Ra Twisty^TM Flashlight - The Details

The light that gets you home^SM

What makes the Ra Twisty different?  The following features:

1. Crenelations on the bezel.  The crenelations allow you to place the light face down on a table and see light out of the crenelations if the light is turned on.  The crenelated bezel can also be used for personal protection.
2. Stainless steel bezel.  Stainless steel is much stronger than the aluminum body and will prevent significant damage to the front of the flashlight if the flashlight is dropped bezel down.  Stainless steel does not deform like aluminum and provides a protected cavity for the glass lens.
3. The lens is made of ultra-clear glass with an anti-reflective coating on both sides.  This allows the glass to transmit roughly 98% of the light from the emitter and reflector.  The glass lens is made extra thick for additional strength.  Finally, the glass is protected on all sides by rubber cushions to allow the glass lens to survive extremely rough handling.
4. The reflector is machined out of aluminum for maximum strength.  The surface is coated with a special 3 layer coating to provide superior reflectivity and long life.  The surface is specially textured to produce a smooth beam pattern with a gentle transition between the beam center and beam exterior.  The reflector compartment is then completely sealed to keep out water and other contaminates.
5. The LED is the heart of the flashlight.  We offer two different LED options. The first option provides the highest possible reliability with an optional dim red mode and a somewhat narrower beam pattern.  The second option provides the highest possible efficiency with a dim white mode and a somewhat wider beam pattern.  The choice is yours.  Red light offers the ultimate in night vision protection and is of particular interest to those in the military, law enforcement, flying and astronomy.
6. The LED is joined to a thick integrated heat sink.  The heat sink transfers heat from the LED to the skin of the flashlight where it is dissipated to the environment.  Keeping the LED cool allows it to perform at its peak efficiency and dramatically increases the LED's life.  The LED's temperature is monitored by the electronics to ensure the LED never gets excessively hot.
7. The reflector and heat sink are designed to keep the LED and reflector in perfect optical alignment.  Perfect optical alignment ensures the integrity of the beam pattern.
8. The electronics are the brains and muscles of the flashlight.  We have designed the most advanced electronics on the planet.  The electronics provide the following special features:
   • The electronics precisely and efficiently adjust the voltage to the LED to generate the desired light output.  It does not matter if the battery voltage is higher, lower or the same as the voltage needed by the LED.  It does not matter if the battery voltage changes over time.  It does not matter if the LED needs a higher voltage for the high power setting or a lower voltage for the low power setting.  And it does not matter if the LED changes temperature over time.  Our unique power supply architecture just gets it done and gets is done very efficiently.  This highly sophisticated power management scheme is called constant power regulation and we are the only company using this method.
   • The electronics are fully regulated so that the light output stays constant from the time you put in a new battery until the time the battery cannot supply enough power for the selected setting.  Other flashlights slowly dim as the battery is used and generate significantly less total light output.
   • The electronics are designed to use both regular disposable lithium batteries as well as rechargeable Li-ion batteries.  When using regular disposable batteries you want to remove the maximum amount of power from each battery.  However, you will damage a rechargeable battery if you remove too much power and then the battery cannot be safely recharged.  Our advanced electronics automatically detects the type of battery being used and will handle each type of battery differently - depleting regular batteries while protecting rechargeable batteries.  Although our circuitry will protect rechargeable batteries that do not contain over-discharge protection circuits, we still recommend you only purchase batteries that contain the over-discharge protection circuitry as an added level of safety.  Our circuitry ensures the over-discharge protection circuitry in the battery is not accidentally activated.
   • The electronics are calibrated to provide a constant light output from one flashlight to the next.  Other flashlights can vary in light output by as much as 2:1 from one flashlight to the next so when you purchase their flashlights you never know how much light you are going to get.
   • The electronics take advantage of the logarithmic nature of your eyes to increase the maximum runtime without any noticeable decrease in light output.  Our 100 lumen flashlight will perform as well visually as the competition's 120 lumen flashlight because there is almost no perceptible difference to your eyes.  However, the difference in runtime is dramatic.
   • The electronics automatically detect when the battery cannot supply enough power for the current brightness level and gracefully drops the brightness by 50%.  The light will then double-blink once a minute to let you know the battery needs changing.  The process repeats when needed as the battery is used up until the lowest brightness level is reached, at which point the light will blink continuously.
   • The electronics automatically monitor the LED and flashlight temperature to prevent the LED or the flashlight from becoming excessively hot.  If the LED or flashlight temperature will exceed the limit, the power is incrementally reduced just enough to prevent the temperature from becoming excessively hot.
   • The electronics are protected from a reversed battery without resorting to placing a diode in series with the battery.  A diode is an inexpensive device that only allows current to flow in one direction and will prevent circuit damage if the battery is inserted backwards.  However, a diode in series with the battery is very inefficient.  Replacing the diode with more expensive circuitry provides both circuitry protection and high efficiency.
9. The electronics are potted using a special polymer.  The potting makes the electronics very tough and resistant to vibration and shock.  The potting also excludes water and other contaminants that can interfere with the correct operation of the electronics.
10. The three position switch controls the light output.  The switch controls low power signals that then tell the electronics what to do.  Less sophisticated flashlights have only one or two position switches that directly switch battery power.  Switching power directly typically results in lower efficiency - especially as the flashlight ages.  By allowing the electronics to switch power we maintain very high efficiency over the life of the flashlight.
11. The anti-shock positive battery contact prevents most damage to the battery's positive contact by cushioning the impact forces during gun recoil or bezel impacts.  The spring ensures that contact is not lost if the battery shifts in the battery compartment due to a tail impact.  The dimpled contact plate provides high point contact forces needed for a reliable low resistance connection to the battery.  The spring is made out of a special material that offers good spring qualities and significantly lower resistance than regular spring materials.  The parts are nickel plated for corrosion and wear resistance.  Finally the whole assembly is soldered together for high reliability and the lowest possible resistance.
12. The battery case interior has no protrusions that can cause damage to the battery case during severe impacts.  Large conductive threads are used to efficiently transmit power from the battery compartment to the head.  The threads use a special aerospace grease to prevent galling and to maintain a low resistance contact path.  We supply extra grease with each flashlight so you can properly maintain the threads.
13. The negative battery contact prevents most damage to the battery's negative contact by distributing severe impact forces.  The spring ensures that contact is not lost if the battery shifts in the battery compartment due to a head impact.  The dimpled contact plate provides high point contact forces needed for a reliable low resistance connection to the battery.  The spring is made out of a special material that offers good spring qualities and significantly lower resistance than regular spring materials.  The parts are nickel plated for corrosion and wear resistance.  Finally the whole assembly is soldered together for high reliability and the lowest possible resistance.
14. The light will tail stand.  This allows the flashlight to be placed tail down on any flat surface to bounce light off the ceiling.
15. Two large lanyard holes are provided.  A single lanyard cord can be run through both lanyard holes to allow the flashlight will hang perfectly straight from the lanyard cord.  A single lanyard hole can also be used if desired.

