I’m not a frequent follower of this forum, but I’ve bought three BLF A6s over the past few years and love them. It’s the best flashlight I’ve ever owned. I’m thinking of buying another one, but I thought I’d ask here first…. is there anything else I should look at that’s comparable or better that’s come out in the past couple of years?
What I like about the BLF A6: power, beam color, beam width, moonlight mode with progressive brightness, non-anodized color is my favorite.
What I don’t like: Doesn’t last very long on turbo, but that’s not a deal killer.
So, what else should I consider? I don’t mind paying $10-$20 more, but I’m not going into the Streamlight/Surefire price range.
Finding anything near the same price point as the A6 or its (Astrolux) clones means finding a similar ‘Labor of Love’ born without any financial R&D expenses.
If the same talent and devotion could be happily harbored in a venture capital enterprise, bean-counters would likely have nixed the project before fruition, and the Q8 never conceived.
You’re not going to find very many stock lights that offer the same kind of power that the BLF A6 offers. It’s a fet+1 (7135) driven light. It’s gives you a nice moon light and a very nice turbo. Most other lights are mainly built with power regulation in mind. If you’re wanting a light that’s got the power of the A6 or more…your best bet is to either build one or have someone build one for you.
Convoy S2+, stock driver with 8*7135 will give you more runtime. It could also be built with the same driver as the A6. The Convoy lights might be a little more durable!
I’ve purchased four BLF A6’s from banggood. The first one was a couple of years ago, the last one was two months ago. The threads are smooth and good quality on all four.
I can not think of one.
It’s a very good compromise between a lot of factors.
For instance, I like smaller lights, but I have not found one with a UI I like.
Or it will use a smaller battery, which I also dislike.
What I’m doing now is rotating between 3 lights, and one is an Astrolux S1 (same as BLF A6, with the great UI and a warm white LED) with an 18350 tube, though I use it with CR123A primaries (because i have a ton of them).
The other ones I will use are a 1xAA thorfire, and a Jetbeam 18350 light that was a giveaway on here.
These have weird or plain UIs, small batteries, and cold tints ( I can live with cold tints).
I’ve given up on AAA lights. Batteries too small, UIs i have found are even worse.
ActiveAl,
thanks,for the reply i’ve had convoy and astrolux flashlights and liked the threads.i carry a light everyday and the a6 would fit in my pocket.
thanks for all the information.
I got a BLF A6 recently and I have to say it ticks my boxes.
Especially with the 18350 short tube, you have an incredible EDC for the price.
I put a tiny amount of Vaseline on the threads.
I have experienced more quality-feeling threads on more expensive flashlights but it is not a priority.
I think they should increase the range, a mini-BLFA6 with 14500 or smaller. I would go for that quite happily.