*BLF LT1 Lantern Project) (updated Nov,17,2020)

I use some laptop pulls from 2006 in my LT1, but it doesn’t matter that 21700 is “superior” to 18650 unless that’s all you have, in which case I do understand your dilemma. An 18650 is “superior” to a 14500, but I bought a 14500 headlamp because it was smaller and lighter; runtime is terrible, though :wink: .

I’m not disagreeing with the idea of a 21700 adapter or version of this lamp as many people are switching to the larger cells and may not have spare 18650s, but my point is that it has nothing to do with which cell is “better”. A 21700 version is going to be larger and have more runtime; there’s nothing wrong with that if it’s what people want.

We had a week-long power outage in the Winter of 20/21 and went through 2 sets of 18650’s in my LT1 before having to recharge them from my car the day before power was restored. Chargers with car adapters are useful, but make sure to monitor the car’s battery voltage to ensure that it will still start.

Each set of cells lasted us for multiple days in the lamp as we only ran it at max brightness for a few moments at a time when we really needed to. Most of the evenings we ran the LT1 at below half brightness and it was our primary light source; I used my FT03 with a diffuser cap as a light in my room. The LT1 allowed us to avoid burning our old smelly kerosene lamps entirely and easily paid for itself that week.

I preferred the smooth output when I needed light for reading or cooking, but the candle mode is more interesting and romantic, especially when kids (and adults) are having dopamine withdrawal. A portable power station would be nice to have during outages and 1-2 solar panels would help to keep it going.

I think, and it is backed up by the numbers, that the 21700 is a superior cell, all things considered. Even taking into account its greater size.

For instance:
“the 21700 inherently has about 50% greater capacity and energy density than the 18650 for discharge rates up to about 3.75C”
Link.
Just one example, but the numbers don’t lie.
Much of the cell development has focused on this format, probably due to the involvement of Tesla.

So, in a SHTF situation, I would rather have 21700 based devices. Better run time is where it is at for me. Even more so in a lantern that I will mostly use when the power is out.
To me the extra hours of light is of the highest importance.

So, bring on the 21700 LT1 !

Any news on this?

I typically leave my LT1 on the warmest tint it will go so I would prefer 2700k and Deep Red.

as neat as the tint mixing is, i leave my LT1 all the way on warm.

that said, i'm having trouble imagining how deep red would be useful to me. how would you guys use it? at what brightness? and would you really do tint ramping?

For small stuff like hiking the current lanterns are for me good enough, but for bigger camp setups I’d like a more powerful 1000lumen 4x 21700 lantern, along with much faster USB charging, sorry but 6hrs just doesn’t cut it in a hectic life. To me if you increase the size/weight of the base, you have to increase the top or else it looks a little unpleasant, so why not shoot for 1000lumens plus?
21700 is just so much better than 18650. I’d love the ability to run the light of a cable whilst still being able to charge the cells reasonably quick.
Nowadays there are many lite compact very strong well made professional camera tripods that work well for such a lantern.

Either way we need something with mire output for general purpose camping.

I just received a BLF LT1 with A4 driver and I can not really turn it off completely. As long as there is power (battery or USB), the CW LEDs emit a very low light level.

Is this a bug? Is it known? Or is that intentional behaviour?

Maybe a leaky 7135 or bad soldering. Definitely a problem with the hardware.

A 21700 variant of the LT1 was planned, (a deluxe model dubbed the LT2 or LT1-Pro, with a larger battery tube to use four 21700 cells, and an added third channel for red LEDs. (with the power-bank feature too, and a re-designed finned top heart sink, and increased output on maximum.

Contact Sofirn or Barry here on BLF. Its likely a hardware issue, a bad 7135 or a solder trace that is receiving parasitic power to the CW channel of the driver.

nice. i'd buy that, but more for the increased runtime than output. on that note, i'd love a boost driver for more efficiency. not particularly interested in the red channel. even single channel would be ok with me (preferably a warm temp).

Have they dropped the idea, or is it something that may be still in development? I would buy one if they ever release something with those features.
Particularly more output and having red as an option.
I like my LT1S but would like more run time and a bit more brightness. Plus, of course, Andruil 2.

Its still a possibility.

Same, although I already have three LT1s so it may be hard to justify.

is this light available for purchase, is there a code for it?

Give 1 or two of the originals away to friends and family. That’s a great way to justify a new light.

I would love an LT2 / LT1Pro!

I finally got some family members together for a beachside bonfire. I brought out my LT1, for supplementary light. My sister, who is not technically minded, was floored by my LT1. “I want it!” I showed off the basic commands, then demonstrated the tint change and the blinkies. “Can you stop that button from flashing?” Well of course. After that, “Can I have it?” LOL.

I was thinking a better flashlight for her would be that low squat lantern, LT1s. What’s the general opinion here of it, compared to the original LT1?

Over on r/flashlight, some recommend it over the LT1.
Personally, I’ll wait for the gchart version.

I have the LT1S, but not any of the other LT1 variants.

The LT1S is very nice.

I really like the size and shape of it.

The UI is good enough for me, and seems to be just as good as (or maybe better than) the other UI's.

Months ago, Sofirn was talking about doing a group buy for the LT1S, but it hasn't happened (yet.)