ALIVE: Astrolux S42 groupbuy: US$ 25.95

My bad. Didn’t know you meant it was too hot to hold. I thought you meant the light just get too hot in general with 18350

Yea I already felt the heat quick

I agree!!

I already don’t like my not jet arrived S42.

m(

Damn, I also have one in the mail… Serves me right for buying something without a review.
I thought it would automatically be good because the s41 was well liked, but apparently that doesn’t mean anything .

I buy chinese things with flaws for 5 years now, and still I really thought this time te risk was low that there would be great mistakes.
*it is far from the first Astrolux flashlight, they should know sizes by now and that some basic testing is needed before production
*in earlier Astrolux lights, Banggood has gone through a great many angry customers that they had to refund or send repair parts. They must not have liked that.
*before the S42 was released, the Mateminco branded version was already available for the chinese market, there must have been earlier reports of it not even basically working.
:person_facepalming:

In contrast, Intl-outdoor will be releasing their D4 flashlight at the end of this month, I do not know of course how flawless it will be, but Hank mentioned that he is EDC-ing it at the moment. That will exclude so many problems already!

They’re not the same.
The 18650 tube is the same as the Astrolux S1 tube.
Slightly taller and the threaded sections have a slightly larger diameter than the A6 tubes.

What ‘Intl-outdoor D4’ light!??

Really, Astrolux? … Really?

Double-click from off is mapped to “toggle mode group”?

The cell it’s designed for physically can’t fit?

The USB cover falls off if you look at it wrong?

The driver is press-fit with tabs to keep it from moving?

The optic breaks on attempt to open the head?

It can’t turn off from moon without going through brighter modes?

At least it doesn’t destroy itself on first use like the Cometa.

That sounds promising. I’m still looking for a compact and highly mod-friendly e-switch host.

Given how the UI sounds on paper, and its curious similarities to the BLF-A6, I hope nobody thinks I had anything to do with the S42. That would be super embarrassing.

Astrolux S42

What you thought you were getting…

What you actually got:

I believe the D4 will be very mod friendly.

Sorry I don’t know my flashlights. From which manufacturer?

Well the BangGood listing of the tube here: https://www.banggood.com/Astrolux-S41-Astrolux-S1 says "BLF A6" right in the heading and description, so you are saying it's not for the BLF A6?

I just thought the BLF A6 tube maybe changed since the beginning?

It is an intl-outdoor design, the brand name is still unknown (not Noctigon), Hank announced the D4 here.

In my case that's what you HAD to do to make it work.

The front end of the battery tube never reaches the contact ring on the driver board, so it's open circuit even fully screwed in. I proved this by screwing in the battery tube backward, so that the longer tailcap threads can actually reach the driver board. It would appear that the driver board is glued in place about 2mm too far forward, out of reach. That applies to the short battery tube for the S1/S41 as well as the 18650 battery tube.

The only way I was able to get any life out of it, using ANY battery or tube, was to make a circular shim from a coiled paperclip and wedge it between the driver board and the front rim of the battery tube. This solves the length problem (crushed batteries) as well as the open circuit in the front. My only concern is that the shim might eventually migrate inwards, risking a short circuit if it touches the positive spring in the center of the driver board.

I have contacted Banggood twice about this, using this explanation, and am awaiting a response.

Thanks. It looks fairly similar to the FW3A, but with the switch on the side. Coming from Hank, I’m guessing it’ll be pretty nice. I wonder what the driver and UI will be like.

Yep, it’s not gonna fit in the A6.
It will fit the S1 and the S41S. Your A6 tube has a loose fit in the S42, doesn’t it?
And i’m sure the S42 tube will not fit in the A6
But they mess up the short tubes too…
You order a S1 tube and you may well get a A6 tube or vice versa…

Thanks for this info!!

is the driver 17mm diameter? maybe we could swap it for the mtn fet driver

It’s 20mm (maybe 21mm) driver: