Between posts I’ve seen on Reddit and here I’m convinced this Lojik guy has a poster of Jack June hanging over his bed
Although FF are technically mid range price-wise, when you’re paying $70-$120 (like a E07X, E07 2021, E12R) for a light that may or may not be reliable or have (potentially serious) quality control issues, then yah, it would raise some cain for me as the buyer, and really irritated if I were ignored by customer service. I get the language barrier and all, but you should be able to reach them through channels other than reddit/snapchat etc. All but 1 of the Fireflies I reviewed (going on 4) has some kind of quality control snafu (off color parts, errant glue/sealant, parts that don’t fit right). I give some wiggle room for that with cheaper lights, but not these mid-range price ones.
Okay lets keep that same energy then.
If I have a Jack poster hanging over my bed…
Then some of you must have whole Hank blow-up dolls in your closets so that you have some way to suck him off daily. :+1:
Ok…little over the top there, unnecessary. Plus that’s mostly over on reddit. 
Just out of curiosity. Would you say Hank sells lights with mismatching ano’s too?
Ahh of course, I forgot. The one that responds in kind is always the problem. :+1:
I think almost everyone has “shades” of ano at times. It’s not a precise process even when they do everything correctly and carefully so with most colors there is variation batch to batch…“good” black has the least variance I think and those that tend toward a little gloss are less noticeable than variation in matte finishes. Quality of the base metal stock also affects the outcome so if there is variance in the rod stock received there may be variance in the final anodized finish as well. I don’t think I’ve ever received a light with a mismatch that was just grossly out of whack, but honestly as long as it’s not a huge difference I wouldn’t be upset and I sure would not expect any manufacturer to scrap whole batches of parts for a slight shading variance. There are companies here in the US (and finishing processors) who would do this, but that has the potential to add a lot of cost somewhere down the line, which ultimately is on us…certainly can’t expect that with 95% of manufacturers in China.
I have the new D1 and it’s totally fine, no issues with anodizing or part fit up, and no functionality issues (but my FF work fine too). Nobody is immune from defects or QC issues, but in name brands (Acebeam, Olight, Fenix, etc) it is far less prevalent since lights with defectd almost never leave the factory.
CONTEXT is everything. Seriously.
We can’t expect 100% thorough commercial standards with small vendors like these. Such small teams, it’s hard to ensure near perfect QC. There are going to be problems from time to time. We also have to remember the growth factor. Hank and Jack took risks in their startups. They put a lot of money on the line and it could’ve all gone bust. But they stuck to it. Most of the time, you get a quality light from these guys. They learn from mistakes. They learn from the community. In fact, that’s what’s so wonderful about them—community input. They are flashlight enthusiasts themselves or they wouldn’t have gotten into these businesses.
Now granted, there is always room for improvement. I have hope that they will both improve with time. Firefly Lite has a new website coming out very soon that should be a marked evolution from the old one. And maybe Hank can take some ideas from that to improve his own. They could BOTH use some fixing on product details pages, making information in a consistent format so it’s easy to go from one product to another and always know where to find specific information, like body dimensions, emitter options, emitter specs in the given host, drivers and options, available accessories, and caveats/warnings.
As for product issues, they’ve both come a long way. And it’s good to see a lot of enthusiasm from the community. Some of you guys are serious flashaholics, having bought a dozen or more and shown off your booty. I can’t relate to such expenditures for this hobby, but I greatly appreciate seeing these wonderful devices in consumer hands, sharing lots of details that the vendor doesn’t provide.
So let’s keep it civil here, OK? Remember where we’ve come from and where we’d like to go.
As if this needed explaining. But nope, when Fireflies does it, it can ONLY mean that they have poor QC.
And since I’m here, let me go ahead and address your previous response about Jack not responding.
There are absolutely people that report that Jack didn’t respond to them. But that is not enough context to deduce that everyone is being ignored by Jack. This idea that “I didn’t get a response so let me run to the internet and declare that Jack responds to no one” is childish and petulant.
There are many people constantly getting responses from Jack. But every time someone gets a response, they don’t run to the internet like those that don’t and proclaim it for some grand imaginary tally. So acting like we have a true record of whether Jack responds solely by counting the people that complain about it is not even remotely accurate and is at the very least, beyond disingenuous…
I make no illusion about who people can be sometimes and how some people around here behave when things don’t go their way. We had a whole chat about if BLF might be dying because some people act stupid and whiny about everything. We have far less sellers coming around for these exact same reasons.
So there is always much MUCH more to consider when someone makes a complaint about not getting a response. I get a response from WHO EVER TF I WANT one from, even Neal. But I’ve been here a while and I payed attention to how shit works instead of always crying about it. So I find it more than fair to wonder, was everyone that didn’t get a response respectful? Were they clear? Did they have a point and clear request? Were they demanding or entitled? Did they make erroneous comments or demands? Who shares any of this info when they declare they didn’t get a response? Cause I’ve seen how people talk about sellers they may not like around here in public. There is no respect many times. If your approaching a seller like that, I’m glad you’re getting ignored. So of the people who say they don’t get responses, are there legitimate gripes, of course there likely are. Jack has admitted himself that he has had issues with that before and is working on getting better because far too much is on his plate. He’s about to add some customer service reps. But this brings the other point.
