Sold out! - GBGB: BLF-348 - Classy and Small 1xAAA Stainless Steel light, with Nichia NVSW219B-V1 R9050

As a recent joiner to blf I missed out on the 9.99 price, dang :frowning:
Tempted as an introduction to hi cri lights still though

Look at the first post.
You can still order these lights with the coupon code.

I’m gifting mine with energizer lithium cells.

Got my lights yesterday. All I can say is wow.

I was on the fence about this one for a long time but I finally gave in and ordered one. It arrived just as I was leaving town for the weekend. This is a gorgeous little light. Very sleek and classy. There is a very satisfying click from the switch. The machining is so smooth you can’t even see where the tail meets the tube until you unthread it to install a battery. The beam profile is great for a light this size. Nice floody pattern with a subtle hot spot and the tint is a warmish-neutral beauty. I honestly didn’t expect to be very impressed with this light but I most humbly admit I was wrong. This is a sweet little light and perfect for gifting! I will try to buy a few more while I can. Well done!

Here’s a white wall, from ~1m (tint in pic is not accurate vs. actual):

Yeah, I put in Energizer lithium primaries when I give these away.
It’s the decent thing to do.

I don’t know of any budget one-AAA NiMH charger.

Anyone know of an appropriate board that could be put in a simple box?

Most of the ideas are from years ago, and charge 2 cells at a time, I guess that’s simpler? E.g.*

*Someone asked me recently what “E.g.” means.
I told him it means “Example from google”
I am a bad person.

Xtar XP1 is a Li-ion and NIMH charger that you can find under $10 online. Is there anything wrong with that one?

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Xtar%20XP1%20UK.html

Not ideal for giveaway with AAA cells. There’s an updated “XP1 Plus” — I haven’t seen a review of it.

It seems that both the clip and the body of this light stick well to magnets. I think I’ll have to include a magnet with each one, for convenience if someone wants to store it on the fridge or something.

It’s not perfect, but HJK says acceptable. I don’t take the word “acceptable” to mean dangerous or bad, and I feel it would be more than ok for a gift. Probably better then most chargers included with NIMH batteries.

HJK does, at the very bottom of his discourse on proper NiMH charging, set out criteria to define an excellent NiMH charger.

Examples satisfying all criteria are yet to appear. Many come close.

For gifting along with one AAA Eneloop — well, this takes four AAA or AA cells — good way to convert the giftee to using more NiMH in other devices, I guess.
http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Panasonic%20BQ-CC16%20UK.html

For quality cheap (~$10) chargers, there’s also the Nitecore i2 and Nitecore D2… I feel comfortable with how safe they are to gift them for sure. NiMH is a pretty safe battery to begin with.

FWIW, I measured two BLF-348 units. I got 48.6 lm and 49.1 lm at start, on a fresh Eneloop.

So, just a bit under 50 lumens on a rechargeable NiMH cell.

As for runtime, I’m not sure. It took about a day of frequent use to drain the cell I had laying on my desk. So, a bit faster than I’m accustomed to, and it gets warm during use. I get a few weeks per charge on my 10180 lights, but I only use them at a low level (~10 lm).

Usps tracking shows that mine hit sanfran. Should be here soon!!! :D

Guys, did anyone disassemble the BLF version? I wonder if there is any thermal compound between the LED and the pill. In the “stock” SF-348 there is none.
Moreover, the pill is “hanging in the air” supported by spring on one side and the reflector on the led side and is not “snug fit” into the body.
I’m afraid it can fry the led when driven off a 10440 for a long time.

I’ve had mine running on a freshly charged eneloop for the last hour and a half. The output is now in the moonlight range. In a previous test this morning I saw some odd behavior from both my lights. They would get very dim as the batteries depleted then suddenly jump back up in brightness before quickly dimming again. Not sure what that was about.

That’s because the driver works to about 0.8-0.9 volts, after the voltage drops below that, the driver turns (edit: off, i wanted to say OFF, sorry!!) , the voltage of the unloaded cell jumps up a little bit, the driver turns on, the voltage drops, and the cycle repeats.

I got mine today and wanted to say thank-you to the for getting this done and done well.

first and foremost the TINT on these is very nice …and CRI is higher then most leds.If i’m guessing I’m guessing 80~85.
Like Jacktheclipper I was a bit unnerved by the lack of anyone commenting about the tint .Everyone seemingly happy with all other aspects of this light had me sweating . Compared to the last version of these lights the difference is night and day .

If you are considering buying one and for some reason on the fence than I suggest you stay there … you’re a nut … these are sweet little lights …(buy both)…

I can only agree. Got mine today and these really worth every penny. Size, weight, tint, all very very well done and thank you the for the GB again! :slight_smile:

That makes sense except that there was no off/on sequence involved. The lights were on the entire time. It was the output that jumped back up then gradually dimmed back down.