REVIEW - Zanflare F1

Provided for review by: https://www.zanflare.com/

Product page: https://www.zanflare.com/category-flashlight-zanflaref1

For review I have the Zanflare F1 and I have to be honest and say I could find nothing of consequence to complain about . What we have here is a flashlight that is well made and works as it should , as well has the blinky modes hidden which makes me ever so pleased . A quick description = Single 18650 / 2x CR123 or 2x RCR123 ( 16340 ) with a USB charge port that charges either a single 18650 or 2x RCR123 . I have tested the USB charge port with a single 18650 but not as yet with 2x RCR123 . ( More latter ) .

Using the F1 is as simple as turning the light on with a press of the tail clicky , then clicking the mode switch once to change light levels . What I absolutely love is no matter how hard or fast you click the tail switch the light will not change modes , you need to click the mode button for that . To get to the blinky modes just hold the mode button down for about 3 seconds and to get out of disco mode just hold the mode button down for about 3 seconds again . Now this light also has a hidden TURBO ( I’m calling it that ) mode , so no matter the light level your at , a relatively quick double click of the mode button will put you into TURBO mode and a single click will then return you to the light level you were in . I have been taking the F1 for nightly walks for the last 3 days and I am seriously impressed with the user interface . I find low mode just about right for most instances ( 58 Lumens by my light box ) , and higher levels are a simple click away . Also every time I turn the light on , I know exactly how much light I will be getting as the light will not change modes because of the speed with which I turn the light on or off . ( A lot of lights suffer from this = Turning on and off to fast changes modes ) .

Modes = Moon mode - low mode - Medium mode - High mode - TURBO mode - STROBE and SOS modes .

Changing modes is as easy as clicking the mode button .

TURBO mode is accessed by clicking the mode switch relatively quickly twice and once to exit

Disco and SOS are accessed by holding the mode button down for about 3 seconds and the same again to exit

Light Levels

Moon Mode = Too low to measure / 0.002 Amp

Low Mode = 58L / 0.116 Amp

Medium Mode = 288L / 0.58 Amp

High Mode = 556L / 1.36 Amp to 1.49 amp ( Varied according to location of probe )

TURBO mode = 1050L / 2.1 Amp

TURBO mode and thermal protection

A lot of lights that do 1000+ Lumens suffer heat related output sag . In the old days when 1000 Lumen became a reality the current the light pulled was north of 3 Amps . With many lights pulling up to or more than 5 amps and it became quite a bragging right to be pulling lots of current . Now this current often did not equate to light output as the emitter would over heat and drop output as energy wast turned into heat rather than light . With the F1 I was able to run TURBO for 45 seconds before the thermal protection kicked in . In that 45 seconds the light went from 1035 Lumens to 995 Lumens . That’s about 1 lumen per second which is a lot better than I have seen from other lights .

Measurements are what I was able to get at the time of taking the reading ( so please accept as ball park )

Recharging VIA internal USB port

There is a ring that unscrews just bellow the head / mode button , turn it anticlockwise to expose the USB port ( When I got the light it was unscrewed )

I used my slightly better USB monitor ( charge doctor ) to keep an eye on the charge cycle . With the 18650 at 3.7v the charge current ( what the USB monitor saw ) was about 0.40 Amp to start with and after a while it settled to 0.39A until the battery went over 4v then the current began to drop . When the USB monitor showed the charge current at 0.0 Amp I pulled out the 18650 to check on the voltage level achieved using the internal USB charge port . ( it was 4.16v ) . The USB monitor showed some 1900mA having gone in for some 5 hours and 26 minutes charge time .

I have not at this time attempted to use or charge 2x RCR123 , so when time permits I will update the review with the relevant information .

Zanflare F1 :

I am really impressed with this light , especially with the mode switch and the simple fact you can hammer the tail clicky like rabid monkey suffering Tourette Syndrome and the F1 will not change modes . For quite some time this has been a pet peeve of mine for normal flashlights as using the light quickly to just take a peek changes modes ( so annoying ) . The F1 has simply proven itself to be the best night time walkies light I have used to date . The UI is simple to use , reliable and frustration free . ( What more can you ask for ) The light levels are really good , I found low and medium modes the most useful in my urban environment with high giving me more than enough light for when needing a little power . 1000 Lumens is nice to have , but where I was walking ( suburban streets ) it did light things up better but there was so much glare from car windows and house windows it was a little overkill compared to 500 lumens .

With the battery at 3.7v I decided to see how much light I got .

