Hi everyone,
We finally have a nice customized BLF signature light, thanks to Manafont.com and Mrlite. I'll start right off by saying that I am not receiving kickbacks or sales commissions for this flashlight. Rather, this was purely a fun project that we've been working on with Audrey, Jim, and Judy from Manafont and Richard from Mrlite, and it should help to promote both of their companies as well as BLF. And now we present the...
BLF AA-Y4E in silver or black
So what's in a name? The BLF part is not just due to narcissism. It's included in the name and printed on the flashlight itself so that buyers realize that this is a customized product, not the typical 9-mode Mrlite offering. It should also help to avoid warehouse mix-ups with the original Mrlite J4, on which this light is based. As for the rest of the name, AA means that it uses an AA-sized battery (although it also works fine with 14500), the Y is just a generic model name ("Z" is still pending for the custom Eastward J609), the 4 indicates that it has 4 modes, and the E states that it uses an XR-E emitter. I feel very strongly that any major change in a given light's specifications should be identifiable by its model name, so that multiple versions with different specs but the same model name don't go floating around on the Internet.
The four custom modes are per my request. Sorry that it's not possible to please everyone with these modes, but I think it's the most useful this way. I hope the 1 lumen "Very low" mode is really 1 lumen / 4ma, I'll have to verify that myself. We also spoke with Mrlite about a specific LED bin neutral tint of 5000K. Along with the custom model name printed on the body, these are the principal differences compared to the original J4.
I just now ordered mine (paid for it, not a freebie for review), and I'll do a full review whenever it arrives here on the other side of the world from China. Thanks again to Manafont and Mrlite for their hard work and great attitude to make this project a reality!