Why does it look like a plastic centering ring is sitting inside the reflector instead of under it?
Because it is inside the reflector. I scavenged the center piece from another light and it happens to have a rather high rim. It blocks (the light is not lost but in fact diffused a bit) a bit of light that otherwise would have hit the deepest part of the reflector. The effect is a tiny bit less corona, a tiny bit more spill.
And what makes sapphire lenses better?
They are virtually indestructable, way harder even than mineral glass. Which as said is decadence because the S2+ is as good as indestructable already stock.
You can test it using the water drop test. Google: water drop Sapphire.
Harder means more scratch resistant, but a more flexible lens will be harder to break.
A thick, plastic lens should offer the best protection from breaking.
Exactly. Hardness does not equal toughness.
Nice test, thanks for the heads-up Geuzzz, here it is, would-be sapphire on the left:
Well, my watch has a Sapphire crystal and with all the abuse it gets, it never scratches and never broke (but that can be luck also).
I agree on the plastic lens btw, but it does not look as nice and clear over time.
And sapphire just sounds good, right? 
Suddenly had to think about the sapphire debacle with the iphone displays some years ago. Apple wanted to have sapphire displays (protection), which is supposed to be better (more expensive) than gorilla glass, but the company manufacturing the sapphire went bankrupt or something…
Looks to be genuine sapphire although the difference is not as big as it can be sometimes. I love sapphire in my watches. Hardlex as Seiko uses in their dive watches may be tougher, but scratchfree sapphire looks so much better.
New arrivals from today and earlier this week.
- Folomov A1 charger - still testing, I think I like it more than the Nitecore F1 charger
- Lumintop EDC05 - Better tint than the UTorch UT01, but more expensive, otherwise a VERY nice flashlight
- Sofirn SF12 - I have bashed this one before, and for some reason decided to get another one. Same driver and emitter, but machining and anodizing is MUCH improved over my first unit, and now it’s reverse clicky instead of forward. It seems I had one from older stock and now it looks like a good product. Still not a fan of the driver and emitter, but it fares much better.
- Jaxman E3 - Newer model with integrated shelf and so far the disappointment of the lot. The finishing is very nice, the modes are nice and simple with AA (L>M>H, no memory) but with a 14500 all modes are crammed together near max, so close I first thought it was stuck in single mode. I have inquired Jaxman about this and am awaiting a response to see if this is by design or I have a defective driver
I want to order a EDC05. Just can’t find anyone who has them. One on Ebay but that’s about it. Anyone know where to get one?
I get my lumintops from banggood and use M4DM4X’s codes
Out of stock everywhere. Hope they get restocked soon. Been wanting one.
There seem to be a lot of problems with this model. https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/49847
Same problem I have on my UT01: If you turn off the flashlight, it only will turn on again after breaking connection by loosen then re-tighten the tail cap.
Lumintop odf30 from banggood. Shipping only take 7 days. I like this light. Great quality. It came with the lanyard, extra o ring, and case… so yea. Banggood coupon code and Big discount.
Finally received my two Liitokala S1 chargers from the recent sale, 37 days shipping time.
What I have found out so far:
The charging cable seems important, when I use a cheap/flimsy USB cable the charger won’t work with the cell pictured below. A good cable starts charging immediately. Otherwise no issues, happy with the deal.
My NW Astrolux MF02 came today from Banggood. Super fast shipping! Ordered on April 27th, arrived today, May 5th. You can’t beat that, right?