Low mode = 58L

Medium mode = 273L

High mode = 556L

TURBO mode = 758L

I was very surprised to see such good light output with the battery at 3.7 volts , especially Low / Medium / and High . A drop in performance was certainly expected for Turbo mode , but I was pleasantly surprised by the performance showed in the regular modes . The F1 comes in one of those boxes you will want to keep ( cos its so well made ) , as well a clip , lanyard , USB charge cable and a belt holster / bag that is made from the nicest softest wet-suit style of foam . How can I describe just how nice this light is ? The anodizing is really good ( and scratch resistant ) , the threads are really well cut , there is no slop fit here . The tail clicky is really nice and firm and solid without being a bear . The mode button is just the right tension , not to hard or soft , almost perfect . There is no battery slop with the 18650 nor is there any binding . I have found nothing to complain about ! For the last 4 days the Zanflare F1 has been the only flashlight I have used , and the more I use it the more I like it . With some lights the more you use them , the more things you find that might be less than impressive , not so with the F1 . The more I use it , the more I like it and I think it has just became my go to light . ( I keep a flashlight on my desk for when I need such , and said position is usually occupied with my Favorite flashlight ) . What can I say , I have a few flashlights to chose from and at this time I chose the F1 .

Conclusion :

First I would like to thank Zanflare for sending me the F1 for review , because this light ROCKS hard ! It has been a while since a light has impressed me so much and with nothing to complain about , not even a niggle of an issue , nothing ! As well the F1 ticks all the boxes and simply surpasses expectation .

Who would want this light ?

With on-board USB charging - Anyone that travels or is in a car / truck a lot . Security / police / fire personnel that want a reliable fuss free light ( a lot of these folk relied on single mode lights because of the light level ? mode issue I mentioned before - when you turn the light on you need to know what you get ) . Anyone that is looking for a reliable easy to use light with a simple User Interface . ( One can use the F1 as a single mode light or as a multi mode ) . Now when it comes to a score , it has to be 10 out of 10 and I would add ( +1 ) because the F1 has gone to the top of my list of liked flashlights . I never thought there was a flashlight that could be better than a P60 host , well I have just been schooled !

Thanks for the review mate!

I am interested in seeing inside your toy box looks like you have exciting stuff from looking at the USB meters and the drone lol.

nice review! thanks for posting!

Thanks for the review
nice light!

(can you fill the (OPTIONAL) Relative Width (): field while placing a pic? say set it at 100, this way the pics fill out the width of a pag and are easier to see)

Toy Box ! = Yeah !!! , this entire room is my toy box .
Images have been down sized , so are pretty much max .

Can visit my web to see the toys I play with old4570

USB power meter is also a variable power supply ! …. ( These are hard to find on Ebay - and I can’t find another At The Moment )

good review. but if you edit the pictures to be same size, they look better.

I bought one :+1:

Thank you for such a great review old4570. :sunglasses:

how to test the lumen?

1050 lumens @2.1A seems impossible, not even a XPL W2 LED without reflector and lens gets that efficiency with 25dCelsius junction temperature

This light is picky… it only takes flat top… I tried lg mj1 unprotected button top and Samsung g 30q button top, and it didn’t work… FYI.

Hm? Not mine. I’ve got a protected panny-B in it, one of the longest 18650s around at just a hair under 70mm, and it fits fine.

Dropped in, the cell’s maybe 2mm below the edge of the battery tube, and the tailcap screws down all the way for a nice snug fit but without binding or “pushing back” in the slightest.

Hmm, if I got a panny-B in this one, I’m just wondering which light I scrounged it from…

People’s are so funny ! http://www.cree.com/led-components/media/documents/ds-XPL.pdf
I do not claim in any shape or form a direct correlation between measurements …
I only offer them as the results I was able to get , with what ever variables are in place … ( and there are many variables )

Hmmm , my Blazar are 69mm long and go in no issue …

I have F1. I saw your question and test it with many kinds of 18650 batteries.some are flat top and some are button top, from 65 mm to 70.3 mm. All works well. I think you should screw down the tail tight.

I too have one and I’ve not had any issues with button cells.

Hello, Nice review!.
I have for some months ago one zanflare F1 (november 2016)

This are my values with a not protected high quality battery, estimated with my Trevi-Box :

Moonlight I think around 0.2 lumens (my box can not meassure less than 1 lumen)
Low 55 lumens
Medium 285 lumens
High 520 lumens
Turbo “flare” 925 lumens

That’s good. I think it’s just my light that only like flat top such as lg flat top yellow, Sony vtc 4, , vtc 5 flat top… I know what I am doing… I have 60 lights. Lol…

When you drop the cell into the tube, does it stick out above the edge, or sink down into it a mm or two?

That’s what Bubba Zanetti said, and look what happened to him

U guys know unprotected button top is longer than unprotected flat top… someone told me I didn’t tighten the tailcap all the way. Lol.

My opinion is the button top didn’t make contact with the head…

I am at work. Tonight I will try with all the different type of battery and report back.

I had a scroll through your website mate good to see you updated since I last visited. I think I need to buy an rc car now look like fun lol. I have been on hobbyking a bit lately but the shipping is stopping me. The aus warehouse has sh*t all stock.