BLF-348 - A quick look inside

Still waiting mine to arrive

hmmm, I hope so on the new ones (mine are still in transit via Twilight Zone).

On one of last year’s model, the wonky looking spring escaped past the brass washer into the battery compartment rather easily.
Puzzled the heck out of me looking down the tube before I figured out the bezel is removable.

Thanks JM for rubbing it in. Shipping to Aus from China from many places has been very slow lately.

An old mechanic’s trick when a brake cylinder hone isn’t available is to tape sandpaper to a dowel, chuck the dowel into a drill, then hone away. Use duct tape, several rounds on the dowel and a few wraps onto the sandpaper. Use a long strip of sandpaper and tear off when it’s easily insertable, too tight will bind and too loose will wobble, lots of room between the two extremes. I’d aim for 150-220 grit on aluminum, coarser for harder metals. Hone 5-10 seconds then check, repeating as needed and always moving back and forth for an even cut. In no time you’ll have it exactly where you want it.

Mine may be in, too busy to check my PO Box till Wednesday or later. Why does life always have to get in the way of having fun?

Phil

+1, been doing this a lot. Still waiting on mine and then ordered an extra 3 w/o logos.

Edit- can use anything round that you can chuck in a drill. I use hole saws plus tape and sandpaper for larger bores.

Nice, concise report JohnnyMac!

I just received mine. 11 days from Gearbest to Calif. Not bad and it seems GB is trying harder.

It is indeed nice! Very nice craftsmanship and very nice beam. Who would have thought even a few years ago something this nice could be had for $6.99?!

I’m in the minority and am a CW fan and dislike NW beams and had never tried a Nichia emitter before. This Nichia 219B NW emitter is WAY nice! If they’re all like this, I’m a fan.

This light is listed as being okay to use with a 10440 cell. I’ve read some pros and cons using a 10440 in it. What are you folks opinions and has anyone used a 10440 in theirs for prolonged periods?

thanks John, this helps me a lot as a noob :slight_smile: I am saving the pics for future reference, just in case I might have some issues along the road. Receive my yesterday, they are really nice….

Thanks for the nice report, got mine today!

Some might find it a bit dim for running, but I like it, and plan to use it for running again. The small size is really nice, easy to hold.

Nice wide beam for walking in the woods, I like the tint. I had planned on using it as a backup, but I think it’s better than what I used before.

Using eneloops, anyone know the lumens?

Solid little light, too.

Here’s a brief comparison between 3 AAA/10440 lights. The Hugsby XP-1, BLF-348, and modded Maglite Solitaire. The Solitaire has just 7135 chips and a Ledil Lisa-2 optic.

Left to right, XP-1, 348, Solitaire. The first shot is underexposed, the second is over, and in bother cases tint is shifted to the red. In actuality the Hugsby and solitaire appear cool white and the 348 neutral rather than warm. I believe the Solitaire is an XPG R5 –1D if that helps to relatively calibrate the images.
Here’s one last pic with the 10440 loaded in the 348.

Anyone figured out how to take the tail switch apart yet? Was thinking of drilling a small hole in the body tube at the switch end for a key ring attachment of some sort…

To remove the switch:

- start with the tailcap on the flashlight but with no battery inside

  • push really hard on the button to force the switch out the tailcap
    Your thumb may be too wide to push the switch, so use an object that won’t scratch the button, like a narrow wooden or plastic stick.

Cereal_killer used a ball mill to bore a hole in the lip around the tail button in this host. See post #512 in an earlier GB thread:

I notice the switch is slightly taller on the new light than on last year’s model — the brass ring is at about the same distance from the lens end, but the button and the outside shell both are a bit longer. That leaves a useful bit more room to dril that hole.

Received a BLF 348 (240 lum) and a reg Singfire 348 (180 lum) today from Gearbest.

As noted by others the quality seems excellent and very solid.

Will need to get a 10440 to see full potential as they are frankly a bit underwhelming with Alkaline and NiMH. Both fairly floody with the older Singfire having a much warmer yellowish tint.

In terms of brightness I would say the BLF 348 is a bit brighter than the Lumintop tool on medium and considerably less than the Lumintop on high and the Hugsby XP-1 (which is more spotty)

Have more BLF 348’s coming for gift lights but will get some 10440’s for mine to try

Any recommendations for 10440 batteries and charger (thinking Xtar MCO)

Efest IMR and MC0 is a good choice. Brighter than XP-1 with 10440, wider beam, and gets warm faster. Not sure how well the switch will last on IMR.

Received mine and love them. It remains just sightly warm with an eneloop and doesn’t need much to figure out how to use it, perfect for gifts. Construction is excellent and it’s hard to see where the tailcap meets the body which means good machining.

I ordered 2 but wish it have been more, although people have mixed feelings when I gift them a flashlight, they give me this strange look :~ until I explain them why this is superior than their 2D incan in the kitchen drawer. I guess flashlights are not that common in my country.

I did a 1 hour test on a new cheap alkie; it got warm but did fine. Switched to a Trustfire 600mA 10440, ran for a few minutes before getting hot, back to alkie showed no visible light loss. Efest with sticker intact drops right in all 3 of mine as does Energizer Lithium primary.

A darn fine little light so far, wish I’d bought more.

Phil

Hi,

Has anyone tried swapping in another driver, specifically the AK-007 that DX.com has:

http://www.dx.com/p/ak-007-0-8-1-5v-3-mode-circuit-board-for-flashlights-11-9mm-50526#.Vog2RPlunIU

I’d like to get some modes on mine.

I believe that one will be too big. There isn’t a ton of headroom in the pill, and the driver diameter is ~10mm.

I did my own pcb, you can swap parts from a nanjg (but it’s 10440 only)

The thing is is that AK007 driver is made of 2 boards. The “front” one is smaller, and I think might fit diameter-wise. The problem that I am wondering about is the “height” of the two-board driver. The BLF-348 has a kind of long spring on the tailcap. Would that give enough leeway so that if the driver was “taller” that it would still work. That’s kind of what I was hoping someone might know or have tried (avoid being the “guinea pig” :laughing:.

Jim

More like the first seal to jump off the ice