Riddle me this. My BLF Q8 tube works on both heads but my Sofirn tube only works on the Sofirn head.
My Q8 has been modded. Screws, bypass, Anduril, LEDs.
Any ideas what would cause this?
Tried two diff button tops. Indicator LED does not turn on.
DB Custom, Thank you for the video! That tint isn't too far off from the XP-L HI, at least as far as I can tell.
Possibly the o-ring. It might be preventing the tube from screwing all the way in so it touches the driver.
Or the throw of the threaded end is shorter, not allowing the ground contact to be made. Sometimes lights are like that, many lights you can’t flip the battery tube around for example.
the O ring on the Sofirn is in a slightly different place and it looks like in order to make that tube fit they removed a thread from the inside of the Sofirn head. You can see an entire extra row of threads in the BLF Q8 head
I need two more 35Es for the full set, but I had some things laying around to put an 'adapter' together. Precautionary measures like placing electrical/kapton tape over driver screws must be done but this could help in the scenario above or for using flat top batteries:
flat top adapter link to album removed.
The 26mm OD copper washer stays in place as the friction against the batteries is greater than against the driver ring. The O ring, I thought, might inhibit contact but it didn't and the light works. I also had an idea to insert slim dowels, tubes, etc. to hold it centered in place. Another caution, the light is assembled on a flat surface, slowly, to make sure everything stays in place.
In the picture it looks like the bottom battery has damage to the wrapper. In that case nevermind the tape and screws it will just short to itself. Solder blob seems much easier
Also, in my example the batteries are making contact its the tube that isn’t. Ill just keep the original tubes with their own light but it does make you wonder what else they changed.
You're right about that. Good eye. These are some pack pulls and I used them for staging the photo. In practice, I would use some brand new batteries that are spread across a few lights at the moment.
This looks like an incredibly bad idea. It would be much safer to simply buy button top batteries or to solder blob existing flat top batteries.
Jason, I have to agree with you. Edit: Images removed for viewing via link.
Thank you for the photo link. It seems I'm not able to make the linking work (??).
This does show some ingenuity, but I have to agree with Jason…… “This looks like an incredibly bad idea.”
A very high chance it’s not a matter of “if” things go bad, only “when” they go bad.
Thank you!
/\ . . :+1: … 
Yeah, bad idea. When that copper top piece shifts due to a very hard knock/fall, the batteries might go kaboom. Though i have seen the datasheet, the 30Qs ought not to vent even with a dead short.
HJK replied to these datasheets in another thread saying venting is acceptable in these tests and not considered an explosion.
Oh i see. I thought it would be the same as the Panasonic NCRs tested quite some years ago, dead short with low gauge stuff and they still didn’t vent, though of course the Panasonics IR are in the 40-50 ohms range.
Anyway, i am wondering if i should get the Sofirn Q8 as well. Already have the BLF Q8. Wonder what’s the current price. Maybe will contact them via aliexpress.
Maybe they should get out a limited run special version with WW 3000K LEDs as well.
I am wondering if any of you remember that “DRY triple XM-L” light, by Hank of intl-outdoor, quite a few years ago. He offered it in WW, NW and CW, even had versions in which the High mode is direct drive via the 3 x 18650 batts and with the batteries then it was driven just nice hot-rod at about 4 amps to the XM-L.
This could be something like that, that one sold pretty well.
Can’t help it, ordered a Sofirn Q8 at a decent good price via aliexpress. PM them, you’d be surprised.
Together with the BLF Q8 neutral white @ usd 36, these puppies are extremely difficult to beat. There are higher lumens smaller pocket rocket/hot rods, issue is that Turbo runtime would be affected, especially since i am living in the tropics with night time temps of 29-31 deg C at 8pm. 27-28 deg C is considered decently “cold” here.
The original Q8 is a nice go to light, for short journeys they can even be carried in jeans pockets albeit uncomfortably. I’ll try to find a holster.
These soda can form factors are really very practical lights and useful in the real world. You want anything to fit better (slightly better) and it’d be like 2 x ROT66s, ie more than 2X the price, you want any more powerful lights with a decent throw and it’d be the Astrolux MF01/Mateminco MT18 @ 550 empty. And still throw less than these 2 x Q8 combo.
Hardcore flashaholic on the walk, 2 x portable Q8s, one in each hand. 400g empty, 13k lumens, 50-100kcd, easy to carry, great UI with firefly and illuminated button for easy finding of the light in the dark, 2-3 mins Turbo capable here in the tropics from cold start. 76usd incld shipping….cost low enough to trash really hard and gun Turbo in real life without fear or heart-ache. True to the original BLF’s budget motto. Really can’t be beaten.
Where are you buying the Q8 from at this price?