Wowtac A3S - Anyone see it yet?

Specs list XP-L Hi, 1000Lm, and 34mm head diameter - but only max 19kcd, which seems a little low for XP-L Hi at ~3A and a lens that size? (for reference, SK68 head diameter is 25mm)

Edit: I bet the A3S looks a lot (identical?) like the A3, but just with XP-L instead of XP-G2. I think it looks awkward.

http://wowtac.com/wowtac-a3-zoomable-600-lumen/

I just received the A3 for review but I have not gotten to do any measurements and amperage and all that stuff , as I just got the light and have not had time to do any real testing yet.

My first impressions however are positive out of the box. The head slides very smoothly for the zoom , the beam does not have artifacts or rings like many zoomies and the build quality seems to be very good for a $20 light (even for a $30 or slightly higher light honestly)

I like the fact that there is a side switch ONLY for operation (No tail switch) , as this is something that you do not see on zoomable lights 99% of the time. Also you DO NOT have to cycle through any blinky modes with this one as it has hidden strobe and double click to Turbo.

Keep an eye out in the next 2 or 3 days for my full review to pop up on the A3.

Cool! Looking forward to your review

I’m always on the lookout for good zoomables. The pictures of this one look intriguing so I just ordered one. Should arrive on Monday.

It’s available from Amazon with free 2-day delivery for Prime members for those in the U.S.

Just an update to let anyone who was waiting on my review to show up……………

The weather (HEAVY Fog) has prevented me from getting any beamshots or video footage for the last 3 nights , which I have to have to finish the review. I am hoping it will be clear tomorrow night or the night after , as usually 3 to 4 nights is about the max days we have this kind of fog in a row.

Here is a picture from tonight at about 20 yards from the tree trunk , just to show why I have had to wait , and this was the least fog of the 3 nights so far !!!

Received one on Sat that was purchased, not review sample and must say it is very bright and of good build quality.
Looking forward to Robo819’s review to see what actual measurements are.
Does not zoom down to full die image, are they all like that?

Mine is the same way Muto. It stops just before you get the real defined edges and everything on the focus. I think just another 1/2 to a full a millimeter might be enough for the lens portion to slide forward to correct that.
I will be mentioning that to the company when I am done with everything though to see if they will address the issue with these lights.

I would have thought that stopping just before the focus goes square would be desirable. Square image is associated with cheapies and tends to colour shift to a horrible blue as well. I have even considered modifying an otherwise nice zoomie specifically to prevent the last mm of focus and keep the beam round and white. Maybe the manufacturer felt the same.

It is possible Zulu……Mine stops with the die image getting square but not all the way to the defined edges and dots like most zoomies. Probably one of those things that will have some liking the full focus and some liking it just the way it is though really.

Received my A3 today. Here are my initial impressions:

What I liked

  • Good UI. (long click for low. Quick click for last-used mode other than turbo. Double-click for turbo. When the light is on, click and hold to ramp up modes)
  • Good build Quality. Good anodizing with crisp lettering.
  • Body tube is attached with good-quality square-cut threads at both ends.
  • Fat o-rings
  • metal side e-switch
  • light does not appear to be glued. Bezel unscrews easily by hand.
  • Good knurling.
  • Good “hand feel” (how good it feels in the hand)

What I didn’t like

  • Light is mostly, but not completely sealed. This isn’t a good thing in a push-pull zoomie, since air pressure causes the bezel to tend to revert to whatever position it was in when the battery compartment was closed. There’s a reason why most budget zoomies omit one of the o-rings. Doing so is necessary for a smooth zoom that stays in position. It’s not completely sealed so it is possible to cycle the zoom and have it stay in position, but it may take a few tries each time.
  • Focus stops before LED die comes into focus. This decreases throw, but gives a more pleasing spot beam.
  • Lens aperture is quite a bit narrower than the front of the bezel. Why make the bezel wider than it needs to be? I prefer zoomies where the lens makes full use of the available space inside the light. It would have been better to either use a narrower bezel or a wider lens.
  • Battery compartment has a short spring at the head and a post at the tailcap. It is intended to fit the included 18650 with built in USB charger. I tried a flat-top Samsung 30Q and it did not work. The spring wasn’t long enough to make contact with the shorter cell.

Other notes

  • LED appears to be an XPG2
  • Included manual rates turbo output at 600 lumens with 3 hour runtime, with 13,280 candela max throw (230 meters). manual claims this is based on ANSI/NEMA FL1.
  • LED appears to be an XPG2. I assume it is an authentic CREE led, but have not tried to determine for sure.

Overall impression
A nicely built 18650 zoomie with side electronic switch. Only other light that I have comparable to this is the Supfire A2. Comparing the two lights, I like the Wowtac more than the Supfire. The Wowtac’s UI is better and the built-in to the cell USB means there’s no delicate external cover to replace. Also the button is much less likely to accidentally activate in the pocket.

Modding potential
Not fully sure yet as I haven’t tried to disassemble it. Also not quite sure how to get the driver out as it appears to be press-fit in and there are no holes in the back to allow easy removal. However, this might be a decent candidate to replace the driver with one with the D4 UI from Mountain Electronics, the cell with a Sony VTC5, and the LED with an XPL HI. Maybe also look to see if I can modify the head to use a wider lens.

My guess is the upcoming Wowtac A3S is probably similar but with an XPL HI instead of XPG2, $30 price instead of $20 and possibly a bit more current from the driver to get 1000 lumen output up from 600.

