FREEME ✌ ASTROLUX FT03S SFH55 9300lm & FT03 SFT40 2200lm 1300m NarsilM v1.3 USB-C - ALIVE

Probably not. His smell is from the tail cap, not the head.

Well, I use my FT03 daily, but then again I don’t own a C8 myself. I’ve given some C8’s away as gifts and do like them, but the FT03 is my daily thrower.

I did not buy this light for any sort of “throw bragging” rights and, in fact, this is not the light for people who want to light up a water tower at a mile away. There are bigger, badder lights for that purpose. This is a practical thrower that’s somewhat more powerful than a C8, but much less pocketable. It feels very good in the hand, however, and more like a traditional flashlight than the small LED flashlights that we’re accustomed to.

I do want a holster for this light, but so far it seems that there hasn’t been enough interest to actually make one happen :frowning: .

In stock form, this light has a somewhat larger hotspot than the C8’s I’ve seen; the SST40 is domed emitter, after all. My eyesight isn’t what it once was, but with glasses I can usually see further than the FT03 can viably throw on most nights in my humid climate.

With that said, I’m very happy with the light and my only “criticism” is that I got exactly what I paid for; a budget light. The light is quite lightweight for its size, which is a benefit for carrying, but a negative in terms of heat sinking. However, it heats up no faster than the C8’s I’ve used and I’ve had no problems due to heat.

I do miss the nice thick body and square-cut threads that nicer lights have, though. Sofirn sells “budget” lights that have much nicer machining. Astrolux threads feel and sound pretty cheap, though the sound and feel certainly remind me to be extra-careful with them.

Anyway, if you’re happy with your C8, then skip this light. Still, I see no reason that the FT03 would be purchased for “show”; it’s not gorgeous, is not a marvel of craftsmanship, and doesn’t shoot a pencil beam for a mile. In its stock form, it throws a well-sized beam for a good distance and has plenty of spill for walking around with.

Oh, and NarsilM (you can also flash Anduril) is nice and I was somewhat surprised how much of a difference good firmware can make when compared with most factory firmware. For example, I hated ramping on Sofirn’s C8F 21700, but love it on the FT03. To my knowledge, stock C8’s don’t have anything quite as enjoyable to use.

Got the hex for that? :smiley:

To Pete7874, C8’s are 18650 and tail switch. The FT03 is side switch and 26650 so you get longer run times and a totally different feel when using it. Things like battery check, fully configurable thermal stepdown, etc…

C8F used Sofirn’s ramping UI, FT03 uses tried and true NarsilM. Very different in feel and timings, etc…

This should be the firmware for the FT03. Pretty sure they just copied my S43 Driver / Firmware when they made this light.

Is that the Narsil or Anduril? I’ve still got stock firmware, but I know Zozz got Anduril working on it. I saw the post by TK about using the ROT66 firmware with PWM changes… might do that on the 6/2 ftw.

Thanks though :slight_smile:

Yeah, that is the stock narsil firmware.

I got my light today, but im confused, is this light really meant to take 21700 batteries ? because my samsung 40T seems too big it sticks out a bit and i dont wanna compress the springs or so ? and u only got a tube for 18650 battery, but no tube for 21700 ? My efest and liitoakala 26650 fits perfect, it seems its made for 26650 and even the manual mentions 26650 and no 21700 ?.

for the price its just as good as mf02 but way less bulky…

I’d be wary of using a high drain 21700, especially if it compresses the spring by a lot.

Fully compressed copper alloy springs can act like a bypass, and push even more current to the SST-40.

So, yeah, I’d be careful with one.

Safer to use with 26650 as 21700 length varies with models. Never never ftighten a tailcap by force if you already heard over-compress sound created the spring (on either end).

yeah the plan was to use 26650 so thats what im gonna do :slight_smile: Great light and very nice it has ramping mode.

I just noticed something weird about my light.

For the past few days, I’ve occasionally been hearing a ‘ping’ sound, and today I determined that it came from my FT03 after I had played around with it. I realised that it’s the same sound that I hear when I tap the lens with my fingernail, so I was wondering whether it’s the result of the glass contracting when the light cools down. That led me to turn on the light in turbo mode for a bit longer than usual to try and replicate the effect, and alas - after about 20-30 seconds on turbo it made the same pinging sound! I shook the light (gently) and noticed that the lens rattles, so I unscrewed the bezel - which was very easy to do - to check whether the o-ring between lens and the bezel is missing. At first I thought that was indeed the case, but then I noticed the silicone o-ring inside the bezel.

Now I’m wondering whether this happens to other owners of the FT03, or whether I am dealing with some kind of manufacturing defect?

Hm i also hear some ping sound or how u call it ? But the light seems to function normal so idk whats up ??

I’ve not got a problem with the sound per se, but I’m wondering whether it could be due to some inaccuracies in the manufacturing process that might affect the light’s waterproofness.

Ping is normal expansion, but you say you have a loose lens? Maybe tighten up the bezel more, but the rattle is usually the plastic insulator by the driver spring…remove battery tube a check by shaking, if it rattles, hold it and shake again… see if something else is ratteling?

They all do it. Thin lens.

Wow - I actually thought that I had already tightened the bezel to the max, but it turned out that I was able to give it another quarter turn or so, and now the rattling has become considerably less. It hasn’t disappeared completely, but in order to tighten the bezel even more I’d probably have to use the kind of grips that I’ve seen people use to remove the bezel from their BLF GT. But I guess it’s good enough now, especially after I’ve turned it on and off a few times, and I can no longer replicate the pinging sound of metal hitting glass (or vice versa)…

The rattling comes from this white plastic ring:

If you put two sheets of paper (gotta cut a “ring” out of it) under it then screw the retaining ring down again, the rattling completely stops.

any other source or things file for 21700 to 26650 converter?

A piece of cardboard works fine for me.