⚡ [FEEDBACK] | Building Our First Flashlight – Dual-Anodized SFT-90X – Help Us Get It Right! SABERTOOTH ST-DT1 Ultra

Hello BLF friends :wave:

We’re a small team of engineers and flashlight lovers from Shenzhen, After years working on structural design and surface finishing for other brands, we finally decided to create our own light — something that blends performance, personality, and precision.

Introducing:

** SABERTOOTH ST-DT1 Ultra – Dual Anodized Tactical Flashlight**

:hammer_and_wrench: Built around SFT-90X LED, CNC-machined, dual-color anodized, and 100% field-tested.

:fire: Why it’s different?

:red_circle: Dual-Anodized Finish – Not painted. Not printed. Real dual-zone anodization (Black + Red / Black + Gold). CNC first, then separated anodizing process. Took us 50+ failed prototypes to get it right.

:triangular_ruler: Quick Specs:

Spec Value
LED Luminus SFT-90X
Max Brightness 4000lm
Max Throw 980m
Battery USB-C 21700 21750, 5000mAh
Modes Turbo → Low (cycle) + Strobe
Length 165mm
Weight 162g (w/o battery)
Colors black
Waterproof IP68
Switch Tail switch (Tactical + Memory + Double-click strobe)

:gear: UI Operation:

Single Click: ON/OFF (with memory, 3s delay)

Tap When ON: Cycle Turbo → Low

Double Click: Strobe (anytime)

Press & Hold (OFF): Momentary ON

:speech_balloon: Why we’re here?

We’re preparing to launch on Kickstarter soon, but before that, we want to hear from the people who really know flashlights: You guys.

We’d love your feedback on:

  • Design details (structure / UI)
  • Colors you like
  • What you’d expect in this price/performance range?

Looking forward to your feedback and questions.
We’re here, we’re building this with you.

Cheers,

SABERTOOTH

10 Thanks

Thanks for joining the gang, SABERTOOTH!
I have some questions…
Does the flashlight accept a regular 21700 cell?
If a single click turns the light off, what the heck is “tap” to cycle the modes?
What is the diameter of the head?
Also, I’m more interested in blue or green flashlights.
(I’m not a big fan of red or gold flashlights.)

2 Thanks

Hi raccoon

It accepts 21700 batteries perfectly;
Click (re-press) off and switch modes by flick switch .

Cheers

3 Thanks

That doesn’t answer my question unless you’re saying that there is more than one switch.
If there is only one switch, how do you differentiate between turning the light off and cycling modes?

2 Thanks

Can you have someone else at your company try to answer my question?
Unfortunately, you don’t seem to know what you’re talking about. :man_facepalming:

3 Thanks

Thank you for your great questions! Here is a quick answer to each question:

:one: Battery Compatibility The flashlight supports standard flat 21700 batteries. The included USB-C 21750 battery is optional, but you can also use regular 21700 batteries.

:two: Mode Switching - “Click” vs. “Single Click ”
Good catch! Our tail switch supports tactical half-press toggle mode.

  • Single full press** = on/off
  • Tap (half-press while on)** = Mode Cycle (Turbo → Low → Turbo …)
  • 2 taps** to turn on blink mode

We’ll explain this better in the UI graphic, thanks for pointing it out!

:three: Head diameter is 37mm - should fit in a standard holster or tactical bag.

:four: We completely understand! The blue and green anodized finishes are in our planning process - we’ll be looking at limited editions or stretch goals for future releases.

We’d love to know which color you prefer - matte navy, forest green, or something else?

Thank you for your honest feedback!

3 Thanks

Thank you! (And I apologize for getting frustrated.)
I like navy blue and forest green, but there are other shades of blue and green that I also like. :+1:

2 Thanks

It’s a very interesting flashlight… !

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sabertooth/beast-duo-tactical-flashlight-with-dual-tone-elegance?ref=discovery&total_hits=140&category_id=28

1 Thank

No worries at all — we really appreciate your honesty and input!

Navy blue and forest green are now officially on our shortlist :fire:
We’ll likely run a color preference poll soon — and if we reach enough interest or stretch goals, we’ll definitely consider launching a limited edition in those shades.

Thanks again for engaging with us :raised_hands:

3 Thanks

Oh, your company is in Rancho Cucamonga, CA?
I live in Palm Desert, CA, which is not that far away. :slightly_smiling_face:

2 Thanks

Great to hear you’re nearby — Palm Desert is definitely not far from Rancho Cucamonga! :smile:

Yes, our company is officially registered in California for logistics and compliance purposes, but most of our R&D, prototyping, and production is based in Shenzhen, China — where our engineering team is located.