Nice writeup.

Pics? Would really like to know what you find inside if you can eventually get it apart and report back on the quality of the pill.

For modders, the lower cost of the A3 makes it preferable to the A3S, I think.

For us flashlight enthusiasts, it’s not a big deal to take a battery out of the light to charge it (I joke that it is similar to the rush that heroin addicts get just from prepping their gear before they even shoot up).

But for the general masses, the Supfire A2 recharging (on-board, where you don’t have to open up the light and take out the battery), it is a huge positive. People would MUCH rather plug in their light than take out a battery in my experience (selling lights to coworkers who don’t particularly care about flashlights, but do want something simple and functional).

Couple other things to clarify on the very nicely thought out UI:

Basic Operation

  • Short click from off - last used mode
  • Long click from on - ramp up intermediate modes (L-M-H repeat). The light will remember which one you last used and a short click from off will take you to that mode.
  • Short click from on - off

Shortcuts - These shortcuts do NOT overwrite the memorized last-used mode. So you can use a shortcut to access a shortcut mode, then turn it off and click once to turn it back on to the previously memorized intermediate mode. Turning on to turbo or ultra-low won’t erase the mode memory.

  • Long click from off - ultra-low
  • Double-click from on or off - Turbo
  • Four clicks from on or off - Strobe

The light also has tailcap lockout. Also the memorized mode is remembered even if you disconnect the battery.

Wow! Tactical!

For those who may have been waiting on my review of the A3 it is posted now………….

I can’t seem to find a definitive answer on the mod potential of these. Has anybody gotten them apart or are they glued like the wowtac headlamps seem to be? I’d only mod it to increase the output or change the UI. Seems like the Led’s are legit unless you wanted to change to a newer model or different color temp.
With that said, do you all think modding one is necessary/worth it? or it performs well enough out of the box? Thanks

lightning deal on amazon right now for this light ends in 15 minutes

I have an A3S on order from Amazon. Should arrive tomorrow.

Got my Wowtac A3S. Here are my preliminary impressions:

What I like:

  • Noticeably brighter than the A3. XPL HI is definitely superior to XPG2 in this kind of light. Brighter with the included battery. When I replace the stock battery with a Sony VTC5 18650 or IMR 18500 it gets much brighter.
  • Same UI and body shape as the A3. Nice knurling and side switch. The UI is excellent… probably the best I’ve seen in a stock zoom light.
  • Super-smooth zoom action. Much better than my A3. In my A3S there is clearly an opening somewhere for air pressure to equalize. Result is butter-smooth zoom cycling. Probably the smoothest of any zoom light I own.
  • Absolutely pristine beam pattern with no artifacts. The beam pattern is the cleanest of any zoomie I own. No rings or imperfections anywhere in the beam at any zoom setting.

What I am indifferent to:

  • The spot beam does not come fully into focus. This is aesthetic choice by Wowtac. By having the spot beam come to a fuzzy circle it looks better. But the downside is some throw is lost compared to a zoomie that brings the image of the LED die into sharp focus. The A3 is also designed this way.

What I don’t like:

  • The bezel is considerably wider than it needs to be. Lens looks to be a standard 20mm aspheric, but the bezel is 32mm wide. If you’re going to make a light with a wide bezel, make use of the extra width by including a wider lens or reflector… especially for a pocket EDC where size is important. Otherwise go with a narrower bezel.
  • *The light comes with a Wowtac brand 18650 with built-in USB charging por*t. By itself this wouldn’t be a bad thing, except that the battery compartment length is designed to accomodate this extra-long 18650. The spring in the compartment is short. As a result most other 18650s are too short to make contact and the light won’t work with them without modification. Also you lose USB charging if you swap to a different battery.

Modding Potential: excellent:

  • *The head and tailcap threads are compatible with Convoy S2*. This means you can easily swap the stock body tube with those designed for the Convoy S2 or Jaxman E2L. Swap in an 18650 tube for those lights and the A3S becomes slightly shorter and no longer has issues with the battery compartment being too long for non-wowtac batteries. Also you can swap in18500 and 18350 tubes allowing you to use the light with different battery types.

Note that if you try the swap there may be an issue with the threads at the head of the light being slightly too short to make contact with the back of the driver. I fixed this by bending a thin strip of copper into a C-ring and inserting it at the back of the driver. But you could also use some wire or a bent paperclip.

  • I haven’t tried to open up the A3S yet, but I did open the head of my A3. Getting at the LED to swap to something else doesn’t look too bad. This might be a decent candidate for a dedomed SST40. I suspect a driver upgrade won’t be necessary. In my testing with the stock LED the light was substantially brighter on better batteries. The driver looks quite good.

Overall I’m quite impressed with this light. It’s one of the best stock zoomies I’ve tried. Great interface. Great feel in the hand. Excellent output. Easily lego’d for different battery types.

Thanks for posting all this detailed and useful information!

I’ve just came across this light and it looked like the best zoomie yet, now it looks even better! I guess as a mod host the 3S model would be best because of the smoother “vented” zoom action.

(Further comment/inquiry posted in robo819’s review thread)

I like my wowtac a3s and deerelight xsearcher. Both are modded with the Olson black led.
Wowtac a3 have 759 lumen and 100k cd… or 632 m… dereelight hit 1600 meters. Both lights deserve to swap with the new Olson black.