FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

No more cost saving ideas please! :smiley:

Well at least the new optic looks like it is a good match for the ruff MCPCB.
I believe the new optic setup is a bad move.

In theory the new optic should produce slightly higher lumens. No light is being lost from a lens. Itā€™s all going through the one optic.

However, itā€™s not surprising that we here on this forum much prefer the glass lens (for scratch resistance) combined with the flexibility of being able to swap in any Carclo optic.

Personally, I wouldnā€™t mind if they added the new lens, but only as an option. Maybe get a $2 discount if you opt for their lens instead of the Carclo.

At least be able to purchase the glass lens as an option

I would never accept a plastic lens.
Not on a light like this.
If they want to mess up this light before it even ramped up, they can do thisā€¦
But I will no longer buy itā€¦

Itā€™s incredible with what type of problems Neal has to cope withā€¦
Hope he gets them sorted out and this great flashlight restored to its original designā€¦
:+1:

They did this with the Tool AAA already. Itā€™s some unknown osram emitter and pebbled TIR now like the EDC01. Updated the marketing after the fact and called it by the same name.

12 June I ordered a FW3A 7A

13 June I ordered a FW3A SST-20 4000K

The 7A model & other stuff was shipped 14 June. :+1:

The SST-20 model is waiting to be fulfilled

Now today we get notification from Lumintop of an optic change & the elimination of the AR coated lens.

As far as I am concerned, this is a ridiculous move on the part of Lumintop at this early stage of the ā€˜FW3A Gameā€™ā€¦ā€¦ :person_facepalming:

It not only makes Lumintop look extremely bad, but it puts Neal in a bad positionā€¦. through no fault of his own.

I am guessing my 7A version may well be as advertised when I purchased itā€¦. Carclo optic & AR coated lens. Hopefully anywayā€¦ā€¦ :wink:

But it sounds like the SST-20 version, from what I have read this morning; will not be as advertised when I bought it. It will have a ā€œnew opticā€ that will replace the Carclo optic & AR coated lens. :person_facepalming:

Thisā€¦ā€¦ (IMO) is no way to do business Lumintop. Notification of a crappy change in a product should come before the ā€œcrappy changeā€ā€¦ā€¦ not after.

If indeed my SST-20 version has no Carclo optic & AR coated lensā€¦. I will be very unpleased with Lumintop.

Bottom line & end of story.

Doing away with the Carclo optic & Ar coated lens as a cost cutting measure is a bad move.

Notification after the change is an inexcusably bad move by Lumintopā€¦ as far as I am concerned.

Heck, it would have been much better to announce a slight price increase & keep the Carclo with AR coated lens.

Disappointing, to say the least. As others have said, I should have bought a couple more early, but didnā€™t due to emitter options, and indecision. I hope Iā€™m wrong, but further cheapening will probably occur, or is occurring. I bought optics already to switch out, but I will only buy more flashlights if I can find proper lenses to fit. I am not interested in any with this new optic.

Looks like the discount is gone. I should have gotten the XPL-Hi version. :(

If Toyota would do this with their cars, they would end up selling Ladas and no longer Toyotas!

Thank you TK, the blue and maybe the white are my picks. I thought I wanted the copper but itā€™s apparently only raw Polished finish without a coating so I think Iā€™ll be too hard on the light and itā€™ll end up looking natty :smiley:
Gosh and now reading about he changes to the lens and optic setup itā€™s a bit of a downer that I gifted 3 of the 4 I ordered, should have kept the originals and gifted the new models haha

This sucks. I hope I can add an optic and lens to my existing (pre)order.

Aye, Iā€™m in the same boat and I sent Neal an email about this. Might be a good idea for you to do the same.

BLF A6 - actually got better with time (double springs)
BLF Q8 - long term reliable product (Sofirn gave us new LED options too)
FW3A - 1 month in and ???

Maybe Thorfire/Sofirn would be interested in a group buy for a popular, relatively easy to manufacture designā€¦ they even have LH351Ds.

TK verifies that no lumens are lost, but candela is indeed reduced.

Agreed. Or maybe BLF should talk to Gene Malkoff: I know he has been toying with a programmable light. Yes, it would be over $100, but . . . Oh, Iā€™m kidding. Maybe.

Chuck

TK, were you able to see if there were any other quiet changes, like to the driver or switch assembly?

In the midst of all the concerned discussion, I do want to thank Neal for bringing the change to our attention. I hope Lumintop listens to the feedback he has collected.

Instead of the Tool AA, you could have mentioned the Tool AAA, advertised as available with a 219B emitter, but as far as I know, has actually been shipping with a 219C (although like the FW3A, reported to be a decent tinted one), for over a year:
http://www.lumintop.com/tool-ti.html

Bulb Cree XP-G2 R5 LED Nichia 219BTLED

* edit - fixed typo

Somewhat sad isnā€™t it . :person_facepalming: . :frowning:

Thereā€™s a thought. :beer: . A great thought in fact.
If Lumintop wonā€™t play ballā€¦ find a manufacturer that will. :+1:

Different optic and code no longer valid, is that correct?