limited production :: hand crafted :: high performance :: rechargeable :: premium flashlights

This is my blog about creating a startup LED flashlight business. I'm a designer, fabricator, and strategist and I'm passionate about making ideas real. I believe that products are about people, that they should be built to last, deliver real value, and that we need to do a better job than we have in the recent past.

Most of my career has been contract or freelance work and I've crafted products and strategies for both big international companies and startups. I also used to work in the "industry" fabricating special effects for film and TV, along with the occasional hot rod. Bottom line, I love making things.

I'm starting this blog so you can follow along, from day one, and see what it's like to start a business, or fail in the process. Only time will tell, but I hope you find this interesting enough to stay tuned, comment, link, like, tweet, and (most importantly) participate in turning this idea into something tangible and valuable.

For a good place to get started with general info about who, what, why, etc., check out the "Stickies" on the left side of the page. Thanks for stopping by and please don't hesitate to ask questions and get involved!

Please sign up for my email list to get updates and notifications for contests and giveaways!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Chips on the floor means parts out the door...

An old machinist's adage. Of course this photo is of the parts, not the chips :) These are fresh off the mill and now need to be transferred to the manual lathe for the tedious process of machining the outside of the cylinder by hand.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

NEW VIDEO: Tools of the Trade - "Spaghetti" Tubing Cutter

Hey folks, I bought this broken tool on eBay and managed to get it working again! Thought I'd share some of the "behind the scenes" stuff that I do to make the Alpha (and running a flashlight business) possible.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Portable Illumination: 100% off the grid (Brunton Solaris USB)

Hi folks,

I've been using a Brunton solar panel to keep my lights charged up when I'm away from the wall. It really makes a rechargeable light into the ultimate illumination tool and travel companion. As long as the sun shines during the day, you can run your light at night. Backup batteries? Bah! The sun is my backup battery. Okay, I carry one or two spares, but I don't need a bag full.

Get rid of: the expense of tons of disposable batteries, the waste of throwing them away, the weight of carrying them, the hassle of finding batteries in foreign countries, worrying about rationing your battery power, the need to rely on the wall or a store being open to make sure you can see when it gets dark...and I promise it will :)
The Solaris kept me and two Alpha's going for 10 days in the Utah back-country
If you haven't seen my blog post about my Utah trip, you can check it out here.

The cool thing about the Solaris is that it's got a USB port...so you can charge any USB device you have, like your phone, tablet, camera, whateva.

Prometheus Lights is now an authorized Brunton dealer so stop by my site and check out my newest product! http://darksucks.com/ByB.html

Friday, September 7, 2012

NEW PRODUCT FOR SALE: Titanium Zipper Pulls !!!

Hey Folks,

Looking for an awesome gift? Want to personalize a mass produced jacket or bag? Want to win friends and influence people? Try some of my pure titanium zipper pulls!

It's been a long time coming but I pulled the trigger on a batch of these! They are machined at Hirsch Machine in Santa Clara, the same place that makes my Ready Made lights. Check out this link to purchase them directly from my site. There are lots of photos of pulls on things like jackets, sweaters, bags, and flashlights so check out the link. If you buy some pulls, please send me a photo of the item you personalized and I'll post it on my site!

I had to take a hefty bite out of my checking account to make this happen so please help me spread the word! Blog, tweet, share to Facebook, email the gear-head in your life, anything you can think of! Your help is greatly appreciated.

These are also available for wholesale, so if you are a retailer, please contact me!


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Friday, August 3, 2012

LIMITED EDITION: Splash Anodized Pocket Clips

One of the CandlePower Forums members has taken anodizing titanium to a new level. I use heat to build the refractive oxide layer, but he uses electricity. This means a lot more control over the colors and where those colors get applied. You can see the work he's been doing here. This stuff is so amazing I sent him 20 pocket clips to be anodized. There are 10 with a "Prometheus Blue" splash anodize and another 10 that I left up to his creative initiative...and they are stunning. See below:



Only 10 of each are available and will be sold first come first serve. If you are interested please email me directly: jason@darksucks.com Clips are $50 each or you can trade in your old clip for $35 if you mail yours back to me.

Please keep in mind that these clips also fit Surefire 6 series lights and clones! Click here to see the current fitment list.

Cheers! Jason