Category Archives: Product Reviews

Gadget, gear, and technology

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Athlon Cronus G2 20-60×86


Athlon makes a wide range of spotters but doesn’t have as storied name recognition as other bigger brands. The Cronus is Athlon’s top tier product line. Their Gen2 UHD 20-60x86mm spotting scope is not in the same class as a Kowa or Swarski, it still does not disappoint. This scope is a beast weighing in at nearly 5lbs, which isn’t surprising given it’s large 86mm objective. This large lens gathers in a lot of light providing a very bright picture especially during dusk.

The Cronus comes with a set of rubber lens caps. The front has a loop for a lanyard but no lanyard was included. The body is rubberized and armored for durability and grip. The body comes with an ARCA-Swiss compatible tripod ring which rotates 180º with indexing for an easy return to 0º. The eyepiece has a large diameter lens for a wide eyebox and a built in retracting eye cup.

The Cronus sports UHD glass which is Athlon’s term for their flavor of Extra Low Dispersion glass. While my testing camera does show some slight chromatic aberration at 60x, this is not noticeable with the naked eye. The image I was seeing was clean, accurate, and sharp from center to outer edge.

The only disappointing aspect of this scope isn’t the scope but its accessories. The padded sleeve style case is designed to allow you to keep the scope inside the soft case while mounting and using the scope on a tripod. While a laudable attempt, the materials and construction feel a bit cheap compared to the the scope. And the lens caps should have come with optional lanyards to keep them retained onto the scope. These issues are superficial and don’t detract from the actual performance of the Cronus.

Athlon sent me their new dual focus model with a fine focus knob sitting on top of the fast focus. This model is not yet released but their standard model with a large focus ring around the tube is widely available.

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SPECS

CRONUS G2

Magnification: 20-60x

Objective: 86mm

Eye Relief: .79 – .7”

Close Focus : 29.5 ft

FOV: 117 – 60 ft @ 1000 yrds

Coating: XPL

Glass: UHD

Prism: BaK-4

Waterproof: IPX 7 

Purge Gas: Argon

Weight: 73.5 oz

Dimensions: 15.2 “x 6.7”

Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Athlon Argos G2 8×42 Binoculars

Athlon’s Argos line is their value tier product line, a step up from their budget/entry level Talos. But taking a look at the build quality and features of the Argos Gen2 8×42 binoculars, it looks more like a premium optic. The tubes are encased in rubberized armor coating with checkerboard textured panels to add further grip in wet conditions.

The Argos comes with soft plastic retained front lens caps which are one of the few disappointing features. The retaining strops too easily slip off the front of the tubes when flipping open the caps. The rear caps are spectacle style which can be retained to the optic, when used with a neck strap. The rear lenses have built-in retracting eye cups.

Indicative of budget level optics, there was some softness in focus and increased chromatic aberration along the other edge of the image. The Argos does not have ED glass like their more expensive Midas and Cronos optics but was nicely bright and clear. For an 8x scope, the field of view is nice and wide with good depth of field.

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SPECS

ARGOS G2

Magnification: 8x

Objective: 42mm

Eye Relief: 17.3mm

Close Focus: 4m/13 ft

FOV: 371 ft. @ 1000 yrds

Coating: XPL / USP

Glass: UHD

Prism: BaK-4

Waterproof: IPX7

Argon Purged

Weight: 25.5 oz

Dimensions: 5.7″ x 5.3″

Gadgets, Product Reviews

OLight Arkflex

The Arkflex adds a new angle to the innovative wedge style EDC. The Arkflex rounds out the harder squared edges of the Arkfeld design. It is a little smaller and lighter than the Arkfeld and lacks the rotary control, UV light, and laser. Arkflex adds a new feature: a hinged top which can tilt the dual LED emitter to 90º angle. With the tilting emitter, the Arkflex can transform from a standard wand style flashlight, into a clip-on hands free work light.

In testing, the Arflex meets or exceeds all of its printed specs. The Arkflex outputs a little over a maximum of 1000 lumens in Turbo mode. It has a runtime of 120 minutes in Turbo and can be fully immersed in water.

But nothing is perfect. After my testing, my sample unit wouldn’t turn off until the battery died and wouldn’t recharge. It was defective. But rather than this review ending in a negative conclusion, it became a test of the company’s warranty and customer service.

I went to the Warranty and Repairs page of Olight’s website and entered in a return request. After uploading photos of the unit and describing the issue, they emailed me a PDF return label. I received a replacement unit a few days later. Unfortunately Olight was out of the Halloween limited edition lights, so they sent me a plain orange one. Far from disappointed, I was impressed with how easy Olight’s warranty return process was.

