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

When comparing the proportions it’s pretty obvious that, like it was said, head and tailcap are unscrewed.

> photoshopped >

Have a look above and next please…

Really??
Or maybe you mean this is the case in the range above very low modes.
Very low modes like ‘moon’ and ‘firefly’ give relatively more blue, i guess the phosphor is not excited by very low levels of 450nm.

But why post that ?

Makes no sense.

Screw it.

And please someone send some proto 4s to the people who are still trying hard, not being lackadaisical.

Sure hope so !!

That is the coarsest threading I have ever seen on a light… or… possibly an o-ring slot and a slot for a snap-on-clip. If it does screw together and cover the two slots, that seems like wasted space.

*I reserve the right to be completely wrong.

Double o-rings, good design.

Yup. If those actually are double-o ring slots, that would be good design.

However, at the tailcap, the upper ledge of the “o-ring slot” seems like it would be too shallow to actually hold an o-ring. Screwing in the tailcap would push that o-ring out of position.

Thinner o-ring :slight_smile:

I really don’t think so. Unnecessary, and other aspects that I have observed on this image are troubling.

For starters, putting an o-ring into a rough bead-blasted groove with some shonky anodising is really not cool. If you want to create a seal, do it competently, or don’t bother. That means precise machined surface finish and materials selection. Slathering it with grease may also help. If you dive, you might understand this a little.

But since this is what it is, it probably doesn’t matter at-all to most customers.

It’s not as if we have even seen these supposed double o-rings in-situ. Well if two are better than one, why not three, or four where do you stop ?

Do it properly and one is enough. Two maybe for a dive torch, but that comes with downsides too. Double the maintenance, and you never really know whether either, or both, are serviceable. A bit like flying twin-engine planes.

Is that a piece for sale?
What do you want for thirty odd dollars, rocketship precision?

You could maybe take it diving with double O-rings… :stuck_out_tongue:

Btw, talking about double O-rings in non-dive lights:


Lot of maintenance there…

I heard back from Neal: “this is not the final verison, they are test the color”

Also, I hope this answers some questions:

(before anyone asks, this is one light photographed twice, not two lights)

What sorcery is this???

Really. I highly recommend looking through maukka’s reviews to see graphs of the exact path the LED tint takes through color space as the power increases. In great detail, he has published quantified measurements of many different types of LEDs. It’s very useful information, well beyond what the manufacturers provide.

Needless to say, looks great. We are all waiting to throw cash at somebody.

I think that’s a lot of the problem. If that is still the target price (though we have been warned it could be $6 more for Cree emitters (Samsung not yet sourced), then a Paypal tax on top, and the distribution method is unclear, etc. and Neal’s history of getting his ducks in a row and getting stuff out in a timely manner is a little iffy)

I’d probably pay 10 or maybe even 20$ more to get what was originally promised, with some surety, if it still comes under the radar at Customs.

But really losing interest. I’ve vacillated I know and made myself a bit of a nuisance here. Still watching this space.

It really boils down to a communication thing, or the complete lack of it, which seems so unnecessary, and disappointing to those who are still trying so hard.

These sneaky pictures of possible work in progress just raise more questions than they answer. Perhaps that is the intention, to try to keep a buzz going, and keep us chattering. Not sure that is really helpful, some solid information, technical updates, posited timescale and professionalism would be more confidence building.

As well as actually sending some proto4s to those who matter.

Here is a paste of a separate rant that I decided not to post. But now have.

Of course this has to be producible, and compromises needed to meet a (very tight IMO) selling price target.

Surface finish is a really big one. It really does cost, to do it right, and everyone has their own opinion (though few will know just how well things can be done) . Sending it down the line with a known standard mediocre process is the easy way forwards, and maybe not such a bad decision.

Creative “tension” between the designer, and the manufacturer and distribution people is to be expected, but it’s how that gets sorted out behind the scenes that separates the dogmatic , maybe a little bit arrogant, perfectionist (who may have little if any experience of of a big project) from those who are just trying to get on with things and doing their best, having been asked for their help, and considerable skills and experience, gratis, and to open this up to the important BLF audience.

TBH I’d rather spend $10 or even $20 more and get something closer to the original concept. But time’s arrow continues to move forwards, and other things seem increasingly more interesting, and I don’t like to encourage desultory communication, disdain, and general disrespect for key team members, exemplified by not arranging to send them prototypes, and clamming up. Nor bothering to wake up and procure the requested emitters in good time. An attitude of indifference. And not a good omen for when a couple of thousand of us just want them delivered, cleanly and efficiently, and swiftly

What’s to hide ? An ego-trip is one thing, pulling off something like this is quite another, and perhaps better to step aside and just let the pros finish it. E.g. quibbling over a requested 1mm dimension change (the man said no, perhaps he was right), for example.

Lumintop do know how to make torches, and there are competent and concerned people still sticking with this. Not sure why.

This was supposed to be really special. Now I doubt that.

Rant off. I promise to be nicer, for at least a few days. Please don’t press the re-named “Whatcha” button, no matter how tempting. But if you do, I’ll know what you did. That’s still the way it works.

5708 posts on this thread at the last count. Since May 4 2017. That’s a lot of interest, and time, committed by many people to it, no matter how you measure it. Hopefully not all just wasted because a few people, well, maybe over-promised, or just got out of their depth.

Here’s a suggestion. Fritz, or Cawi, just send TK your proto3 (or 4) and let her assess it. Then listen to what she has to say.

You might not like it, but better than just gathering dust on your shelf. Or gloating, Gollum-like, over “your precious” that may never happen, the way that this seems to be endlessly running on.

Well, maybe not all… myself and Tom Tom may not have the cash out and ready to throw just yet. :wink:

Yeah yeah yeah, I know, right? Me and Tom Tom on the same page… sometimes stuff just happens.

And then tatasal torture’s me with pics of that sweet old MaxToch SN6X-2X! :person_facepalming: