@ Giggle Monster Team:
Just out of curiosity: Why did you choose to use an FET driver for the BLF GT70 and not a boost- or buck driver? Personally, I like the idea of constant output when voltage decreases. For sure, the FET will deliver the highest performance when pushing the light to its limits but this can only be done once with fully charged cells.
Maybe they could…if everyone here signed some kind of a 10-years-total-care-agreement with Lumintop, obligating to buy at least one of their upcoming flashlights.
As was pointed out above it basically boils down to the FET driver offering better overall performance for this light.
It will be brighter then the buck driver for any given input voltage from the batteries and since this light will virtually always be used at high power, the FET driver makes more sense.
The buck driver would be a better option if this was a light that would be run at low power levels for extended periods, as that is the only place it would see a benefit (and the benefit would only be a bit longer run time).
I have been on various flashlight forums for around 10 years. I’ve learned quite a bit about presales and group buys. If you want the best price get inline early because the price always goes up. This doesn’t matter if it’s a custom maker or a well known manufacturer. But know the risks. Besides dealing with unknown manufactures or designers, not the case here, you risk getting a dud or worse, an unsafe light. But there are other things the early adopters often lose out on such as improvements in binning, features, safety, quality controls, and extras included with the light. Some people are willing to wait for the final form and wanting to possibly get the absolute best version. It’s all calculated risks and what works best for your budget.