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Gadgets, Product Reviews

Blackbeard Plasma Lighter

When you hear the words ‘plasma lighter’ the lightsaber or something out of the Aliens universe comes to mind. But they are real and they are sci-fi (at least to old guys like me). Plasma lighters are battery powered devices that generate a high voltage electrical arc which can ignite kindling. They work in the same way as your car’s spark plug or a mini taser.

Blackbeard Fire sent me a Pirates Plunder survival pack which includes their Plasma Lighter along with Firestarter sticks and a Ferro Rod. The device is about the size of an executive Zippo lighter and is incased in a black silicone skin. The top is latched down to keep it water proof. The device is recharged via USB-C and has LED charge indicator lights.

Pressing on the a button next to the igniter, immediately creates a purple spark of plasma. Unlike a plasma lighter that I already owned, Blackbeard’s uses not just a single pair of electrical contacts but four to create an ‘X’ like electrical arc between them.

Like a mini arc welder, the electricity heats the air into a plasma at hot as the surface of the sun. The Plasma Lighter easily ignited the Fire Plugs and FIrestarter fibers that I had soaked in water for an hour. The only thing a Plasma Lighter doesn’t do better than a traditional lighter is provide illumination but I’m sure somebody makes a version with a built-in CREE light so check-mate Bic.

AFFILIATE RETAIL LINK

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Gadgets, Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

5.11 X.VI Pants

5.11 worked with law enforcement SWAT teams to design the X.VI tactical pants. These pants were only available to Law Enforcement and Military until this year when 5.11 made them available to civilians on their website. I had my first look at them at SHOT Show in January, where I learned that X.VI was Roman numerals for 5.11.

These pants are robustly made with gusseted stitching to reinforce stress points, especially around the waist. The pants are loaded with well thought out performance features. All the pockets are oversized and the cargo pockets contain internal mag holders, zippered venting slits, and patented straps to adjust the height and position of the knee pads. The legs have built in knee pads with removable polymer knee covers and padding. The pant legs have boot hooks that anchor the pant ends to the top laces of your boots and keep them from riding up and exposing the top of your boots to debris.

In my week long testing of the pants, I found them comfortable but a bit heavy. The only disappointing feature were the knee pads. Though well built with a variety of adjustment, they never stayed where I wanted them when sitting the car. I found myself constantly repositioning them by hand. Fortunately, the pads can be removed to allow me to use them with my Hatch knee pads.

The other aspect that would make me balk, is their price of over $200. While these pants are now available for civilians, but those civilians probably drive Rivians and not Kia’s.

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Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

MAVEN CS.24

The Maven CS.2A 26-66×85 has the highest magnification and largest objective diameter among Mavens spotting scopes. The scope appears to be made or at least assembled in China unlike the Japanese S-series scopes. But don’t let Sino-Snobbery bias you, the glass and build quality is a match to Maven’s other premium optics. This scope uses the same ED quality glass Mavens other C-series scopes. Color balance, sharpness, and brightness were on par with other quality scopes in the 1K-1.5K price tier.

Its only disappointment is it’s lack of field-grade lens caps or backpack ready carrying case or skin. While many premium scope brands also eschew accessories, Maven took the time to produce a custom branded front lens cap; yet somehow didn’t design it to have a simple lanyard loop to help keep an outdoorsman from losing it in the field.

Despite this nitpick, the CS.2A’s body design is armored and ruggedized for harsher outdoor conditions. At 60oz, the CS.2A is impressively light for an 85mm spotter. This scope has the power, features, and style that a well heeled back-country hunters or birders can appreciate.

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Amazon*: https://amzn.to/3YaYJt8

RESOLUTION

Element 6 / Group 0

SPECS

CS.2A

Magnification: 26x-66x

Obj. lens: 85mm

Exit pupil: 3.3mm / 1.3mm

Field of view (ft/1000 yds) : 113ft /56ft

Twilight factor: 47 / 75

Eye relief : 16mm – 17mm

Min focus: 16ft

Dimensions: W 15″ x H 4:  x D 6″

Weight : 60.0 oz

Prisms type:Schmidt-Pechan

Gas Purge: Nitrogen

Lens type: ED

Gadgets, Product Reviews

MIFMIA LED headlamp bulbs

https://youtu.be/wvx2luWeL1Y

At about 80k miles, I replaced the headlight bulbs in my KIA Sorrento 2019 with similar Sylvania H7 halogen bulbs. Most newer cars have switched to LED bulbs so I was interested in upgrading my lights to LEDs but many require cooling fans and “ballast” boxes containing controller electronics which make it difficult to fit into light housings without modification.

