I too didn’t like the UI with my M43 until I programmed it with the U3 interface. It now has 3 simple modes, and crazy turbo. I programmed it to have moonlight (which is impressively low for this flashlight), medium, and high. And turbo is always accessible by holding the button. But that’s not on topic for this post.
The flashlight that is great, but I hate the most is my Astrolux A01 Nichia 219B. Sure it has great tint, but I hate that it’s a twisty. I understand the design allows it to be very small, but rotating the head to turn it on and change the modes is not easy with this flashlight. I tried cleaning the threads and re-lubing, but it still takes a lot of effort to rotate the head. So much so that my wife gave it back to me and wanted a different flashlight. Now it just sits in a drawer as a back-up.
Any Convoy flashlight (I own three). They are well-built, perform well, have a beautiful finish, and are priced right. But the memory function is backwards to me. I often get the “next” mode by surprise when I turn it back on. I’ll never buy another Convoy until they change it.
OTOH, I love the way that the Solarforce memory function works.
Eagle Eye X6-SE BLF Edition
It’s surely a nice flashlight, but I never got to like it, I think it’s because the battery-tube is too small both in diameter and lenght for me
Luckysun D80
I don’t know, why I don’t like this light - but I know, that I don’t like this light.
Convoy L4
The fact, that it is a 2-switch light and has this ugly ansd non-removable anti-roll-thing on the tail switch is a nono for me.
I changed the driver to one that only needs the side-switch and put a UV LED in it, so it’s an OK light now.
the worst of them all: Nitecore EC21
One of my more expensive light - and one of my less bright (?) ones.
Never ever used this one really, just because it’s not bright enough and the UI is clunky.
And lights that I don’t own: Fireflies ROT66
That bare aluminium backpart just kills this light for me, it looks so cheap.
Another vote for the Nitecore Tini, I love the size/weight/lumen ratio, so I put it on my keychain. Used it fore 3 months almost daily, then the buttons started to fail. Had no time to open it up fore someweeks, finally got to it to find out that the battery died.
Love the light but hate the quality, plastic is not the right material for a keychain product.
MS12. I don’t own it yet, but i can imagine its greatness and short coming compared to competitors and my experience using many other flashlight.
Great for its 50k output lumens and using 8x20700.
Hate its ineffective fan, difficult to access charging port, holes on bezel, difficult to find switch in the dark.
That’s the dreaded 3/5 firmware that I mentioned in my own entry. Your pitfall here is that in its case, it’s ON-time memory, so the light has to stay on for some 3 seconds to memorise the mode you’re using.
Tip: don’t buy Convoy from third parties, go to its own Aliexpress store, and when you purchase one, ask for the new Biscotti firmware on it via PM before paying. You can also buy the drivers separately there to upgrade your torches - I have two coming to slap onto my old S2 and my C8. After you try that, I guarantee you’ll never look at a Convoy sideways by principle again.
I don’t really like the D4S too much. A lot of that has to do with the tint of the 219Cs on mine (very greenish), but I’m not too keen on the host that much either.
I love, love, love 26650 lights, as I feel the battery tube size is the perfect size to grasp on to, but I guess I only like them for throwers (Catapult V6, Manker U21). For something that has a more EDC type of beam, I feel the D4S is too large for EDC type use, yet at the same time something like the ROT66 I find myself using way more often, because it isn’t all that much larger (still a great fit in say a jacket pocket), and gives more power higher regulated output, and longer runtimes by a good margin. I also don’t like the sharp lanyard hole on the D4S either, as it grazes against my palm pretty aggressively.
I wouldn’t say I hate the D4S, I just don’t use it and don’t like it all that much. Without the tint issue I would probably use it a little more.
Now, of the lights I have purchased, the one I ended up hating was the Manker E14. This light was very much a looker, and felt great in the hand with its heft from the massive copper heatsink, but good lord the UI was absolutely horrible, and the 18350 battery just had no juice to it, so anything outside of less than 1-200 lumens felt useless.
They only sell a pair at the moment for 125 dollar(excl. shipping), which is indeed a much better price than the 160 euro amazon.es sells them for but still a lot of money. And I think I will have a hard time reselling one for 60 euro.
They are available as long as you select trits as No or some colour combination instead of the default “Yes”.
It’s $55 then. Apply the discount and add $5 for shipping, you’re back at $55 without trits or $68 with.
My nickel’s worth; the S42.
Nice build, good design, acceptable light quality (XPL-v6) and beam, but the worst of UI. On first occasion changed the driver to Lexel’s. Pitfall is the parasitic drain with the charging module connecting the switch leds. OK as I taken to quarter turn before holstering it. There is a provision to use the Narsil firmware for these, but then you lose the on board charging status. And then the top of ramp is the turbo - gets very hot fast. Newer version with ceiling would be better. But as I put enough money in this model, don’t use as EDC (almost priceless! - puppy first love)).
@ BlueSwordM: I too have TK15 (2 as a matter of fact), and looking for the right e-switch to mount on a moppydrv driver from MTN. The LH351D emitter is an option too.
Convoy C8 with the 3/5 firmware. Fantastic size and good at focusing an intense beam at a specific spot, but the UI was so annoying. Sometimes it would have mode memory. Sometimes it would turn on in the next mode. The blink on low and ability to accidentally switch it into a blinky mode group was too much for me. The C8+ with biscotti firmware solved this with the ability to switch off mode memory and always start the flashlight at 100%. I suspect that lots of people with the ability to modify a flashlight’s firmware already solved the problem ages ago.
Acebeam K70. Really high quality, high performing flashlight, and I actually like the magnetic ring control. I just don’t like the gigantic size. It makes it into a very dedicated single-purpose flashlight, not something you can just throw into a camping gear bag or bring in your truck’s glove compartment on occasion. I feel like I need to think up situations to use it because I really don’t have any situations in my normal life in which I can find myself using it.
Yeah, 3/5 firmware is bad all around. I tolerated it on my C8 at first since a thrower for me is something that stays on for more than 5 seconds and never on low, but as soon as I did a driver swap on it to Biscotti, I found myself enjoying it lots more.
I have only one problem with it now, and that’s the lens. The AR coated lenses are thinner than the regular ones, and so it sits loose in the head. The noise when it bumps into anything and rattles is not pleasant, and it’s loose enough to let water in. I’m not sure, but at least hope the C8+ doesn’t have that problem.
