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

I’m pretty biased though. I mean, I made the firmware for it and ran the project for the final year or so. I’d have to be pretty crazy to put in that much effort if I didn’t like it.

So I really can’t give an objective opinion about it.

Is there more conversation about the emitters / cri/ efficiency/ otf lumens / throw-spot profile other thread one? Are the guts of the tail switch now retained with a retainer ring so it’s safe to open the tail cap to change the battery without risk of loosing internal bits?

The FW3A has gone through so many hardware revisions and spinoffs that it’s really hard to keep track. It doesn’t help that nearly all of the revisions have been done silently, so people only find out by opening up the item and finding that it’s different.

In other words, YMMV. I have no idea who is shipping which versions, or what the most recent ones are like.

The safest bet is to order from a vendor who cares and pays attention, like Calvin at Illumn, who can answer questions about the current status.

About the LEDs, it really depends on personal preference. Me, I like the XP-L HI 3D version… but I don’t like any of the others. I dislike SST-20 in particular, since it looks rather green on the modes I use, and it sucks the blue out. So despite having a high CRI rating, it makes all the colors look wrong… even after correcting it with a minus-green filter.

It’s also probably a good idea to open the front of a new light to make sure it doesn’t have flux on the LEDs. That has happened sometimes… like here’s how one of mine looked when it was brand new, before I cleaned it:

Is the newest version lense no more glass and plastic now?

Not sure about that. Although inquired with Lumintop several months ago, and they offered the FW3A with the “plastic” glass lens and FW3A with Carclo glass lens. The plastic lens version was a bit cheaper (I think something like $1 cheaper) — but that was several months back…

Lumintop is very confusing :smiley:

Is there any store to buy FW3A PURPLE with postage to europe ?
thx

I would be surprised if there is.

That was a limited edition.

Maybe check one of the European eBay sites?

Hello, what is the minimum current the led driver gives?

I measured 23 micro amps. So super low parasitic drain.

When the LED is on, it gets 0.0000023A?

0.000023A, 23uA

Led off, parasitic drain.

You want to know the amp draw on moonlight?

I could not get the light to turn on with the tail switch removed. Maybe someone else was more successful than me.

Thx for answers!!

Yes on moonlight.

still looking any FW3A PURPLE store with postage to europe-anyone ?

Hello. Just bought one from lumintop. They made terrible engravings on body and tailcap :frowning: Where can I buy clean one? Without any logos and engravings on body?

Ouch. Do you have a picture of it? I think you are the first to note this.
I guess Neal still has clean ones, but I would ask him first.

Roughly 18.5mA on moonlight, ramping mode, XPL HI 3A.

I get 24.4µA on standby.

Of course. Full res: https://imgur.com/a/bFPe4Mu

Dissapointed…

While those are engravings (or printings), I would call them normal--not terrible.

If you want a flashlight without them, that's fine, but those are pretty normal for flashlights.

EDIT:

I just noticed that my two FW3As don't have the engravings/printings, so I see the problem.

By the way, I like the bunny, but I don't care for the printed text, though that's not really here nor there.

Thx a lot!!