Look what just came in the mail... Thanks guys!!

Hi everyone,

You know, you guys are wonderful. I just received this in the mail...

... and I never ordered it! :D Thank you so much! This was a really, really nice surprise today. I know that many of you were undoubtedly involved in the planning, but I have no idea which ones except for the sender. So please let me humbly say "Thank you!" to all who contributed to this very kind and thoughtful gesture. It's a real pleasure to have you guys as users here, and I mean that in the sincerest way.

So, what's special about this flashlight? First and foremost, the sender was Tido, who is the mastermind behind this popular post on BLF:
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/744
Yep, you guessed it, it's a Solarforce L2P with a custom built and custom programmed P60 XM-L dropin! And it's awesome.

It has two main mode groups. The first one has four modes. The second extended group of modes can be accessed by tapping a "short-long-long-short" OFF sequence. With respect to this second mode group, I have to quote a line from the nice letter that Tido included in the package:

So I innocently tapped short-long-long-short on the tailswitch, expecting more modes. And more modes is precisely what I got. At first I thought I did something wrong, because it apparently turned off. But no, upon looking directly into the emitter, I saw the lowest LOW mode I have ever seen on a flashlight. So low that I could comfortably look at all the fine details of the sectors of the emitter! And this is an XM-L, mind you. I even managed to snap a picture without overwhelming the sensor of my camera:

Incredible. So I clicked again, and again thought I did something wrong, because it apparently didn't change. But a few more clicks revealed that the brightness was gradually increasing with each click, no less then 14 of them! Fascinating. Finally it reached maximum brightness.... but the modes didn't end there. They just kept coming and coming like a flashaholic's feverish dream. Fast strobe, fast intermittent strobe, blink every 10 seconds, SOS, blink every 10 seconds, slow dim->max brightness phaser, fast dim->max brightness phaser, max->dim brightness phaser, BLF (nice one!), and medium with bright pulses. If you're keeping count, that's a grand total of 25 modes! "Somewhat more" indeed. :) This is a flashaholic's dream, to say the least. As a matter of fact it's even more than that, because I never even dreamed that such a thing could exist! 8) And yes, in addition to the SOS mode, it has a "BLF" mode that flashes the letters "B-L-F" in morse code. Pure genius. For the first few go-arounds with these modes I thought that this mode was some sort of random or erratic flashing mode (thought maybe it was a sort of satire on the sort of crazy SOS, OSO, S-S-O-O-O-S-S modes that we often see on our budget lights), but then it occurred to me that Tido is German, and as such I imagine that Tido is surely precise and methodical in pretty much everything and has probably never made or done anything frivolous or erratic in his life. :bigsmile: So it occurred to me that it might be BLF, and an online morse code translator confirmed it. Well done sir! So you're probably thinking, 25 modes is rather a lot to click through every time. For which case Tido has another trick up his sleeve with his engineering skills. The first main set of four modes are changeable! So I can select any one of the dazzling variety of modes from the extended group and assign it to any one of the four mode slots in the main mode group. Absolutely perfect. No need to try to "catch" the desired level at a certain point in a fast low->high cycle like other programmable lights such as the Akoray K-106. Instead, there is a very fine grained level of control, and the user picks the correct mode at his own leisure without being forced to test his reflexes to get the max or minimum brightness level. In short, this drop-in embodies an admirable level of expertise and forethought and planning that makes it by far the most versatile and fun flashlight in my collection to date. Pretty much perfect. Well done Tido!

Aside from the programming delights of the custom drop-in, I can't overlook the legendary understated classic design of the Solarforce L2P host with HAIII coating. Very nice! And you guys even thought to include a pocket clip accessory! Thanks a million, I've been wanting one of those for a long time. The beam has a nice cool tint, and it ties the Manafont Ultrafire 3-mode XM-L drop-in for brightest single-emitter flashlight in my collection.

So, what can I say? I am humbled and tickled and seeing spots after watching the dazzling light display that this clever creation just put on for me. Words fail me. Thank you all for expressing your appreciation in such a unique way. Best regards!

Indebted,
"The Admin"

I’m jealous.
Wish I could say I was part of it, but I wasn’t. All I can say is that’s what happens when you wont let these great users help contribute to the cause.

I'm green with envy.
Kudos to Tido and company. You deserve it Mr. Admin.

An expression of Respect. I didn't help but I'm glad you received such a wonderful light.

Thanks for the BLF

Nice!

Merry christmas!

Our very own BLF home brew! And exclusive too. Do I hear TIDO Customs? Salute.

Can't wait for a review Mr. Admin

Enjoy

An awesome light like that seems rather incomplete somehow . . . can't put my finger on it . . . what is it missing?

whatcoulditpossiblybeFoy

Foy's Seal of Approval?

FoyBezel!

I got an idea what your thinking. Does it involve a sharp pointy bezel?

I already approve, big time . . . Tido is the man . . . but it definitely needs one of these . . .

Foy

Wow! that is absolutely awesome, and as many have said, well deserved! What an amazing group you all are here on BLF!

Happy Holidays!

Mike

Congrats! A-W-E-S-O-M-E

Well I wished I could say I had something to do with it. But you deserve it. What a great website you have bestilled upon us.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Mr. Admin...

-- . .-. .-. -.-- -.-. .... .-. .. ... - -- .- ... -... .-.. ..-.

I like the morse coded message in the flashies

Amazed you picked up on it that quickly ...nothing slips past you :)

Very Niiiiiiice

to do for you. But then so is hosting/managing and developing this forum. You deserve every mode in that flashlight Mr. Admin.

You sure do.

I only wish I had somehow helped facilitate this..

To Tido and others who assisted, thank you for doing it. It shows great caracter to such things. And a merry Christmas to you and yours.

That is awesome, glad you have such a great light. Thanks for providing such a great website for us to play! Love the L2P (have one) and love that XML drop in! That really would be a flashaholics dream.

What a wonderful thing to do for Mr. Admin! Many thanks to Tido and anyone else involved!! I can't imagine sb enjoying and appreciating it any more than he does. I, like others, wish I could claim part in it as our beloved Admin deserves this and more for the wonderful family he has nurtured here.

Cheers to all and a very merry Christmas!!

Johnny

That's awesome. I'm not involved and i was totally unaware but probably know who are the culprits behind this. (the usual suspects).

This is a nice example that the world is not going completely down the hill as it may look lately. Congratulations sb56637 for owning this gem and the masterminds behing the gesture and realization.

Exactly. Acts of kindness like this go a long way towards restoring one's faith in humanity. There's still a lot of good people out there.