super ugly unround hotspot with distinct corona artifacts
tint is okay hotspot spill
knurling is grippy (~ti)
head is 2-part and unscrews apart too easily (~e09 V1), has o-ring there lol (~pd03a)
main o-ring came lubed
design/construction of: tail area, lanyard ring attachment, bulky middle part, bulky head, split ring quality are all unlikable. i've seen more likable designs with other manufacturers!
no mode memory, mode sequence is Hi-Med-Lo
protected gray Ultrafire 10440 (47.1mm length) don't fit by ~1mm
Hi brightness is blah (~ti, ldo1, a3). will test against e09 at night
clip is standard flimsy stuff (~a3, e10, e11) nothing to be proud of
fazit:
save your energy this product isnt worth discussing or considering, it's bigger, heavier, bulkier, uglier than the competition, and doesnt do anything better. it was designed with no specific clear goal in mind, e.g. making it better or nicer than the competition or streamline/optimize it with respect to 1 or 2 engineering optimization targets. it's simply a crude AAA light by an unsuccessful chinese budget brand which has 3 modes, the typical budget pwm, a shirt clip, can tailstand, and puts out light as any keychain light should duh. comes with a funny packaging box and 2 o-rings.
bd-0? dont bother. better get yourself something likable and proven by a real flashlight company, something like e09, ti, i3s, d25a, or ldo1.
btw i asked tank to build upon the sheer success of e09 and release updated improved versions of it. they listened to my words, laughed, and came up with the es12 omg.
last night i compared the brightness BD-0 vs. E09 and i discovered:
despite the different beam pattern and tints, the E09 is noticeably brighter on Eneloop. not very much brighter but by a noticeable margin. both beam patterns are imperfect re hotspot and corona beauty. and in comparison the BD-0 tint is weirdly greenish uniformly so. might be my sample or the adapted tint perception thru my eyes. due to hotspot intensity the E09 is throwier too. all in all the BD-0 beam is really meh (output, pattern, tint, throw) imho.
i didnt care testing 10440's and compare brightnesses nor will i bother spending more time on fiddling/wasting my time with this Balder product. i am finished. i am done.
I like some things about it, threads are smooth, anodizing looks good. I like the low-carry pocket clip, but it extends beyond the end of the flashlight so it wobbles when it tailstands.
I'm not fond of the lanyard attachment point, that black wire thingy at the back, I think it's butt ugly.
The beam profile doesn't look good. If you rotate the light, you can clearly see a lot of "dirt" in the beam. And the tint is greenish on mine too.
Overall I cannot recommend it. But even if I would, it wouldn't make any sense because it is dicontinued... Anyway, thanks for the effort, Balder.
