Practical Guide to Everyday Carry Gear by Rob Robideau

Author:Rob Robideau [Robideau, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Outdoors, Hiking & Camping, Camping, Instructional, Outdoors & Nature, Guide
ISBN: 0985049111
Amazon: B006WUQD62
Published: 2013-11-16T05:00:00+00:00

Flashlight Technology and it's Progression

David Chow is a flashlight enthusiast turned manufacturer. He is the founder of 4Sevens, an innovative company that focuses on bringing performance LED lights to market at affordable prices. His knowledge and passion is obvious in the interview below.

Rob: We’re here to talk about everyday carry flashlights. David, why don’t you tell us what makes you qualified to speak on this subject? Tell us a little bit about your background and what you do for a living.

David: Well, I started a flashlight company about six years ago, just at the eve of the LED revolution, when the LEDs started producing serious amounts of light, enough to potentially can replace the incandescents. I call these power LEDs because they’re driven at a higher current, producing a lot more light then traditionally what LEDs can put out.

Rob: You talk about this LED revolution. I remember not too many years ago, when everyone had incandescent flashlights. I remember these huge, two C-cell batteries were the norm. I’d take those things to camp, and you could hit people over the head with them, and they didn’t put out half of what you can get with a small little AAA light nowadays. How long ago would you say that this revolution started? I know it’s not something that happened on a certain day, but where did the major breakthrough innovation happen? About what year?

David: I’d say 2003-2004 when LumiLEDs came out with their Luxeons. That’s when the LEDs started to grow up.

Rob: So that’s still relatively recent!

David: Yes, within the last decade.

Rob: So you got started about that time. When did you start making lights?

David: I started modifying lights for people about ’04-’05. It was kind of a hobby, and eventually turned into a business.

Rob: So how did it turn into a business? Did you just have enough work that you said, “I see demand here, I’m going to go full time?” How did you make that jump?

David: At that time I was actually working full-time. So it was mainly an evening thing to bring a little bit more to the table. I was modifying flashlights for people. At some point it got a little overwhelming to do custom work, and I met some guys in Asia. Today they’re known as Phoenix. They started by selling LEDs to street vendors. We hit it off and talked about product. By the end of ’05 we were cranking out some pretty high end flashlights, which was unprecedented up to that point. These were lights that used aircraft grade aluminum alloy and housed high-powered LEDs. The very first light was driven by a single AA, the most common battery on the planet, and most available. To be able to put out 30, 40 lumens from a single AA was just simply unheard of at that time.

Rob: So now were you just working with their product that they had, or did you start collaborating right away? How did that work?

David: Well, they were actually on Candlepower Forums.

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