Well said! 
Received mine (#53) and it’s the first lantern I have ever seen with a natural and pleasant light. Not the terrible blueish low CRI light that they normally emit.
Job well done team and THANKS!
What is a minor tweak for a modder, may not be so minor for a BLF team to get done by a chinese manufactorer.
I found in the process of making the Q8 that very simple alterations that were very obvious improvements of the design never made it in the end product even though requests for them were done multiple times. Up to this day I do not know what the reasons were for Thorfire to ignore requests while other alterations that we never asked for were happening all the time (some good ideas, some that had to be reversed). We are not the manufacturer and probably also we are not chinese.
But maybe, a few cooperations with Sofirn later, this process has become easier.
This incompatible USB C to USB C charging doesn’t concern me one bit. It’s so easy to work around and those that will make a fuss are probably a small percentage. This lantern is one of a kind and is so useful for power outages, camping etc those that are really going to make use of it aren’t going to be bothered
Just like djozz has said, BLF can make suggestions but the manufacturer still make the final call. If it’s so important then there’s other not so amazing lanterns to pick from.
The Sofirn SP70 was meant to be a thrower and much more powerful but Sofirn made changes at the end that turned it into a under powered mid range light.
etc etc.
While I am the one who pointed it out, it hasn’t changed my take on the product… But you could also say the same of other features… If the code for the battery check was off, eh big deal…
The light is still great… If the step modes weren’t included, eh big deal… It still ramps…
The overall concept remains the same… Constant improvement and value-adding features will make a great light even better….
C-C and powerbanking, might only be a thing for ‘a small percentage’, but if they could be implemented without too great an impact to the price = Bigger Win and a superior light….
I am sure Sofirn wants to make this light as good as possible, so any incremental improvement will help.
I removed the tabs from my LT1 diffuser and aligned the bail and the switch. There are a few posts describing this in another thread, this is the best.
So I got to thinking and decided that adding a foil cone inside the diffuser would definitely increase the light output. So I made one with a 2” base, 0.8” top dia, and 1.25” height. I took pictures on the lowest stepped mode before and after adding the cone, and I can’t really see a difference. 
If anything, there may be more irregularities in the beam pattern, but its subtle at best.
Oh well, it was an interesting experiment, and now I can save others the trouble trying it.
I’m glad I sat back a minute and re-read what you said. The tone of my reply is much different after reading and understanding all your words. :student:
I just checked the original post in this thread. DBSAR does a pretty good job covering the topic of USB-C in the 10/28 update. In an effort to help people connect Tab-A with Slot U14 in relation to the LT1 and USB-C, here are some of the intertwined moving parts that came together to result in the current situation.
- Fast charging was never a design goal and actually runs counter to some other goals. I’m not sure how the two topics got mixed, except for people playing loosely with word meanings. (see next point)
- The term “USB Charger” is often misused to refer to any part or combination of parts that ends in a USB plug, not just the actual device that provides the charging power. Most commonly, people mistakenly call the connecting cable a “charger” despite it only being a connector, not a power source.
- The USB-C spec is quite complex.
- The USB-C protocol and the USB-C connector standard are not one and the same thing. They can be mixed and matched with other standards/protocols as desired resulting in much confusion.
- The part swap between a MicroUSB port (as originally designed) and USB-C port looks like a straight up 1:1 replacement, and works like a direct replacement with standard USB-A to USB-C cables.
- The “USB-C Chargers” or charging cables that ship with almost every mid to low end consumer device with a USB-C port are actually USB-A to USB-C.
- USB-A to USB-C cables work exactly as expected with just about every USB-A power source available.
- You never see “Native USB-C” as a marketing term, so the idea a product might not be Native USB-C compliant is a foreign concept to most everyone. (see USB-C port and USB-C Protocol are not inherently related)
- A quick and dirty survey reveals that most “USB-C” lights ship with and only work with USB-A to USB-C cables.
- Spec compliant USB-C chargers, compared to USB-A chargers, are few, far between, more expensive, and generally not needed by those without a rather new laptop.
It’s a perfect storm of confused terminology and lack of “common knowledge” about how fractured the meaning of “USB-C” is. Heck - it wasn’t until just recently that I knew a “USB-C to USB-C” cable could come in different flavors, including, as mind boggling as it is, USB 2.0.
The USB-C spec is horrible. The main document is 373 pages long and pulls in several other documents by reference, which then pull in still more documents.
The USB document library contains well over 150 documents, going right back to USB 1.0.
Understanding USB and interpreting it for other people would practically be a career in itself.
Mine was in the mailbox when I got home today! USPS had played football with it but thanks to foam rubber and sufficient space inside the carton the light was intact and undamaged. I popped in my 4 new Samsung 35E button tops and pressed the button. Voila! It works. Mine was set to stepped ramping but responded to the 3 C while “on” and now ramps smoothly, the way I prefer. Very happy!!
LT1 joins my home made and self modded camping and/or emergency light collection. Left to right: Mug-O-Light, C-light, CandLight, DBSAR inspired SRK Mod, and the LT1. C-light and the SRK mod have USB chargers built in.
Now I need to wait to see how and when my next two “asked for” get ordered.
You are hereby nominated for the Most Accurate Understatement of the Year award.
I would expect a little complexity as the spec matures, but when you go from a bit of data, add a bit of power, then add some more data, then change there physical format, then add some more power, then more data, then a video format or two, then more power, then more data, then some more video formats, then more power, then …well, yeah…. after extensions to variations on alternate versions it just gets…. complex.
A quick question, what is the recommended battery model for the LT1 with the max capacity?
Thanks!
OK, MtnDon, centerstage, that CandLight, any blinkies, buzzies, twirlies ?
Xmas coming up, ya know. 
Samsung 35E button tops are what I used, 3500 mAh
The Samsung 35E 3500mAh ones would work well with it.
I think the Sanyo ncr18650ga works well for it… handles the amps I believe, and has 3500 mah of capacity…
No tricks at all. That would be a prime candidate for some blinkies though, wouldn’t it?
I have to add that to the list of neat things to do.
Most batteries (xxxFires excluded) will provide enough amps for the lantern. I ran some old worn out laptop pulls yesterday for several hours without any issues.
2nd the laptop pulls. For some reason I collected about 50 that were worth keeping, my LT1 has been running every night for hours at nominal levels (not on high too often) and the first set of batteries is still at 3.9V. I could go months without recharging any of these batteries.
:+1: Yep, pretty much any ol’ 18650 batteries will run the LT1 just fine.
This photo bring me a lot of smiles! :+1: 