Well…. good luck convincing them of that. Most of the smaller chinese flashlight makers chase lumens instead. None of them want to make 1xAAA lights under 30 lumens. The Manker Boney was one of the last ones.
I’ve looked quite extensively for cheap dim single mode 1xAA and 1xAAA lights with good runtime. I want something that I can give away in blackouts and emergencies. They don’t exist. The closest thing are those 9 LED 3xAAA cheapos. It will be more than a simple LED swap to make it happen
The major brands still have them. Jetbeam NE01. Klarus Mi02. Sunwayman R01A. Fenix E01. Nitecore T0. Led Lenser P2BM. Nextorch K00. But most of these are on the way out. I don’t think they’ll be too open to making a limited run. Just guessing but the big appeal to producing these lights is that the design hasn’t needed to be changed or updated in a decade.
—
Try the largest, fastest, most flexible flashlight search engine: parametrek.com
Well…. good luck convincing them of that. Most of the smaller chinese flashlight makers chase lumens instead. None of them want to make 1xAAA lights under 30 lumens. The Manker Boney was one of the last ones.
Like I said: this is not a technical hack, this is a hack at the level of the flashlight industry.
One thing that might help this project would be the larger quantities. If we can get the right design, I can imagine people ordering 4 or 5 to toss in go bags and cars all over the place. Not many people need more than one Q8, so the overall quantity could be higher. Maybe even work out a ‘bulk discount’? Not sure.
At the end of the day if Fenix doesn’t bite, it could be hard to make this happen.
Klarus’ Mi02 would be a good backup option. Plan C would be a custom light, and I’d have to guess between Lumintop, Manker, or Thorfire, but I think it might be harder to get a cheap fully potted light if this route is taken.
Plus they would still be fully potted. Being cheaper would also make it easier to give them away as gifts.
If Fenix was to sell them at $15, they would be my favorite budget AAA light on the market.
I definitely appreciate Vinh’s work modding these though. They seem tough to crack open and mod, but it also gave me a chance to try a Yuji for the first time.
@richnpc: Nice! What CCT did you get? I got the 3200k variant.
I went with the 5600K. I’m on the list for 1 but I know I would buy at least 2.
…But most of these are on the way out. I don’t think they’ll be too open to making a limited run. Just guessing but the big appeal to producing these lights is that the design hasn’t needed to be changed or updated in a decade.
I agree that the appeal of producing these is the minimal resources it takes to keep doing so.
Still, if there’s enough people interested in the idea, I think it’s worth trying. The worst I could see happening is we spend some time discussing it, and Fenix doesn’t even respond to the solicitation, so we never know if they even seriously considered it.
Hopefully this is purely a drop-in replacement for the Nichia GS (I think the E01 is current controlled, and 5mm LED’s are fairly standardized, so it should be), in which case, it should be a matter of coordinating with Yuji for packaging that fits their assembly process, and a little distribution oversight to keep the specials from getting mixed up with the regular production.
By the way, my understanding is there are two official Fenix distributors in the US (who import the lights and wholesale them to the retailers): Fenix Store and Fenix Lighting.
Fenix Store sponsors a manufacturer-specific sub-forum on CPF they have stayed somewhat active in.
If nobody on BLF has any experience dealing directly with Fenix, then once the list has grown a little, I can volunteer to reach out to Fenix Store to find out if they can be of any assistance in this request. I’m unsure whether this is a better route on the whole than going straight to the parent company in Shenzhen, but it’s an option.
