FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Yes will do

Yeah let me get a fifth one please lol last one I swear

Please sign me up for two!

Not sure how I missed this thread in the past, but put me down for two if possible.

Iā€™m interested in this light but 50+ pages is a lot. :slight_smile: So far I know that max is 2500/3000 Lm, triple XPG3, single 18650, neutral? CCT? Iā€™d love 4500K but does anyone know the real number? Levels? Anything else I should know before joining in? Thanks!

Info is in the OP :wink:
CCT?

Will update list later!

XP-G3? Is that right Miller?

Not good, Nichia 219C or equivalent will make it a great little light, G3ā€™s will not be pretty in this little beaut and Iā€™d either have to toss em or just not buy.

Iā€™m a little concerned about XP-G3 too, but hopefully the prototypes will tell whether itā€™s okay. Iā€™d rather have fewer lumens instead of a rainbow beam, but maybe it wonā€™t have that issue. Just gotta be patient.

Thanks! Iā€™m in for 2. $30 still? You guys are awesome!

Iā€™ve read what I can find on Narsil but most of itā€™s NarsilM. Iā€™m assuming theyā€™re similar in effect and thereā€™s something similar to 1, 2.5, 10, 35, 65, full multilevel available. If thereā€™s a 6 Iā€™d rather have 12-15 instead of 10, but thatā€™s a little nitpicky I know. :slight_smile:

Two things - the future one first, then an explanation of why I think 4500K is the optimal CCT for Cree LEDs.

For the future Iā€™d love to see Any flashlight OS programmable (Choosing modes) and upgradeable via s/w, even if I have to take the pill out and buy a usb-whatever connector

As for 4500K, let me tell you a storyā€¦

I was new to quality flashlights and walking through a forest at night in Oregon, as per my normal routine. I was carrying what I was told was the light that was perfect for my needs: a neutral 5000K CCT. I tried a 6500K light in the past and didnā€™t like it. I saw my prize (Porcini) and walked toward it over what seemed like level, moss covered ground. 1/3rd of the way there I fell through what felt like a booby trap. Fortunately I wasnā€™t hurt and when I looked around I saw that there was moss over a large collection of tangled branches, 3ā€™ deep. I had stepped off of the edge of a mini-ravine without seeing it. I decided this was unacceptable. :slight_smile: Looking carefully for a few minutes I realized the moss reflected the blue light back at me making me think it was a solid surface. It looked the same as moss on the solid ground.

I ordered a few P60s and Solarforce bodies. I tried 3500, 4000, 4200, and 4500 K CCTs to compare with my 5000K. I went back to that spot and found that all of the lights 4500K and lower shone clearly through the moss and I could see the branches and the bottom of the seasonal creek. I compared them just walking around and found that all of the ones 4200K and down made it very hard to tell what an object was at 30-50ā€™ away. I couldnā€™t tell a pine cone from a pile of droppings. This was most pronounced with brown things.

So for forest navigation at least, the 4500 was the sweet spot. I havenā€™t found any other task as demanding as my forest wanderings but a lot of what I use lights for involve plants and the more natural color without the ā€˜blue bounceā€™ helps me see better in everything I do. Interestingly, high CRI doesnā€™t change anything. Iā€™m guessing the balance of red and blue is just right at 4500K. YMMV

So thatā€™s why I like 4500. :slight_smile:

Thanks for listening.

NarsilM is pretty much the same as Narsil. M is the newest version. They operate the same. Most people prefer the ramping mode as you have 150 levels to choose from. You go through all 150 levels in 2.4 seconds, so itā€™s quick. You can choose the perfect level for your needs.

If you switch to mode sets, you have anywhere from 1 to 7 levels. Youā€™ll probably like ramping, though.

The F in FW3A stands for Fritz do if he says XPG3 that is what it is.
I must say I hope Fritz will look at the luxeon Djozz tested for Djozz was very positive about the beam profile.
I am sure a good test run with the proto in the making will clear lots of things up ;)@

I thought continuously variable was too much to ask for and now I hear itā€™s built in? Thatā€™s great! I thought that the term, ā€œrampā€ on the cheat sheet meant moving between the discreet levels in the chart below. Now Iā€™m really excited for this light. And I promise to keep quiet. :slight_smile:

I did 6 videos on Narsil. I think this one shows the basic features.

Having 150 levels in the ramp means that it dials up as smooth as a rotary dimmer, very nice! Once you use it, it makes most everything else obsolete.

Thanks for that story HarborSeal, very interesting and informative. Weā€™ll have to plan our freefall traps better from now on, knowing youā€™re armed with 4500. :slight_smile: :stuck_out_tongue:

As for the XP-G3, I donā€™t like em in anything Iā€™ve tried. And Iā€™ve tried em a LOT of ways. So, no worries, Iā€™ll just pull em and file em. :wink:

Whereā€™s the ā€œlikeā€ button? So many good replies here and I donā€™t want to clutter up the thread.

Iā€™m no expert but I thought the green/purple separation was only on 4000K CCT and went away with a very mild diffuser. Now I know that a diffuser is the opposite of what some people want from an XPGn but I thought a lightly diffused XPG is still going to throw better than a Nichia - is that right?

Iā€™m a huge fan of continuously variable (which I now understand is essentially the same as the Narsilā€™s ā€œrampingā€) but it never seemed to get much traction on CPF. My favorite small lights are the Sunwayman V11R and its 18650 counterpart; both modded to 4500K and bumped a bit by the justly famous Vinh Nguyen. My favorite headlamp is the Nitecore HC90, also modded to 4500K and bumped at the top end. The green light is great when insects are swarming you and youā€™re breathing in moths. :slight_smile:

Harborseal, take a look at the Nitecore SRT6 Night Officer, itā€™s a rotary dimming light that is really sweet. On/Off or lockout at the tail, full function in the rotary dial so it can be pre-set before turning it on at the tail, youā€™ll know pretty much exactly what yourā€™e gonna get when you click the tail on. You can leave the tail switch on and itā€™s got a power on indicator, sleep through the right position on the rotary. Left from sleep is SOS, full right is Strobe.

They said it makes 900 lumens on an XM-L and I checked it at about that, pulled the XM-L and used an SST-40 going back in and it makes nearly 1500 lumens now. Only thing I changed was the emitter. Pretty neat light!

Would you put me down for another one please. 2 total :slight_smile:
Thanks

Please put me down for another as well. Thank you. :+1:

Well sign me up for one moreā€¦

Yes will do
Thanks for saying it is not the first, makes me add ā€œ2ndā€ and such for better overview (it is impossible to remember all on all the lists :wink: )