Sigma Customs Regulus Brass Flashlight Review
Here’s the Sigma Customs Regulus flashlight in brass, a light I had wanted for a long time but never actually chased. This one came to me in a trade, and I am happy that it did! Brass is my jam. Nichia is my jam. Read on for a bit of testing, and mostly a bunch of photos!
Official Specs and Features
Here’s a link to the Sigma Customs Regulus Brass flashlight product page.
Versions
There are so many versions. So many. Devin (who is/runs Sigma Customs) uses all sorts of metals, and every light has so many options. Also, Devin is a wizard if you want it in one of his lights, he’ll probably do it for you.
Price
Again, I got this in a trade, but I think the Regulus in any metal, comes in at around $545. At least most recently, when the “Short McRegulus” was available, it was $545. That’s for the 18350 version. You can also request an 18500 version ($565) and an 18650 version ($585). I don’t think the material you pick has a bearing on the price (provided you aren’t asking for exotics).
There’s really more to the pricing scheme, but it’s not really “you’re going to pay more” – it’s more of “this can truly be a custom light, and you should just talk to Devin to know more.”
Let me just throw this thought in here upfront, about buying a light like this. There’s really only one reason you’re going to buy this light: because you want it. If you don’t want it, then you aren’t going to buy it. If you don’t want it, you might even be compelled to comment on how it’s “not worth it.” You might be inclined to say the same about some other light – some less expensive light which produces more lumens, for example. In those cases you’ll say “I’m buying this because I want it” and that’s probably true, but it also provides high output.
This one, you buy simply because you want it. Maybe you want it because you appreciate the craftsmanship. Or because want to support the maker. Maybe you just really love the look. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that.
There’s plenty of room in the flashlight world for users of all sorts.
Short Review
I love using the Sigma Customs Regulus Brass flashlight. It’s even great for carry if I carry it right. It’s not a lumen powerhouse, and it’s heavy and long, but it ages so nicely, and the quality is very high.
Long Review
The Big Table
| Sigma Customs Regulus Brass Flashlight | |
|---|---|
| Emitter: | Nichia 219c (4000K) |
| Price in USD at publication time: | $545.00 |
| Cell: | 1×18350 |
| Turbo Runtime Graph | High Runtime Graph |
| LVP? | Yes |
| Switch Type: | Mechanical |
| On-Board Charging? | No |
| Claimed Lumens (lm) | – |
| Measured Lumens (at 30s) | #DIV/0! |
| Candela per Lumen | 15.9 |
| Claimed Throw (m) | – |
| Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s) | 855lux @ 3.411m = 9948cd |
| Throw (Calculated) (m) | 199.5 |
| All my Sigma Customs reviews! | |
^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.
What’s Included
- Sigma Customs Regulus Brass Flashlight
- Oveready Pocket clip
I purchased this used, so I’m not fully sure what ships with these lights from Sigma Customs. Fairly sure though, that what you see here is what you get. Plus some packaging, of course.
Package and Manual
Again I got this used, and have no idea how Devin ships. There isn’t a “collectible package” to speak of though, so don’t plan on a case or anything else.
Also, there is no manual. Hopefully, this review will be thorough enough for that!
Build Quality and Disassembly
Build quality is what a maker like this really has to rely on. There’s nothing else. The driver inside is a standard (but high quality) Dr. Jones H17f, which you could get in any number of other lights – in fact, you could install one for around $20 into an inexpensive Convoy S2+ host.
But the build quality is what sets a maker like Sigma Customs apart. This is a very well-finished flashlight.
Here’s the top-down view. I’m still working on the best way to do this, but it’s getting better!
Here’s one of the main points that is enjoyable about this Sigma Customs Regulus in brass. The seam between head and tail is practically invisible. In the photo below you can see it fully tightened. It’s visible, but by hand, I can’t feel it at all. And running a finger over it, I can’t feel it at all.
Just for good measure, here’s that gap opened just a bit.
I call this “match machining” and maybe that’s just my term (google says: probably). But that’s what I call when seams like this match flawlessly. That single seam doesn’t make this flashlight worth more than any others. For example, my KillzoneFlashlights.com BLF-348 does this at least as well. But it’s a good sign, anyway.
Here you can see the driver. That’s the H17f you see there on the right, with the brass button. The tail end has a McClicky with a big spring.
That brass button on the driver protrudes just a little bit (see below). I’d rather that button be under the rim of the head. And possibly I could tighten the pill down a little.
Here’s a bit of detail on the innards from the head. People often call this the “light engine.”
I’m 81% sure Devin makes these pills (the aluminum part) himself. This one’s quite long, for this very long flashlight. There are a few things to note. First, above, note the red wire is coming through the edge of the pill. That’s unusual.
Second, see below. The edge of pills often has gaps that allow tweezers or split ring tools or whatever to grip the engine and screw it in or out. This one doesn’t, and I really don’t know why. That makes tightening it fully a little difficult, and this is why the button might stick up over the edge of the head.
Here’s the emitter, a Nichia 219c.
And the view down into the head – lots of threads! Note that you can see the optic here too, which is a single TIR.
That head has all these threads, which match to the body. These could probably use a cleaning, but this is a [well] used light.
Size and Comps
As Sigma Customs doesn’t have their own website or specs posted that I found, I’m providing my measurements.
Head and tail diameter: 25.07mm
Body diameter: 22.03mm
Thinnest ring body diameter: 21.07mm
Length: 101.30mm
Weight: 138g
If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).
Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.
And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.
I also have a few other lights I thought might be nice to see the Sigma Customs Regulus Brass against.
Here’s the Torchlab BOSS 35 FT.