I bought the E01vn with the 3200k Yuji from Vinh just to see how this emitter looks like, and while the tint is much better than Cree 3000k that I’ve seen, it is still above the BBL whereas Nichia 219B, E21A, and Optisolis is at or below the BBL. My 3000k 219B has better tint, less yellow and more rosy.
organizing an interest list at CPF might be an option, although as I understood BLF is for the “budget” lights, whereas the people at CPF would probably just buy an HDS. Nonetheless an High CRI Fenix E01 might be a nice cheap backup light for an HDS
organizing an interest list at CPF might be an option, although as I understood BLF is for the “budget” lights, whereas the people at CPF would probably just buy an HDS. Nonetheless an High CRI Fenix E01 might be a nice cheap backup light for an HDS
People on CPF have recently paid $40 or so for a Vinh modded E01 with a Yuji. If you can reach your price point you’ll see huge interest there
Just throwing this out, but would an AA be more practical? Still very compact, but with more capacity and uses a more common cell type. Also more likely to share cells with GPS devices for camping. I’m also a bit worried that the AAA might have too much of an overlap with the BLF 348 as a BLF special high CRI single mode light.
Just throwing this out, but would an AA be more practical? Still very compact, but with more capacity and uses a more common cell type. Also more likely to share cells with GPS devices for camping. I’m also a bit worried that the AAA might have too much of an overlap with the BLF 348 as a BLF special high CRI single mode light.
Not for my purposes. I want a keychain light that I know will always be there in my pocket, working, when I need it. AA is too big for that
Think of a matrix that plots price versus reliability (meaning mostly drop resistance and general reliability in terms of low defects because of robust design). Price divided by reliability in this case defines value.
When you look at it this way, you see that the Fenix E01 takes a special place in an otherwise empty quadrant (perhaps only served well by PFlexPro by customizing Chinese flashlights to increase their reliability).
The only specific value problem for the E01 is that in stock form the tint of the Nichia GS Led is really bad.
Switch out the Nichia GS LED for a $ 0,116 Yuji high CRI 5 mm Led and you have a unicorn light in terms of value.
Value of mass produced flashlights defined as reliability/price
Just throwing this out, but would an AA be more practical? Still very compact, but with more capacity and uses a more common cell type. Also more likely to share cells with GPS devices for camping. I’m also a bit worried that the AAA might have too much of an overlap with the BLF 348 as a BLF special high CRI single mode light.
An AA could certainly be practical, but at the end of the day, different users are going to have different preferences for size vs. runtime.
Having already experienced very similar with my modded Sunwayman + Yuji, I really like the E01 size for this level of output.
I’ve never tried out a Gerber Infinity Ultra, although I’ve been thinking of getting one since I still have Yuji’s to spare.
I see the BLF 348 as enough different of a light – more output, lower efficiency, 10440 support – that both can peacefully coexist.
…although as I understood BLF is for the “budget” lights, whereas the people at CPF would probably just buy an HDS…
People on CPF have recently paid $40 or so for a Vinh modded E01 with a Yuji. If you can reach your price point you’ll see huge interest there
Bingo. There’s a lot of HDS and McGizmo fans over at CPF, but plenty of people who are more budget sensitive, too (like myself).
What struck me was I just dug up the thread on the Vinh E01vn – he didn’t understand why people were asking him for this mod, and then he tried it.
Now a guy known for over-driving almost every light he’s ever touched is talking about how much he enjoys comparing his 3200K and 5600K, with unmodified drivers, trying to decide which he likes more.
David Chow just sold 47’s to Jason of darksucks.com in 2017
basically, David had a deal with Fenix, then he had a deal with Olight
meanwhile Jason had a deal with Lumintop to make the Prometheus Beta, now Jason has a deal with Olight, to make the Preon.
and, ReyLight has a deal with Lumintop, as does Massdrop.
but neither Olight nor Lumintop make the E01
Fenix Store (Oklahoma), and Fenix Lighting (Colorado), dont make anything, they are just resellers of Chinese lights.
Along the same lines, Nitecore Store is not an official Nitecore factory site either, its a Texas company, run by an Asian man, similar to how David and Jason had, and have, USA companies that resell flashlights made in China.
I dont know if any of that info helps focus on who to order E01s with Yujis from.
Vinh just buys a bunch of E01s and mods them for resale himself.
Vinh just buys a bunch of E01s and mods them for resale himself.
