I am a fan of Titanium and have it all over in my life, from knives, to flashlights and even eyeglasses. Today I am looking at the Astrolux Ti3A, a titanium bodied , small AAA powered, Nichia 219C flashlight. Thanks to Bangood for sending this light out so I could take a closer look, let’s dive in.
Complete Image Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/BpoL7
Video Version of this Review:
Construction
As I mentioned this light is made from Titanium alloy from head to tail. Starting at the back, the tail has a hole for a split ring, or a very thin piece of cord. It also has an area milled for a 1.5 x 6mm piece of tritium which is something you need to purchase separately. The cap itself has some small grip panels added for grip and style. The tail is not magnetic, and the spring inside is a lighter duty spring and is golden in color. ! Threads on the body were normal, not square cut. An oring sits at the bottom to improve water resistance.
The body itself has nicely milled squares in place and it’s fairly polished. The machining here is pretty good. Moving up to the head this is a twisty light, there are small grip panels that help but I could use a bit more grip. The front bezel is nicely machined smooth and is removable. The bezel will unscrew if you wish. The front glass is small and anti reflective coated. Underneath is a reflector with orange peel . More on UI and twist operation in the UI section.
Measurements were 65mm for length, widest diameter 15mm, narrowest diameter 12mm . Weight without battery is only 21 grams. A size comparison with similar lights.
I had an early problem with the first Ti3A I received. The head was glued in place with what I believe was excess threadlocker that was applied during install. On a twisty light it’s a problem if it won’t twist. I really tried to break it loose, even heating up the light and using strap wrenches but I couldn’t get it to budget. Banggod quicly replaced the light as there was a known issue on some of the early batch of lights. My second one is working as designed.
LED
This light uses a Nichia 219C LED, in a neutral white (5000k) tint which I enjoy. The LED in my light wasn’t exactly in the center but it didn’t really create artifacts I found to be undesirable. The orange peel reflector smoothed things out with a slightly hot center. Compared with a BLF 348 the Ti3A has more spill and is slightly cooler in tint. BLF 348 on left, Astrolux Ti3A on right.
The output curve on this light is different from anything else I have seen. On high after a bit of time it increases in brightness before decreasing. I tried this two different times with two different Low Discharge NiMH batteries, a Amazonbasics cell, and a Duracell. Both produced graphs that were similar. My runtimes were a little lower than stated and when the cells are low output really drops and fast. In terms of heat this light gets warm to the touch on high but it’s not uncomfortable. With only 85 lumen output it’s not really a concern. 85 Lumens isnt a lot of light, but since this is designed to be a keychain type light I am not expecting a ton. It’s still lower then many other AAA options on high.
UI
UI on this light is straightforward. It starts with first twist on low of 1 lumen, if you twist it off and on again you get medium for 40 lumens, and if you repeat you get high at 85 lumens. If you repeat once more you get strobe on high. The head has about 1 full rotation of range between on and off. The threads in the head are accessible, and not greased much if any. The result is with titanium you can get it to stick a little if you tighten them down too much in either the on or off position. I wish I could get in there and put some dielectric grease on there to improve this.
Packaging is nearly non existent with this light. It comes with a simple plastic case, and no documentation. An extra set of orings were included as well as a split ring.
Pro’s
* Someone is at Banggood and Astrolux is listening and recognizes a lot of us like Nichia LED’s and Neutral white Tint.
* Nice beam pattern
* I like that it has space for tritium in the tail cap.
* This is an affordable price for a titanium light, and I think it’s an attractive combination.
Con’s
* I wish this had a pocket clip, it would make a pretty nice EDC if it did. It still works at the bottom of my pocket but I am more afraid to lose it.
* Threads that are ungreased in the head get sticky if you tighten them too much. I wish I could get in and put some dielectric grease on them to help this.
* I would like to be able to run this on a 10440 battery, but it’s not rated for that.
* Odd Output curve as the light runs and heats up
* Strobe is in the main mode group.
Conclusion
I like titanium, and usually you pay a larger price for use of that material. Here though the light is about $21 at time of filming and that’s pretty affordable for a neutral white, titanium AAA light. I wish it had a pocket clip option as it would make a nice small EDC option. I see this light being attractive for someone who wants to put it on their keychain and wants something small with standard battery sizes. It would also work as a light to throw in the bottom of your pocket if you were not needing a pocket clip. Check this light out on Banggood.