Hanko Trident Reactor in titanium:
Okluma DC1 aluminum:
These parts actually fit together in a “working” way, too. Many of these lights (“these lights”) have this same threading. We can probably safely call it “Mac” threading, as that’s generally what started it all.
The Regulus is decidedly bigger than any of these others. It’s the only default single emitter in the bunch too. Notably, I have a single conversion in that Hanko Reactor, but that was made by Devin of Sigma Customs too.
Retention and Carry
Provide with the Sigma Customs Regulus is a pocket clip by Oveready. While Oveready offers titanium clips, I am confident this one is steel due to being strongly magnetic.
The clip has standard hole spacing, which means you can put your favorite non-default clip on here, almost certainly. For example, SteelFlame clips will work just fine.
The holes for the clip go completely through this tail end, so you don’t have to worry about screw length, too.
The pocket clip on this Sigma is my main contention point for this light.
There are two issues. First, and more bothersome is the place that the tightest point to the body lands on the body. It’s directly on a ring, and so when you put this on a pocket, you get a decidedly cheese-grater effect. McGizmo lights do this too (and that’s why I don’t have any McGizmo’s now) (and also why my Malkoff 123 gets carried fairly rarely). The clip is too stiff to give enough for relief.
Now the flip side of that is that this setup makes the clip extremely secure. I don’t have to worry about that usually, so what it means for me is that I’m not going to use the clip. I don’t normally like a light without a pocket clip, but this is a good candidate.
Secondly, and you can see this best below, is that while the mouth of the clip is just fine and plenty “open” for use, the shoulder of the light sticks practically right into the mouth. So the actual opening is very thin. This means you will not just mindlessly throw this light onto a pocket and be on your merry way. You’ll have to probably spread the mouth with your fingers, then carefully place the clip over your pants or belt or whatever. Then you get the cheese grater.
I don’t enjoy this so very much that I just carry the light loose in my back pocket beside my wallet. I’m used to this carry because that’s how I carry BOSS 70’s, so “no big deal.” But this light really needs to ship with a different clip.
And here’s a good candidate. Probably the least expensive pocket clip you can buy works nearly perfectly on the Sigma Customs Regulus. This clip is from a Convoy S2+, and fits perfectly into the grooves. The touch-point is past the shoulder, so you don’t have any conflict there, too.
And since the body has tons of grooves, you can move the carry depth up or down at will. This is not nearly as secure as the screw-on clip, however.
Power and Runtime
The Regulus is powered by lithium-ion only. The cell compartment size is for a single 18350 cell.
The pronounced button on the driver means any type 18350 cell will work. Though, since the driver has a FET channel, using lower output cells will affect the output.
Here are a couple of runtimes. Til now you might be thinking that since this is an expensive lights, there will be a ton of output. Really output isn’t just terribly high – around 600 lumens on turbo (that’s the double click to turbo that H17F offers).
I also tested the “H” level – that’s “High” from the default settings. I even reset the light to be sure that I was on H. I believe the light ships in default configuration, anyway.
Remember that this is a single emitter light.
H17f has low voltage protection, but I stopped the test when output was very low anyway.
Modes and Currents
| Mode | Mode Claimed Output (lm) | Claimed Runtime | Measured Lumens | Tailcap Amps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | – | – | 563 | FET, but tested to around 6.8A |
| 4 | – | – | 497 | 3.01 |
| 3 | – | – | 152 | 0.81 |
| 2 | – | – | 27 | 0.13 |
| 1 | – | – | 0.2 | ~ |
Pulse Width Modulation
H17f has PWM, we know this. I won’t say that I can see it by eye though, so really nothing to worry about.
Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.
Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.
User Interface and Operation
The switch is a forward clicky mechanical switch. This means it’s possible to use the switch as a momentary switch. It’s big, clicky, and knurled. The switch itself is an actual McClicky.
I will note that the light will tailstand easily – the bezel around the switch is tall enough to allow to sit fully flush on a surface.
I don’t have a user interface table for you, but I do have a flow chart that was made for another H17f light, and is applicable for this one too.
Depending on how you have your H17f configured, you may or may not have mode memory on. I absolutely never use mode memory if given the choice. So for my Hanko, I can tap and hold for momentary, or tap tap tap tap through the modes to get to the mode I want and then fully click to turn the light on at that mode. I can also double-tap (technically “tap then click”) for the FET Turbo (which is the mode I almost always forget about!). These are all “from Off” actions since once the switch is clicked on, the only thing that one can do is click again for off.
I had occasion to use that flow chart quite a bit during messing around with this light, and I have to say, it’s pretty useful. I even printed one for my desk.
It’s also worth noting that Sigma Customs sometimes uses other drivers. They have lights with the Icarus driver (which is very similar to the H17f (even based on it, really)), but great for single emitter lights. They also use the Led4Power LD-A4 driver. If you’re able to pick, give strong consideration to the LD-A4! It’s an impressive driver.
LED and Beam
My copy of the Sigma Customs Regulus in brass has a Nichia 219c. The temperature is 4000K. Devin will likely put into your light almost whatever you want, though.
That emitter is covered by a TIR, which provides a nice beam profile. You can also get the light with a reflector, but technically that changes the name – the Regulus then becomes the McRegulus. The “Mc” denotes that an McR-20 is used instead of an optic. I believe the McR-20 is somewhat rare.
These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.
Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)
I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.
I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!
Conclusion
What I like
- Excellent built quality
- Use of h17f driver
- Sigma Customs as a brand, and Devin’s responsiveness
- In hand feel like no other light
- Innovation by Sigma Customs (not seen as much in this light, but supporting this light supports innovation)
What I don’t like
- The pocket clip
- Using the pocket clip
- It’s a very big light, for being 18350 sized
Notes
- This light was provided by me for review. I was not paid to write this review.
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