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

I’m planning to use it while tail standing so this works okay for me. Tape could be used to reduce the inner diameter of the tube a little bit to make it more secure.

Mine arrived Friday! Busy weekend.

Impressions:

  • It's very small. Shorter than my SC62. Almost the exact same length as my D4, while being thinner.
  • The design is unique among my lights. Very sleek.
  • I initially wished the pocket clip was of a deep-carry style, but after two days I don't care. The design is extremely secure, and I don't notice that the clip ring is "too wide" unless I try.
  • The anodizing is very smooth, almost slippery. However, I don't have any issues hanging on to the light.
  • The button is very tactile. It can be pressed from the edge, and it will kind of rock slightly, but it still registers the press.
  • The beam is very nice with this optic/emitter combo.
  • Turbo will cook the light very quickly. It gets hot faster than my D4 with Luxeon V. Nobody was kidding when they said this host was not designed to handle high-power turbo heat. I have reconsidered my desire to swap Luxeon Vs into this light.
  • First Anduril light. Neat stuff.

God, with lights this compact using 18650s, all my 16340 lights make me feel like I'm getting screwed on capacity & output.

Oh this would make me wish the FW3A was built like an Emisar D4 and an 8A linear driver.

Would be a very nice upgrade.

Ditto.

Ditto, but if you go to 17track it still works but it still hasn’t moved.

Good points. It’s amazing how compact this is for an 18650 flashlight with triple emitters. It’s exactly the length of a Zebralight SC64 (single emitter 18650), while being slightly wider. Will have to show a photo comparison. So pocket-capable. I thought the super smooth anodizing would be a problem, but the wide band of knurling on the head module is decent enough for grip, and the lip of the tube where it meets the tail cap helps a lot. A fully knurled body would ruin the aesthetics. The lack of any markings whatsoever adds to the cleanliness. Button design is excellent and feels tight to me (don’t perceive any rocking). My only gripe is that press-hold for moonlight requires a little longer hold than I’d like (I trigger last mode a bit, forgetting I need to hold a fractional second longer for moonlight). Turbo does indeed heat up pretty fast. Something like an Astrolux S43 has a much beefier heat sync. But one has to keep in mind this form factor with present day LED’s is just not appropriate for long max output. The 3D tint seems to be like a neutral that reveals cooler on turbo, which works fine for me (generally I prefer warmer, like Samsung LH351D in ZL SC64c LE, but also enjoy neutral). This is also my first Anduril light and the UI has some interesting differences from NarsilM.

I have measurements on other levels in my Reddit mini-review. Unfortunately I couldn’t get a 7A or 1A to test.

Cree XP-L HI “3D” (4750-5000K)
table(table#posts).
|Level|CCT|Duv|CRI (Ra)|CRI (R9)|Data|
|Turbo|5052K|0.0006|70|–27|TM-30, R-values|
|Ramp Ceiling|4856K|0.0037|70|–31|TM-30, R-values|
|1x7135|4796K|0.0040|71|–26|TM-30, R-values|

Nichia 219B sw45k R9080
table(table#posts).
|Level|CCT|Duv|CRI (Ra)|CRI (R9)|Data|
|Turbo|4550K|–0.0163|94|85|TM-30, R-values|
|Ramp Ceiling|4483K|–0.0106|94|94|TM-30, R-values|
|1x7135|4477K|–0.0095|95|91|TM-30, R-values|

Edit: I forgot to include the dedomed LH351D results.

Dedomed 5000K Samsung LH351D (SPHWHTL3DA0GF4RTS6)
table(table#posts).
|Level|CCT|Duv|CRI (Ra)|CRI (R9)|Data|
|Turbo|4447K|0.0008|92|52|TM-30, R-values|
|Ramp Ceiling|4294K|0.0003|93|59|TM-30, R-values|
|1x7135|4164K|–0.0003|94|64|TM-30, R-values|

17track worked well for me, showing status from shipped to delivered. Since it was handed off to USPS for final delivery, I was expecting the USPS tracker to show it, but it never recognized the tracking number.
2019-05-10 11:29 Union City, NJ, US, ARRIVED USPS SORT FACILITY
Weird that USPS never showed it.

Does anyone know or can guess what type of amperage could be delivered to each of the 3 leds on a luxeon V 4000k triple board in the Fw3a in stock trim from a freshly off the charger VTC6?

Ps my 4 lights should be with me tomorrow or Wednesday

It arrived, but at first I was worried because it was only strobing very dimly while I pressed the switch. The reason was a not tightly enough screwed tail cap.

Tail cap screwing, #1 oversight

Yay! And awwww :frowning:

I have calibrated the temperature sensor and the blinked out value changed accordingly.
Than I have lowered the limit to 31°C and expected that turbo mode would last just 1 second but actually the light is still getting very hot while turbo lasts about 10 seconds. It is even possible to activate turbo again and it is getting even hotter.

After that the light is blinking out 55°C.

What I did to set the limit was:
Temperature Mode
4 clicks
1 blink
strobe
2 blink
strobe
1 click (while strobe)
Back to temperature mode



Also added colour measurements for dedomed 5000K LH351D.

If Lumintop glued the tailcaps like they originally wanted, would that fix the contact issues at the tailcap, or would it just make it harder to fix by loosening and tightening?

Just a couple days after I got a mail that my lights was shipped it landed on the door mat (well of coarse the mail man handed over, as I wouldn’t want to drop this beauty. Or would I?)

Very clean and good looking little light! It’s much smaller than I would have thought.
After playing with it for a couple minutes, I disassembled it. Was really astonished about the design and quality of the inside of this light.

I immediately took it with me while working on my oldtimer moped (kreidler). And there it happend… It dropped on the concrete floor… :person_facepalming:
But it survived! :smiley: Only had some small dents.

Thank you everyone!

I ordered a glowy thingamajig, anxious!

I ordered 2 back on May 8th but not shipped yet, but think it was the 8th they had the baby.

That looks fun to use. Thanks for posting those pics! I love seeing the action shots.