Prometheus Delta Review
At some point you run out of superlatives. Jason Hui’s output since this blog came into existence has tapped out the thesaurus. His Prometheus stuff is great. His Kickstarter stuff is great. And his 47s stuff is great. When you have written 10 million words describing gear over 10 years and you forced to use the words “stuff” and “great” you know you have come to the end of the complimentary lexicon. It is over.
The Delta is the culmination of years of engineering and design development and it is the pinnacle of Hui’s flashlight production and it is a truly superlative light hanging with the BOSS 35 at the absolute pinnacle of high end torches. Unlike a lot of the newer high end torches both the BOSS 35 and the Delta aren’t just machining achievements, they also offer state-of-the-art boards. The light that the Delta outputs is spectacular—sun-like, clean, and plenty bright (though no where near the 2800 lumens of the Fw3A). All of this is a conscious decision on Jason’s part. Furthermore, Jason takes the tweaking and modding game to the next level offering swappable optics. It the BOSS lights are the zenith of programmability, the Delta is the peak of personalized optics. The Delta is a high watermark in the flashlight world and despite is relative scarcity and price, it is worth the hunt. If you love lumens, you owe it to yourself to hunt down a Delta. They are glorious tools.
Here is the product page. There are a ton of variants both in terms of machining and materials, everything from this model (in aluminum with spun electroless nickel plating) to a full Moku Ti version. I chose fullers because, well, fullers are cool, but the dragon scale pattern is also pretty bitchin’. Prices range from around $330 to sky is the limit. You can swap optics on every design, but different optics are extra. You can get all sorts of parts upgrades too including a machined metal clicky. As Jason’s statement piece the Delta is an incredible light with incredible accessories. The only real problem is accessibility. Because of how complex they are to make, Jason makes them in small batches and they sell out in minutes. You might be able to find one on the site, especially if it is more expensive, but they basically evaporate. If you want to wait you can, but if you want to buy one and have it in a week, well, you need a bit of luck and timing. Here is a written review. Here is a video review. And here is my review sample (more on this below):
Twitter Review Summary: A master craftsman’s peak work—a supernal torch.
NOTE ON PURCHASING: I have been eyeing a Delta for over a year, but the availiability was always a problem. I emailed Jason and asked if he had any blems, so as not to take a light away from someone counting on one. He did and he shipped it to me at a discount. It turned out there was a miscommunication and I got a ti version. After sorting things out, I got this light—a non-blem aluminum model. As always, Jason and staff were great. It took a while, so don’t think I cut in line, but everything worked out. Jason even honored the blem discount. I bought this with my own money and I plan on keeping it until, well, the heat death of the universe, at which point I think it will be even more useful. Good peeps and good process.
As for the blem, honestly I could not find it. Jason’s standards for machining are insanely high so a blem for him is likely passing QC for everyone else. The second, aluminum version, is absolutely resplendent—it gleams like a jewel. I love the spun electroless nickel stuff.
Design: 2
From a design point of view this is a light with all of the right choices. I like the fact that Jason didn’t overclock the emitters. As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I think we are at a tipping point and with the Delta, I have plenty of light and zero concern that something is going to go wrong. I also like the choice of swappable emitters. Finally, the clip, a standard from Jason, is awesome as is the clicky. Time and again, Jason made good choices and the end result is a light with zero design flaws and a beautiful, simple form. If you like torches this is as close to the Platonic Ideal as you will find.
But with flashlights, the body tube et. al. are only part of the equation in terms of design. One major feature and something I am going to cover more in the future is the driver or board. The driver is the brains of the flashlight, controlling the output, the UI, and the battery consumptions. There are a lot of very nice flashlights, custom and production, that run relatively common, inexpensive drivers. H-series drivers are the most common. Better makers use their own drivers. CWF developed the Dragon driver. TorchLab uses its own custom driver. Prometheus, likewise, has its own custom board, the Icarus board. Here is more on Icarus. Jason actually sells these so you can install them in other lights if you want (or can). The big feature here is the fact that the entire board and the programming is 100% proprietary to Prometheus. You won’t find these features anywhere else and they are impressive: its completely solid state, it allows for a huge amount of power 3.4A, it has drop protection, its fully programmable, it has a hardwired access path to high, and it is entirely made in the USA. The driver comes with a lifetime warranty as well. This is one of the nicer drivers available.
Fit and Finish: 2
You get a Delica and your like “Yeah, this is put together well.” You get a Sebenza and you think “Holy Moley, this is nice.” Then you handle a Loveless Big Bear Subhilt and you think to yourself: “How did humans do this?” The Delta is in that latter category. It is so well made, so beautiful, and so clean that it seems as if it is that black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey—otherwordly in its construction. It feels solid without being portly, clean without being clinical, and beautiful without being ostentatious. The blem sample I got was good enough to land in the Sebenza tier. This one is better. If you find a flaw you are: 1) equipped with eagle eyes; or 2) you have a jeweler’s loupe.
Grip: 2
You would think something this gleaming would be slick, but you’d be wrong. Between the clip and the nice length to diameter ratio, the Delta is actually pretty snug in your hands. Even if cold and rainy weather (welcome to New England in the fall) the Delta does well.
Carry: 2
It is a chunk of aluminum, no doubt, but it is not as much of a pocket anchor as other lights of its caliber. It is distinctly lighter than the Muyshondt Beagle and it isn’t as bulky as the Rotary with its weirdo clip. Still, you won’t mistake this for a subcompact light like the Surefire Titan Plus or the 47s Preon Mk. III. Given the performance and the build quality though, its not bad at all in the pocket. You can’t get a “survives an apocalypse” build without some heft.
