Manufacturer:- Katokichi & Mike Jordan
Purchase Price :- $248.50 / £137.40 http://www.xe.com/ucc/
Size:-55.71mm long, 20mm Diameter
Weight (With Batteries):- 30g (1 1/8oz)
Battery Type / Qty :- 1off CR2 Lithium Cell
Battery Life :- 55-65 Minutes in regulation then more in 'Moon' mode (Manufacturers Figures)
LED Type :- 1off Luxeon III LED bin TW0H
Rated Output:- Not Known
Estimated LED Lifespan:- Over 100000 Hours
Colour :- Aluminium
Working Temperature :- Not Known
Lens Material :- Mineral Glass
Optics :- 15mm Reflector (Cutdown 17mm one)
Electronics:- MJ Design III Regulated 550mA Drive
Body Material :- Aluminium
Finish :- Type III Hard Anodise Natural Finish
Seal Type :- 1off O-Ring
Depth Rating :- Not Known
Manufacturers Guarantee:- NA Custom Light Design

This is a rare light produced in a relatively small numbers by Katokichi and Mike Jordan for the CPF after large numbers of 'Can I have one of those' request were made.

The initial sign up list had many names on it but the final price limited the number of units made to around 80.

This is a hand machined light with all the parts being produced by one man on a lathe with no CNC involvement. This is an amazing achievement when you look at the quality of the finished product.

Other intersecting aspect of the manufacture of the light are the anodising, which was done in the USA as this was deemed the best place to get this done to the required Type III standard. The lights then traveling back to Japan for final assembly by Mike Jordan with the installation of the electronics and LED elements.

So what do you get for your money?

Ichishiki CR2 flashlight
Laser engraved serial number
HAIII in natural
Allodyne coated internals and threading
SCIII converter
Lux III from bin#TW0H
Mineral glass lens (no AR)
Turned down S017XA reflector
CR2 3 volt lithium battery
Carrying case
Express shipping to your door step

The details of the electronics are as follows :-

Quotes are from Mike Jordan from the CPF thread on this light.

'SCIII which can buck and boost with an input range of 1.2 volts to 6.1 volts. Efficiency will be in the mid to late 90's'

'The max input of the SCIII is 6.1 volts. I have
modified the SCIII to work efficiently with either a
protected, rechargeable CR2 lithium ion 3.7 volt
battery or a regular disposable CR2 lithium battery.
Another reason to use these two types of batteries
is that Katokichi wanted to maintain the
flashlight's compact size'

'Depending on the CR2 disposable battery maker
the SCIII will regulate between 55 to 65 minutes
and then go into a moon mode.'

So it looks to me like you are getting a cutting edge electronics design in the light.

The light came to me shipped from Mike in Japan in what can only be described as more than adequate packaging! I am not complaining about this but it did take some unwrapping to get at the contents. Excellent service.

As you can see in the pictures the light comes with a CR2 Cells and a hand made pouch to carry and protect the light. The pouch is a great addition as it helps protect your nice shiny new toy from your keys, coins etc when you carry it around.

The light is very very small in size when you consider it contains a 550mA driven Luxeon III. This produces a considerable amount of light for such a small package. You will get many wow comments from any of your friends if you turn this on in the dark near them. Just don't tell them how much it cost! LOL

The overall design is a two piece construction with the light electronics, heat sink and LED assembled onto a separate module that is screwed into the head and also holds in the front O-ring glass lens and reflector assembly.

The two piece aluminium body is a work of art in hand machining. It has a beautiful simple design with knurling arranged in several distinct bands around the body. The base of the light flares outwards and contains a hidden lanyard loop that sits flush inside the bottom of the light when not in use.

The parts as discussed above have all been hard anodised type III. The Allodyne coated internals and threading also help with protecting the light from corrosion and give enhanced electrical conduction. The colour matching on the anodised parts is absolutely perfect. Something that can be rather difficult to achieve, so credit to the anodiser for that.

In use the two part are unscrewed to insert the single CR2 cell. They then screw together until the light comes on. Simple.

I did have a slight problem with my light along with a few other users. I was fortunate to read the CPF thread where the solution to the problem was provided by Don and I will quote as follows:-

'EDIT: after testing a number of ideas and solutions with no avail, I decided that the ground interruption was due to compression against the PCB some how breaking the ground path. At that point, I took some tweezers and screwed the light engine forward a bit until I felt it snug up against the reflector(?). At any rate, the light now works flawlessly.'

Mike has since warned people not to over tighten the electronics module in the head as this could damage it. You should also not over tighten the two half's of the light when turning the torch on for the same reasons. Another alternative solution to the issue is to remove the insulation from the base of the CR2 cell with a sharp knife. As apparently different makes of cell can have different thickness of plastic and the pip at the base of the battery tube does not allow for all makes!

With the above solutions in mind my light now works flawlessly. Thanks to CPF.

The light output is wonderful with a nice centre hotspot with a smooth surrounding side spill of light. The colour of the LED is very subjective but does appear to be very white to my eyes in comparison with other white Luxeon III that I own.

This will be due to the TW0H Bin code of the LED.

T=67.2-87.4 Lumens
W= 6050K Colour Temperature Tint White
0= 6050K Colour Temperature Tint White
H= 3.03-3.27Vf (Forward Voltage)

Altogether this is an excellently thought out and put together light that I would think would lend itself to many task around the home and garden at night. The CR2 cells may prevent me recommending it as a good travel light as getting the cells may be an issue. But as I use these cells in some of my camera equipment it makes a good accessory light for my camera bag as this always has spare cells in it.

This really is a great light. The only problem with it is the size and the cost, I would be a little concerned about using it everyday as I may accidentally loose it as it is so small and light. Perhaps it really does need you to attach a lanyard to it to keep it close. Never mind as it is a worthy addition to my collection and it may spawn some lower cost homage models from different suppliers!

More info this and other lights here

www.candlepowerforums.com