FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

Who are these people who cant find the end of their light? If you press the end and there’s a button you figured it out. If not then flip it around and repeat. The pocket clip can serve the same purpose as well.

No problem with preferring one look over another but call it what it is.

That was just the prototype that was glued. The production version might not be.

To do an 18350 tube would require 2 tubes. One inner and one outer.

I don’t know if the glued tail end is part of the plan or if it’s just a quirk of the prototype. I’m hoping it won’t stay that way in the future.

About a shorty 18350 tube, I doubt that will happen. The host design doesn’t seem very amenable to that sort of change. It would need a new clip, a new outer tube, and a new inner tube… with the clip and outer tube redesigned instead of just chopped.

My 6x Aspire cells are upset but i’ll get over it I suppose. Would be cool to see this next to a BLF A6 w/ 18350 and D4 w/ 18350. It’s like a mini evolution.

In the FW3A it seems 2 concentric tubes are clamped flat with the PCB in the endcap: Bat. neg. tube + switch signal tube.
And the inner tube must make contact. To keep that glue is a possibility.

And don’t forget you have also to clamp the clip in place.

I think Fritz is supposed to get his prototype today; it might answer some questions. Like, maybe his tail won’t be stuck together. Hopefully his button won’t be as jittery (or at least I hope he can reflash the firmware to get fixes).

The way the tail end is designed, I can see why glue would be appealing. The tail PCB has no retaining ring unless you count the outer tube. This allows it to be shorter, but also means the tail parts would all be floating when the tailcap isn’t tightened. If those parts rub together a lot, it could wear away insulation and cause a short between inner and outer tubes, which would make the button not work. To avoid loosening the tailcap during battery changes, it might need to have knurling added to the middle section (and maybe removed from the tailcap), which would look and feel odd.

Perhaps something can be worked out though. I’d still prefer no glue, even if it makes battery changes a bit harder.

Maybe it’s possible to still use your Aspire 18350s!

Just mod your FW3A with a zener diode on the driver. Replace the stock LEDs with triple XHP70 (you might have to make a custom star for that) and run it on 2xAspire 18350 in series!

I agree… no glue please!

The tail cap has a taper to it’s outer dimension, should help to distinguish the operator end from the business end. And of course, there’s the clip.

There have been group buys here lately where everyone’s opinion is weighed and averaged to determine the final aspects of a light, I didn’t think this was one of those… Fritz designed a light and The Miller helped find a manufacturer for production. Seems everyone still want’s to weigh in with their opinion anyway. Guess I got it wrong in the beginning… not surprising really, my success rate lately has been more about successfully getting things wrong than otherwise.

I did not express my opinion with the idea that all opinions will be weighed and averaged, you are correct, from the start it was made clear that this was Fritz’s design so it is up to him and the team how it is going to look like.

But I still liked to express my disappointment in the changed looks.

What happened to the beautiful light in the OP? Don’t like this prototype at all.

Not meant that way Jos, sorry… I was simply saying that I thought Fritz’s design was nailed down and they were going to make it like his plan. Am surprised at all the back and forth on here as much as I am the design change by Lumintop.

It’s still a very nice light, no doubt, just has strayed from the original intent.

I’m not really in the loop about host design changes. I liked the appearance of Fritz’s original design better, but I’m okay with the slope too.

However, there was a different clip proposed earlier and in some private messages I was pretty loud about disliking it, and now it seems to be back to the original design. Not sure what happened behind the scenes, but maybe I had something to do with that?

Mostly though, I’m just doing firmware.

Hi, I received my prototype but did not yet have much time to examine it.

Some thoughts though:

  • Build quality is good, but there are some flaws in mine,
  • It is anodized in the same colour
  • I am also not 100% happy with the design. Currently it looks a little mixed up. Either there should be two chamfered parts or two sharp parts. We might make a small adjustment there,
  • The switching operation feels weird somehow. The driver responds with some delay for some reason,
  • The tailcap is glued to the body,
  • A transparent rubber ring prevents the clip from rotating, which is quite clever. I first want to have a look at the disassembled switch though before I make my final judgement,
  • It is very small and compact and the clip is really really good.

Some more information will follow shortly

BTW, someone asked about dimensions, and someone asked about putting the FW3A next to a BLF A6 shorty.

FW3A proto1 dimensions:

  • Length: 92.9 mm
  • Bezel diameter: 25.6 mm
  • Tailcap narrowest diameter: 24.0 mm
  • Body narrowest diameter: 21.5 mm

I don’t have a BLF A6 shorty, but I have a Convoy S2+ shorty… pretty close.

Convoy S2+ 18350 dimensions:

  • Length: 85.9 mm
  • Diameter: 22.9 to 23.9 mm

So the full-sized FW3A is about 7 mm longer than a Convoy or BLF A6 “shorty”… and its grippable section is 2.4 mm narrower so it feels smaller. The FW3A head is 1.7 mm wider, which allows the entire optic to be exposed instead of having the edges blocked. A glass lens protects and holds in the optic.

The sizes are actually pretty close. The FW3A is almost shorty-sized, but has 3X-5X as much battery capacity.

It’s also shorter (and lighter) than both of my Brass Beauty lights, which are two of my favorites…

Brass Beauty v1 dimensions:

  • Length: 97.3 mm
  • Diameter: 19.7 to 21.1 mm

Brass Beauty v3 dimensions:

  • Length: 102.4 mm
  • Diameter: 19.5 to 21.7 mm

Tailcap is glued?

That doesn’t sound good. Looking at the design of the light, removing the tailcap is necessary to remove the clip. Does that mean we’re stuck with the stock clip and can never remove it or replace it unless we somehow break the glue?

Thanks Fritz15 for answering here.
What about two chamfers like on a Lumintop Tool AAA? 45 deg. The step down is also 1.5mm

Yes, I like to have the 18350 option.

Almost same size as a Zebralight s64! Not much larger at all

Dimensions

Head Diameter: 0.96 inch (24.5 mm)
Length: 3.64 inch (92.5 mm)

+1

I do not like that

Please no glue