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

The tint is much nicer, and doesn’t shift from green to purple as you increase the power. It’s also quite efficient, so it won’t get as hot. It’s also more powerful than the high CRI SST-20s, though slightly less throwy than the low CRI ones.

I’m a huge fan of the XP-L HI, but if the SST-20s that the team managed to bag for the FW3A do indeed turn out to be not green, then I might just have a new favourite emitter. CRI + good tint is a major win in my book, but I can’t stand the puke green of all the SST-20s I have seen so far, so I’m really hoping that the ones in the FW3A will change that.

I’m not sure, anything is possible I suppose, but I was told this was solid ti? Not sure the provenance of this photo but it looks darker than aluminum to me. Maybe its the titanium body with a bare aluminum head? idk…

Less heat, greater output, great tint.

It’s not less heat unless they did something to the firmware to limit output in which case it would be less output at the cost of less heat.

Higher max output, better efficiency, for very cool or warm CCT, and potentially for better tint.

Eh, the 3Ds my light came with looked pretty gross TBH. Almost more green than the sliced 90CRI LH351Ds I compared them to. No clue what the 7A tint was like but the 3D were very disappointing with what I’ve seen from XPL HIs up to this point.

Oh yeah, I forgot that the 3Ds sourced for the FW3A didn’t turn out to be as good as expected. I got the 3300K 7A emitters and they’re gorgeous, with a slight hint of rosiness. I’ve also got the 5D 4000K emitters in a few other flashlights, which are just about perfect in my eyes, as well as 3A 5000K, which looks absolutely pure white to my eyes.

Shame we didn’t get 3A in the FW3A. The name is kind of asking for it.

Normally, I prefer XPL HI over SST-20, because of the extra output and better tint. And that’s using XPL HI emitters I’ve modded in… not the stock XPL HI emitters.

But in the case of the FW3A, the SST20s it comes with are the best I’ve ever seen. Not greenish at all. Holding it up side-by-side next to my puke-green Emisar D4 SST-20, the beams are night and day. And I prefer these SST-20 over any XPL HI I’ve tried.

I’ve got a triple board of 5Ds on the way for mine, I’m stoked.

My FW3C SST-20 just shipped today. I’m quite excited to get my hands on it now! I’ve ordered a clear optic with it, and I can also swap it with my FW3A’s frosted optic too, in addition to trying the even floodier Lumintop optic.

Will the new SST-20 emitter version be delivered with the latest/fixed anduril? (to manually set the memorized level)?

Which one has better tint subjective?

Nichia 219c 4000k or SST20 4000k.

SST-20 4000k.

I can tell you that I’ve got another Lumintop light with a 4000K 219C in it and it’s absolutely gorgeous. A real golden glow with a hint of rosiness. Admittedly I’d prefer a slightly more neutral temperature with a high CRI emitter, but I’m not about to complain. I’ve got some 5000K 219Cs in an Emisar D4 and they’re very green in comparison. Lumintop’s stock seems to be a very good bin.

I thought brass is significantly worse than aluminum

Brass is 65-90% copper.

(Source)

You are correct.

Just because Brass is mostly copper does NOT mean it has the thermal characteristics of pure copper.

From a quick Google search: Thermal Conductivity of different materials.

Material …………………… Thermal Conductivity (W/m K)
Silver ……………………… 406
Copper ……………………. 385
Aluminum ………………. 204 (but can be much lower depending on alloy chosen)
Brass ………………………. 109-125
Stainless Steel …………. 16.3
Titanium …………………… 22.5 (or lower depending on alloy)

For materials found in typical flashlights, in general Copper has the best thermal conductivity followed by aluminum and then brass. Titanium and stainless steel are in a distant last place.

Thanks for that information and for making me smarter! :student:

Thx from my side as well!
Every day you learn something new

EDIT: but i need to agree with Doug also, my custom brass torch is getting warmer than alu torch with the same Cu light engine. Maker confirmed it has high quantity of copper so it would be ok to check with Lumintop about the brass they are about to release…

Thanks to you and bigtrav261 for confirming the tint on the SST-20 4000K. I just bought two!