[Review] Lumintop/TLF/BLF FW1A - younger, but taller FW3A's brother

Lumintop/TLF/BLF FW1A



3 in 1 review. At the end there will be a summary for those who like only particulars, in each topic I will color the key sentences for those who read a little more (and don't like my sense of humor and want to be sad), and a long waffling for everyone else. Enjoy!



For VERY large photos: click -> on the photo page right click -> "Open image in new tab"

This flashlight was provided by Neal, owner of the www.nealsgadgets.com
Flashlight: https://www.nealsgadgets....-edc-flashlight

Table of Contents:

- General parameters
- Package content
- Appearance, parameters
- UI, runtime
- PWM
- Waterproof
- Light pattern, tint
- Beamshots
- Usage and my experiences
- Nitpicking
- Gallery
- Summary



General parameters

Slightly more expensive than FW3A
LED: SST20 4000K / XP-L HI WW/NW/CW / XP-L HD CW / Nichia 219C 4000K
UI: Anduril
Driver: FET+7+1

Flux: 1200lm for XP-L CW
My measurements (Mocarny lumens) - after 5s of flashing, with Sanyo NCR18650GA:
XP-L HI 1A: 1240lm
XP-L HD 1A: 1560lm
SST20 4000K: 870lm

Throw: 370m (ANSI - so less throw in reality)
Switch: E-switch
Battery: 18650 unprotected, max 66mm



Package content



Flashlights came in well known cardboard boxes - the same as FW3A's packaging

And I've got 3 flashlights, idk why, because I was asking about one, but...whatever

And inside our flash...of course first thing we can see is this "DON'T DISASSEMBLE THE TAIL!!!!!"



Remember!

And there is also a manual and two spare o-rings.

Packaging is great, I'm rating it 5




On the side note, if you're wondering how I write this review

That's exactly how. Reaching the keyboard through all this boxes




Yes, I have a flour on my desk...

And it's been here for...well, what year was that...







Yeah, that's the stuff! It's even better working now.

Ok nevermind


Appearance, parameters



Size: 100.8mm x 25,5mm. So a bit longer than FW3A
Weight: 57,3g


I got 3 versions - with XP-L HD, HP-L HI CW and SST20 4000K



From left to right:

- Bezel with o-ring, AR coated glass lens


- OP reflector

Well made, everything is good

- LED with a gasket, on DTP MCPCB

- And everything is the same as in FW3A, all threads are the same

with interchangeable parts.. So you can swap parts from your FW3A colors or different materials version and make unique style FW1A

This problem with parts falling from the tailcap has been fixed - all parts stayed even when I dropped my tailcap on the floor.


And two comparison photos - every size is the same, except this higher bezel.


- E-switch has now clicky sound and is great!

UI, runtime



UI
Anduril! (this Anduril version doesn't have a Factory Reset option, so be careful when clicking)
Everything about Anduril in this thread:
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/54947


Runtime

Stepped ramping, mode 4, SST20 ~ 145lm

But it lowers the output to about 100lm and was shining ~ 10h

And about 1,5min on 5th mode ~ 250lm


2 min of full power


Lightweight, so it overheats quickly


PWM



Yes, noticable PWM, on the lowest level. Very fast PWM, not a big deal.


Not visible on higher levels.

Waterproof



IPX8

But let's submerge it for 2h

After 2h, no moisture inside on lens or anywhere else. Test passed.

Light pattern, tint



Focused light, could be more floody, but now it's a small thrower



The dot in the center is the center of the beam (approx.), each line at an interval of 15cm.

You can see differences in XP-L HI and HD tints, personally I like the HI tint more, but on the other hand, HD has better light pattern - more floody light.

And some comparisons:




And light tint and pattern of FW1A and S2+. More floody S2+, but more greenish too


Beamshots



ISO200, t2s, f/3,5 WB set to sunlight

Let's light up the forest



























Comparing FW1A to FW3A...

FW3A rules

Usage and my experiences
(you should probably read this carefully if you're considering buying this light)

My first thought after a night forest walk: too focused light. FW3A is definitely better for night walking. But thanks to the greater range, FW1A is better wherever ... greater range is needed. Well ... in the forest I also preferred the range of FW1A over FW3A, it throws further on almost 3 times less brightness. Hard choice - I need range and floody light, so something in between would be perfect. I can't decide which one I prefer to get when walking in the forest. I'll leave it to you: ;)
Do I recommend it? Hmm ... Design cooler than FW3A (I know, I know, it's only about 1cm longer, that's it ... - but it looks cooler) but less power and more expensive, not that much though. Bigger range ... I don't know. Certainly a nice addition to the collection, but on the practical side it could have more flood and power - so there comes FW1A Pro

Don't get me wrong - the flashlight is really well made and very cool, but with the cheaper FW3A, I don't see much sense to pay extra for the weaker version. FW1A was crushed between FW3A and FW1A Pro.

