I heard that the BLF A6 has a couple of flaws. So can anyone summarize the problems of the BLF A6 and what I should look out for when buying one. I am going to buy one from a reseller here locally.
Thanks
G'Day Light Head, 
The BLF A6 has no flaws apart from not being perfect & not costing USD $100-$120. 
Just make sure it is working as per specs.
Best Regards,
George
I had no problem with my BLF A6. But I would advise not to buy the magnetic ring attachment as it is not strong enough to hold the light 
I’ve heard some problem due to heat… I don’t own any A6 but I did make an S2+ triple with a A6/S1 drier.
It acts weird once it gets hot, in fact you have to think that a click becomes a really fast click and a long click becomes a click…
It surely has to do with the value of a capacitor which varies with heat…
Modded a A6 driver into a Ultrafire C8 last weekend.
The C8 came with lb led and terrible driver without memory.
I baked it so it looks like copper and the driver options now gives it more modes with moon.
Added a warm white xml2
It is not only most beautiful C8, because of the driver also the most useful, the high quality Convoys are put in the cupboard and this one is in use.
So yeah the UI is pretty awesome gonna order another one of those drivers today.
When it gets hot,mine doesn’t change modes backwards, only short clicks work’s. But when it’s cool down everything’s ok again….
My impression is that the light can do more things then most people need. That makes the A6 a little harder to use then the average torch. It also needs some help (spring mod) to shine as bright as possible. On the other hand it gets really hot really fast on turbo with hi drain batteries.
So it’s not a muggle light at all!
Some problems are not the A6’s fault at all: mine for example came with an improper reflowed led which burnt through after 2minutes of use. And it was my first tube style light - I simply didn’t know before that I don’t like tube lights 
In the end all these complaints are projected into “The BLF A6” and it gets a “certain reputation”
Just my thoughts - OK?
The few usual problems and their solutions can be found HERE . The light was well-designed but not executed nearly as well. It is still a good light offering much in an economical package, and it has become my most-used light. The Astrolux S-1 is the identical light but comes with an additional battery tube for shorter cells so I’d recommend buying that later version instead.
Phil
I for one do not understand the praise given the BLF A6. It is bright and can be had in a decent tint, but does appear cheaply built. Mine came with too long threads, leaving the o-ring not at all seated properly, leading to less than stellar waterproofness.
No fan of the UI either. No shortcut to strobe or turbo, and what is the point of strobe when it is hidden behind three (?) half-long backwards clicks?
My least used flashlight.
There is a shortcut to turbo from moon, but only there. Had Manker done as good as the design, it would be one of the best lights ever but that didn’t happen- such is the way things sometimes go when you add “budget” to the equation.
Phil
I have had no trouble with mine. A UI can never please everyone, but the A6 has a pretty good one. Most of them have a thinner spring which offers more resistance to current than the more desirable thick spring that early models came with. I think there was some controversy about the clip on earlier versions. And it seems like a couple of people accidentally dedomed thier LED taking the light apart. By its nature, the light is not well regulated and output will constant drop as the battery runs down (except maybe on the lowest modes).
I feel mine has a greenish yellow tint.
If you bump it or tip it over it switches modes. Totally unreliable. Not worth the money I payed. Terrible EDC out of box. Driver seems nice…… That is it. Tube looks in-even thickness as well but that’s not an issue like a
A tap to the body changing modes.
Bad or no quality control but after solved the details is a good flashlight
In my unit there were an insurmountable problem, but it does not affect its operation, the tube was machined off center.
The Astrolux S1 has better quality control and less detail also came with 18350 tube
| The Astrolux S1 has better quality control and less detail also came with 18350 tube
Not so sure about that one. The Astrolux I got had problems with the cap not able to screw on all the way, and the promised short tube was missing from the box. Was sent a replacemnt which ALSO lacked the short tube. Oh Banggood, please.
I have seen that couple of time with different BLF Astrolux FET+1 driver boards. I wonder if RMM's version suffer from similar fate?
The problems, hmm:
Inconsistent machining in a few different places leading to gaps and sometimes failure to function.
Lower quality capacitor falls out of spec due to heat.
Short tubes weren’t made consistent with longer tubes.
For most these problems did not occur but there has been a higher than normal rate of complaints, I can’t put a number on it but just going by an impression there. I would put it down to growing pains of a new product and reccomend that only those willing to fix any of the issues or live with them for the price go ahead and buy it. I’d make the same reccomedation on any of the GB’s for new host/driver designs. In essence, BLF gets to do QA testing for the benefit of getting custom lights discounted below stock light prices. A lot of people just don’t seem to understand that and want custom, perfect, and dirt cheap all together.
I dealt with the issues on my bare version as well as the short tube problems and now it’s my edc. This is no different than many other discounted items I buy, if the problems appear correctable then I judge value based on that. If the product still has issues that aren’t correctable then I don’t buy or reccomend it.
If you are unwilling to take the chance of getting an oops model(not high but still a risk), or unwilling or unable to fix any of the issues it may have then please don’t buy it and come back whining. Ask for help and you’ll get it, ask for simpathy and you won’t.
Only problem with my A6 was the lens o-ring was slightly out of position and over the edge of the reflector at one point. Easily fixed by simply removing the bezel and lens and resetting the o-ring. Took about a minute to fix.
Check that you get 7 modes and 4 modes in 7-mode and 4-mode group respectively. If you do, chances are good that it’s functioning properly.
Don’t recommend that you open up the head. Liable to get a dead light due to emitter bond wires cut.
What is the shortcut to turbo, please?
Short cut is long half press.