going to work well because they are new. Any wipers work well when the are new. The magic of the PIAA wiper (I know this is going to sound like infomercial BS...but it's not) is it actually conditions your windshield to repel water like a duck's back.

New Accessory: Mini Volt Meter

I found this on CandlePower Forums and thought it was super cool. It's hand made by one of the members there and you can't get one unless you are a forum member...until now! I bought a handful of these and are offering them for sale on my site. If I was smart I would have put a coin next to this thing to show how tiny it is...it's really tiny. The display is about the size of a quarter.

4.2V is full, 3.8V(35% remaining) is time to recharge

The Alpha has a "low battery warning" that comes on at 3.2V; however, recharging before the battery gets this low will prolong its life. Of course there was no way to know how full the battery was, but now there is a very cool solution! Each wire has a small magnet on each end so you just attach it to the battery and get instant feedback on battery's charge condition.

This is also GREAT for checking spare batteries. Whaaaat? You don't have spare batteries? "Two is one, and one is none" as they say. Think about that one for a minute, it will sink in.

"I Recommend": G-Wizard Calculator (for machinists)

If you couldn't tell by the title--Warning: machinist's content & business content (if you are a machinist) after the jump

Okay, I have a notebook with a list of things I think are AWESOME. Most of the time I forget to write things down on that list, but I have a few and thought I'd start sharing them on my blog. These things aren't necessarily flashlight related, but if they apply to you, they will change your life. Bold claim eh? But I'm serious. I'm going to call this segment, "I Recommend..." I can't think of a better product to start with that Bob Warfield's G-Wizard machining calculator. It's like having a master machinist in your back pocket. Normally that would be really uncomfortable...but not with G-Wizard. You should really stop reading this and download the trial from this link right: here.

A perfect example of what the internet should be used for

From time to time I have an ah-ha moment when things suddenly become clear. This little piece of incredibly sophisticated software brought me one of those moments. The quick story: machinist and software engineer (Bob Warfield) decided one day to take on a little pet project, and G-Wizard is the result. First, this is what the power of the internet is all about. Second, it's well designed. Third, it's something every machine shop should have...especially small ones. I'll tackle those points in order, after the jump...so read on!

Bloy's question answered!

Bloy said...
"How many of these will you be making before you retool/progran and offer a second piece? What do you have in mind? Maybe a flex-head torch for increasing the range of usability? Or maybe an item completely remote from the first flashlights utilizing your skills? How will you be marketing these works-of-art?"

First, hi John! Excited to see a name from way back. Bloy had some really good threads on CNC Zone about getting his Shoptask machine set up. That was my first metal working machine.

Anyway, "how many will I make before making changes?" That will always be different. The lights might change from batch to batch or not change for several batches. I expect there will be more changes in the beginning. Fewer changes down the road...and then perhaps a big leap in a new direction.

The evolution of Coke...notice you only see the changes on the outside.
Coke, I forgive you for coming up with "New Coke." 

Now a lot of changes in the beginning might make people freak out. For example: you just bought a light and I made some improvement on the next batch and you would rather have that. Think of it this way, the same holds true for any product: cars, computers, cameras, books (new editions), bicycles, etc. We've been conditioned by the current market to think that changes should only take place, what, every year or so? We are "comfortable" with that particular time frame...but shorter starts to make us feel anxious. I have this feeling a lot, particularly when dealing with computers.

I'm a (reformed) idiot

So I had a moment of clarity recently. Some current students from my old MBA program sent out a survey on rechargeable batteries. Expecting to feel really smart in a few minutes I dove into the questions because I assumed we'd be talking about really specialized batteries that I use in some of my lights. It didn't take long before I realized "feeling smart" was totally going the other way. The questions were all about "standard" rechargeable batteries like AA, AAA, C, and D size batteries. You know...the ones we use all the time? I hadn't given those any thought in years!

Somehow, over the last several years, I've totally let "standard" rechargeable batteries slip my mind. I have a well stocked drawer full of disposable alkaline batteries. I often buy the "big pack" of AA's when I see a good price...cause I'm smart right? Nope. So why doesn't my drawer contain exactly zero AA batteries because all of my AA devices are filled with rechargeable AA batteries and I don't need extras?

Sanyo Eneloops are considered to be "best of breed" and will
store 6 times longer than a typical NiMH (Nickel Metal Hydride) battery.

Good question. I did some self reflection and I realized I have been actively ignoring "standard" rechargeable batteries because of past experience with NiCad (Nickel Cadmium) batteries of yore.

What you should know about chargers

Disclaimer: this is not my primary area of expertise so I don't claim to be an expert. I've spent many hours researching the topic and this is what I've found so far.

Chargers are a critical component with respect to lithium ion batteries. Very critical. There are a lot of chargers out there and based on my research, I can only recommend two. The first is the Pila IBC. Bar none, this charger has the best reputation. However, it charges 2 cells at a time and retails for nearly 50 dollars. 

I selected the Xtar MP1 charger because it's high quality.

Only one other charger compares, but it's twice the price and thrice as ugly. 

The second is the Xtar MP1. This is the charger I'll be selling along with my lights. Xtar is a relatively new company but so far their product seems to be top notch. I like the industrial design and this charger has the advantage (unlike the Pila) of being USB based. This means you can plug it into your laptop, use a wall adapter, or even a car adapter for charging. I like this flexibility for a general purpose charger. The MP1 is also a single bay charger and this is great for the more casual user that only owns a few lights. I purchase these directly from the manufacturer and will be selling these chargers separately and as a package deal with my lights. 

If you want to get more technical, read on after the jump. If are a hardcore "input" person you can check out Battery University for tons (and tons) of information.