It ain’t the blink that bugs me, so much as the actual modegroup change.
I usually keep my lights on low(est) anyway, so if I’d just flick it on for a few sec to check out something, and click it off right as it blinks… oh, crap, don’t tell me… yep, turn it back on and cycle it through, and the damned blinkies are back. Then I gotta wait again for the blink to change it back, then go through another cycle to verify it.
And let’s face it, most times for a quick flash’n’dash, you just want the light on for a few sec to check out what’s in the closet, where you dropped that whatchacallit, etc. And it’s about the same time window needed for the damned mode-change.
And as for my most annoying feature, how about a lack of a feature: not having multiple interface buttons. Seriously, how hard is it to have one button for on/off (maybe with long-press or double-tap options for shortcuts to min or max power), then one button for “brightness +” and one button for “brightness -”? Instead, we keep getting Dilbert-style interfaces: http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-06-12
Then it’s getting to be 100% proprietary, no possibility of modding it. You’d have to be happy with the light right out of the box, else you’re SOL. Just as bad if not worse than gluing the crap out of the light after potting the innards.
Most lights with an e-switch on a board soldered to the main driver board are already nigh impossible to mod. With multiple switches, forget it.
Hell, I’m happy with a 1-mode ’502 for my EDC, but for other lights, simple modes (with memory) is fine.
Eg, my SP10B, I pretty much keep on firefly mode, so just turning it on will get me that without blinding me. But a quick doubletap for turbo gives me full brightness. Anything in-between, I turn it on firefly, then click higher as needed. Done. Then back to firefly before turning it off.
My Jet-II, same dealy, only it’s a twisty that always starts on low. Works for me.
SF31W, again, I always reset it to low/moonlight, then click higher as needed, then reset it back.
Some lights, like my C8Fs (old and new), Hell, I always keep ’em cranked up to 11. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Otherwise, just get a light like a DV-S9 with its slider, and set it to whatever you want. Parasitic drain? Uncrank the tail ½-turn. Done.
I agree with whoever said that he dislikes lights which pretty much require you to carry a book to work the UI.
Like, how hard is it to just reset the light to low/moon/firefly before turning it off? Why does there need to be separate shortcuts for each mode, like the 27% half-press, etc.?
A nice simple tail-clicky is always easy to find (hardly so with a side-clicky), so the simple on/off is the only way to control the light. That’s why I like the SF31W so much. It does pretty much everything with that nice simple interface. Just remember to reset it to low to avoid getting blinded at night.
Why do the buttons need to be soldered to the driver board? How much is it really going to add to the cost of a full size, multi-cell light to add one more board with three buttons on it, three pairs of wires (or fewer) soldered to it, and then a six-pin (or fewer) connector for those wires soldered to the main driver board?
Having to press and hold to turn on or off a light - Example: Astrolux S42
Not having a shortcut to 100% output - Example: Astrolux S42
Not having a shortcut to minimum output - Example: Astrolux S42
Not having a shortcut to off - I hate flashlight controls that require you to cycle modes just to turn the light off. Even worse if some of those modes are useless blinky modes.
Always starting on high - If you’re getting up in the middle of the night and want to use moonlight mode, it’s probably because you don’t want to blast yourself or your partner with turbo.
Protruding sideswitches on EDC lights that too easily turn on in the pocket. The Zebralight SC51 had this issue. Zebralight fixed it by changing their switch design for the SC600 and all lights after that.
Smooth tubes with no knurling - I hate when my light feels unsteady in my hand… like it could squirt out at any moment.
Rough textured external surface that feels like chalk and causes the same unpleasant hair-raising feeling (such as that on the D4 Grainy Cyan, Sunwayman T26C tan, or bead-blasted titanium Olight S10)
EDC lights that are bigger than they need to be (lots of empty space inside the light, or lights with heads much wider than needed for their optic or reflector).
Greenish tint - I much prefer neutral tint with no green.
The switch needs to work when you press it - Example: Imalent. I have an Imalent 1x18650 light that has a ridiculous optical sensor instead of a button. It takes multiple tries and sometimes 10-seconds or more to get this control to do anything. It felt like Imalent saw all other wheels were round and decided they would reinvent it using a square-shape just to be different, without considering whether it would actually work better. They failed spectacularly.
Glad you’re happy with yours. With my Imalent it takes 10-15 seconds just to turn the light on or off. This is because multiple tries of pressing the thumb onto the sensor are needed every time. An actual button would be so much better.
I’ve encountered a cheap headlight that has that characteristic — one needs to go thru 5 different modes before it will cycle to Off.
Off -> 5 different modes in sequence -> Off
(I could be wrong, but I haven’t found a shortcut to Off if from the other modes)
DId you ask Imalent to repair this? I have been recording in my book every day how many times I press the button and it is now in this short period 1225 times. It works the same as the first press but that being said, give me an actual button any day of the week. And I also know Imalent does not have a shining history, but I knew that and took my chances, same as I am taking my chances buying a Astrolux MF02.
I don’t think it’s broken so there’s nothing to fix. It was like this from Day 1. Also if I am extra careful about how I place my thumb I can sometimes reduce the number of tries needed.
I’ve concluded that it’s just incredibly poor design on Imalent’s part. My impression is this:
“We want our flashlight to be unique. How can we make it stand out from the pack? I know!!! Every other manufacturer uses a button. Let’s be unique and use an optical sensor instead!!!”
“We want our car to be unique. How can we make it stand out from the pack? I know!!! Every other manufacturer uses round wheels. Let’s be unique and use square wheels!!!”
My switch works just fine. I wish batteries would last longer in higher modes, that would be my only annoyance.