A guy modding flashlights after manufacturing doesn’t scale as well as modding the factory to make the light in the right way to begin with. Also the resulting product is much cheaper because the manufacturing is much more efficient…
What struck me was I just dug up the thread on the Vinh E01vn – he didn’t understand why people were asking him for this mod, and then he tried it.
Now a guy known for over-driving almost every light he’s ever touched is talking about how much he enjoys comparing his 3200K and 5600K, with unmodified drivers, trying to decide which he likes more.
Could you share that thread?
Interesting to see a more-lumens-is-better guy enjoying a minimal-lumens-flashlight
Would it be an option to negotiate a special edition project between BLF and Banggood/Astrolux, Thorfire of Lumintop to clone the Fenix E01 with a Yuji led and potted electronics?
Thanks for the info Jon. I’m encouraged to learn their history arose from somebody closely involved with the flashlight community.
My thought was maybe a US-based distributor would be more responsive to an initial inquiry, and if interested in collaborating, then also more likely to get a response from Fenix. However, it could well be that pitching the idea directly to Fenix is the best option.
slowtechstef wrote:
Could you share that thread?
Interesting to see a more-lumens-is-better guy enjoying a minimal-lumens-flashlight
Would it be an option to negotiate a special edition project between BLF and Banggood/Astrolux, Thorfire of Lumintop to clone the Fenix E01 with a Yuji led and potted electronics?
I’d like to suggest we focus for the moment on continuing to gauge interest and grow the list you started, then pitch the idea to Fenix.
I think we should save detailed discussion about alternatives until we see if Fenix is responsive, in order to avoid getting derailed or pulled in too many directions at once.
Yes, the Gerber is the copy of the old CMG. Also there as been some custom bodies for Arc AAA but still, it’s a rare animal…
12 years ago, we were going crazy for those on the ‘‘other’‘ forum…
I mean if we’re really going to dream, anyone have an idea what happened to the Arc tooling after they went under the last time?
slowtechstef wrote:
organizing an interest list at CPF might be an option, although as I understood BLF is for the “budget” lights, whereas the people at CPF would probably just buy an HDS. Nonetheless an High CRI Fenix E01 might be a nice cheap backup light for an HDS
As others have mentioned don’t discount the CPF interest in this idea. Remember there are a lot of guys on CPF who were around during the Arc & early E01 craze.
Ideas like battery vampires & sub-lumen modes were popularized there.
Heck a Yuji in a P60 drop-in would probably still do well.
But if you pot them they will eventually grow to become big and strong electronics.
Bring it on
Well…. good luck convincing them of that. Most of the smaller chinese flashlight makers chase lumens instead. None of them want to make 1xAAA lights under 30 lumens. The Manker Boney was one of the last ones.
I’ve looked quite extensively for cheap dim single mode 1xAA and 1xAAA lights with good runtime. I want something that I can give away in blackouts and emergencies. They don’t exist. The closest thing are those 9 LED 3xAAA cheapos. It will be more than a simple LED swap to make it happen
The major brands still have them. Jetbeam NE01. Klarus Mi02. Sunwayman R01A. Fenix E01. Nitecore T0. Led Lenser P2BM. Nextorch K00. But most of these are on the way out. I don’t think they’ll be too open to making a limited run. Just guessing but the big appeal to producing these lights is that the design hasn’t needed to be changed or updated in a decade.
Try the largest, fastest, most flexible flashlight search engine: parametrek.com
43 brands, 2375 models and still growing!
NEW: US battery database and European battery database
Like I said: this is not a technical hack, this is a hack at the level of the flashlight industry.
Flashaholics unite and let us make this happen
One thing that might help this project would be the larger quantities. If we can get the right design, I can imagine people ordering 4 or 5 to toss in go bags and cars all over the place. Not many people need more than one Q8, so the overall quantity could be higher. Maybe even work out a ‘bulk discount’? Not sure.
At the end of the day if Fenix doesn’t bite, it could be hard to make this happen.
Find all my reviews of flashlights and more gear at www.bmengineer.com
I would be interested!
