Well, case in point: I just tested a Thrunite TC15 V3 and it was faulty out of the box. I generally have fantastic luck with Thrunite. The main this is how the company handles the issue. It’s worth it if you get good service.
Related- I need a serviceable head torch pretty fast. I’ve managed to press the bezel back in, fully flush, with a big old ratcheting clamp with some soft jaws but I can’t get myself to trust that light anymore. I need high CRI, SST20 4000K preferred, Andúril(2) a must, USB type-C charging ideally, switch mode driver a big plus. I see all that save for the switch mode driver in the Astrolux HL01. Would that be on par with the Fireflies, worse or better, quality and durability-wise?
Should I just go ahead and order one?
ETA: the 21700 of the Fireflies was a big plus, I don’t mind the added bulk, extra battery life is more useful. Too bad the Astrolux is 18650. Also the Fireflies has stellar moonlight performance, absolutely impeccable. Does the Astrolux have good moonlight?
You have to give up Anduril or in body charging. FF and the Astrolux are the only one with both if I’m not mistaken. Lumintop HL3A has most of what you want but no charging and a less efficient driver than the FF. If you don’t include Anduril, there are many options.
I’m very big on free software/ GNU philosophy and I’ve set a rule for myself that I don’t use proprietary software on anything, even as minute as a torch, if there is a viable free alternative available. It’s a whole big thing of mine and makes libre firmware a hard requirement, and Andúril in particular preferred due to lightning storm mode. I love the lightning storm mode. 
I don’t disagree with you at all, but currently there are 3 options for this configuration. Everybody seemingly wants an Emisar right angle, or Sofirn/Wurkkos to do a right angle light with Anduril. FF sells lights regardless of their reputation (justified or not) because on paper they have amazing lights with great designs, good drivers, and good LED choices.
The pl47 is hard to beat for a headlamp. I use mine a ton and if one failed I would probably buy another. I use mine all winter to bring in firewood before the kids get out of bed. In the cold weather you can run it really bright continuously, I can drain a 5000 mah battery in an hour.
I was sincerely hoping that a PL47g3 would come out, with Lume1 and USB charging. A right angle peer to the NOV-MU, E07x and the E12R, believing the quality was good, given my short but overwhelmingly good experience with the PL47g2.
Gman thank you. At this point I’ve mostly familiarised myself with Andúril-based commercial offerings, too bad the head torch niche seems a bit underwhelmingly catered for even though there are some huge advantages to 90° lights.
I’ll probably be ordering the HL01, it looks good enough and the other Mateminco/ Astrolux lights I have (couple of A01 and a modded MF01) look to be of decent quality.
I’m pretty sure that was the plan all along, until the shortage got out of control. Thats why we also still haven’t seen the T1R thrower from FF yet either. Thats a shame too because from what I can see, I would have been the best min-thrower around then…and it would still be that right now. I don’t even know what you could say that light would be missing. Size is great, looks, optic, AUX, 21700 or 22430, UI, Driver, I seriously can’t wait for this shortage nonsense to end. I am now lamenting what other Fireflies lights we’d have right now that we don’t know about if this chip shortage wasn’t messing things up. Jack started droppin some HEAT, it’s too bad this all slowed his momentum.
To OP’s point tho, this is the second FF PL472021 that I’ve heard do this. Clearly there is some oddity that has the potential to cause this. I never heard about this in the pl47g2 (which I have & love too) so I wonder what exactly about this new edition could possibly be causing this. Bad glue? Does the gasket expand too much? Seems like a very interesting problem to get to the bottom of.
I don’t think there’s any glue, nor do I think it should be. The construction seems to be intended to function on friction/ interference fit and uneven thermal expansion (body heats up, stainless bezel fails to keep up and expand sufficiently) caused it to separate. The crushed flexible O-ring, possibly aided by some residual stress in the mezel material, provided the force for the assembly to ping apart.
Wurkkos HD20 has 21700 battery, USB-C charging, simple UI with ramping and moonlight. No Anduril. I don’t have one but it looks pretty nice. It is single emitter light not like Fireflies so not as bright. But you can probably get it fairly quickly through Amazon if they have it in your country.
What O-rings does the PL47 take, where can i get some spares.
The HD20/HD15 do not have ramping. They switch between the two emitters or have both on. The HD20 lockout is broken but works fine with a 1/4 turn lockout. The HD15 unfortunately has really weird thermal controls.
+1 for both mule and regular 219b, OP Honestly stated his hit the floor a bit. This might have affected it, hard to tell. While their design and components are generally high-quality; there have been noted examples slip by quality control. While my 13 examples have been exemplary it doesn’t make up for your experience. As to your expectations, you should probably give them another try. Although I share your disappointment with your experience. Keep us posted.
The PL47g2 has much much higher popularity than HL3A in Chinese flashlight communities. Which I’ve no idea WHY??? IMO HL3A is a much, much better option than PL47G2.
I’ve owned both. I’ve owned two PL47g2s and still own an HL3A. All in SST20 4000k.
The first problem, which is a huge one, of PL47g2, is no matter how I tweaked the thermals or swapped cells, it’s only brighter than HL3A for the first 5 - 10 seconds. It steps down much faster and more aggressively.
Why should anyone use a much larger and heavier light w/ 4 emitters and 21700, only to have lower sustained brightness than a 3 emitter 18650?
The second problem with PL47 is its size and weight. IMO a headlamp should be compact and lightweight to comfortably wear on my head. HL3A excels in this regard by far.
The third problem with PL47 is fit and finish. It’s arguably among the worst in my collection of lights. So much that I would not trust its IP rating at all. The O-rings literally came in mis-aligned.
If you like PL47 kind of thing, you should definitely try out HL3A. Mine has taken some beats yet still works no problem at all.
Two things to note:
1, HL3A is very prone to fall to the ground if you carry it head up on your belt with its stock clip.
2, I got my HL3A when it first launched. It came with 6 x 7135. Given Lumintop’s track record, I do not know if the newest batches still have the same performance and quality as the early ones.
I was initially worried about the weight but it turned out to work for me really well so 21700 is in my pros column. Personally I’m not considering the HL3A due to its total lack of any aux lighting, that’s a hard requirement for me.
Strange. I have two FF PL47mu flashlights. Both have excellent fit and finish. No operational issues. Overall, very nicely done.
Understandable.
I guess we’re all waiting for Hank to release some kind of Anduril 2 Emisar headlamp…lol
Yeah, to bad it’s likely to have a linear driver and no USB. I’d go for a B35AM w a switch mode driver and K1-style charging in a heartbeat but I’d expect Hank to go for the most compact form factor that would be able to fit a piece of the Sun in it.
ETA: I’m guessing this based on the newish DM11, that USB charging and efficient drivers are not to be expected to permeate the portfolio.