FW3A, a TLF/BLF EDC flashlight - SST-20 available, coupon codes public

You said before -

But now you say -

Which version is true?

I ordered on may 5 and currently the status is unfulfilled :exclamation:

Sometimes suppliers let you down. Everybody has a supplier. Somethings are out of your control.

If only the planned LEDs are not available, but everything else is thereā€¦ any chance to offer a small batch of hosts-only flashlights (only body/tube, switch, bezel and driver) without LEDs and lens?

Sorry if this question is not a great idea. I am only asking because I am amazed by the mod thread and what users have done so far; I just believe that this is a very inspirational and capable community!

nobody wrote: Sometimes suppliers let you down. Everybody has a supplier. Somethings are out of your control.

If that is true it would have been better to hear those words from Neal.

pls PM me your order number

Received my 7A. Cleaned it out of the box and itā€™s working fine.

Such a pretty light.

Size and color comparison to S2+ and E2L in full sunlight. The FW3Aā€™s color looks much better in real life than in some of the pictures Iā€™ve seen. I donā€™t see myself doing anything to it.

Also it doesnā€™t really show in this picture but the E2Lā€™s surface is a bit beaten up and even my bicycle mount has damaged the anodization layerā€¦ I wonā€™t be using the FW3A as a bike light but I still hope Lumintopā€™s anodization is more durable than Jaxmanā€™s.

Like others have said I canā€™t stress enough how important it is to clean this thing before use. The switch and most importantly the head.

Thatā€™s the business end of a tooth pick covered in metal shavings and whatnot after running it through the threads of the head. Notice the long strand of metal and the other pile of metal stuffā€¦

P.S. Regarding the tint: looks good indoors but Iā€™ll reserve my final judgment until after summer when itā€™s dark again.

I was scratching my head at this until I noticed where you were from LOL!

Haha, yeah. Iā€™m probably quite a bit more north than most people here.
Donā€™t want to advertise my location that much on the internet but letā€™s just say where I am as far as night/twilights go there will only be civil twilight from next week till middle of July. You can figure out the latitude from there. Which isnā€™t that far north considering Iā€™ve spent quite a few summers in Rovaniemi where you can experience 24hā€™s of daylight for a month during the summer.

My 2 FW3Aā€™s arrived via DHL yesterday. I chose one of each tint available at time of ordering (a 3D and a 7A) and had chosen to get batteries to feed them too, a Sony VTC6 (first one this brand and kind in my 18650 stash) and a Samsung 30Q.

No extensive reviews or beam shots here. All I gotta say is, dang that 7A warm white is definitely way more orange than white (not white to my eyes at all). Yes it was my first foray into 3000K warm white emitters but dang it was a big differenceā€¦ it was more orange/yellow than my Mag2D with ROP HI hotwire mod (w/ FiveMega 6AA-2D adapter) that was warmer than any of my NW LED lights I have including my Manker E14 quad Nichia 219 (maybe the ROP was a xenon bulb, itā€™s been a while - built it in 2009). Maybe Iā€™ve gotten used to the daylight white of my NW LEDs but the 7A seems more incandescent than what I used to recall as incandescent.

I guess itā€™ll take getting used to EDCā€™ing it.
Both lights did work as intended right out of the box and all the threads were clean (no burs or shaving) and well lubed.

Great jobā€¦ now the wait for the next BLF project light (the lantern).

Just ordered the 219C version; looking forward to swapping out the emitters for the LH351D!

Was just waiting for the price to drop since I knew Iā€™d be swapping out the emitters anyways.

Iā€™m seeing that it is 4000K, but no mention of the CRI

I have had much better luck with SST20s than 219c. If the SST20 version is canceled/replaced by 219C I would be very disappointed. :cry:

ā€¦ā€¦ hoping that there arenā€™t any changes or new offerings so that I can enjoy my new light for a few days anyway :wink:

[quote=ToyKeeper]

Actually I did calibrate. The issue was head tightness. Once I applied a little more torque to the head, it stopped doing that. Whatā€™s the physical dynamic at hand when this happens? As I understand it, with the inner tube not completely seated the emitter shouldnā€™t have current. So sufficient tightening makes for a solid connection and the light functions. Is there some ā€œin betweenā€ state possible, where the inner tube has contact, but not fully, and thus thereā€™s some kind of weak voltage issue?

FM (frequency modulation) radio was invented in 1933. Iā€™d call that old! LINK. :laughing:
But I still listen to it. Iā€™m an NPR junkie (WNYC). I use an Apple iPod Nano, both 6th and 7th generations. The 6th is the smallest radio enabled MP3 player ever made. You clip it on the top of your shorts waistband and youā€™re good to go for a run. The 7th generation is a little larger, with more enriched UI; I usually take that with me on multi-day trips. Itā€™s unfortunately not WiFi enabled, so you canā€™t download podcasts over WiFiā€¦ need to use iTunes.

Thatā€™s great you have that resource in France. In the USA, many of us utilize podcasts. Easily downloaded audio to MP3 players. I have an Apple iPod Touch (5th gen, with retractable lanyard loop) that is WiFi enabled, so I download all kinds of programs to it without requiring that cumbersome iTunes.

Iā€™ve got an iPod Touch 3rd gen that I have been using for the last decade now. Iā€™m not a fan of Appleā€™s ecosystem, but damn they can make a durable piece of technology. I doubt newer devices would run for as long without issues though. Itā€™s not profitable to have somebody like me only buy once, rather than once every yearā€¦

Iā€™m still a big radio fan though. I listen to it a lot in the car and at work. Itā€™s the only way I keep up to date with what music is out now. I should probably check that Spotify out at some point, but Iā€™m just not into music enough to justify paying a subscription.

The earlier Apple iPods were build very solid, though scratch prone. The soft glossy plexiglass fronts and highly polished steel backs were just suckers for scratches. Definitely need a protector on the front and a protector case for the back. Thankfully later on, the newer designs lent themselves for tempered glass protectors ā€” Iā€™ve got one on my 7th and you canā€™t tell itā€™s there.

Iā€™m also not a fan of Appleā€™s iTunes ecosystemā€”wished they made it optional, so you could transfer files directly. But they did that for copyright protection purposesā€¦ which ended up penalizing the convenience of those people playing by the rules (e.g. I ripped my own purchased CDā€™s to listen to the music on my MP3 player).

Btw, while Apple never put in a dedicated LED for illumination, the iPod screens are so bright! You can really use them like flashlights.

Would you believe that despite having no screen protector for 10 years, there isnā€™t a single scratch on the front of my iPod? The back has all kinds of little marks though, presumably from when I put it down on the table.

Yep, same here. I just ordered my second FW3A, with 219C leds that after some checking out will be replaced by 2700K SST-20 leds, and hopefully I can McGyver some red aux leds in there as well.
The price after discount was $31.68, close enough to the announced 30 dollar for me.