Overkill is just about enough!
Klarus’ Mi02 would be a good backup option. Plan C would be a custom light, and I’d have to guess between Lumintop, Manker, or Thorfire, but I think it might be harder to get a cheap fully potted light if this route is taken.
Pipe Dream
"High CRI Lights for Sale":https://budgetlightforum.com/node/75426
I love the whole idea but I would go on the AA path. Since that’s something that has almost never been done, then manufacturers might jump in.
Anyway, AA or AAA, I would buy one for sure.
I went with the 5600K. I’m on the list for 1 but I know I would buy at least 2.
Para pointed out on Reddit that it has been done for AA (minus the Yuji mod) with the Gerber Infinity Ultra.
By the way, if this does happen I’ll be in for one. I would probably prefer AA over AAA, but either way.
Find all my reviews of flashlights and more gear at www.bmengineer.com
Yes, the Gerber is the copy of the old CMG. Also there as been some custom bodies for Arc AAA but still, it’s a rare animal…
12 years ago, we were going crazy for those on the ‘‘other’‘ forum…
I agree that the appeal of producing these is the minimal resources it takes to keep doing so.
Still, if there’s enough people interested in the idea, I think it’s worth trying. The worst I could see happening is we spend some time discussing it, and Fenix doesn’t even respond to the solicitation, so we never know if they even seriously considered it.
Hopefully this is purely a drop-in replacement for the Nichia GS (I think the E01 is current controlled, and 5mm LED’s are fairly standardized, so it should be), in which case, it should be a matter of coordinating with Yuji for packaging that fits their assembly process, and a little distribution oversight to keep the specials from getting mixed up with the regular production.
By the way, my understanding is there are two official Fenix distributors in the US (who import the lights and wholesale them to the retailers): Fenix Store and Fenix Lighting.
Fenix Store sponsors a manufacturer-specific sub-forum on CPF they have stayed somewhat active in.
If nobody on BLF has any experience dealing directly with Fenix, then once the list has grown a little, I can volunteer to reach out to Fenix Store to find out if they can be of any assistance in this request. I’m unsure whether this is a better route on the whole than going straight to the parent company in Shenzhen, but it’s an option.
I bought the E01vn with the 3200k Yuji from Vinh just to see how this emitter looks like, and while the tint is much better than Cree 3000k that I’ve seen, it is still above the BBL whereas Nichia 219B, E21A, and Optisolis is at or below the BBL. My 3000k 219B has better tint, less yellow and more rosy.
organizing an interest list at CPF might be an option, although as I understood BLF is for the “budget” lights, whereas the people at CPF would probably just buy an HDS. Nonetheless an High CRI Fenix E01 might be a nice cheap backup light for an HDS
Anybody here has connections with the German Taschenlampeforum to gauge interest thwre?
Like bmengineer said critical mass will be a critical factor.
People on CPF have recently paid $40 or so for a Vinh modded E01 with a Yuji. If you can reach your price point you’ll see huge interest there
Just throwing this out, but would an AA be more practical? Still very compact, but with more capacity and uses a more common cell type. Also more likely to share cells with GPS devices for camping. I’m also a bit worried that the AAA might have too much of an overlap with the BLF 348 as a BLF special high CRI single mode light.
Find all my reviews of flashlights and more gear at www.bmengineer.com
Not for my purposes. I want a keychain light that I know will always be there in my pocket, working, when I need it. AA is too big for that
The Fenis E01 is much smaller than the BLF348
Think of a matrix that plots price versus reliability (meaning mostly drop resistance and general reliability in terms of low defects because of robust design). Price divided by reliability in this case defines value.
When you look at it this way, you see that the Fenix E01 takes a special place in an otherwise empty quadrant (perhaps only served well by PFlexPro by customizing Chinese flashlights to increase their reliability).
The only specific value problem for the E01 is that in stock form the tint of the Nichia GS Led is really bad.
