Ahh, email notifications- the lazy (or is that smart) persons refresh 
The heat stays in the head because the host is made of steel. Steel doesnāt spread heat well. Copper, however, spreads heat pretty quickly.
A forward clicky can be pretty nice on single-mode lights, or some multi-mode ones with the ability to lock into a single level for momentary use. Anything else though, and a reverse clicky tends to be a little nicer. An e-switch can generally accommodate both, but itās more complicated and has parasitic standby current instead of turning completely off.
Andā¦We have a winner!
PM me with your street address. Thanks for playing!
Yeah, the first group buy had ācoolā which was roughly neutral, and āneutralā which was coffee-with-cream
Pity they donāt offer that warm anymore. Itās tough to find a AA/AAA off-the-shelf light with a really warm tint.
I know these arenāt waterproof, but one of mine did manage to survive a wash and dry cycle and in a front load HE washer no less, so there was no āsafe spaceā where it could rest on the bottom of the drum, it got tossed around pretty good!
Iām not claiming they all will, Iām just pleasantly surprised it survived.
-Michael
How many of the Singfire 348 group buys were there? Someone mentioned the first group buy in 2014 using an XP-G emitter, I bought my first BLF 348 (plain) in mid 2015 without being part of a group buy, but I assume since it had a Nichia 219B emitter there was a group buy involved. I then got some more from the group buy that started this thread. I realize that there were three phases to this group buy as well. (Really popular light and price point)
I posted the pic of the different tints, so let me chime in a little.
As you can tell from my BLF join date, I wasnāt even on BLF when the first GBGB happened. Around April/May of this year, I placed two separate orders for SingFire(not BLF) 348s from GearBest. Both times, I was expecting the cool white Cree emitters, but one of the orders, much to my surprise, came with the warm white emitters you saw in the picture. Itās about the same color temp as incandescent light bulbs, so about 2700K.
Itās hard to know if GearBest still has any of these warm white versions available today. I guess itās luck of the draw if you want to give it a shot by ordering some. But definitely pick the one that says āSingFireā. Good luck!
Any plans for another GB on this one?
Why? You can still buy them, and the promo code still works (I just tried it).
Unless you mean the old Singfire with the warm tint. If so, yeah, that would be interesting.
OKay, sounds good. Thanks!
Letās see, what else can I do with the 348?ā¦
damnā¦ how do I get Google images linked?
What is the average tint color? 4000-5000?
Also can someone recommend a good 10440?
Itās around 5000K - 5300K, and varies between units.
I am celebrating the BLF-348, however, I honestly do not see any considerable advantage to a reverse clicky single-mode light, other than the concern for pocket misfires. Weighing pocket misfire against a momentary on functionality, I believe the better choice is a momentary switch. Reverse clicky solves a problem (for many) with multi-mode lights, giving the ability to advance the mode without clicking the light off and on, or having to remember to select the mode before a full click. I assume this is what you mean by āanything else,ā as I can not think of anything else other than these two situations that gives a reverse clicky a purpose to exist.
Soā¦ any chance if there is to be a 4th batchā¦ that it is spec-ed insted with a forward clicky switch?
ā¦ and add at least ONE second mode (10% ) besides 100% :laughing:
I prefer reverse-clickies, because they tend to have recessed switches that allows for easy tail-standing. Forward clickies usually do not tail-stand.
That doesnāt apply to the BLF-348, because it has an extended switch anyway. But, it can still tail-stand, though itās easy to tip over.
Iād rather it keep the reverse-clicky, but recess it to allow easier tail-standing. And, add a low mode of 5-10 lumens. And, make it use a AA battery.
Iād actually use the BLF-348 if it had a low mode, but instead it just looks pretty on a shelf. Canāt please everyone though; some complain itās too dim, others complain itās too bright. I suppose I should just mod mine to reduce the output.
As a 1-mode light itād probably be better with a forward clicky, but if it gets updated Iād much rather have 2 modes and a recessed reverse clicky.
Forward clickies work well for single-mode lights, or for multiple-input lights where an aux input changes mode (with instant memory) and the forward clicky controls power. Like, the Nitecore SRT7 for example. Turn the ring to select a mode, tap or click the button to light it up.
With only one button, my preference is a recessed reverse clicky or e-switch, both with multiple modes. Or sometimes a twisty. I almost never want momentary use anyway (for Morse code and such).
Iām rambling, but I think the point is that the BLF-348 is pretty good for what it is, and people are likely to have different ideas about what would make it better.
Just ordered two more from GearBest. All they have left is the engraved version, with or without gift box. Just the light is $7.13, and with gift box it is $7.99. This price is a flash sale that is only good for another 12 hours.
The non-engraved version is showing as Out Of Stock.
I ordered this a couple of days ago:
http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_332443.html
It says itās the non-engraved version, with gift box. All for $6.99. The price says good for another 9 days, and they claim to have 47 left in stock. Butā¦ then they also say āout of stockā. Iām not sure whatās going on. Same weirdness for the version without a gift box, but for $7.99. Iām not sure why they priced the gift box version less.
Well, thatās what I hope I get mailed to me. If I donāt get the gift box, thatās okay, but I do want a Nichia version. Iām building up a collection of these. :laughing: