You might like the BLF-A6. It has up to 7 evenly-spaced levels and a bike flasher mode. And if you want a wider beam, it’s reasonably simple to add some diffusion material to the lens.
The D4 is a better quality S43 without the USB charging. There are coupon codes out there for the S43 though, and the D4 is always $35.
You’ll never notice a difference between 90% and 100, in real life use it’ll be hard to notice even the 70 to 100% jump. Do you really need those modes?
BLF-A6/Astrolux S41 hands downs with it’s lego capacity. 18350’s, 18650’s, aluminum, stainless steel, single or quad. I see the BLF-A6/Astrolux S41 basic for about $20.00. However your 1st choice the Astrolux S43 is on sale for $27.00 and it’s parts also inter change with the BLF-A6/Astrolux S41.
It’s probably safe to assume the numbers were given in perceptual terms, not absolute power levels.
But the S43 can sustain much higher output than the D4. I think the S43 is a more practical flashlight and it also comes with USB charging. S43 can be had right now for $27, which is a really good price for what you get.
Are you sure about that?
Most of the numbers I’ve seen show the D4 holding about 300 to 600 lm until the battery is empty, depending on the user’s thermal config.
In maukka’s S43 review, he measured 95 to 167 lm on the S43, because it steps down too far and doesn’t come back up:
Maukkas graph is the normal step down.
It can’t go up like Andúril.
You can manually ramp up a bit to get to 300lm.
If an Olight S1 mini can run on 250lm this big copper head should too and a bit more.
But I wounder what a production S43S can do. I read two reviews with over 3000lm at startup.
For such lamps I would be fine with Andúril Muggles Mode tweaked to 400lm 
Don’t forget too the D4 has no RVP as well as no USB port. That’s why I don’t own one of those $35 fireworks…Just when you think you’re too smart to stick a battery in backwards…
A couple of lights not mentioned:
Sofern SP32A
Zanflare F1
Nice one. I will take a deeper look into this.
Also can you be more precise about the diffusion material? Is there any lense that fit good, or some of the white “papers” that are used in LCD displays (i have bunch of them) or something else…
When comparing both, I’m most interested in the beam. Which one is wider. Other than that both are a bit overkill for what I need.
I don’t need that exact modes, the point is that I don’t like the jump from 30% to 100% like Convoy S2+ for example.
30% can be quite dark, while 100% might be to hot for long use so it would be nice if there is something in between.
Those graphs are irrelevant to me.
I wouldn’t use the flash light at its max potential (although it is nice to have). In my use case that would be in range of 300 - 500 lumens 80% of the time, and other 20% I would like to rump up bot no longer than 20 minutes at once.
As I mentioned earlier when compareing D4 and S43 I’m more interested in which one have wider beam, and maybe which one have more efficient leds.
Overall I’m now biased to S43 or BLF A6 but only if I found easy to make mode for wider beam.
Emissar D4 or D4s.
For a compact light that puts out over 4,000 lumens with XP-L HI emitters, it’s a beast.
It gets hot very fast and steps down 1,000 to 3,000 after 40 seconds. Then two more step-downs after. It will maintain 2,000 lumen or 1,000 for a decent amount of time.
It has ramping UI
quality is awesome!
https://intl-outdoor.com/emisar-d4-high-power-led-flashlight-p-921.html
http://www.mtnelectronics.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=855
If it’s in your budget, the Nitecore EDC23 is awesome. Right now it’s $43 with a discount code
The Rofis Mr30 is also a very good choice! It’s $40 with a code. Built in charging and comes with a nice 21700 cell!
If the Convoy S2+ with 60° TIR is bright enough for you, wouldn’t just getting biscotti (free from Simon) solve the modes issue for you? I’ve used biscotti, and it’s got a lot of mode choices.
DC-Fix “sand” or “milky”.
You can get a D4 with a frosted optic, which makes it very floody. If you want the widest beam, that may be the easiest way to get it. It’s like 175 degrees though, so it might be a bit too wide.
For biking, I use a Convoy S2+ triple with a frosted optic, FET+1 driver, and some custom firmware. But I had to build that myself.
BLF A6 with a Samsung 30Q 18650 is hard to beat Classic. Or with a “3500 maH” cell for slightly longer runtime.
It’s been a long time since I open this thread and now I feel I can close it. Before that I want to share my experience.
I bought S43S. Later I ordered S43 non S too. Now I have both, one for me other one for my family.
I have spend about 10 hours mountain biking at night, and many more hours urban cycling. I will point this:
- The bean is very good for MTB. It have bright spot on the center (were you need it, just in front of you) and gradient towards the edges. It can light up the trail very well. The direction you are aimint is very bright (nice indication for where you are going) but the surrounding is just enough bright to see every details like the bushes and hidden rocks behind them. If the beam is wider, I will lose the focus on the center which is not going to be good. If the spot is brighter then it will be too much of a deference. It is just perfect beam.
- The beam is not good for city riding. It is too wide for cycling, I often get blinking from cars in other direction. Since this is an issue I ride it on nearly lowest setting. While it is good to mark the bike in the dark, it is not so good for lightening the road in front in this setting.
- I’ve used them with VAPPOWER 1835 IMR 18350 750 mAh battery it it last about 45min in about middle (medium) brightness.
- I’ve used them with AVATAR (AVATARCONTROLS) ICR 18650 2000 mAh 20A battery and this thing last about 2 hours on medium brightness.
- S43 non S does not overheat in downhill ride even when using it at 100% (not turbo). Average speed is about 30 km/h. The wind provides adequate cooling. But if the speed is becoming slower than it can becomes hot to touch.
- S43 S does stay cooler even on slower rides 15 km/h at 100%.
So I ended up with S43 as daily light for marking my bike (20% brightness) with 18350 batteries. One in the tube and other one in my keychain. S43 S is for MTB rides with 3x 18650 batteries. I ride about two hours downhill, and I set it to 100% brightness, 20% brightness for uphill.
So far I’m satisfied with the purchase.