i mean its not that hard to google when you already know the brand and model name, and you took the time to find it on BG, but you couldnt find their own website or AE?
Actually their AliExpress store doesn’t have the High CRI (anymore).
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001175103939.html
These have it:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001144192612.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001144119561.html
These don’t:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001144132940.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001205778793.html
This one I don’t know:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32848260540.html
found a cool E3A video, Im sold!
I still wish there was something red in the photo, but whatever, its not looking green tinted, so thumbs up!
The highCRI E3A is already out or will be out shortly.
The “regular” E3A is still hella good.
I got a key blank for my front door that shines a 0-CRI monochrome red beam, one of these:
which is all I need to poke a key into a hole.
So hang on, before anyone turns into a CRIbaby (ha! I always wanted to use that term…), just think, “What will I be using the light for?”.
If it’s to be your one and only EDC light, nothing else available, then sure, go crazy, make it a high-CRI LED with 8 brightness levels and stoopit-high R9 values to make sure you can distinguish all possible subtle shades of red.
But if you just need A Light to find what rolled under the couch, or to find the keyhole and make sure your key is teeth-up instead of teeth-down, or to find the fusebox when your lights go out, even a 1-mode Angry Blue™ AAA light should be sufficient. And especially with a twisty, being able to just flick it on once for decent light (quality and quantity) seems to fit the bill.
But then, if you need something brighter, or with more modes, and high-CRI, with sublumen firefly levels to not ruin your night-vision, I’m sure a bevy of 14500 or 18650 lights will be better, especially if you’ll be running the light for more than a few seconds at a time.
I’m hard-pressed to think how, especially considering the limited runtime of AAAs, someone would “need” a do-everything light with a super-high quality beam in an AAA format.
That’s one reason I always sneered at AAA lights, “better’n nothing… barely”, with limited runtime and limited output. From 1lm to 1000lm, great, 7 levels should scratch all those itches. But when output is limited to, say, 100lm? Even low/high might be pushing it.
But now with some nice AAA lights out there, I’m a slow convert. And like the E3A with its pebbled TIR lens smoothing even a typische Cree’s beam into something nice with no rings or fried eggs, and incredible build quality for ~10bux, I’m converted. Even the Wubens and Wowtacs and Glarees and Oilights and Thrunites… they all got their pluses and minuses. But I gotta say, I was blown away by the E3A (and the only Skilhunts I have are a few E3As and a M200).
With the ’351 or ’219 or whatever the new E3A has in it? It’d be to me pretty much the San Graal of AAA lights.
Thank you to everyone for all of your suggestions and advice. My wife is going to get me the C01S. That being said I will probably pick up the high-CRI E3A off Aliexpress in the relatively near future. It was definitely a very tough call between the C01S and the E3A.
I always appreciate how folks at BLF are so helpful. I’ve asked other stuff before as well and every time everyone is cool. Not something you find on most forums. 
congratulations!
Both is Best!
Too bad there isn’t cheap keychain AAA flat tail switch light with TIR lens and 3 modes.
It’s convenient and more comfortable have reversible levels light on switch lights than twisties that can be annoyng rotate head several times.
Sometimes twisties don’t have reliable level change,cause bad contacts or dirt on them.
Although I'm quite pleased with my C01S, I might give the E3A a try, after reading the above posts.
As far as LED brightness is concerned, I'm aware that cool white > neutral white > High CRI.
But how does this translate into lumens? If it's only a matter of 90 lm for the High CRI, vs 100 lm for the NW, it should be barely noticeable, whereas the tint difference will be.
OTOH, is a difference in runtime to be expected, or will the current from the driver be the same whatever the LED type?
example AAA Tool Cool White Low CRI 110 lumens
same light with High CRI, 80 lumens (27% less)
bear in mind that a difference in brightness of 50%, is a small visual difference.
the runtime stays the same
Although slightly off topic since it is more than $10 (twice as much), FYI the most compact AAA flashlight is AFAIK the DQG Tiny AAA.
58mm in length, and slimmer than the above mentioned lights: 12mm to 12.8mm diameter, vs about 14mm. Weighs 13g although it is stainless steel.
First, I always go for the High CRI. The difference in output usually sounds like a lot, but since light perception is not straight line, in real life there is very little difference.
I like both Sofirn C01 lights. The C01S is more useful, at least to me, and if one looks around one can usually be found for under $10. The C01 makes a nice ‘watch where my feet are going/Find the keyhole’ type light. Last I looked Sofirnlight was selling them for $3.99. And it is definitely worth it to pay the extra $3 for better shipping - two weeks to Kansas City, MO.
Hi all,
I've just received my Skilhunt E3A, slate blue, high CRI. 16 days from order to delivery to France.
Very good build quality, very light and compact. With a Lithium primary battery it weighs only exactly 15g. Only 3g more than my lightest flashlight (a DQG Hobi). Probably amongst the best "brightness x runtime / weight" ratio you can get.
But disappointed with the beam shape: the hotspot is not round, and there are many artifacts in the spill, which at close distance looks like gossamer. I will have to add a piece of thin frosted plastic foil to correct this, fortunately the pill and optic seem easy to remove according to the zeroair.org review.
This is strange since the same review says "The emitter is behind a TIR optic, which gives a nice beam profile", and the beam picture in this review doesn't show at all the ugly artefacts I see.
Thanks Lightbringer for advocating this light, I would not have ordered it without your advice. I will order more since they make nice gifts. Too bad the red version is not "Type III anodization".
that may be just your light, mine looks perfectly fine, and hotspot is not round because there is no hotspot, i see no distinct circle, its just a pool of flood
Same here. Nice clean smooth flood, zero artifacts of any kind. Really odd.
Pix? Might be a lemon (TIR lens with a gap or void, etc.). Might be worth it to contact the seller…
I tried to take a few pics, but there is so much brightness difference between hotspot and spill that - contrary to my eyes - the camera cannot show the spill and hence the gossamer artefacts.
The actual result is significantly worse than what the pics show, both in terms of hotspot shape and in terms of spill homogeneity.
Moreover the transition from spot to spill is very sharp, no nice gradual transition like on zeroair pics.
I also notice that when I rotate the flashlight, I can see the gossamer artefacts rotate as well (they don't have rotational symmetry and look more like patches than rings).
I could describe the beam as sort of a big star surrounded by a nebula.
This is clearly visible at short range (30cm = 1' or less), but still visible on a white wall at 1 meter distance.
I removed the pill + optic, and did not see anything wrong. Same issue after reassembly.
Both of my Skilhunt E3A lights (one regular and one high CRI) exhibit the same beam pattern you are describing at close range.
This is probably caused by the pebbled surface of the TIR lens.
upon further inspection, i think y’all are right, it does have a weird spill outline, but to be fair, this is only 1 feet from the ceiling, i never noticed it before cuz i never held it this close to something before, usually its a solid 3 feet at least, and i dont notice this. while knowing this is a bit disturbing, i think ill digress, as long as in practical use it doesnt affect anything.
Agreed, I do not see this as a problem either.
The only issue is that once you notice something, you cannot un-notice it which can be a problem for some things but not this one.
I think I’m late to the party, but Fenix offers the E01 v2 that’s just a tad larger than the Olight/Skilhunt but has three modes. Probably some mediocre cool white emitter too.