Right, the A6 has been available for some time now. And I’ve been regulary using mine as an EDC.
First up I’d like to thank those involved, I know there was some final teething trouble with QC. But I think overall it was a success and a great light. Having now used mine a lot and still carrying it as an EDC, I thought I’d offer some feedback on the UI.
Overall I think the UI is pretty good. But I think it has a couple of issues.
Mode order
I find the two modes I want to use the most are Moonlight and Turbo. I find accessing turbo a pain and often end up using a mode I don’t want.
My proposal would be to have the first output level as moonlight and the next one as Turbo.
This would in effect give you:
One click = Moonlight
Double click = Turbo
This means you’ll never be blinded in the dark when you turn it on. But you can also “instantly” access turbo too.
With the current setup you have to turn it on, click …. wait…… wait…. and then get turbo. This takes too long and is annoying. Even more so if you don’t wait long enough and get low, you then have to back up twice!!
Essentially I want the mode order reversing.
Rational:
This is the important bit. Thinking about how and when you use certain modes. If you want turbo, chances are you want it there and then and really don’t want to faff about.
When you want low modes, typically you are more likely to be in less of a rush or hurry, so if moon is too low, click and hold is no bother to step up to the next level. Your mindset is more likely to accept spending more time finding the mode you want.
But when you want high output, you are typically intolerant of delays and over complexity.
If you want an output that is neither, then other modes are also easily accessible.
Number of modes
7 modes sounds great on paper. But it’s too many. And with the default UI it’s impossible to tell where you are. If you click forward through the modes to get to turbo, you really have to count carefully. One click to many and it’s moon light again…
I think 7 out put modes should be on the optional UI program. The default one should have 4 outputs. But should include Turbo and Moonlight (which currently it doesn’t).
Moonlight —> Turbo —> Medium —> Low
Quick click to advance, long click to go backwards through the modes.
As turbo has an auto stepdown, there is no need to have a high output as well.
Blinky and feature modes should be on the other more complex non default UI.
This means nobody wouldn’t be able to do anything they currently do. But it would offer a better experience overall and be more fitting for more uses.