Another Zanflare from Gearbest (F3).

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AAA Flashlights
1

Poking around on the website as I usually do, I found the listing for the Zanflare F3 . Always interesting to see what they release next; I’ve been fairly impressed by the F1, the F2 was also good but less so IMO.

They currently only have a cold white option, kinda wish they would pop a Nichia in it and make a slightly fancier version of the BLF-348. As is though, not sure how much potential it has. No 10440 support, could white only. At least it doesn’t have the mandatory blinky modes of the F2.

2

1.6cm in diameter…wow nothing to compare to the 348
It’s going to be buky for a single AAA flashlight, the Tool is 1.44cm in diameter

3

Looks good!

I like everything except the tint.

4

If the F1, F2, and S2 are anything to go by, it should be a good light!

5

Eagletac D25A: 87mm length, 17.5mm diameter
Ultrafire A3 : 87mm length, 15.5mm diameter
Zanflare F3 : 90mm length, 16 mm diameter

Ok, I took a very compact AA light for comparison, but the size of the F3 is not good, even the ancient cheap Ultrafire A3 is smaller. And AAA cells have 3! times less capacity as a AA cell.

6

Djozz is right about the light size and AAA battery capacity is crap.

Dont know why manufactures keep producing AAA lights and I think the demand is small.

I have stop buying AAA lights for years now >.<

7

I still find use for small, compact AAA flashlights like Jetbeam JET - u or 348. As eample during summer festivals. What I want in my pocket is small dispensable flashlight which I don’t want to know it’s there or feel it until I need it when I am returning back to my tent or on my way to chemical toilet at 2:00am.
I always have some decent 18650 flashlight in my backpack, but I really don’t want to carry around something like that in my shorts pocket for whole week.
If you use flashlights as a tool, not just as part of your fancy collection or preparation in case of catastrophic event, those small lightweight 100lm flashlights can be damn effective. One just need to know his real needs.

8

I stocked up on those Glaree AAA lights that were at Amazon for cheap. I’m not a fan of AAAs, but for sub-hour runtime in case of an emergency (like you say, heading to the can at night), sure, a dedicated real flashlight is better than using your phone as a “flashlight”.

That F3 looks like a nice light, and if the build quality is as good for that as it is for the F1, well, I’d consider it. Not for 20bux, but for a GB flash-sale or something, yeah. Considering that A01s and Boneys and the like (with Nichias!) were about half that…

While I love the Nichia, the BLF-348 had (to me, ymmv) a crappy build quality. Press-fit switch, hairlike threads that strip when you look at ’em wrong, I wasn’t thrilled at all. If the F3 is sturdier, and with the larger diameter it certainly looks so (and I love that styling!), it’d definitely be worth a higher price than the ’348.

But, alas, not really to me, because like I said, I’m not a fan of AAA lights to begin with, and the Glaree was at about the highest price-point I’d tolerate for a non-Nichia AAA light… at that sale-price, not at its sticker-price.

Now… if Zanflare would make that critter an AA/14500 light, in the same style that the F3 looks like, I think they’d have a winner!

But please, for the love of B’harni (pbuh!), NO AR-coated glass to greenify the beam! :slight_smile:

9

aaa is best for keychain, idk why there is hate toward it
only AAA light can i truly always carry with, i often left 14500/18650 in my backpack

10

Not hate, just acknowledging its lack of capacity.

It’s like having a nice car, only with a 1gal fuel-tank, vs 20gal. You’d need to carry lots of gas-cans in your trunk if you wanted to go any appreciable distance.

11

Thicker than tool but this means bigger reflector. It got 40 lumens more. So I think I will try it to compare with tool AAA.

12

I think the AAA light/car metaphor is incorrectly applied.

The AAA light is a keyring light, it is ALWAYS with you, both for convenience and backup.

Instead of a car with a small tank, the AAA light is like a medic-alert bracelet. It isn’t supposed to have your whole medical history for reference, it is there so the most important basics are always available when there is a need, but in addition it provides convenient everyday functionality. It literally cannot be replaced by anything with a larger capacity.

My AAA light is my most important and most used light. 90% of the time it is the only light I have on my person other than my phone light.

13

Well said. I have exactly the same feeling and experience regarding flashlights. Among all of my fancy 18650/26650/etc flashlights, small lightweight AAA lights are my most used lights. Because that’s the thing I have always with myself almost without knowing it until I need it.
Beside that who needs full 2 hours 1000lm runtime of a flashlight unexpectedly on a daily basis? (professional usage excluded).
Wherever I expect that I will need some more serious light I take it. I also have one in my car, one in backpack, etc… However small AAA (or lately even smaller Nitecore tube) keychain light is thing which is always with me. And this make it my most useful light.

14

My experience exactly, my Olight i3E is always with me, battered and bruised though it is it still works perfectly.

I have recently ordered several candidates for replacement, including a S/S Tip, which may be too big, so far the only one to arrive is the S/S Convoy Tiny. Nice output and very solid, twisty switch that can’t come undone, but the threads are VERY rough and cannot be accessed.

15

I like AAA lights, like the olight i3s and i3e, but since I bought some nitecore tubes, this has been my real EDC light. It is so lightweight and convenient. It is not as powerful as the olights, though, but they have been used a lot.

16

I thought the tube would replace my ‘bulky’ AAA lights on keychains but I feel it’s only good for urban life. Lots of times, walking through a dark unlit area, it’s practically useless with the unreflectored beam spread.

17

I notice that the detailed spec mentions 4500-5000K. Assuming that’s not a cut & paste error from another product, there might be a neutral white version coming through at some point.