I found these H7 replacement bulbs by MIFMIA, a brand I’m not familiar with. Testing them out I found that their design was indeed identical length and form factor to halogen H7 bulbs. They fit in my housing and installed without issue. Their beams were brighter than the halogen bulbs and provided a whiter/bluer light.

Unfortunately my KIA’s computerized diagnostics system registered an error and displayed a warning light that my headlamp bulbs were burned out/disabled. These MIFMIA bulbs were returning an incorrect voltage signal to the car’s diagnostics and setting off a false alarm. Unfortunately they didn’t work for my 2019 KIA but they may work for your car.

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Gadgets, Product Reviews

Fenix PD40R v3.0

Tactical lights with their multiple lighting modes have always been hamstrung by their control, usually having to resort to multiple clicks or one or two buttons to cycle modes and brightness. With the PD40R, Fenix developed a duty light whose controls are an intuitive selector ring, allowing the user to precisely dial in their desired brightness or set the flashlight into SOS and strobe.

The PD40R v3.0 steps up in run time and throw distance from the v2.0. Physically the PD40 is just a little bit larger than the PD30 at a little over 6″ long. It runs of a 5000mAh 21700 lithium battery. The PD40R has a USB-C charging port allowing the battery to be charged inside the flashlight (which is fortunate because none of my LiPO chargers is large enough to fit a 21700 battery).

The PD40R has a slightly crenelated crown to assist in breaking glass and as a pressure point when used a self-defense tool. Because of its control ring, the unit lacks a tail click button and thus easily tail stands. Fenix included a removable pocket clip though the unit is a bit oversized.

In my testing, I measured 2600 lumens from a freshly recharged battery, which is close enough to its stated 3000 lumen output that I consider my reading well within a margin of error. In addition, the PD40 lasted well past Fenix’s 2hr and 40min runtime in Turbo brightness; I stopped my test at 3hrs and 40min and it was still not exhausted.

The only disappointing aspect of the flashlight is its control ring. I prefer the PD40’s control ring system which is much more intuitive and precise than pressing button combinations. Fenix claims the ring has a hard stop at TURBO to prevent the user from accidentally activating the SOS or strobe function. But in my testing, I too often accidentally turned the unit past TURBO into SOS. I contacted Fenix about this and they were aware of the feedback.

Suggestions about the SOS mode in the ring control aside, the PD40Rs exceeded expectations for “professional” performance.

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SPECS

Max Output: 3000 lumens

Max Throw: 500 m

Max Runtime: 89 hrs (low)

Modes: 6

Strobe Mode: 3000 lumens

Control: Rotary Switch

Length: 5.63” (143mm) 

Head: 1.34” (34mm) 

Body: 1.02” (26mm)

Weight: 6.98 oz. (198g) with battery

Charging Type: USB Type-C

Waterproof Rating: IP68

Product Reviews, Shooting Sports

Sunwayfoto Inverted Leg Tripod

Sunwayfoto sent me their new T4030CSI-L, one of their first Inverted Leg Tripods. Traditionally, telescoping leg tripods were attached at the hinge at the thickest and widest leg segment, telescoping out to the thinest section. Inverted leg tripods are hinged to the head at their thinnest diameter section.

Having the widest diameter part of the leg offers two advantages. The heaviest part of the leg is at the bottom, lowering the tripod’s center of gravity. Moreover, the largest diameter part of the leg also offers a wider contact point with the ground. One of the advantages I thought it would have would be the higher position of the locking rings but this did not prove to be substantially better ergonomics than standard tripods.

The T4030CSI-L is one of Sunwayfoto’s tall (L=long) and heavy-duty models. It has a rated load capacity of 66lbs but it was easily able to hold up my weight of ~165lbs. In use, I found it to be a sturdy and stable shooting platform, soaking up recoil from my 5.56 AR-15. Moving forward, I think I would prefer having all of my tripods follow this inverted design. But then I always tended to be a bit of a heterodox.

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SPECS

Material: Carbon fiber
Leg Size: large-diameter leg tubes (32 / 36 / 40 mm)
Leg Sections: 3 sections
Load Capacity: 30 kg (66.1 lb)
Maximum Height: Approx. 172.6 cm to 172.7 cm / 68 inches
Minimum Height: ~13.7 cm / 5.4 inches
Folded Length: ~78.9 cm / 31.1 inches
Net Weight: ~2.3 kg / 2.5 kg (5.1 lb to 5.5 lb)
Leg Angles: 23°, 55°, and 85°
Mounting Thread: 3/8″-16