Lumintop Tool AA - Quickie

I use them as danglers X3-

The tool aa came in the mail this week. I really love the size. Really great for EDC. I used the tool aaa for that last year, but 10440 is just draining a bit fast.
18650 is too thick IMO.

I plan to mod it with a Fet+1 driver (I need voltage check) and warmer emitter. I also want to swap out the AR coated lens to get rid of the purple spill. Illuminated tailcap would be a nice bonus. I will try to recess the button a bit too, so it can tailstand.
That being said, I like it a lot, enough to use as my new EDC host :+1:

I just got my Tool AA. So far, it’s not impressive compared to something like the Sofirn SF14

  • The mode spacing is not the best, low could be lower, high could be higher.
  • A lower low is more essential to this product since the modest high translates as longer runtimes, so it’s a fair trade off depending on what you need from a flashlight.
  • L>M>H UI with no memory is way better in my opinion than the AAA M>L>H. Actually, even the mode spacing is better than the AAA despite still needing improvement.
  • PMW, while worse than the AAA, is actually not as bad as I expected. I can only hear it if I actually jam it into my ear, but maybe I’m already going deaf from extended earphone use. And I cannot see it unless I point to something like a ceiling fan, or wave something in from of it. I also can’t see PWM for lights where it’s lower frequency and louder, unless in the cited conditions. It would be bad in a photograph, thou.
  • Build quality is nice, the walls are thin but you get a lighter product, again, a fair trade off, specially if you know exactly what you need from it. I also found nothing wrong with the clip, which is something I’ve read negative remarks about. It clips nicely to my cap (only downside I find in the Sofirn SF14 is not having a reversible clip for cap brim use)
  • It’s missing a lanyard hole on the magnetic tailcap. I like lanyards.
  • Talking of lanyards, I have a bunch of lumintop’s own cool orange lanyards. It’s weird that this light came with a purple flat one. It’s not bad, but I like the other ones better.
  • The GITD difuser is a nice accessory that will see use in other AA flashlights I have as well.
  • It’s pretty compact with the thin walls and magnetic tailcap. I bit awkward to have as a twisty that is not small like the Tool AAA, but I can get used to it.

I’m citing the SF14 a lot because it has a lot of the same characteristics, but with a lot of the added qualities I miss on the Tool AA, and for about half the price. So taking price into consideration, the Tool AA is not high on the AA recommendation list as the Tool AAA is on the AAA list, even thou I like it.

If you use the magnetic tailcap with the clip, you can attach the lanyard in the top of the clip, there is a small hole there :wink:

One question I have about the emitter:

the Tool AA has an XP-L, while the brighter SF14 uses an XP-G2. At AA levels of current, does one has any edge over the other? Wouldn’t cost favor the XP-G2 in this case? The XP-L does have a larger hotspot, so might be a matter of making the beam floodier?

Not perfect, but is a work in progress (on the tip and on the top :person_facepalming: ), and maybe it can give you some idea!
I used a Convoy clip and cut it, put a srew and a hexnut in one of the tailcap holes, and used heatshrink tube around the clip, just because :smiley:
Here’s the result! Not pretty, but it will be :wink:
The original is in inverted position just…because :smiley:

It’s a start, but it’s how I imagine that I will do it too.
I’ll start with a convoy clip I think, they’re cheap and strong enough for an AA light (but not for an S2+ IMO)

Later, I bent the clip on the middle and now the tip seats correctly on the body of the flashlight!
I could have made it shorter and less “rude” but this way it is working fine!! :smiley:
As I normally say about my lights, not beautiful, but practical :stuck_out_tongue:

Here is my version : Olight H1R clip bended plus heatshrink

Nice :wink: :+1:

Nice clip!

It surprises me the AA gets such low ratings. I really love it as an A+ host. Just mod it a little. Even as is it’s quite nice IMO. Illuminated tailcap fits with allmost no modifications.

It would be nice for non modders if Lumintop would upgrade the driver.

After seeing Dutchee’s post awhile ago, I remembered I had a similar pocket clip (hanging clip) and thought about trying it on the Tool AA.
However, mine was not reliable (its is some alloy, that bends and breaks easily…) , so I ordered some stronger clips on AliExpress and they arrived today!!

Here’s my “sketch” of a new deep carry clip! Not perfect, but is a work in progress!!

Yeah, those EDC clip are nice to mod at less than 1$ each but you have to buy the “X” marked ones

The “X” marked? Why is that?
The ones I bought are quite nice, not easily bendable or breakable :wink:

They are the sturdy ones, not the crappy unfinished models :

Funny: the first I got has that X on the back and it is too soft! If I force it, it will break!
The ones I received today don’t have the X and are pretty sturdy!
The material is 3CR13 Stainless Steel and is tough! I won’t break this easily…I may need some cutting tool to make that!

I had various qualities too. The more expensive ones are worth the extra pennies.
Big difference, I really like them for pocket lights.

Can it tailstand with the clip screwed on?

I added dc-fix to my modded tool today, nice for indoors use. Makes the purple color from the AR coated lens disappear.

yeah i’m using a protected cell, and seeing some bad pwm on low, medium has it also, not seeing it on high, this has probably been answered already, but I just noticed it. On low the flicker is pretty bad and distracting, kind of disappointing. It’s a decent light that comes with a lot of accessories so I think its still a good value but there is room for improvement, would like a stronger clip and better output as well.

Sorry, I forgot to answer your question :person_facepalming:
It does tailstand but not completely stable. However, I guess I can re-work that a little bit! It does hang while pointed up, though, but if you shake the table or something, it is probable that it tens to the sides.

I’ve been using mine with a TIR lens above a Luxeon V (4000K, I guess), ideal for indoor use due to the nice tint it has :wink:
I do like the XPL-HI NW LEDs. I recently moded a Sofirn SP10B with one (and sort of bypassed the spring…) and even with a OP reflector, that thing illumuniates a looot :open_mouth:

I think yours, with SMO reflector must be that nice as well :smiley:

Yup, it has that PWM on L and M modes. On high it doesn’t have.
But the issue I was reporting was different, though! The PWM I couldn’t see it naked eye, but that was a different flicker, maybe related to the battery or some other stuff!
I like the form of this light, I hope LT offers these with a e-switch and ramping UI :wink:
Meanwhile, mine has Crescendo FW and a Luxeon V + TIR and only takes 14500’s now!
And a different clip would be better as you and many other here said !

LT, come on, step forward on this :smiling_imp:

Just noticed this on Lumintop site:

http://www.lumintop.com/toolaa.html

New version of the Tool AA with 4 modes and strobe. 650 Lumens max!