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По умолчанию Object/Subject Review: MBI Core Ti

Like :thumbsup: my reviews on facebook!

In Progress

MatchBox Instruments is a flashlight brand developed by a mysterious figure known only as "The Guy With No Name" (who goes by TGWNN or Guy for short). Over the past year, he's put endless-seeming hours into developing a few high-end lighting products, and you can follow his progress in CPF's Custom/Modders section. His three main projects we've seen so far are the Torpedo, a high-output variable magnetic twisty AAA light, the HF (Holy Flashlight), a tiny two mode blast light, and the Core Ti, an exquisite titanium pendant that also lights up :thumbsup. This review is for the Core Ti (4.8mm version, blasted green).


Thanks to The Guy With No Name for providing the Core Ti for review.


I’ll be reviewing the Core Ti in two sections: first, I’ll discuss the light objectively (the facts about the light itself), then I’ll discuss the light subjectively (my impressions about the light's performance when used for specific applications). If you have any other specific applications you'd like the light tested for, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

3-Minute Overview

Below is a video "quick review" you can watch in just a few minutes, if you're not up for reading the full review right now:

[video=youtube;qBYaIEkGVFQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBYaIEkGVFQ[/video]
This video is available in 720p HD, but defaults to a lower quality. To select the playback quality click the settings button (looks like a gear) after you've started the video.


Objective

Manufacturer's Specifications

Price: $75 - $85 (depending on the finish)




Packaging




My review sample came in a complex package. Inside a white cardboard sleeve was a black box with silvered lettering (wrapped in bubble wrap), along with two MBI stickers.



Inside the black box, the Core Ti and accessories sit nestled in a foam cutout. The Core Ti is wrapped in a sort of tissue-paper, sealed with a holographic MBI sticker.


Construction



The Core Ti is made from titanium, one of the toughest substances known to man, and a very popular material for high-end flashlights. In addition to being extremely durable, titanium is non-corrosive and non-allergenic. This means that it doesn't really need to be anodized. However, one very impressive property of titanium is that it can be anodized by fire or electricity, which when done correctly will create a thin film over the surface that reflects light in dazzling ways, leaving it any number of impressive colors. TGWNN has the ability to do this anodization, and by using the electric method, can dial up just about any color you can think of. In addition to this, TGWNN has a few options for finish, which further vary the look of anodizing. The review sample provided is mostly green, with hints of gold and blue at some angles, and has been given a bead blasted finish prior to anodizing. Finally, for this initial run Guy has offered engraving as well, which can be seen on the button of this review sample.

The Core Ti a "pendant" style light, which means it's meant to dangle from a chain. Some of the most obvious uses would be as a neck light or keychain light (small clips and a chain were included with the review sample). The Core Ti uses a single CR2016 lithium battery, known often as a "button cell" or "coin cell", due to it's thin round shape. With this battery, it in some ways joins the ranks of the microlights, but in other ways, as you'll see, is very different.



The Core Ti appears structurally simple from the outside. The top of the light is smooth, with the only feature being the button. As you can see from these pictures, the colors seen in the anodizing are different depending on your angle of viewing. In these, the light mostly looks green, but has hints of gold near the bottom and blue near the top.



Seen, head-on, you can tell how thin the Core Ti is. It's got smooth rounded edges that match it's overall sleek style, and a small low-power LED emitter reminiscent of the early days of LED lighting (even the smallest modern emitters would be too large for this light). Seen from the side, you can tell that the emitter protrudes from the body just slightly, which causes the beam pattern you can see below.



Looking at the edge, you can see the thin line that separates the two halfes of the body (and also notice in this picture it appears a dark deal or blue). The Core Ti claims to be the thinnest titanium light, and as far as I know, it definitely is. Not only that, but it's also thinner than every other microlight-class light that I have seen.



At the opposite end from the emitter is hole for attaching the Core Ti to whatever you'd like. It's been thoughtfully designed with a notch in the top to ensure that it will hang straight down.



The back of the light is completely smooth, and in these pictures you can see again an example of the color varying with the viewing angle. As I understand, this effect is more noticeable with the bead blasted finish than with the smooth polished finish.



