Eagletac P10A

[Gareth]

  Well I just got my new P10A through the door and I thought I'd give you my first impressions.  It comes in nice enough packaging, plastic tray and cardboard wrap that is easy to open (no swearing at blister packs here). 



  I never use pocket clips myself so the first thing I did after installing the battery was to remove the clip.  It doesn't feel as flimsy as some reviews suggested and is designed to allow both bezel up and down carry without having to swap the clip around. 
  The controls, or user interface (UI) as some would have it, are simple enough.  The tail switch is a forward clicky allowing for a half push for momentary on.  The High/Low levels are selected be a slight twist of the bezel.  Fully tightened give you High (130 lumen's as published) a fraction of a turn to loosen the bezel gives you Low (37 Lumen's as published).  Simplicity itself really, one of the reasons I liked the look of this torch.
 


Considering this is a single AA torch it's a chunky monkey.  Here it is against a Fenix L0D (one I think most folks can relate to) and another in my average sized hand.  As I intend to carry this one in a bag it's not a problem to me but may be an issue to others.





So first impressions are good.  If feels nice and solid and is certainly bright enough and easy enough for my needs.  I'll update this when it has seen a bit more use.

[rp252]

It looks good mate

Big for its class isn't it.  Hopefully that will make it a sturdy bit of kit.  Looking forward to hearing how it performs.

Cheers for the pics mate.

[2xTap]

Gareth,

Nice one bud! 

I have been meaning to get a few of the EagleTacs I have been eyeing, just never seem to get around to it......always buying something else. Good lights from what I have been hearing.

2xTap

[Benner]

Looks good mate.    I quite like the size.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Nice one mate

[Freudian Frog]

Can't wait to hear the long-term review!

[prime77]

Looks good. I have been eyeing some Eagletac lights lately but haven't pulled the trigger. I like the size though. Some lights are just to small for me.

[Gareth]

Well I tried to get some shots of the light levels from the P10A last night but with limited results.  In fairness to the light it is far brighter looking to the eye and it's down to my camera (and my skill with it) that it looks a bit dim. 

Control shot:


Low level:


High level:

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

It's got a bit of poke then

[Gareth]

I certainly beats anything else I have in the size.  I have to go up to my Tesco 2C or my D cell Maglite to get any brighter.

[rp252]

It does a good job mate, impressive    I find cameras tend to give poor results when taking beamshots unless you use the right exposure settings.  Don't know how to do it myself sorry, maybe one of our more camera literate members could give some pointers.

The problem is now I want to buy one

[Gareth]

It does a good job mate, impressive    I find cameras tend to give poor results when taking beamshots unless you use the right exposure settings.  Don't know how to do it myself sorry, maybe one of our more camera literate members could give some pointers.

The problem is now I want to buy one

my work here is done. 

[Gareth]

Having been playing with this for a couple of days I've got a bit to add.  As I said above this is quite long for a single cell AA light.  Most of that is down to having a very deep reflector, I suspect that this adds to the impressive throw and tight spot.  As you can see from the shots above it still has a very useful spill as well.  I'm also finding the low setting far better as a "go-to" level than I thought I would, I keep turning the this on and thinking it's in High not Low.  So as a light source I'm very happy.

Now for the not quite so good.  As I said above the UI is very simple.  Unfortunately it's not very ergonomic.  Being a tail switch the chances are you will be holding the thing with the switch under your thumb and the bezel at your pinkie.  All fine so far.  The problem arises when you decide you want to change the light level, I'm having to turn the thing around in my hand to hold the bezel between my thumb and forefinger to turn it, it's really quite tight.  Perhaps a more aggressive shape to the bezel would help me grip it with my pinkie and ring finger but I don't know.  By far and away it's easier to just use both hands.  Who know it might loosen up a bit in time but it seems unlikely.  i suspect the idea is that you use it in Low for the majority of time (and as I said this works out fine) and only boost up to High on rare occasions.

I'm still happy with this overall and can see it traveling with me quite a lot. 

[rp252]

Glad to hear you like the light mate.  I have had similar experiences with UIs like that.  It would be nice to be able to change the mode one handed, but I usually just use two hands.  Can be annoying, but its usually ok.