I have no experience with these sites, but here are some possible options I found:
Yeah, this is a bad move on Lumintop’s part. They’ve gone and changed something without consulting the BLF/TLF team and made it worse. They probably shouldn’t be doing things like that after working so closely with everyone to manufacture this device as close to enthusiast spec as possible. They haven’t even rolled all of the versions out yet and we’re already seeing changes like this.
Wonder if there’ll be a “cancel preorder” option before the 24th (shipping). I really want the FA3, but I really don’t want different optics picked for arbitrary reasons.
I wouldn’t go that far myself, but I do totally understand if you’re upset about getting the ol’ switcharoo. Personally I’ll be happy as long as I can still get some glass and a Carclo for it included in the package.
I am sure they might be able to save a dollar or more with the new part and also reduce complexity. From an OEM point of view, this is a smart move.
Now, back to us consumers - can we leave a comment when ordering and get the “old” option back, somehow? Because this lens size seems difficult to purchase…
Agreed. I’d even prefer to pay a couple dollars more to retain the original parts.
Too late to cancel mine. I received my shipping notice yesterday. Hope it comes with what I was expecting.
Actually, I was gonna buy another FW3A but now… 
Lumintop has obviously forgotten that this flashlight concept consists of thouroughly selected (standard) parts to fulfill most of TLF/BLF enthusiasts prerequisites.
Shame, I was looking forward to getting another FW3A with 7A emitters. Guess now I’ll have to cancel that plan.
Now im on the fence of picking up a pair with sst20’s. Assuming it will come with the new optic.
I just ordered a sst-20 yesterday and then I saw the update,
I feel lied to,
Does anyone know if we can get the lenses from whoever lumintop used? I really liked having the ar glass lens to protect the optic.
How do you even cancel? I am going to cancel and add in the "extras" that should have been with the light now. Never had sapphire glass but I would rather be safe than sorry.
You probably have to PM Neal or at the bottom of the email confirming your order you can reply with questions and such. I did that once with the email and Neal answered. You can try that. I saw nothing on the website.
if you are in the US, LED supply seems like the best place to get real Carclo optics, they have all of them and free US shipping.
Actually all orders up to now have been for the lights with carclo optics and the protective glass. I see no reason to expect something else to be shipped. I do hope that the change announced by Neal is for future orders, and that he can make Lumintop go back to the original design.
I like the original setup better also, but this is what a good manufacturer should do with their products. After the first series you are going to look for optimization. Lumintop has to think about themselves also and make this a profitable product with well sourceable parts to keep up with the demand. This makes that they can deliver these lights and new ones proposed by the community now and in the future.
If you buy a direct replacement of your current car, tv or even ikea closet you have no guarantee that it will consist of all identical parts. They all seek for these small optimizations.
I will talk with lumintop tomorrow morning, and will ask them if they can do something to fix this.
Give me some time now.
Have the FW3A with the new SST-20 switched over to the new optics already? Or is this for orders in the near future?
Thanks Neal, we all appreciate it! 
Will the Turboglow gasket fit under this new optic? I have ordered one of the gaskets from your store along with a new FW3C and a clear Carclo optic, but now I’m not so sure that I’ll be able to use either the gasket or the Carclo optic. It all depends on if the FW3C still has the glass lens.
I think one way to find a temporary agreeable solution would be:
- Offer a 30 $ variant for people in the groupbuy (with code) and use the cheaper lens/optic combination, this could also be the “mainstream product” for everyone else outside of TLF/BLF
- Simultaneously, offer the real glass lens with Carclo optics for 32 $ (with code)
This is just an idea, of course, but it might be able to solve the cost and complexity reduction effort at hand. At some point Lumintop can switch the entire run to a lens/optic combination after the groupbuy is “closed” or “has ended”.