How tough is the Ra Twisty?

This production Ra Twisty was dropped repeatedly from a height exceeding 6 meters (20 feet) on to concrete, pavement and rocks. After over 20 drops, the light was repeatedly thrown at concrete, pavement and rocks. The light still functions normally. The glass lens did not break even with this severe punishment. Can your flashlight survive this kind of treatment?

As you can see, we pay a lot of attention to detail.  When you compare our flashlights with those of other manufacturers, you will see just how advanced our flashlights are.  Invest in good tools and you will be richly rewarded with years of reliable service.

For additional information about LED flashlights in general, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

Specifications:

• Input voltage: 1.8V to 4.5V
• Battery: CR123 primary cell (Li-MnO2, 3.2V), RCR123 rechargeable cell with safety protection circuit (Li-ion - Li-CoO2, 4.2V)
• Light Source: high efficiency white LED
• Maximum light Output: 70 or 100 lumens for 1 hour
• Regulation: constant power regulation
• Lens: ultra-clear glass with anti-reflective coatings
• Housing: aerospace aluminum, military type III black hard anodize, stainless steel
• Dimensions: Ø 25.5mm x 89mm (Ø 1" x 3.5")
• Weight: 88g (3.1oz)
• Waterproof to 2 atmospheres (20m or 66 feet of water) - static

Specifications are subject to change without notice.