Review: Fandyfire Rook (Cree XM-L T6 | 3 x AA or 3 x 14500)

I will be happy to accept any donation for this flashlight :stuck_out_tongue:
P.S. Nice review, thumbs up.

I really, really, REALLY hope I win this when the time comes. I never win any of these dang giveaways.

Three fully charged Eneloop drained to 0.8V after leaving it inside the ‘Rook’ for just 2 weeks without using it (I was away for 2 weeks).

Since the ‘Rook’ cannot be locked out, I place a piece of round thin cardboard between the battery and the head unit to lock it out. Troublesome when come to use the light which need to remove the cardboard first before it can be used.

Btw, this light can run on 1 battery.

Thanks for the review! Great light, but I really dislike the colour. I will wait for the black version to come out (or for the zebralight q50, if they ever release it)

A few weeks back, I sent the follow email to BlackShadow Technology:

Why not black?

The Sky Ray King is, and always has been, a popular light. However, a very significant percentage of owners (including myself) don't really like the colour that much, and aren't too enthusiastic about adding new lights to our collection in the same colour. There will always be those who like gold/sand of course, but why not make some of your new lights in black too? Everyone likes black. You can't go wrong with it. I would have bought a Rook by now if it wasn't for the colour, and I know for a fact that I'm not the only one. Just some constructive feedback from a potential customer. I hope you will consider it. Thanks for reading :)


This was their reply:

Thanks for all of your attentions and support of our flashlight, we really appreciate it. Regarding the black type flashlight, thanks for your advice, I will send it to our engineers, we did have some customers who want black color before. We totally know black is the mainstream, but what we want is difference, we hope you can recognize us at first sight.

Yours sincerely,

Helen


The part where I said I would have bought one by now if it was black was before I learned about the dismal AA performance. But it's probably still true.

I’m not seeing me ever owning a gold light, end of story…

It’s been ordered, so you will only have to endure approximately 550 more idiotic posts from me to get another crack at a win.

What's the brightness like compared to the Balder SE1 XM-L on Eneloop or similar batteries?

Ceiling bounce is 135% of my Balder SE-1 XM-L NW.

Then i’ll take one in red ano. :bigsmile:

So the Rook is 35% brighter than the se1?

With Eneloop XX @1.32V, yes.

If they made it in the same machine gray as the Darth and Padme it would be the BOMB!

Sure, grey would do it for me as well. Anything but fracking gold (which isn’t even really gold). BlackShadow have succeeded in making some of their lights stand out alright. But they stand out as examples that a ton of people don’t like.

I’ve seen this light look more of a greenish than gold. Is there a green version out there, or is it just a camera tint issue?

Oops, forgot to say - awesome review, makes me want one. Are there different versions of this light out there? ask because I’ve heard others say the standby drain is really bad, but this review says it’s not all that bad.

Man $11 is sick price for this light! Is that really the same light or is it a knock-off? …geez what has the flashlight world come to when there are knock-offs of already cheap flashlights! LOL

What would happen to “Low voltage warning” if 14500 LifePO4 (3.2V only) are used instead of Li-on?

The low voltage warning will still activate at the limit set for LiIon so LiFePO4 cells would not be used to their full capacity.

Nice form factor. I like 3 X AA lights, and this one is pretty small! However, the runtime is poor. Why do they continue to make lights with multiple levels, including a strobe, but no low level?