After a long time, i’m back on BLF. In some months I change almost everything… Work, house and girlfriend… But I’m still flashaholic (some thing never change). I have to apologize with some people that wrote me a PM and never got an answer but for a long time I use internet only at work and BLF is not accessible from there.
I want to give a warm welcome to every new member of this great forum. I think I will try to read some post to understand what’s going on in flashlight world (new ….fire light, a new 10000 mah battery and something like that).
Any INCREDIBLE news??
I see a BLF facebook page and also a blog… Are they “officially” connected to the forum?
Now I don’t have a lot of time like some months ago so maybe I’d write rarely but I’ll try to read everyday to keep in touch with “the world of light”!
In this months i save some money (I didn’t order/receive a flashlight or some spare parts for months), I sell some old flashlight and now I need a couple of new flashlight!
I was thinking about two model:
Stainless steel (or titanium) ITP A3 with XPG
Xeno e03 with NW XML
What do you think? Alternatives? Best place (and best price) to find this two light?
Consider that I’m in Europe and shipping cost are often a problem…
Blog is mainly for status updates in case of down-times/maintenance of BLF (installed by Mr.Admin)... Facebook is installed by watkins I believe.
Recommendations as of now:
1AA if NiMH is your main focus -> Klarus P1A/Jetbeam BA10 (imho better/brighter than E03) and already has a clip, if you insist on an XM-L ... Balder SE-1 T6 XM-L (might have PWM issues if you are sensible to that stuff))
1AAA for keychain -> upcoming DQG tiny III NW (expensive but worth it), EOSLAMP SP11 with customizable output on high
1AAA for clip use -> ITP A3 or its successor Olight I3
Another option for a AAA sized light is the MBI Torpedo on CPF that is under development. It probalby should be done in 1 month. It gets 500 lumens from a special 10250 battery he had made (or use an IMR 10440 AAAsized lithium). 200 lumens from a normal NiMH AAA battery. Uses an XM-L of course.
The Illumina Ti is a modestly priced titanium keychain light that gets about 100 lumens from a AAA.
I wouldnt really expect much in the way of upgrades until the next emitter comes out. Theres some that is like the XP-E, except about twice as efficient. That will pave the way for really good 1xAAA lights that can get 200-250 lumens from 0.7 amps or so without getting super hot in seconds.
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I would recommend a CR123 XM-L light instead for your keychain. It has several nice advantages.
First, you can use a RCR123 which has 750mAh capability or better. no IMR neeed. You can also use your existing 18650 charger with just a cheap alum spacer instead of buying a brand new 10440 charger. This is also a PROTECTED cell, whereas a 10440 is hard to find protection circuits due to size. You get tons more runtime too.
Second, you can hit 400ish lumens with most of them. I have a quark miniX 123. An itp A1 would work too. They all work fine with RCR123s, even though it is not officially recommended since they will get hot pretty fast. Going from 3.0 v to 3.7 (4.2 peak) works fine with existing circuits. Unlike going from 1.5 to 3.7 with a AA/AAA sized light.
I too went through some life altering changes at home about 18 months ago. Took some time away from the flashlight hobby, went on a night hike with some CPF friends about 7-8 months ago. But other than that I've been relatively quiet, contently engoying the lights I have. Mostly 1.4A XRE/XPG, and some 3A MCE and P7 builds.
Fast forward to ~1 month ago, and I poke my head up over here on BLF and WHOA!!! Really (really) affordable XML designs nave flooded the market... from MANY www retailers besides DX and KD.
Lurking CPF too... spot posts form me here and there.
You're damn right.. I think i'll steal it (if i can!).
Thanks everyone!
Itp a3 is because i need the smallest/brightest AAA flashlight and R5 SS version seems to have these qualities
I also want a compact AA flashlight with XML and Xeno seems to be good. Also Balder SE-1 seems to fit my needs but Xeno seems to be better build. AA and AAA cells are easy to found and i don't need a charger everytime.
Budget is 30$ each but the problemi is find them. I found SS itp a3 only on ebay and Xeno only on HKE...
Thanks for the hint:
- TRj12 is well over my budget (but yes, i want it!)
- P1A is really good but i need a XML (flood needed!)
- SP11 seems really a good alternative!
- Illumina is gorgeous but over my budget
Hi Davx, you've been out of town for too long of a time otherwise you would know by now that the kreisler nick is rated "not trustworthy" on this friendly forum so i shouldnt comment in detail on ..etc.. (haha. not funy)
okok, the itp (titanium) i got from ebay (won auction, 31$), the xeno i got from HKE. Okay light but too expensive (as i agreed with forum members in PM's) for what it is, very primitive construction (a 21.5mmØ tube, 2-parts, no anti-rolling, no clip, nada nada) with no mode memory, flickery reverse clicky, and definitely *not* impact resistant (although i never commented upon this issue earlier in detail) despite the company video series on factory's PVC grounds). i am still wondering why the xeno is (still) so popular on cpfmp (bumped by the one US seller ;=) and elsewhere.
I am not into Balder lights. I look at their optical design esthetics and then ***e (sorry, no offense).
i do have the DQG Tiny III on my purchase list (see Vectrex below). The TIR lens must be marvelous (see Fenix E05, Preon P0)! till then my favorite 1x AAA lights are Fenix LD01 and Tank E09.
ITP SS is available at LT and FP ... according to NG-shopping there are discounts available for both shops. I still urge you to take a look at the DQG III ... smallest SS keychain light on the planet with that kind of output and lightweight while being SS.... this is coming from a ITP A3 (both XP-G R5 and XR-E Q5), Maratac AAA SS owner. It is really a game changing light for the keychain ... I have the DQG tiny II. (great review btw) You asked what changed in the meantime you were away ... and I can wholeheartedly say ... "the DQG came to the market". Just look at the weight difference to the ITP... and both are SS. Granted there are brighter AAA lights, but 60 Lumen with that very useful beam from a TIR optic makes it perfect for the keychain imho.
copyright by HKJ
Just look at the bulky copper AAA (Maratac/ITP/Olight/TI Illuminati size) at the right.
The only reason not to get a DQG is when you need a clip or can't afford it.
But according to this thread there will be a new run of the 1AAA (DQG III or new improved DQG II) version pretty soon. It will be produced in TI and SS, if I understood Ric from CNQG (is also a member here on BLF) right and the number will be limited at ~100 pcs. So it will be kind of hard to get one, I am thinking about putting down money upfront just to reserve one. While my DQG II is certainly the best 1AAA keychain light in my collection ... it has a major flaw... it eats an o-ring per battery change. I already ordered a bunch of spare ones, but it is frustrating none the less. The new improved DQG II/III is addressing that problem, if I understand the CPF discussion correctly by providing a dedicated O-ring groove. These lights are made by one man ... Duqingang, or George. I own the DQG II AAA R4 NW with glow dot, because I don't like the magnet option.