These guys aren’t huge companies, they are very boutique and do tons of the work themselves, so they are busy people. If someone doesn’t have a clear email or a clear purpose or request, that’s probably gonna get ignored. Not everyone’s sole purpose is to respond to every single email in some way. Does any one contest that they should? Every single email always deserves a response? Yeah right man. These guys will naturally not waste time on some specific douches too. People love to complain about the dumbest shit. Hence the mis-matched ano whines even though it’s an industry-wide thing.
This is not my only enthusiast hobby. Every hobby has it’s own quirks and work-arounds to learn if you want to enjoy them fully, no? Is flashlights any different? But nope, we have to let the few people that don’t get a response once in a while dictate the whole narrative and make wide reaching claims when in reality, that was just true for them.
There are far too many people constantly talking to Jack and getting info and parts and replacements and whatever people need…for ANYONE to be out here acting like Jack has no care about customer service. He has plenty and proves it every day. Why people aren’t getting responses is not a problem I have with Jack, and MANY others report plenty of contact with him daily. So it’s beyond disingenuous AF to only count the negatives of a company and claim that that is their standard when so much contrary evidence exists.
FF makes some of thee best lights around. WTF do I ultimately care about customer service form a company with inferior lights when my end goal is always the best lights I can find? I’m not gonna cry about this hobbies nuances. It is what it is, we’re buying from China FFS. No disrespect to you. But having to still explain all of this to others like if they’re kids feels FKN stupid considering we’re all supposed to be adults
These are the comments that keep me here. Simple, reasonable and helpful. Taking notes.
A bit off-topic, but I want an E07X Pro in red. Am I out of luck or will FF eventually restock it? I’m very unfamiliar with this company.
Oh man, you are missing it as we speak. Jack has/had some reds. But too many orders came in for it and now he’s added black and is asking who is willing to take a black one instead. So right now black E07x Pro is definitely available. They are even coming with a new and improved Lume 1, it will arrive mid November. You can get the original Lume 1 driver E07x now, or wait for the new one. Also, 519A 2700k & 5700k will arrive mid November too (in addition it 5000k which he already has in stock).
Well, the red color is a non-negotiable for me 
It sounds like I will be waiting until the next batch. Based on past releases, will that be next year or within months?
I heard that, same for me too. I told Jack NO…please…I NEED it in red. 
I know a buddy is hoping the blue E07x makes a return too. I would email Jack and ask if he can spare a red one for you. Jack only offered red initially, so not everyone necessarily wanted red. So if he got enough swaps to black, he might be able to spare one for you. Doesn’t hurt to ask. Just say if not no worries, and please keep me in mind for when they return again.
:+1: Glad I’m able to help some.
FWIW, I’ve not heard of communication complaints from anyone spending a lot of money… And I get that. It’s how things work with small outfits. High paying customers get priority, certainly before someone who is sending lots of questions and not buying anything yet.
When I got my first PL47mu in red… my jaw dropped. It’s a gorgeous, rich red with subtle metallic elements in a satin matte finish. So when I opted to buy another… I just had to get another in that red. I hope it remains a staple of Jack’s flashlight body colors.
I have two Fireflies lights, E07X and NOV-MU.
Threads
All of my Fireflies lights have badly machined threads in my standards. Bad machining of the threads were especially unpleasant on unanodized threads. It did not feel smooth no matter how much lube I put on. I had to sand the rough surface down for it to be usable.
Poor part fit up
There were a couple of instances where the o-ring is displaced and is partially ripped during ordinary opening and closing of the body tube. I am not sure if the o-ring was too thick, or the parts did not have enough clearance. Using abundant amount of lube on the o-ring helped reduce such instances.
Some nice things though…
There are nice things about the lights, however. The output regulation were very good. It is said to have an efficient driver. Nice thick tail springs (although I had to resolder the broken bypass wire). Twenty one E21A LEDs in NOV-MU are quite a unique arrangement and they can output a lot of lights! They offered 219B 4500K during times when 219B were known to be discontinued.
Both of my FF lights are in black and I did not notice the color differences.
Thanks, I took your advice and shot him an email. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky. When I saw that finish I knew I had to have one! And that high-efficiency driver really makes it a must-buy.
+1
Some are most unique as well.
I preordered red, want red, and was told I can’t have red, so I doubt anyone will be able to get a red one at this point. I wonder if they actually had any at all. Also I emailed Jack about it and someone named Ivy responded instead saying she is now in charge of sales. I can live with black. I just think it’s a bit off putting that I wasn’t offered any sort of option to wait (or even a small apology) or anything, just told they don’t have a red for me.