2019: what a great year for flashlights - Andúril, CRI, USB, aux leds, 21700...

patmurris · 2019-11-17T13:26:15.000Z

2019 is almost over and i can’t help but think about the great lights we had this year.

I’ve been in the hobby for 5/6 years now and although i did not touch the expensive brands, i’m quite impressed with the (budget) lights available now. Such lights as SK68, SRK or S2 seem so old-school today. A lot of this year’s lights would have been unthinkable just two years ago.

Here are the ongoing trends i can spot in today’s lights - in no particular order:

1. Andúril. Thank you Toykeeper!

2. More high CRI options

3. USB charging

4. 21700 support

5. Aux leds

Some of my favorite lights this year: FW3A, FT03, MF01 Mini, EC01, D4V2, D18… I haven’t seen the LT1 yet but it certainly is a remarkable lantern with the added bonus of tint ramping.

How was 2019 for you?

raccoon · 2019-11-17T13:43:07.000Z

I upgraded my EDC bigly, to the FW3A, and that's what matters most to me.

(I use my EDC almost all the time when I need a flashlight, and I rarely have to use a thrower.)

There is very little light at night between the main house and my room, and I take that small trek many times a night.

Plus I'm frequently awake at strange hours, so I really rely on my EDC.

EDIT:

Speaking of throwers, I got a BLF-D80V2 this year.

I don't use it much, but I really like it.

Yokiamy · 2019-11-17T22:44:19.000Z

And what to think of the Osram KW CSLNM1.TG (1mm2)

I have it in a L21A with 14x7135 and it does over 550 kCd !

Pure fun

Kindle · 2019-11-17T14:19:38.000Z

raccoon city:

I upgraded my EDC bigly, to the FW3A, and that’s what matters most to me.

(I use my EDC almost all the time when I need a flashlight, and I rarely have to use a thrower.)

What was your previous EDC?

raccoon · 2019-11-17T14:51:33.000Z

Kindle:

What was your previous EDC?

It was a Convoy S2+ triple.

The FW3A doesn't get nearly as hot, has a much better runtime, and of course, has a much better UI.

The first two problems were, of course, solved by better emitters.

atobe · 2019-11-17T19:56:20.000Z

2019 was the year of flashlights for me. I only had cheapo AA flash lights before, but now I have FW3A,FW1A (still in the mail), EDC18, 2 s2+, 2 rofis R2, D4v2, LT1, SP32aV2, SC31B. It’s been interesting 3 months, who knows what I’ll get in 2020.

nuemtol · 2019-11-17T22:30:23.000Z

Good observations. I think USB C charging will draw in a lot of newbies who do not want to spend $20-100 on a charger & the mental hurdle of charging Li ion. It also makes it very easy to give flashlights as gifts (especially to family + older people). 21700 is very nice. And there are more and more options of nice tint… maybe as more people start seeing non-green/non-blue beams the popular opinion will shift to not accepting tinted emitters and the development will go even further with nicer tints(:

djozz · 2019-11-17T22:50:10.000Z

I was thinking of starting a thread called “we got it all”, about all the recent achievements of BLF, this is similar .

Almost every wish that started here on BLF has come true in new flashlights, some by direct involvement of BLF members, some by manufacturers who watched closely what is going on on BLF. Over the last 4 years manufacturers listened more and more to BLF and indeed especially this year brought many new developments and flashlights the way we wanted.

One wish that did not come true is free availability of wavien collars, apart from a small group buy by enderman that is long gone they can not be had.

Another wish that at least I have is the laserlight smd component by SLDlaser to become for sale at a reasonable price. Can’t wait to start modding with it.

Flying_Luminosity · 2019-11-17T22:56:24.000Z

For me. it is a year that has helped me cut down on my flashlight purchases. High-CRI and WW LEDs made me realise what I like in a flashlight, so I can save myself a lot of money that I used to spend on any light that looked interesting to me, but which only came with unsatisfying emitters.

Of course, the situation might change if I start getting involved in the modding game … that would open another Pandora’s Box (and probably empty my wallet pretty quickly)!

Bearbreeder · 2019-11-17T23:00:23.000Z

Sofirn sc31b

Under 20 USD with bat, simple ui, close to 1000 lumens, usb charging light of fairly decent quality, has better CS and warranty than “ill send u a new driver”

It aint flashy, you arent going to mod it too much, and it aint for flashholics

But for a consumer light its literally a game changer at that price

Cereal_killer · 2019-11-18T01:15:13.000Z

Dog farts (5000k HCRI LH351d)

47¢ emitters with free shipping from Arrow (I got 30 Luxeon V2’s, have 2 left now).

FREE SHIPPING FROM ARROW! over now:(

XHP50.2 3V

KW CSLNM1.TG

21700 (both batteries themselves as well as lights built in that batt format)

Clear ano & mfg’s willing to sell unanodized lights to us in small batches

Geronimo · 2019-11-18T01:40:56.000Z

My side went from junk to an olight AAA that isn’t bad, to a zl sc64w hi, to an emisar d1s, astrolux mf01s, then another zl this time the sc700d.plus a BLFLt1 Really don’t need the mf01s or emisar(close to useful). Fun though. Added a klarus single cell charger and bought and had replaced already a Miboxer c4-12 upgraded.

RollerBoySE · 2019-11-18T04:05:43.000Z

Agree, 2019 has been a great year.
What’s left now is active cooling, so we can get some serious runtimes with high lumens.
A bit more throw in multi-emitter TIR optics would be nice too.

Agro · 2019-11-18T06:27:14.000Z

djozz:

One wish that did not come true is free availability of wavien collars, apart from a small group buy by enderman that is long gone they can not be had.

At least now there’s a second company offering lights with collar.

djozz:

Another wish that at least I have is the laserlight smd component by SLDlaser to become for sale at a reasonable price. Can’t wait to start modding with it.

Yeah…

Myself I’m quite disappointed with this year.
I bought only some cheap lights that were meant to teach me something new rather than work well and 2 mid-budget lights (D4Sv2 and LT1). The cheap lights served their purpose, the more expensive - I don’t fully know yet.

So…in my eyes the good things that happened this year are:

USB rechargable 10440 cell from Folomov
ATTiny1634 support
Andruil is much more mature and widespread
The second manufacturer of collared light appeared
Finally a good lantern hit the market

Good things that I keep waiting for:

A LEP light that’s convicingly safe
A high quality and compact zoomie
FET-based linear driver with good UI
2A+ boost driver with good UI
ATTiny1616 support in BLF firmwares
A good 21700 flashlight-powerbank

Mixed blessing:

Lights with bundled programming setup appeared…but there are several competing connectors in use

Di_Joker · 2019-11-18T06:26:13.000Z

For me, in 2019, Mezzol X8R-L XHP70 (NW) was a great acquisition. It has become an ideal EDC for me and I think it will be a long time.

Sillen · 2019-11-18T06:43:21.000Z

How was 2019 for you?

My peak torch was 2018 - 40 odd new torches. I only found the light in July last year.

2019:
Sofirn BLF LT1 (3rd Place?) On Order
TLF/BLF FW3A June
Lumintop GT Micro (2nd Place) May
Lumitop Pico May
Sofirn SP70 (Best Buy) April
Convoy S2 UV 365nm Feb
Astrolux FT03 Feb

Edit, reorder list