✌ FREEME - ASTROLUX MF01S 15000lm Flashlight Group Buy - ENDED

Commercial Sellers' Spot BLF User Negotiated Deals
1105

Is this directed at me because I said performance was a low priority in my opinion? I will assume it is.

Let me give an example to better illustrate my point. Let’s say you were wanting to buy a high-performance car. Would you buy car A that does 0 to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds or would you buy car B that does 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds?

Keep in mind these are factory ratings and in the real world the acceleration will vary based on driver experience, the road surface, tire temperature, whether there’s a full tank of gas or not, etc.

Would you buy the faster car A even though it cost 20% more, would take an extra six months to be delivered, was not quite as comfortable as the other car all for the bragging rights of being one tenth of a second faster?

It seems kind of silly doesn’t it?

Back to this flashlight, does this mean those interested in maximum performance will be buying the 6500K xp-g3 version because it is the brightest? Maybe, but I have a feeling some may put color temp as more important than max performance.

Is everyone buying the black version because it can shed heat the fastest and have the highest sustainable output? Maybe, but I have the feeling some may put aesthetics as more important than max performance.

When it comes right down to battery choice, does it really matter if one battery gives you 500 more lumen than another battery when you can’t even see it with your eyes? Our eyes probably couldn’t even see the difference between 14k and 15k lumen in side by side lights. The only way you would know which is which is to measure them in an integrating sphere.

I could even make a case that you don’t want maximum performance. In trying to squeeze out every last amp and lumen it’s quite possible you could burn up an led or damage the driver. If you are a skilled modder then it would be no big deal to fix it, but not everyone is a skilled modder.

Anyway, I hope I put some perspective on battery choice. Both Molicel P26A and P28A and 30Q are good choices. I hear the VTC6 tends to loose capacity quickly over time so that would not be a top choice in my opinion, but is probably no big deal. I think Rock will be just fine with his battery choice.

1106

As long as you don’t pull the batteries out early, you should be fine. When batteries are used in parallel, like on the the MF01S, it’s important that the voltages are exactly the same. So let’s say your charger stops at exactly 4.19v. As long as both sets finish their charge, all 4 batteries will be at 4.19 volt and you are fine.

If you let 2 fully charge and pull 2 out early, at say 4.12 volt, then you put the 4.12 volt next to the 4.19 volt you will get a spark and 2 batteries will drain super fast and 2 batteries will charge up super fast as they try to equalize the voltage within a few seconds. This is bad for batteries and a bigger voltage difference may overheat a spring and collapse it. It just depends on how big the voltage difference is. 2 fully charged and 2 drained could be really bad. A difference of 0.01v or 0.02v should be no big deal.

So just let both groups of 2 batteries charge fully and you should be just fine.

1107

It’s nice to hear that the Molicels are getting wider distribution. I’ll probably pick some up the next time I need to buy some 18650’s

1108

Well dang I appreciate all this input and I probably should have mentioned I’m in the US. Honestly I’m ok with losing a few hundred lumens or so for better capacity. Seems to be a tossup between
P26A’s and VTC6’s at the moment and I’m leaning slightly towards the latter if that difference in mAh is significant enough in terms of capacity/runtime

1109

It amazes me that Flat Tops work, because when you look at the contacts closely you’ll notice they are recessed in a tiny white cup. So how are Flat Tops making contact? Probably the basis for Astrolux ’s alert that only button tops should be used with this light.

1110

Interested. Coupon please?

1111

I took a closer look to figure it out several pages back. Click here.

1112

I’m with JasonWW, in that I’d rather have longer runtime than just a touch more lumens that won’t be readily perceived by the naked eye. Seriously, with this kind of output level, the only time I can imagine someone might want to achieve the absolute maximum possible lumens is if they were going head-to-head against someone else’s flashlight for comparison… and boasting. Useless ego posturing that… has no lasting value at all. Teenaged braggadocio.

Now, output by temperature may be interesting if there’s a notable enough difference. I haven’t watched the video review yet, but is there a notable lumens difference between 4000k and 6500k on the SST20?

Also, how’s the heat management in the MF01S? Can this actually run on turbo for a few mins before becoming too hot to handle?

1113

This was posted earlier. I think Bombay got it from a Chinese review.

I’m not clear on the leds myself. Page one of this thread says it will use SST-20 and XP-G3. I assume the 6500K would be XP-G3 and the other two tints would be the SST-20.

I looked on Banggoods website and there is no mention of XP-G3. It only says SST-20. It’s confusing. They might have changed leds at the last minute.

Maybe Freeme knows.

1114

The light was originally meant to use XP-G3s. As far as I’m aware all the options are SST20s. One of the reviews showed a little over 15000 for the 6500k, a little over 14000 for the 5000k and about 10500 for the 4000k

1115

Got my blue 4k today, very disappointed. Nice deep blue cap but very faded blue body, looks really bad. Shame on Banggood for even sending this out. Can't trust Astrolux brand anymore after this and I know I'm not the first one as someone else posted about this here before too.

1116

Here is TH558’s post. Does yours look like his?

This might be why they are dropping some of the colors. Their anodization company may not be consistent enough. Maybe the black, silver and sand are much more consistant.

It may even be a case of the cap being machined from a slightly different type of aluminum that is causing the inconsistency.

1117

Lol, this is exactly the supercar model. 1/10th of a second makes all the difference.

Now, in lights it’s not feasible to compare 14000 to 15000 lumens. However, since I do have a choice between my 30qs and p26as it’s a no brainer. I charge on the regular. There’s no braggadocio in wanting peak performance, it’s always pushing for the max. That’s what drives innovation.

1118

I kind of like the two tone blue. Makes me want to buy another one in blue. :sunglasses:

1119

Thanks! I think I can manage at least that. I’ll be paranoid and check voltage with a DMM before putting cells in though.

1120

Freeme - thanks for the coupon.

I placed an order for a blue SST-20 4000K. It is out of stock, but expected to ship 2019-08-24. Hopefully I can still get one, even though earlier posts in this thread indicate it is now discontinued.

1121

That’s true about the VTC6, after 50 cycles the VTC6 will hold less charge than the 30Q, this is why the 30Q is better IMO

1122

Looks sort of similar but if I hold my MF01S to my monitor, it looks like a very faded grey blue compared to the blue in those pics. Almost like they really cheaped out in the anodizing process. I think those who got a consistent dark deep blue got real lucky. Otherwise it's a beautiful looking light and looks way better than the images. Very solid chunky feel. Not sure about turbo though, it heats up instantly. Maybe that is the way it is supposed to be to dissipate the heat from the leds and batteries, but it doesn't feel right. If anyone wants my light for $20 less than I paid for it and free shipping to Canada/US pm me.

1123

It heats up quickly because the thermal path is well designed. TA got them to use a super thick shelf so the heat from the emitters can dissipate out rapidly. This protects the emitters and reduces output loss due to heat in the emitters. If you don’t want it to heat up so fast, just run it on default max ramp but not turbo. When used outdoors with some wind, the heat deep fins will keep the thing running real well unless of course if you use turbo, which would require a GT4 size mass to sustain.

Besides the color, why else do you not like this light? I really like mine.

1124

This specs is stated in Mateminco Store in Aliexpress too since they listed it.

They also stated 4000k(CRI95), 5000k/6500k(CRI70).

But they never mention anything about XP-G3.