Output: 2
900 lumens is nothing to sneeze at, for sure. But it is not the screamer that other lights on the market are. The reality is, however, that those lights aren’t significantly brighter in terms of perceived output (as lumens are perceived logrythmically and not linerally) and it never courts scorching heat. The copper heat sink is exeptionally effective, keeping the light from getting as hot as the BOSS 35 does on high. The low, of course, is beautiful and useful. All of this is done through a nice 219C Nichia emitter with a CRI of 92. If you need more lumens look elsewhere (or use some reason to figure out you don’t). If you are fine with a car headlight worth of light with virtually perfect color rendering and superior heat dissipation, then the Delta is for you.
Runtime: 2
Beam Type: 2
What’s your favorite beam type? If your answer is “Yes,” then the swappable emitters on the Delta are for you. Honestly, this, like the programmability on the BOSS; it is so far ahead of the game that it basically breaks the scale. Sure you can go to Zebralight and pick your emitter, but this is the first light I know of where the emitters in a single unit are user-swappable. That’s friggin’ cool.
Beam Quality: 2
See above. I have the medium in as a default and it is surpassingly clean and accurate. I have no reason to think the other emitters would be bad.
UI: 2
While programming is a bit complex (here is the video tutorial), the UI itself is pretty straightforward as a three position clicky with mode memory. That is, if you can’t remember, the same set up on my beloved McGizmo Haiku. It works well and with a true low, you can drop it into low before you turn the light off and you never have to work about a “flash start” waking up the spouse in the middle of the night.
As with all but one enthusiast-grade lights, programming here is challenging, but no more so than other set ups. If you are familiar with the typical 47s programming it is basically that difficult, but no more.
Hands-Free: 2
Tailstands like its magnetized and it won’t roll. I can’t imagine biting this beautiful surface, but in every other regard you are 100% good with the Delta.
Other Considerations
Fidget Factor: Very High
The Delta is so gorgeous, so supremely well-finished that you can’t but help picking it up and rolling it through your fingers. Its a siren’s song for fidgeters.
Fett Effect: Very High, if you want
I love the gleaming silver look, but if you want you can let a patina built up on Jason’s stuff and it actually looks very, very good—a dark, smokey look. If you want to, however, you can keep it pristine with a little cleaner. I use Windex.
Value: High
A $330 flashlight is never going to be a very high value, but given what you get here, this is one of the best buys out there in the premium light market. I have had torches that cost four figures and this is easily an equal to that light in terms of fit and finish. Its more conventional, but I think, overall, a better light. That is a perfect formulation of high value.
Overall Score: 20 out of 20
There are two aspects to this light—my own personal debate and the larger debate that will undoubtedly occur among the gear heads that are not devotees of Jason Hui.
Here is my personal debate: from the moment it slid out of its package, was whether it got a perfect score or not. I like the BOSS 35’s programming better and so I couldn’t give it a perfect score, but this is exceedingly well made, well designed, and well executed light. If you want to see what the high end gets you, start here. Its amazing. I wouldn’t worry about the programming either. Its like moveable shelves on a bookcase—once you find your favorite set up, they may as well be built in. Jason is the best light maker in the world right now and this is proof why. His productions are best in class and his high end stuff is as well. Plus it is $300 cheaper than everyone else.
The debate among flashlight fans in a broader context is this—can you justify paying $330 for a light that “only” outputs 900 lumens? If you are spending that much money, you might reason, that you should get everything in a light—fit and finish, breathtaking design, glorious tints, and a roaring output. But I am not convinced that output matters. Sure, if this were a 100 lumens and the same price today I would balk, but 900 lumens is a useful amount of light. I know some want more, but for me, its like horsepower in supercars—its what you do with the number that matters. For many years, an Ariel Atom bested all of the supercars in the worlds, save one (the supernal Pagani Huayra), on the Top Gear test track and it had an engine with less than 300 horsepower (they now make much more powerful versions). So too it is with lights. The number is not just misleading, it is the wrong thing to examine. As Quickbeam said many years ago—you don’t measure a good whiskey by its proof. Good whiskey, like a good light, is evaluated by its final product. If whiskey tastes good, goes down smooth, and has a nice aftertaste the proof doesn’t matter (my anniversary edition of Bookers proves this—it was quite high, but buttery smooth). And here, the light is so nice and the output so useful, the lumens count just doesn’t matter. If it does to you, I can see why this light wouldn’t move you, but I think that thinking is wrong. Just try the Delta and you will agree.
Competition
2019 saw an explosion of microbrand lights. A lot of them are excellent machining experiments with so-so internals. Of the really elite lights four stand above the rest: the HDS Rotary, the Muyshondt Beagle, the BOSS series, and the Delta. There are good reasons to buy each and every one of these lights. The Rotary’s superior UI is the best in the world, the Beagle’s dual array is fascinating, the BOSS’s programmability is the best on the market, and the Delta’s swappable optics are incredible. In this ultra competitive space, its tough to call a winner. I did a shootout with the Rotary, Beagle, and BOSS found here, but the Delta was not out then. The BOSS won and I find that the Delta, had it been available, would have faired quite well in that shoot out. Its that good. None of those lights stink, but the BOSS and the Delta stand out significantly. Picking between those two, however, is really, really hard. Suffice to say the Delta hangs in there with the very best the market has to offer in terms of torches, regardless of criteria.
Amazon Purchase Links:
If you want to support the blog and are interested in the gear mentioned here, follow the links below and purchase items—the proceeds help buy new review samples to keep the blog running and 100% independent: