I've had a blast testing one of the BLF Special Edition Eagle Eye X6 samples! I love collecting data and running tests, reminds me of chemistry classes which I've always enjoyed.
Some Pics:
The anodized pieces are much better matching on my BLF SE sample. The bezel is still slightly darker. It looks to me that they darkened the rest of the light slightly. It's fairly difficult to see in real life; you have to really be looking for it. The flat machined portions on the battery tube are slightly longer, deeper, and wider on the Special Edition.
I'm not particularly fond of the font. I would rather it be smooth than with the sharp edges on the curves.
The attachment band of the clip is slightly less wide.
The tailcap is the most significant machining difference at a glance. About 2mm taller overall and the band of knurling is about 3 mm taller. It makes for a much sleeker looking design compared to the stock x6 tailcap which now looks a bit… odd.
"We all need somebody to leeeeeeeaaan on"
The BLF Special Edition Tailstands and looks quite a bit sleeker to boot. :)
I note the same copper star and shiny finish on the led shelf as Dale did. They thermal glued the star down.
Note that this is not the star/mcpcb that will be on the production flashlight. We were aware prior that the sample would not contain the DTP copper star that will be in the final product! The production lights will have DTP copper stars from a respected manufacturer; A special run of DTP copper stars made FOR this light! 8)
You may notice that corner 'tab' on the mcpcb at 12 O'clock isn't touching the shelf... at all. After removal I found that all the tabs were bent upward and the star itself was maybe 60% in contact with the shelf. Yikes!
The screws aren’t tightened down in my sample.
The bezel threads are a bit different on the Special Edition. I didn't get a good shot of it, but they are more trapezoidal cut vs the stock X6 bezel threads which are triangular cut. The bezels are not interchangeable (Tailcap & battery tube are interchangeable)
I did a brief 15m runtest with the stock star and promptly reflowed the emitter to a noctigon (Tests will be down further in the thread). The performance of the production star should be similar to a noctigon with its DTP (The star that came in the sample is not DTP).
Data and graphs and whatnot: :)
All Tests and Data were gathered using an Unprotected Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mAh cell charged to 4.20v for each and every test.
Tailcap Measurements
| Modes | Tailcap Current (A) |
| Moon | .022 |
Low |
.088 |
| Medium | 1.625 |
| High | 2.31 |
| Turbo | 3.02 |
It has been discussed quite a bit. Moon mode is a bit too bright. Medium is a bit too bright as well. Turbo needs to be bumped up a bit more. The highest I've been able to test is 3.24A with a low resistance cell and emitter leads upgraded to 22awg.
Throw Measurements
| Flashlight (State) | Stock X6 Lens (lux) | Special Edition AR Lens (lux) | Stock X6 Lens lux Converted to candela (CD) |
| Eagle Eye X6 (Stock) | 308 | 294 | 14000 |
| BLF SE (Stock) | 429 | 416 | 19500 |
| BLF SE (Noctigon) | 434 | 420 | 19750 |
Measurements taken at 30 seconds at a distance of 7 feet.
Ceiling Bounce Tests
| Flashlight (State) | Turn On | 30 Seconds |
| MH40 Thor | 130 |
127 |
| Eagle Eye X6 (Stock) | 90 | 87 |
| Eagle Eye X6 (SE AR Lens) | 89 | 86 |
| BLF SE (Stock + Stock X6 lens) | 126 | 122 |
| BLF SE (Stock + SE AR Lens) | 125 | 122 |
| BLF SE (Noctigon + Stock X6 Lens) | 129 | 127 |
| BLF SE (Noctigon + SE AR Lens) | 127 | 125 |
I do not have many ANSI rated flashlights. I chose the Thor from Nitecore out of the ANSI lights I do have because it is rated at 900lm. This value may be high or low, typically Nitecore lights test higher than what they are rated. I would be comfortable with considering the BLF SE to be estimated at roughly 900-1000lm.
This same methodology applied to the stock X6 results in an estimated output of 600-650lm, which is fairly consistent with other user's measured values.
Runtime Tests!
All the runtime tests are done in an air conditioned house. 80*F ambient temperature. The flashlight sits in a low airflow spot. Unprotected Panasonic NCR18650B 3400mAh cells at 4.20v were used in each test.
The Stock Eagle Eye X6.
The drop in temperature at the 30 minute mark was an improvised fan cooling. The light was getting to the 60*C point and I didn't want to potentially damage the cell. The stock x6 has a fairly constant output and a low voltage warning. The cell measured 3.13v after the warning kicked on at 119minutes.
A short runtime test. I did not do a full run since the sample did not come with a DTP mcpcb and thus the test would not reveal pertinent results.
This is the BLF X6 with a noctigon installed. This test should be very similar to what we see in the final product (if there were to be no changes to the current design).
At the 82 minute mark I cycled through the modes. Instead of bumping up to turbo it goes straight to moon. Cycling back up to turbo gives a brightness equivalent to the stock X6 for approximately 12 minutes even after the 80 minutes of run time prior!
After approximately 100 minutes the cell can no longer boost the output back up by cycling around and back to turbo.
After 126 minutes the flashlight enters a on off on off flash mode (not strobe) to indicate low voltage. A half press allows the user to get back into regular modes for emergency lighting. The cell measured 3.08v
I cannot see any type of Stepdown I'm familiar with. The driver seems to constantly decrease the output from the start of the test.
I extrapolated some data in order to do a direct comparison of the runtimes of the Eagle Eye X6 versus the BLF Special Edition X6. The output percentage is based on ceiling bounce numbers recorded during each run.
It tells me that some people might get a "lemon" and others will get good stuff. It's what happens when a run like this is not 100% QC checked, by people that have a clue as to what they should be doing. One would think that "samples" would be "perfect" since everyone's going to see them!
. For me, if I were to gift the pre-built BLF versions, I'd like an easy UI, and this ain't it -- that's all I'm saying bout it.