This setup allows us to combine U.S.-based service and communication with the speed and depth of hands-on development in China. We’re trying to keep the best of both worlds!

Appreciate your interest — maybe we’ll get a local flashlight meetup going one day :flashlight::raised_hands:

3 Thanks

Keep the red and yellow too, as they are in the photo, they look very nice and unique… ! And make the other colors similar type like them !

2 Thanks

Thanks so much — really glad to hear you find it interesting! :raised_hands:

And wow — thanks for spotting our Kickstarter page! :blush:
We just launched the preheat campaign and are so excited to bring this project to life with support from enthusiasts like you.

If you’d like to get notified when we go live, feel free to click “Notify me on launch” on the KS page — and any feedback, questions, or wishlist features are always welcome!

Appreciate you being part of the early discovery :sparkles:

1 Thank

Thanks so much - it means a lot! :pray:.

We definitely kept the red and gold (scarlet fangs and black and gold armor) - we agree that the anodizing turned out better than we expected. Glad to hear the photos reflect that uniqueness.

If we release new colors like Navy Blue or Forest Green, we’ll make sure to keep the same double anodized finish - not just a color change, but full metallic texture and contrast, just like the originals.

Thanks for your input - you’re helping us build the final product! :wrench::flashlight:

2 Thanks

I really like the flashlight as it looks, but for the time being i only have two flashlights and im not in the process to buy another one, but this one should be im my list… !

*in my list… !

1 Thank

Totally understand — and thank you so much for the kind words! :raised_hands:
We’re honored to even make it onto your list — that truly means a lot.

We’ll keep pushing to make this flashlight something worth waiting for — and maybe when the time is right, we’ll have a version in your favorite color ready :wink:

Appreciate you being part of the early journey! :flashlight:

2 Thanks

Hello @SABERTOOTH

I really like the general design and the unique colors of your first model. The dual anodization process sounds promising!

For your first model, it seems you did your due dilligence in terms of building a solid flashlight that could be “accepted” by enthusiasts and experts.

I find it especially promising, that 4000 lumens of light and 980 meters of throw should be a very impressive performance.

And performance brings me to one burning question: what kind of driver will your flashlight use? More often than not, the drivers used for tactical flashlights could be better, especially in terms of efficiency.

What kind of driver will you use for your very first flashlight? Hopefully a good one…

Finally, there is one point that i think would be very beneficial for your flashlight: let it have three different brightness levels!

Others might disagree, but i think this light could use a low med/high and turbo level. Between your highest and lowest level there should be one level that the flashlight can sustain without stepping down. I think depending on the driver used and the thermal attributes of your flashlight around 1000 lumens would be a good level to aim for.

For example, if you dont want a very low level, the levels could be 250, 1000, 4000 or something like that. And of course you will always please some people when your flashlight has a lowest mode of 10 or less lumens.

Bonus: While different color temperatures might not have the highest priority for you, some neutral white light color option (5000K instead of 6500K) might attract more potential interest. But be aware that the light should not be greenish, a green tint is a no go for many enthusiasts.

With all that being said, where can i sign up for the early run here? Otherwise i might simply stick with your Kickstarter campaign…

2 Thanks

There is one thing that stands out to me, which for me personally, makes this an unattracktive flashlight; starting on Turbo. This might be because it’s a tactical flashlight, but for my regular use I wouldn’t want that.

As @Kabukimann above already stated: at least go for 3 different modes/levels. I don’t know yet how much lumens the ‘Low’ level will be, so difficult to say how practical/useful that is, but only 2 levels, with one of them being 4000lm, seems like there are going to be situations when you might need/want a 3rd level.
4000lm is a lot and (besides that it’s not sustainable over a longer period) might be (way) too much sometimes. Let’s say that ‘Low’ is 1000lm, that would be a good level for the times that you don’t need turbo, but it will also mean that there might possibly be situations that you want even less output, but can’t get lower. Making the ‘Low’ level lower might result in the opposite issue: Low is low enough, but turbo is too high, but there is a middle option missing!

So, starting on Turbo might not be my personal preference, but I think (at least) a 3rd level would be something that almost any user might appreciate and make the flashlight a bit more versatile.

3 Thanks

I love the Red and Gold colors and dual anodizing!

This UI would keep me from buying/recommending this light.
Click On/Click Off is much more natural.
Starting on Turbo alone would prevent me from buying this light.

I’d much prefer:

On:
Click Off
Press and hold to cycle modes from Low to High
Double Tap Turbo
Triple Tap Strobe

Off:
Click On
Press and hold moonlight
Double Tap Turbo
Triple Tap Strobe

2 Thanks

If you intend to ship overseas, I’m in!

1 Thank