BLF member ‘can’ directed me to this thread and I appreciate it. Just ordered a couple of them. Back when I first got into 26650 flashlights (which is about the time I learned what a 26650 battery was ) I was torn between the TF A8 and an F13. Both were recommended here on BLF. I ended up getting the A8 (actually two of them because my wife took my first one) and it has become my favorite flashlight. Purchased both for $17 each (one on Amazon and the other Ebay) as I wasn’t yet familiar with websites like GB/DX/FT etc. So for the price of one A8 I can now get two F13’s and I’ll be able to compare them. And nice to have a second 26650 light as back up.
This is one of the reasons I like my TF A8 in that it can use three different battery options (26650/18650/3xAAA). I’m glad to know this one can do so as well. I think options are important.
This TR-A9-2 would easily fit that 3xAA Carrier from Gearbest. The Lumintop SD10 4xAA Carrier would probably fit in the TR-A9-2 also. I think the TR-A9-2 had a bad pill thermal design though. Too bad.
Got my F13 today. Wow, very nice light for the money. Thanks for the code OL!
Had a bit of a panic when I opened it up. The star clearly had XML-U2 written on it.
Closer inspection revealed that the emitter was XM-L2 after all. They must have been using up old stars. Phew!
Hmmm me thinks I’ll put a bit more solder on that positive joint.
They are good lights right off the shelf and better when they have a good copper star and a nicer driver put in. 5 amps is not unreasonable, since they transfer heat well. Glad y'all are having fun with them.
That’s strange… Got mine today too. But on the outside it says “XML-T6” - and that’s what’s inside - so it seems. It is only an older XML with green top, 3 bond wires and 6 stripes. On a grey star with no other text than +/- signs on it. Let’s see what the customer service has to say about that…
1 From the Deal Alert thread.
Nice build for the price. It won’t quite lock out by unscrewing the tail cap after some wear, because some aluminum shows through the anodizing on the threads. I have not opened it up.
I have to delete all my book marks to this site. Old-Lumens you just forced to buy my 6th light this month
I have read these forums for a while but never really paid attention to the “deals” now I’m like sweet its under $20 I can get that one. Well buying 6 lights under $20 doesn’t save me money AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I need help.
I’m tempted to buy another one of these,the only thing holding me back is the first one I got from a earlier GB. The tail cap is very loose on the threads, it wobbles side to side when screwing on and the threads don’t look like they will last long. Is this normal for the F13 or did I just get a bad example?
Now that you mention it I did note mine being a bit loose as well. The tolerances could have been a little better, certainly. Once tightened up it’s rock solid though. Given the high number of threads on there I can’t see it being much of an issue anyway, as they’re not under any great strain.
I’m thinking customer service will tell you that they sourced these leds by sweeping up an old flashlight factory floor. Anything that end up in the bin at the end of the day wandered it’s way into these lights
These leds are almost always terrible bins and need to be replaced so I wouldn’t worry too much about whether it’s a gen1 or gen2.
Just get a nice XML2 on copper and swap it over, it will cost almost half the price of whole light but it’s worth it.
For a while early on they were shipping bodies engraved with the old T6 logo, even after they started putting XM-L2 emitters in (very blue-white, as noted worth replacing anyhow).
They must have found another freight car full of the old ones somewhere, or a new cloner has started making copies of them.
Watch for the typical “new batch cheaper and worse than the last” progression — since this light has become popular, it’s likely being cloned.
I hope not all of China’s manufacturing follows this same progression.
If they do the same thing with parts for their railroads, aircraft, and power plants — especially all those new nukes — the world’s gonna have troubles.
And they’ll blame you, Old Lumens, when their country collapses. You! You made them do this to themselves ….
The tail cap threads on mine fit better than those on most of my lights. I understand that the precision of numerical control machining is mainly limited by thermal expansion, so it gets worse as the process is sped up.
This light was already heavily cloned. (eg what we are discussing here was never the original)
This doesn’t mean that cheaper clones can’t be made but generally the process seems to bottom out. (like with the SRK) I think the F13 lights probably bottomed out a while ago.