With a close up of the engraving, you can see that the letters are crisp and clear, even though they are very small.



Now, it's time to open up the light. To do so, a small object (a fingernail is often enough) is inserted into one of these notches on either side of the emitter, and the two halves are pried apart.



You can see that the MBI, when opened, separates into two halves.



To change the battery, you just sip it out from under the tab connected to the LED. When you slip a fresh one it, insert it + side up (just like you found it).



On the back side, a holographic MBI seal (appears the same as the one used to package the Core Ti) is stuck to the flat inside surface, apparently for style, but possibly also to keep the positive terminal of the LED from contacting the body. With the battery removed, you can see the negative terminal of of the battery as well. The "circuit" board you see here is a simple push-button mechanical switch, on only when held down (momentary-on). Guy has mentioned a future possibility for a switch that will give the ability for constant-on, without being held down.



A close up of a corner shows one of eight small, strong magnets at each corner of both halves. These magnets are what keeps the two halves held together. A very rough measurement with my a metal detector shows a field strength of 730 µT (standard earth field of 40-50 µT, good fridge magnet 560 µT) at a distance of a few mm. The magnets are plenty strong enough to hold the halves together and keep them from coming apart on accident, but not so strong that you can't get them apart with a fingernail with light to moderate force.pr

The Core Ti is rated as "spashproof". Most water that splashed against the light will be kept out, but it's just the magnets holding together two pieces of titanium, and there is no real seal to keep water out if the light is submerged. Guy is looking into ways of improving the waterproofness in the future.



The Core Ti can be attached to a chain, keyring, or whatever you like by a provided clasp. The one pictured here is titanium, anodized the same color as the light (see the Accessories section for a look at the others provided with the review sample. The clasp came in the open position, meant to be closed around the light at your convenience. With a pair of pliers wrapped in tape I easily closed the clasp most of the way, but a small gap remained. With a little more effort I later closed the clasp almost all of the way, with practically no gap.



As you can see, the light can still be opened and closed when the clasp is attached.


Dimensions






The Core Ti is just slightly larger than a quarter or a bottle cap.

Accessories



My review sample included two MBI stickers, an aluminum ball chain, and four clasps of slightly varying shapes (two of anodized titanium matched to the body of the light).


User Interface

The UI of the Core Ti is just about as simple as it gets, momentary. When you hold down on the mechanical switch, the light is on, when you release, the light is off.

Guy has mentioned working on a constant-on dropin for the future.

Action Shots

You can click on any of these shots to see them full size.

Light in Hand/Neck


White Wall
ISO 100, f/3.3, 1/20"


BeamSlice


MugShot


Indoor Shots

ISO 100, f/3.3, 1"



Outdoor Shots
ISO 100, f/3.3, 2.5"


Performance

Submersion: The Core Ti is rated as "splashproof". This means it should not be immersed, but can handle brief contact with water. To test, I wore it around my neck and used it in a light rain. I could find no evidence of water entering or damaging the light.

Heat: Heat buildup is not an issue with the Core Ti

PWM: No pulse-width modulation is used for the Core Ti.


Drop: I dropped the Core Ti from a height of about 1 meter onto various surfaces (including grass, carpet, packed dirt, and wood). There was no functional damage or cosmetic damage evident. Being so light and made from titanium, I do believe it could handle much more than this.

Reverse Polarity Protection: There is no circuit involved, because the LED is driven directly from the battery, so putting in the battery backwards may damage the LED or just not light it up. When changing the battery, be sure to put it back in as you found it.

Over-Discharge Protection: Over-discharge protection is not necessary because the Core Ti uses only lithium primary cells, which can be fully discharged with no negative effects.


Spectral Analysis


All light that we see as white is actually made up of several different colors put together. The relative intensities of the different colors in the mix are what determine the tint of the white we see. For example, cool white LED's have a lot of blue, and warm white LED's have more red or yellow. This measurement was done on a home made spectrometer. The plot below the picture is corrected for the spectral sensitivity of the human eye. Note: the peak in the 900nm region doesn't really exist, it's a piece of the second-order spectrum that's showing up here because of the high intensity of the light source.

