REVIEW: SingFire SF-348 BLF edition (Nichia NVSW219BT-V1 , 1xAAA/10440)

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AAA Flashlights
1

First impressions:
Shipped from: Gearbest for review purpose
348 link: http://goo.gl/I7VFVn
Coupon: GBBLF348 Price: $7.99
BLF EDITION 348 link: http://goo.gl/1907X5
Coupon: GBBLF348 Price: $6.99

The range of new single AAA flashlights is always growing and the market is always trying to offer the best possible components, and this is the exact case of the SingFire SF-348 built in special edition with the Nichia led NVSW219BT-V1 that’s rated for CRI: Minimum 90.
I personally like its simple and sleek design, maybe the only one downside is the fact to have only 1 mode(on/off), so you can’t adjust the runtime as you want.






Modes and estimated lumens:
Switch type: MECHANICAL
There is only 1 mode: HIGH (so runtume can’t be the best)

My estimated lumens are 80 on NiMH and 200 on 10440 IMR

>>LIGHT >>> The angle of refraction:

Weight and dimensions measurements (made myself, not by specs):
This flashlight weighs precisely 27,4 gr
Height 9 cm
Diameter 1,2 cm
Head diameter 1,2 cm

Construction quality:
The stainless steel body is perfect on my unit and i can say you that there’s virtually a 0 conjunction gap between the central body and the screwable front bezel art and the rear tailcap, it seems like an UNIQUE piece of stainless stell cilinder :slight_smile:
In my hopinion this is one of the best host i’ve seen, for a single AAA flashlight, ok maybe it’s too much “minimal” for some people but whilst i love futuristic desighs on 18650 and multiple 18650 flashlights, i still continue to prefer simplistic design for 1xAAA to, associated with high quality materials.
For example my Olight i3s with its aluminum host is heavily ruined on external appearance (color goes away aftertime…)

Disassebling the internal components i see that they’re very well built but i’m a little disapponted which they didn’t add at least one more mode, an extreme low for example to just have 3 or 7 lumens and save battery.
The one click mode, is at least simply and effective and could be a pro for someone.

The beam is quite good for low to medium low distances, it does have a big and blunted hotspot which naturally fades into spill without a concise circle

Lanyard hole: NOT PRESENT

Threads came NOT GREASED, but this is not a big con, i used my grease.(mine isn’t an high quality one, but you can buy a top notch if you prefer)









Led Tint, reflector and lense:
The led is not perfectly centered and its tint is pure neutral white (4745 - 5310K)
Reflector made of: ORANGE PEEL – ALUMINUM
Lense made of: GLASS , without AR coating


Outside beamshot at 25 meters, only at FULL power (same place for all my reviews)
(1GIF)
Wall beamshot at 250 centimeters, from lower to higher power (same place for all my reviews)

Ceiling bounce test with LUXmeter:


PROS:

- NVSW219BT-V1 allows you to see the REAL COLORS around you

- host style appearance

- quality materials

  • usable with lithoum 10440 but temperature will raise…a lot!

CONS:

- beam not optimized for long distances (and warm tint does not help to see at high distances)

  • only 1 mode

Final thoughts and why you should buy it:
This is a flashlight for whose who want a durable and hard to scratch item, capable to help you in low distances with the great comfort to have a naturally color vision of objects around you.
I think that the price is really good for this kind of led with high CRI 90 and this could be your preferite EDC flashlight to carry everywhere… with the only one limit to use it at low/medium distances and not for a long time, because if you’re needing a long runtime AAA flashlight this one can’t be the best one with its 1 mode, but it’s also true that if you buy a flashlight that uses this type of battery your intention should not be… to see for “a long time” and at “long distances”….for this needings you have to buy a 18650 flashlight.

Thanks for reading……
….and if you notice some bad written phrases, feel free to correct me suggesting the right way to write it!! :slight_smile:

2

Nice review. This is one of my favorite light I own. It’s my favorite light in terms of tint and CRI that I own. I love it so much that it’s become the light I use at home instead of other lights. And in the few month since I started down his flashlight hobby, this is the first light I ended up purchasing multiples of in case I lose one! I’ll have a total of 4 of these once the last 2 arrive.

But boy do I daydream about having maybe an 18650 version with 3 modes + hidden moonlight.

3

Nice review of a very nice light!
ordered 2, 1 with and 1 withot engraving.
The one with is now in my wifes purse.

Yeah a SS 18650 sized would be great, but t is just too slekk and wrong materia; for proper ooling.

4

Thanks for your review.

The BLF-348 is the same flashlight you reviewed. As I have purchased 13 of them, I guess you could say I like them! So far 9, have been presented as gifts. I will keep 2 of the remaining 4 for myself.

I run mine on an Eneloop Pro. Runtime is about an hour. Testers report that the version sold in the original group-buy outputs about 48 lumens. A different emitter was used in later versions of the BLF-348. Output is now about 6 lumens lower.

If you run on Li-ion 10440, you may encounter a heat problem. If the stainless-steel body overheats, it takes longer than a similar aluminum body to cool down. That could be a problem for the driver electronics. I have never tried a 10440 in mine, but you can see MHanlen test one in his YouTube review.

5

@realista: Did you mislabel SF-348 as SF-349 on the “ceiling bounce test” picture? I see no entry for SF-348.

6

i still have to update che ceiling test for the 348 :slight_smile:

7

Thanks for the review.

Although, technically I would call this light the BLF348, and not SingFire (SF348). It is a little confusing to me because the differences is more than skin-deep. The BLF348 comes with a Nichia emitter while the SingFire comes with a Cree emitter.

8

Very nice review realista, thanks.

Convinced me to buy a few, got the BLF Nichia and the XP-G2 version, the latter of which will be ripe for a High CRI XP-G3 swap as soon as they come in the mail.

On a side note, I started out with that same light meter, still have it. Here’s an old thread on CPF with pics of it in my first “light box” if you’re interested.

“Interesting Lightbox Numbers...(Pics Added) | Candle Power Flashlight Forum“:Interesting Lightbox Numbers...(Pics Added) | Candle Power Flashlight Forum~~(Pics-Added)

Thanks again for the thorough review.

9

Thank you for the nice review!

10

thank you!

11

Thanks for the excellent review. Great flashlight for the price. I really like the tint of mine.

12

Thank you for the great review. I couldn’t help myself and picked one up. Looks nice and will be my first high CRI light. Great entry price to see what that is like.

13

I know this is a very old thread — but how are people feeling about this flashlight now? I saw it listed on the GearBest website, and decided to order one to try it out. Curious how you think this stands up to current AAA pocket flashlights in 2019?

14

Not very well, especially since the new Sofirn C01S is an all around better light:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sofirn-C01S-BLF-Mini-LED-Flashlight-AAA-Twisty-High-95-CRI-SST20-4000K-LED-keychain-Flashlight/32952525303.html

15

The Sofirn C01S looks really good, I’ll put that on my list for keychain light. Thank you!

The SingFire doesn’t seem to be in the same category though. If you look at the SingFire as a keychain light, then yes, I think the Sofirn and many others will beat it. But for a slim clicky AAA pocket light, to me, it seems like it competes more closely with the Microstream AAA category, more or less. At least in terms of size and features… in that sense, it seems like it could still be a good option. I’m also comparing to the Olight i3T EOS.