Switch out the Nichia GS LED for a $ 0,116 Yuji high CRI 5 mm Led and you have a unicorn light in terms of value.
Reliability high / Price low (=high value)
Unicorn quadrant
Fenix E01 (PFlexPro)
Reliability high / Price high (=reasonable value)
HDS, Armytek, Zebralight, Elzetta, Pelican, SureFire
"CPF Quadrant"
Reliability low / Price low (=reasonable value)
Most Chinese (budget) flashlights
"BLF Quadrant"
Reliability low / Price high (=low value)
Expensive Nitecore products with design defects
(Muyshondt?)
An AA could certainly be practical, but at the end of the day, different users are going to have different preferences for size vs. runtime.
Having already experienced very similar with my modded Sunwayman + Yuji, I really like the E01 size for this level of output.
I’ve never tried out a Gerber Infinity Ultra, although I’ve been thinking of getting one since I still have Yuji’s to spare.
I see the BLF 348 as enough different of a light – more output, lower efficiency, 10440 support – that both can peacefully coexist.
Bingo. There’s a lot of HDS and McGizmo fans over at CPF, but plenty of people who are more budget sensitive, too (like myself).
What struck me was I just dug up the thread on the Vinh E01vn – he didn’t understand why people were asking him for this mod, and then he tried it.
Now a guy known for over-driving almost every light he’s ever touched is talking about how much he enjoys comparing his 3200K and 5600K, with unmodified drivers, trying to decide which he likes more.
David Chow, created Fenix Store and sold it in 2011
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?327346-Fenix-Store-co...
David Chow just sold 47’s to Jason of darksucks.com in 2017
basically, David had a deal with Fenix, then he had a deal with Olight
meanwhile Jason had a deal with Lumintop to make the Prometheus Beta, now Jason has a deal with Olight, to make the Preon.
and, ReyLight has a deal with Lumintop, as does Massdrop.
but neither Olight nor Lumintop make the E01
Fenix Store (Oklahoma), and Fenix Lighting (Colorado), dont make anything, they are just resellers of Chinese lights.
Along the same lines, Nitecore Store is not an official Nitecore factory site either, its a Texas company, run by an Asian man, similar to how David and Jason had, and have, USA companies that resell flashlights made in China.
I dont know if any of that info helps focus on who to order E01s with Yujis from.
Vinh just buys a bunch of E01s and mods them for resale himself.
"High CRI Lights for Sale":https://budgetlightforum.com/node/75426
A guy modding flashlights after manufacturing doesn’t scale as well as modding the factory to make the light in the right way to begin with. Also the resulting product is much cheaper because the manufacturing is much more efficient…
Could you share that thread?
Interesting to see a more-lumens-is-better guy enjoying a minimal-lumens-flashlight
Would it be an option to negotiate a special edition project between BLF and Banggood/Astrolux, Thorfire of Lumintop to clone the Fenix E01 with a Yuji led and potted electronics?
Thanks for the info Jon. I’m encouraged to learn their history arose from somebody closely involved with the flashlight community.
My thought was maybe a US-based distributor would be more responsive to an initial inquiry, and if interested in collaborating, then also more likely to get a response from Fenix. However, it could well be that pitching the idea directly to Fenix is the best option.
Sure, here’s the link.
I’d like to suggest we focus for the moment on continuing to gauge interest and grow the list you started, then pitch the idea to Fenix.
I think we should save detailed discussion about alternatives until we see if Fenix is responsive, in order to avoid getting derailed or pulled in too many directions at once.
I mean if we’re really going to dream, anyone have an idea what happened to the Arc tooling after they went under the last time?
As others have mentioned don’t discount the CPF interest in this idea. Remember there are a lot of guys on CPF who were around during the Arc & early E01 craze.
Ideas like battery vampires & sub-lumen modes were popularized there.
Heck a Yuji in a P60 drop-in would probably still do well.
I’m interested, reading CPF as Fenix hit the market and offered an alternative to the super expensive Arc was a big deal for me, I like Fenix.
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