Firefly L60 Mu-Aura

[Esskue]

Firefly L60 Mu-Aura

Firefly is rapidly becoming one of my favorite flashlight brands. I can’t seem to stop finding one in my hand or my pocket. They blend premium construction and materials, elegant designs, and powerful performance, and Anduril 2 is just the icing on the cake. The L60 is all of that that.

Full disclosure. fFL sent me this in exchange for my opinion.

What’s in the box?
L60 Mu-Aura
Lanyard ring
Pocket clip ring
Spare O-rings
User manual
A flat top 21700 battery is only included if you select that option, which adds ~$7 to the price. The light came in one of those neat little black plastic boxes. I really like these. They feel more premium than cardboard and can be reused.

Build quality
Like the three other Firefly lights I’ve had the pleasure of trying, the L60 is premium quality. The MAO finish is silky satin smooth and, despite the lack of knurling, still grippy. That smoothness is my only concern, as the light can get a bit slippery when wet. The tail cap and head thread smoothly, and the tail magnet is strong. The pocket clip works great and keeps the light deep in my pocket. The magnets in the back of the head also work well. The top switch is clicky and easy to use, and its center glows the same color as the aux RGB lights.

Design
The L60, as the name implies, is a right angle light, and a right angle mule just makes sense. The exposed LEDs and circuit board are really interesting to look at. The button center light and aux RGBs, combined with Anduril, mean the personality of the light can be changed on a whim. The additional head magnets are a novel and useful feature. It’s a fascinating little gadget that looks like it was ripped right out of a sci-fi movie.

UI
Anduril 2 packs in a ton of features and modes, adding immense versatility and customization.
Usability As a right angle mule, it’s a great project companion. It can tail stand and head stand, and the two magnet options let it cling to any ferric surface with ease. Quick ramping or stepping makes it a breeze to dial in the brightness for the job, whether that’s checking under the sink for a leak or looking across the yard for my dog. It fits easily in the headband I have for the L50 and works great as a hand lamp.

Performance
My L60 came with FFL351A-5000K emitters. The light is a nice neutral white, and man can it get bright. The claimed 4000 lumens is impressive. Being a mule, it lacks a hot spot, but for 180° of bright white light, it gets the job done.

Summary
The L60 Mu-Aura is a powerhouse right angle mule. It has great EDC capabilities and really excels as a work companion. The visible LEDs and aux RGBs make it a real wow piece, and in MAO white it looks especially striking. I find myself playing with it almost as often as I use it for the job at hand. Anduril gives it an enormous amount of versatility. All around, it’s pretty great.

Below is my affiliate link if you are at all interested.

https://www.firefly-outdoor.com?sca_ref=11735365.0Dsx1GgLNR

[ToyKeeper]

The Firefly / Fireflies / FFL 21700 headlamps like the PL47 and L60 are interesting designs. They’re kind of too big to wear on a head, on a regular headlamp strap… and the older ones like PL47 also protrude far enough forward that they need an extra tight holder to keep it from tilting itself downward during use.

However, when used with a 3-strap headband for extra support, they could be usable. Or they could go on a hat, or a hardhat, or similar.

But FFL doesn’t ship them with a headband, and it doesn’t seem like that’s what they’re intended for.

They’re built to clip onto things and be held in place by the built-in magnets. So you could clip one at your waist, put it in a pocket with the head poking out, or clip it onto a backpack strap, or stick it onto a metal surface. Could be great if you need that sort of thing.

The “mule” or “Mu” versions have some additional restrictions. The bare LEDs are so bright that they’re likely to cause eye damage when looked at directly, so it should be used only where it won’t be shining at anyone or anything with eyes. Never look directly at a modern LED while it’s on, unless it’s at a moon level of brightness. Or you could wear eclipse glasses, maybe. These things are, without exaggeration, often more intense than looking at the sun. The beam is also extra floody, so it lights up pretty much everything but it’s limited to fairly short range use.

I’ve also lost the tint lottery on mine:

• I have a PL47 G2, but it uses SST-20 4000K so the beam is a really green-yellow “lemongrass” color that looks almost nothing like “white”.
• And I have a L60 Mu with FFL351A 4000K “Rosy” LEDs, which should be a lot better… but instead of 4000K, it looks more like 6000K. The beam is blue. Which is weird, because I also have a FFL E07X “Cannon V2” which says it has the same FFL351A 4000K “Rosy” LEDs, and it looks like what I’d expect from a 4000K rosy LED. It’s a pretty nice beam color, aside from a bit of color fringing around the edges. So either they change dramatically from one batch to another, or I think my L60 must have gotten the wrong LEDs.

So I haven’t gotten much use from my FFL angle lights. They just don’t really fit into my use patterns. I use smaller headlamps frequently, but the FFL models I have are just too big, and I don’t have much need for an angle light which isn’t on my head.