No issues with the sapphire lens, but I’m not exactly abusing the light.
I do not really understand the bad reputation of sapphire. My daily watch has a sapphire lens for 7 years now, and it is a common product for watches. It is larger and more exposed than the FW3A lens and I sometimes hit hard objects with the watch with no problem. And I like that it does not show one single scratch after all these years.
I realize that Neal is put in a bad position, but I feel that the switch in spec is not worth it for me. I have a handful of different Carcio optics but I understand none will work without the glass lens. That’s not worth it for me and I can’t be bothered to source my own.
I have emailed Neal about my wish to cancel the order if it comes with the new optic without AR glass lens. Hopefully he will respond soon with news that the most recent FW3A orders will come with the Carcio/AR glass or new optic.
Nothing from flashlightlens.com looks like a perfect fit. Close, yes, but the measurements I’ve seen reported for the FW3A are 23x1.5mm. It will work, but I’m not sure the waterproofing will be perfect.
It would be nice if Neal could provide a date when these changes started and if it actually applies to orders made before the changes were known. I dont think it should be “okay” for them to make changes to what we ordered.
Agreed. All orders placed before Lumintop changed the decscription on the order page to remove glass lens really ought to ship with the glass lens plus Carclo optic. Hopefully this change will only apply to orders after Lumintop announced the change.
I wonder if Neal can also offer a standard AR tempered glass in addition to the sapphire AR one? They exist, as they’re on the original… unless they were custom cut.
Closest I could find on that site is 22.61mm x 1.90mm. There’s also a 22.61mm x 0.95mm, which I guess could be useful for adding a GITD o-ring. There’s also a Borofloat Lens option too… which is similar to Pyrex with better clarity, but has a 5% transmittance loss over UCL.
But looks like the coupon is gone, maybe lumintop just wanted to make the agreed amount of the flashlights for the price? I hope that I can get a rosy 219c instead of the SST20. Seems like they at least choose good bins.