The 'Drake' (by modamag)

I'd like to share with you guys some photos and info of my current keychain light... the 'Drake'

 Specifications:

The drake is a custom light made my modamag (at candlepowerforums), it runs on special '10180' sized rechargeable lithium ion batteries.  Unfortunately he is no longer making this light, but you may be able to find one second hand on the marketplace forums.

10180 li-ion cell on the right

According the maker, the drake measures 33mm x 13mm, with the aluminium version weighing only 6 grams. (EDIT: when I measure my drake (fully closed) it actually measures 36-37mm in length)  It is available in either aluminium or titanium, with the titanium coming in a variety of finishes (bare Ti, TiCN, AlTiN, TiN or 'Diamond' coating).  I have the cheaper, aluminium chrome coated version of the drake.  The LED in the drake is protected by a scratch resistant sapphire lens.  In the tail of the drake, there is a slot for an optional tritium marker.

Green tritium in the tail of the light

There also exists a slightly larger version of the drake, called the draco.  The draco runs on slightly longer '10280' sized li-ion cells.  The benefits of using the larger battery is a longer run-time and a brighter high mode.  The drake and draco share the same head, only the battery tube is different in size.

The drake offers a low, high and user defined mode.  The user defined setting is chosen from 10 different levels of brightness.  The light remembers the last mode you have used, if you leave the light on at that level for over 1 second.  To switch between the various modes, you need to turn the light on/off in less than 1 second.  Click on the picture for more details on the user interface.

 I find the lumen and run-time information of the drake is quite hard to quantify, as the information on this is quite old and the emitter has changed with time.  From estimations, the latest version with a Cree XRE-R2, would have a maximum of 100+ lumens (probably an underestimate) with a runtime of 10-15 minutes.  The low on the drake should last around 4 hours, and I would estimate it to be ~5 lumens.  I usually have the user defined mode, set at level 3 or 4, as I find this is a good balance between brightness and run-time.  Previous run-time tests with the draco, suggest level 3 should give ~160 minutes and level 4 ~80 minutes

Keychain usage:

I have had the drake on my keychain for over a year now, the chrome finish on the aluminium version has held up relatively well.  There are a few minor scratches on it, which are only noticeable upon close inspection.  I would expect the AlTiN, TiN or Diamond coatings to hold up even better, as they have a higher hardness than the chrome coating.

I find the beam from the drake is good for keychain purposes, it is relatively wide and floody.  The diminuitive size and weight makes the drake less noticeable when carrying it on a keychain. The amount of light that comes from a flashlight of this size is quite amazing.  There are very few other multi-mode flashlights that offer this amount of brightness, in a package so small.

Constructive criticism:

I do have to say, the brightness of the the drake on high is not well regulated and brightness does tend to decline as the battery drains.  This is not really the fault of the drake, but merely the limits on what is possible with such a small battery.  Personally, I would not recommend running the drake on high for prolonged periods, as the light gets quite hot and the heat may damage the LED or driver.  In my mind the high mode is predominantly there for 'showing-off' purposes.

I find it can be difficult at times, to turn on the light one-handed.  One of the reasons for this is the placement of the knurling (those grooves and indents which give you grip when holding the light).  Greater knurling on the head of of the light would make turning it on, easier.

My pet peeve of the drake is with the driver (electronics which control the LED).  The driver uses quite noticeable PWM to regulate the light.  PWM is where the light flashes very quickly to regulate the brightness.  When shining the light on rapidly moving objects, rather than one continuous picture, the movement can be seen as quick 'stop motion' pictures.

The user interface for switching modes can be tricky to get used to. If you turn the light on/off too quickly, it will switch to the next mode, the next time you turn your light on.  This would be less of a problem if the time delay for memorisation is reduced from 1 second to 0.5 seconds.


Alternatives to consider:

Since the drake is no longer being made, some other lights that run on the 10180 battery format:

Lummi Wee (only one mode but you can choose from either 25/50/100 lumens)
Steve Ku's 38DD (VBC direct drive - gets brighter as you twist it tighter)
peak eiger 10180 (only one mode, but can select from a range of options)


If you have any questions about this light or other keychain lights, feel free to leave a comment.  I will do my best to answer your question.


Related links:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?231925-Drake-Draco-Payment-%28PART-4%29
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?159522-Introducing-...-quot-Drake-quot
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?147586-Draco-BRAVO
http://lights.chevrofreak.com/runtimes/Draco/

More Photos:

Chrome finish after more than one year of usage