Gallery











Summary



FW1A - younger but taller brother of FW3A. The choice of LEDs is the same as in FW3A, but as you can guess, there is only one LED and the OP reflector. This gives less lumens compared to its...father (FW3A), but better range and focused light. A little higher price. So I can say that FW1A is such a tiny thrower. A good flashlight that I can recommend ... for those who like FW3A but want more range with longer battery life. All threads are compatible with the FW3A version.

Pros:
+ nice e-switch with clicky sound
+ Anduril
+ IPX8
+ small and practical

Cons:
- too throwy
- I wish there is XP-L HD 5000K
- overheats quickly

About host - threads, knurling o-rings and so on
Ocena: 9,5/10

About light - UI, tint and so on
Ocena: 8,5/10


1 - very bad flashlight hurts to look at, terrible quality, not worth any (even very low) price
5 - average flashlight - for the average, non flashaholic person "great"
10 - flashlight meets all my expectations in a given category (e.g EDC, headlamp, thrower), it's durable and neatly made, perfect light tint, worth its (even slightly inflated) price


I hope you enjoyed!

Reserved for updates

Another great review, thank you Mocarny. What about that flour tread?

Also I’m not sure a throwiness is a disadvantage for FW1A. I was considering purchase but was afraid it’ll be to little throwy due to small ref. It seems to be an individual preference. For those looking for wide beam, FW3A seems to be better.

About that flour? Yeah, it was late yesterday, and…you know…but flour is always a great review addition

That’s why I reserved space for updates - maybe after a month or longer I’ll decide it is good for me actually.
When considering FW1A as an EDC light, it is too throwy for me and my EDC use. But you’re right, it depends on other’s needs - FW3A for flood and FW1A for throw.

And FW1A Pro for everything :smiling_imp:

Thank you for the review and all the beam shots.

Thanks,but why get this at triple price compared to convoy s2+ host?

It is brighter and smaller than S2. If you want to mod S2 having only host, why not. But FW1A has e-switch and Anduril instead of 4 modes.

with proper set thermal regulation it should not overheat

Excellent outdoor beamshots. I wish more people would do that, instead of shining it on a white wall. Thanks for posting!

Did you check the temperature parameters in anduril? Temp sensor calibration and max temperature

What’s the FW1A pro?

FW1A XHP50.2 :wink:

And I haven’t changed my thermal regulation…my bad, I thought it was set properly

The MCUs thermal sensor can be worst case +/-20 degree Celsius, so far noone bothered to put a Chinese worker to set each light after they got assembled,
so its up to the end user to do the thermal calibration and max temp set as liked

My FW1A’s TempCheck showed 37 degrees with the head at 23. You should check that

It’s not going to make a big difference either, after calibrating temperature sensor and setting max temperature at 60 degrees I get 45s or full turbo and stepdown to 500lm (XPL Hi)

It blinks several times, each blink means 10degC, and after a while it blinks again, it mean 1degC, right, then longer break and again, right?

Yes

So my FW3C shows 21degC, and here is 22-23degC, so pretty close.

One of my FW1As…35degC, another…35degC

Yes, I should’ve set this thermal regulation :person_facepalming:

I'm new to this forum (and to the community as a whole), but I wonder why -- for flashlights like the FWxx which were designed by enthusiasts for enthusiasts -- ease of reprogramming isn't a more high-profile issue. I would have expected that any flashlight which required desoldering and resoldering -- for a simple firmware update -- would have lost several points on the "About Host" rating.

Am I missing something? Even if one is good at soldering, such flashlights can't be used to actually develop new firmware or be part of testing cycles.

I would have expected the review to have something like "if only this flashlight had basic functionality like the KR1's easy reflashing, the FW1W smaller bezel would have made it a good competitor to the KR1 for EDC".

Thanks!

When the FW3A was designed, pogo pin reflashing adapters weren’t really a thing yet. By the time those came around, the designers of the FW3A driver had already retired, so there wasn’t anyone around to modify the circuit to add that feature.

FW1A and most of the other FW-series lights reuse the same circuit, with no input from BLF, so they share the same drawback.

Fair enough....and thank you for Anduril! I just got my first modern light yesterday (a FW1A, and a KR1 is on its way) and the UI is already starting to feel natural.