We have the Utorch UT01 that has great output and a very bearable user interface, and the Manker E03h with great output and bearable user interface. I think those two are the starting point for a BLF AA-light: at least 250 lumen on an Eneloop and a Narsil-type UI.
I have not seen expertise yet on BLF for designing a boost driver with that output, so I’m still of the opinion that Manker should be the partner in this light (=also the maker of the Utorch driver), also because they seem to have a good source for high CRI Nichia leds.
I’d like to see a light made to hold three 1.2v AA cells side-by-side in series — or a single lithium-ion cell.
I have several Frankensteined 3AA lights (made by Lego-ing together parts that happen to thread together from a SK68 and reversed battery tubes from a “3W Police” 2xAA lights.)
It’s handy as a loaner because it’s bulky and hard for people to lose or forget about in their pocket and walk away with.
But clunky.
I definitely would think a 2aa light is more needed. At least that’s my opinion. Think about how many 1aa flashlights there are compared to 2aa. The 2aa flashlight would be great as a possible edc, camping, hunting, hiking and general purpose flashligh. It’ll give us better run times than a single aa light and that’s more important to me than crazy high lumens.
2xAA
High cri or neutral white
Simple UI, no strobe, 3-4 modes
Orange peel reflector
Why not design for both? Default might be a shorty tube for a 1×AA light, but with an extension tube (like the Convoy L2, Solarforce L2M, etc.) to take 2×AA, or an optional “longy” tube for 2×AA instead of an extension.
I don’t feel like Manker has any interest in working with BLF after leaving Banggood the way they did and vowing not to discount their lights at all. I think Sofirn, though not the same quality as Manker, might be good to work with especially considering their prices. They have a very capable AA boost driver in the SP10A which I reviewed, with no visible PWM and decent output on NiMH and 14500 (claimed at 270/500 respectively). They have an updated SP10B (Page Not Found - Aliexpress.com) that might be getting some further UI improvements as well. But with Narsil & assorted temp (3000-5700K 90+ CRI) Nichia LED options, it can be taken to another level altogether…and charging port would be nice also.
If I am not mistaken it was mor then just a led change, the switch was different too, to give a better feel.
So much choice in this segment.
Though I would love to get the Q4 and Q2 rolling at some point, where the driver is big so would allow first playtime with cool BLF firmware, thus a scale down means nice mod path for the many lights that hold a AA sized cell.
But we need to have moved over to a new MCU, these are both smaller and have more pins, which is the challenge, flashing requires a different way to connect and software to be able to flash, hence there is nothing going on for a Q4 or Q2 at the moment, yet I hope TK agrees with me and wants to use the BLF lantern as a platform to get into new MCU realms after that lots of novice lights can come out, we need a first to move onwards.
Besides it would be strange if no cool AA light can be mafenor found with the vast amount available now.
Heck a SK68 with 219B would cost ~$7 in parts, nice tint and a UI that is acceptable for that price IMHO.
Miller, a demand that narrows down the available AA-lights enormously is output of the boost driver. I have complete faith that a great MCU and great user interface can be BLF-generated, it is existing expertise, but boost electronics than can squeeze 300+ lumen out of a single Eneloop (which for me is the number 1 requirement for a BLF-AA light) is yet to be developed and may require a company that knows the trick.
I might add optimize the reflector for 2 LEDs, simple but effective driver… I would still prefer dual voltage setup, run the cells in parallel instead of series…
Rough sketch…
I’m a big fan of this type of light …maybe a selling point would be to add a bolt hole on the bottom and sell it as a possible bike light .
maybe a a nice hardwood … or bamboo?
I think without much trouble, we could give a choice of a reflector or a Carclo. I’ll have to look at the depth of each and see where it ends up. Nice idea!! TL
I think he meant two LEDs and two optics. So you could have both a floody one and a narrow spot and use either one, or both, as needed. I like that idea. Control over the beam compensates a little for the limited power of an AA light.