What about something the size of the Ft03 with interchangeable heads……one with a dedicated thrower led and the other with multiple leds for flood purposes.
If it is a headlamp there should be UI to fit most. Say one multi-click, multi everything mode for guys who like to play with their flashlights and a simple click-on/off, hold to cycle mode for the rest of us. Call it advanced/simple or nerd/muggle
For a headlamp, I’d love to see something almost tube-shaped. Battery inside, driver and e-switch on one end, tailcap on the other end… and 2 to 8 small LEDs in a straight line along the side in very shallow reflectors. Perhaps E17A or E21A emitters. Floody, high-CRI, and a driver regulated to a moderate power level.
It’d probably be 18650, though 14500 might be feasible if the parts can fit on a smaller driver. Ideally it’d be designed to be pretty lightweight, and would come with a head strap which uses loops to fit two grooves near the ends of the light.
If there’s room for 4 / 6 / 8 LEDs, it could use two color temperatures and do tint ramping between.
Possibly also a T-shaped model with a throwy LED and larger reflector in the center, between two floody LEDs in shallow reflectors. Ramp between flood and throw in a manner similar to tint ramping.
I would like to see a 26650 foldable worklight like the ones with COB but with Nichia optisolis, in aluminum for durability (no fear of bumps in a toolbox). Strong magnet (removable), tint ramping. USB charging with a port that could be used to power the worklight without battery.
I was worried about my Boruit D10, which has a a reflector, though smaller than what you’d find on something like a Convoy S2. Between using an XM-L2 and just how small the reflector is, it’s a pretty good beam for anything but the closest work - and that could be solved with a pebbled TIR. I’m worried about swapping to XP-sized emitter, but I’m after some CRI.
I’m sorely tempted to get a D25S and mod it as well, and maybe try to tint-mix the two emitters. So, four or six emitters sounds nice - I think by the time we get to 8, it’s probably pretty pure flood, like some of the COB headlamps. My biggest concern with going floody on a headlamp is keeping it useful for walking on a trail at night. But, I’m sure BLF would find a nice balance.
Uh, so anyway, the point I was getting at before I started rambling was, that sounds closely in line with what I want out of a headlamp.
I’d like to see a 21700/SBT-90.2 pocket rocket. But done on a system like the MEOTE FM1 up sized to 21700 with SST20/XPL-HI/SST40 quad heads and XHP50.2/SBT90.2 single LED heads.
Option 1: I am for a head tourch as well. Pure flood for close up work, maybe with a”turbo” option for a bit of wall of light. Singld cell - 18650. Since its for close up work, something with high CRI and good realistic colors. Multi emitter with high CRI. Either with no reflector, or one that shapes the beem to like 90° +/-. No intense spot. ToyKeeper mentioned E21A emitters. I heard those have good colors.
Option 2: Similar headtorch as one, but with some form of focusable reflector/lense setup. Maybe some form of zoomie. Or some new interedting form. Something good for close pure flood work, that can be switched and turned into focuse beam. Maybe a magnetic snap on attachment that turns the flood torch into a more focused one? Maybe there could be interchangable reflectors and filters for multi purpose head tourch
There is the YLP Unicorn… I hear it’s pretty good. The main downsides are no moon mode, and the configuration can be pretty complex if you choose to edit the advanced settings. But the output adjustment is completely smooth, and from what I’ve heard, it has the best thermal regulation in the flashlight world.
I’ve been meaning to get one and make a FSM-based Unicorn UI, but I’ve been too busy with other things.