Thanks for confirming and extra thoughts about this!
Great explain ToyKeeper thanks.
Anyway yes I’m interested on mini FW1A if will be relase with AA compatibily, High CRI very warm option,small size and price.
Also an Headlamp version with these specs and ramping ui would be great…
thankyou!
can someone post a photo of the beams of an fw3a and fw1a demonstrating the difference in hotspot size?
here is another example of less lumens from a single, having more throw than a triple
Here my friend 
Left is FW3A and right FW1A
(edited photo to add labels)…
thanks!
very helpful :+1:
the difference is due to the size of the hotspot:
I hope CRX won’t kill me posting his recent mod...
Tool AA Anduril
I’m pretty sure it throws farther than 92.5 millimeters. 
(that’s the length of the light)
Anyway, the FW3A XP-L HI gets about 4.4 cd/lm, and the FW1A XP-L HI gets about 23 cd/lm. Roughly 5X as many candelas at the same power level.
However, the FW3A can make about 2.3 or 2.5 times as many lumens. So on turbo, the difference in candelas is a factor of 2 (ish) instead of a factor of 5. But it uses like three times as much power to get half as many candelas.
There’s no question that throwy lights are more efficient at producing a bright hotspot. That’s the whole point of a thrower.
For me though, it’s not about efficiency… it’s about having the right balance. And I think the optimal balance for a small EDC-style light is roughly 5 to 15 cd/lm. This provides a useful mix of flood and throw for common daily tasks.
A 14500 compact triple would end up with like… 2 cd/lm. And a single-emitter version would be closer to 10 or 12 cd/lm. So I’ll take the single-emitter version.
If it were the other way around though, like if we were using a really tiny LED which produced a ridiculous amount of throw, and the numbers were 10 cd/lm for a triple or 50 cd/lm for a single, I’d choose the triple. Because it hits the balance I’m looking for.
Probably not.
Does that answer help at all?
oops! :partying_face:
GIGO
extremely helpful comments
thank you
I agree there needs to be a balance
thanks for introducing me to the concept of cd/lm
the data for the unmodified AA Tool is
3420cd
max output 650
so about 5 cd/lm
I find the hotspot larger than necessary and that helps me to know that higher candela per lumen would move into a higher cd/lm
I think modding to a smaller LED, in my case 219b, would raise cd/lm, making the light a bit throwier, still in within a 5-15 cd/lm
Link to CRXs original post?
He will post edited mod
With a single sst20 2700K. Ready, aim, throw.
Seems to me it should get closer to 25mm shorter. The depth of the reflector would be shorter. Although the ability to take a button top might be better. And the inner sleeve should not be carried over so,?
I just realized FW1A is by lumintop and they already have the GT Micro for those who like single emitters with high throw efficiency. I guess this one would make sense for a triple. It would be the first 14500 triple on the market.
it will not be a triple
It is no longer sold, but this is/was a 14500 on the market!
And made by a BLF member: vestureofblood (also know as Matt Smith from AdventureSportFlashlights )
Ultimate TRI EDC:Ultimate TRI EDC Brass Now available
I turned my Jaxman E3 into a triple a while ago But it is not as fancy
I disagree that there’s no point in making a triple. Some people use their lights in doors and prefer floody lights. Also there are SO MANY single emitter 14500 out there including Lumintop’s own GT Micro, Tool AA, E05C, ED15, L1A, EDC05, Duke, Prince Mini, D10; I don’t see much reason to make another single emitter 14500 to compete with their already huge selection. A triple on the other hand would be unique. For me, I would be more interested to see a 4x or 9x E21A mule. I love the 16x E21A mule in the KR4 so much.
congrats
but that is not an 18.5mm diameter light
the point of AA, to me, is to use a thinner host.
there is no triple optic for 18.5 diameter, that I know of
for those who want a triple, the FW3a is already that
there is also already the RRT-03 that is a triple, that can be used with AA… but it is not 18.5mm diameter either
they dont run Anduril…
you seem to be restarting a wish list, without the benefit of reading the previous posts
You got me there