Output and Runtime


ANSI FL-1 runtime ratings are the time it takes for a light to fall to 10% of it's original output (counting from 30 seconds after turning the light on).

The vertical axis of the graphs below represents a relative brightness measurement using a home made light box. The horizontal axis is time in hours:minutes:seconds. Runtimes are stated in hours:minutes:seconds. These graphs may be truncated to show detail.

Output Graph

The Core Ti only has one output level, but it stays on for so long that I thought it would be useful to give a few different looks at the output over different lengths of time.

Startup Output (for about the first half hour)


ANSI Output (for the time it takes to reach 10% of the brightness at 30 seconds, a bit over 25 hours)


As I mentioned earlier, the Core Ti doesn't have anything to it's circuit that regulates the output to keep it constant, so it just follows the discharge curve of the battery.

Subjective Review

Quick break down:

+ Tiny
+ Titanium
+ Elegant looks
+ Magnetic closure
+ Very impressive anodization and engraving available
+ Simple design
+ Clasp and chain included
+ Easy to replace battery w/o tools

- No regulation
- No constant on
- Not waterproof

The MBI Core Ti is a simple light with similar function to all other microlights, done in a way that outrageously exceeds the quality of all that have come before.

There are a lot of other microlights available nowadays, but they are mostly designed with a disposable point of view. In fact, if you want you can buy a bulk batch of cheap microlights for less than it would cost you just to buy the batteries. If you're looking for the cheapest option that can get the job of a microlight done, then this isn't it. But if you're looking for a microlight that will last as long as you need, always perform reliable, and look amazing doing it, then you're looking in the right place.

The looks of the Core Ti are likely one of it's most exceptional features. Where other microlights are made from cheap plastic, and look like it, the Core Ti is made from Titanium, a very respectable material in it's own right. Then, you've got the options for different finishes and anodization colors and engraving, and the Core Ti really does start to bridge the gap between function and appearance, becoming almost a piece of jewelry, as it's maker intended. The plain ball chain included in the review sample does not really do justice to the elegance of this light, so I would suggest a higher quality chain if you intend to wear the light on your neck regularly.

MBI advertises the Core Ti as "the world's thinnest titanium light." I have no doubts that this is true. Really, there are very few lights of any material that are thinner, or overall smaller, than the Core Ti. The choice of Titanium not only means the light looks good, and will continue to do so for a long time, but it means that the light can be made thinner than if it were of some weaker material and still remain strong enough not to bend. Viewed from above, it's got a larger cross section than other microlights because of the magnets it uses and it's overall rectangular shape.

One of my favorite of the design features of the Core Ti is it's use of eight (four pair) very strong, small permanent magnets to keep itself closed. This means that the body can be opened to expose the battery easily by prying with a fingernail, but it still does not open by accident. As a bonus, it's got a very satisfying "click" when you put it back together.

There are just a few negatives for the Core Ti, and I believe them to be all tradeoffs for the small size and the simple reliability of the light. It has no constant on, no regulation, and is only splash proof. The lack of constant on isn't too big of an issue for me, other than the pain of not eating or sleeping for a few days while I held it on and perfectly still in my light box to perform the runtime test*. Usually if I want constant light for a while I use one of the lights I have with me that has a battery with higher capacity. I know that adding any of those three things would likely increase the size (though I also know that TGWNN is working on it), and I gladly accept the tradeoff, but I still do have to mention them as negatives.

Overall, the Core Ti is a very impressive achievement in the realm of taking a simple thing and making it great. If you're looking for a microlight that you can be proud to show off and be confident of it's holding up well over time. It doesn't have the fancy options in it's UI of some microlights, but it is much more visually appealing than any other I've seen. If that's what you're looking for, this is an excellent option (and currently the only one of it's kind I know of).


*I didn't actually hold the light there myself, I rigged a clamp to do it


Long Term Impressions
I'll fill this part in after carrying the light for a while. If nothing get's added here, either I find nothing else worth noting about the light, or I end up not using it often.
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