Think of a matrix that plots price versus reliability (meaning mostly drop resistance and general reliability in terms of low defects because of robust design). Price divided by reliability in this case defines value.
When you look at it this way, you see that the Fenix E01 takes a special place in an otherwise empty quadrant (perhaps only served well by PFlexPro by customizing Chinese flashlights to increase their reliability).
The only specific value problem for the E01 is that in stock form the tint of the Nichia GS Led is really bad.
Switch out the Nichia GS LED for a $ 0,116 Yuji high CRI 5 mm Led and you have a unicorn light in terms of value.
Value of mass produced flashlights defined as reliability/price
Bingo. Thereās a lot of HDS and McGizmo fans over at CPF, but plenty of people who are more budget sensitive, too (like myself).
What struck me was I just dug up the thread on the Vinh E01vn - he didnāt understand why people were asking him for this mod, and then he tried it.
Now a guy known for over-driving almost every light heās ever touched is talking about how much he enjoys comparing his 3200K and 5600K, with unmodified drivers, trying to decide which he likes more.
David Chow, created Fenix Store and sold it in 2011
David Chow just sold 47ās to Jason of darksucks.com in 2017
basically, David had a deal with Fenix, then he had a deal with Olight
meanwhile Jason had a deal with Lumintop to make the Prometheus Beta, now Jason has a deal with Olight, to make the Preon.
and, ReyLight has a deal with Lumintop, as does Massdrop.
but neither Olight nor Lumintop make the E01
Fenix Store (Oklahoma), and Fenix Lighting (Colorado), dont make anything, they are just resellers of Chinese lights.
Along the same lines, Nitecore Store is not an official Nitecore factory site either, its a Texas company, run by an Asian man, similar to how David and Jason had, and have, USA companies that resell flashlights made in China.
I dont know if any of that info helps focus on who to order E01s with Yujis from.
Vinh just buys a bunch of E01s and mods them for resale himself.
A guy modding flashlights after manufacturing doesnāt scale as well as modding the factory to make the light in the right way to begin with. Also the resulting product is much cheaper because the manufacturing is much more efficientā¦
Would it be an option to negotiate a special edition project between BLF and Banggood/Astrolux, Thorfire of Lumintop to clone the Fenix E01 with a Yuji led and potted electronics?
Thanks for the info Jon. Iām encouraged to learn their history arose from somebody closely involved with the flashlight community.
My thought was maybe a US-based distributor would be more responsive to an initial inquiry, and if interested in collaborating, then also more likely to get a response from Fenix. However, it could well be that pitching the idea directly to Fenix is the best option.
Iād like to suggest we focus for the moment on continuing to gauge interest and grow the list you started, then pitch the idea to Fenix.
I think we should save detailed discussion about alternatives until we see if Fenix is responsive, in order to avoid getting derailed or pulled in too many directions at once.
I mean if weāre really going to dream, anyone have an idea what happened to the Arc tooling after they went under the last time?
As others have mentioned donāt discount the CPF interest in this idea. Remember there are a lot of guys on CPF who were around during the Arc & early E01 craze.
Ideas like battery vampires & sub-lumen modes were popularized there.
Heck a Yuji in a P60 drop-in would probably still do well.
Thanks for this suggestion, I think you are absolutely right.
It is important to explicitly state the focus of this thread.
The focus of this thread is about Plan A:
to gauge interest in a Fenix manufactured E01 with high CRI Yuji 5mm LED. I will update the start post accordingly.
And to create an interest list with as many people as possible.
The next step is to find out the best way to contact Fenix and to nudge them into producing a Yuji E01.
If there is no respons or interest from Fenix, then it is time for plan B.
Plan B: exploring other ways to mass-produce an uber-reliable high CRI Yuji 5mm twisty AAA light
is trying to convince other manufacturers to produce a Fenix E01 clone with high CRI Yuji emitter and fully encapsulated high-quality driver board. And / Or start a collective BLF project to develop such a clone ourselves, and find a manufacturer (Thorfire, Lumintop) to build such a light for us. Discussions about plan B should perhaps take place in another thread.
I also agree that the right order in this case is:
first Plan A,
then Plan B.
Only if you pick the right potting and other components. They need to have relatively matched thermal coefficient of expansion for it to work well during thermal shock. Also have to have very good adhesion between potting and PCB. Could make vibration worse, as the added mass will generate higher forces for a given acceleration due to the higher mass. Again proper material choice is key.
