[Available again! - BLF special edition light] new Sofirn AAA twisty high CRI 5mm LED

[goshdogit]

Wow, fast progress! Looks very promising. :+1:

I’m already on the list for three warm ones. Please put me down for three cool ones, too.

Any possibility for an AA version next? :laughing:

[djozz]

@goshdogit

Any possibility for an AA version next? :laughing:

An AA version with still just one 5mm led at 8 lumen? I guess because of the runtime. If I may guess, that version would sell much more limited, but if this project is finished who knows…

[goshdogit]

@djozz

An AA version with still just one 5mm led at 8 lumen? I guess because of the runtime.

Hmm, how about a triple? :partying_face:

An AA vampire cockroach would be great for long power outages. I have handfuls of AAs just in the remote controls in my living room. Half-depleted AAAs are less common in my house.

Of course, most of us have plenty of 18650s and lights for power outages, but I’d give these to muggles as emergency lights. And I’d keep a few, obviously.

[DavidEF]

@goshdogit

@djozz

An AA version with still just one 5mm led at 8 lumen? I guess because of the runtime.

Hmm, how about a triple? :partying_face:

An AA vampire cockroach would be great for long power outages. I have handfuls of AAs just in the remote controls in my living room. Half-depleted AAAs are less common in my house.

Of course, most of us have plenty of 18650s and lights for power outages, but I’d give these to muggles as emergency lights. And I’d keep a few, obviously.

According to Engineering toolbox, seven 5mm circles will fit within a 16mm circle. An AA light could give us over 50 lumens of high CRI light that way. Maybe even put 4x 3200K with 3x 5600K for a blended tint nearer neutral.

EDIT: On second thought, that would be approaching those 3AAA 9LED lights. It would take some mighty fine engineering to make it not look super cheap. :confounded:

[finnegans]

In for one of each color temp -

[djozz]

@DavidEF

@goshdogit

@djozz

An AA version with still just one 5mm led at 8 lumen? I guess because of the runtime.

Hmm, how about a triple? :partying_face:

An AA vampire cockroach would be great for long power outages. I have handfuls of AAs just in the remote controls in my living room. Half-depleted AAAs are less common in my house.

Of course, most of us have plenty of 18650s and lights for power outages, but I’d give these to muggles as emergency lights. And I’d keep a few, obviously.

According to Engineering toolbox, seven 5mm circles will fit within a 16mm circle. An AA light could give us over 50 lumens of high CRI light that way. Maybe even put 4x 3200K with 3x 5600K for a blended tint nearer neutral.

EDIT: On second thought, that would be approaching those 3AAA 9LED lights. It would take some mighty fine engineering to make it not look super cheap. :confounded:

And with 7 leds and 50lm, it becomes tempting to go for one smd power led and a nice optic instead, TIR or reflector. And there you have the ToolAA, DQGtiny and many others: make the lens plastic, pot the driver and there you go.

[DavidEF]

@djozz

@DavidEF

@goshdogit

@djozz

An AA version with still just one 5mm led at 8 lumen? I guess because of the runtime.

Hmm, how about a triple? :partying_face:

An AA vampire cockroach would be great for long power outages. I have handfuls of AAs just in the remote controls in my living room. Half-depleted AAAs are less common in my house.

Of course, most of us have plenty of 18650s and lights for power outages, but I’d give these to muggles as emergency lights. And I’d keep a few, obviously.

According to Engineering toolbox, seven 5mm circles will fit within a 16mm circle. An AA light could give us over 50 lumens of high CRI light that way. Maybe even put 4x 3200K with 3x 5600K for a blended tint nearer neutral.

EDIT: On second thought, that would be approaching those 3AAA 9LED lights. It would take some mighty fine engineering to make it not look super cheap. :confounded:

And with 7 leds and 50lm, it becomes tempting to go for one smd power led and a nice optic instead, TIR or reflector. And there you have the ToolAA, DQGtiny and many others: make the lens plastic, pot the driver and there you go.

Yeah, that’s probably a better direction to go if moving up to AA with this light. Yuji does make larger LEDs so they could still be the source if that’s what people wanted. The “big brother” AA cockroach light.

[MiG0]

I’m in for 2×3200k.

[Archibald_Tuttle]

djozz, thank you for the update!! Really like the pocket clip and the ability to clip to ball caps.

[derfyled]

Would be in for 1 or 2

[TheShadowGuy]

That design looks excellent!

Reversible clip is, in my opinion, a must if a clip is considered at all on a small AAA light. Being able to clip to a cap or something for hands free light is a big bonus.

[defloyd77]

Really liking that design myself too.

Kind of crazy that after all of those years on CPF hoping someone like 4Sevens would make an E01 killer and it never coming to fruition, that us fans are seemingly FINALLY seeing a company do it.

If this light proves to be tough and efficient, with 2 good LED tints, clip grooves, a more stable tail for tailstanding and at less than half the price of the E01? That in my opinion would make it worthy of the E01 killer moniker.

Well done!

[bbuuu]

I’d be interested.

[iamlucky13]

The renderings look great!

I’m unsure what shape of reflector will work best with these, but I’m sure Sofirn can try a couple shapes to see what each yields, with the goal, I hope, being a smooth beam that fades very gradually.

I believe the apparent source of light for these emitters is near the tip of the dome, which may affect where the focus of the parabola should be.

An AA or other higher output light could be intriguing, but perhaps that’s something to discuss after this light is complete. One of the potential challenges is that outside the minimalist, super-reliable market position the E01 sits in, there’s a lot more potential competition. In the meantime, I’m happy to just focus on this light to ensure it comes to fruition.

[joechina]

I hope the inner diameter of the tube fits NiMH batteries. They are often a bit bigger than alkalines.

What ID is planned? A Tool AAA has 10.6mm

[dealgrabber2002]

I remember tons of people were asking for an AA E01. Money were there to be made, but no company wants it.

[Invader79]

I am interested in One 3200K ans One in 5600K

[defloyd77]

@dealgrabber2002

I remember tons of people were asking for an AA E01. Money were there to be made, but no company wants it.

The Gerber Infinity Ultra is still out there, but nobody talks about that light anymore. It’s known for being rugged, reliable and has crazy runtimes, just like the E01. If companies see that a light already exists and doesn’t get much attention, why would they want to make something similar?

[Pete7874]

@joechina

I hope the inner diameter of the tube fits NiMH batteries. They are often a bit bigger than alkalines.

Hmm… I just measured my various AAA NiMH cells (Eneloop, AmazonBasics, Rayovac) - they are not any thicker than my Duracell alkalines, which are 10.2 mm.
How thick are your AAA NiMH cells?

[dealgrabber2002]

@defloyd77

@dealgrabber2002

I remember tons of people were asking for an AA E01. Money were there to be made, but no company wants it.

The Gerber Infinity Ultra is still out there, but nobody talks about that light anymore. It’s known for being rugged, reliable and has crazy runtimes, just like the E01. If companies see that a light already exists and doesn’t get much attention, why would they want to make something similar?

If that’s the case, why many companies have 5mm AAA lights?

I am aware of the Gerber infinity Ultra but never had one so I cannot say it’s rugged, reliable, and has crazy runtime but I do have a few E01 which I trust so I can say it’s rugged, reliable, and has crazy runtime. I think others want Fenix to make an AA version is because they trust Fenix. Not saying Gerber is not trustworthy, I never had one.