That’s real EASY.
I have an older D80 and 2 samples here, the newest sample the one that came DHL Express just recently that I show in the video.
The driver is the same driver, same output, but with the UI better in our BLF version. On ours, it starts in Turbo. Zip PWM. None. That’s about as easy as it gets, turn it on, no pwm, no problem.
I’m not sensitive to it, the only times I’ve ever noticed PWM was a rare occasion where dust in the air from nearby road construction showed in intermittent bursts, I thought it was pretty cool. I’ve heard people say their eyes were sensitive to it and it bothered them, for those, this one might cause issues in the lower range of the UI. I can’t hear it making any noise like the old HD2010 drivers used to do, but there it is.
I think Banggood is selling the A6 driver for about $5 or something, so in a worst case scenario a replacement driver would bump the cost to the ~$25 range and it’d be even more awesome than it already is. Still a great deal from my viewpoint. And yeah, that’s about as easy as it gets in this game. People here have been swapping drivers to get rid of unwanted blinkies since I joined some 3 years ago. Heck, even I learned how to do it!
Oh, the battery tube question… on my quad variant I use a pair of 18350’s, they’re considerably longer than an unprotected 18650 and they give no issue. Surprises me that a protected cell would be that long, makes me wonder if the better protected cells have thinner circuits or if there’s a difference depending on who made the circuit… I know none of the major cell manufacturers actually make protected cells so it’s always an add on by someone in the aftermarket and varies considerably in quality and thickness, many times in diameter as well depending on whether or not the aftermarket guy pulled the wrap off or added the circuit and a second wrap.
These are direct drive lights, I really can’t see using a protected cell in one, if a hot cell makes it too powerful then use a cheaper lap pull and limit the output that way. If safety is an issue, hmmm, maybe some training of the person to be using it needs to be looked at. Some things are inherently not safe. Li-ion cells can fall in that category if someone is naturally destructive and careless, best hide the kitchen knives around them before worrying about a flashlight… just sayin, there’s a lot of things that CAN be worried about, I wouldn’t think this would be one of em. There’s a heck of a lot I don’t understand though, to be honest.
The easiest fix would be adding the wire ring (say a paper clip bent to shape and trimmed), like Cone did in Post No. 1872. 
Thanks, Dash.
I’m not sure how you are defining “better protected cells”. For the record, I have Thrunites, AWs, and Efests; all sourced from reliable vendors. Even the shortest among them is proud of the top of the tube such that the tail cap is about 2mm shy of fully seating.
As for the reason why I personally try to use protected cells, aside from the fact that that’s what I have on hand, they give me the warm and fuzzies by taking some of the over charging/discharging worries off the table. I’ve never claimed to be anything more than a user/collector. I don’t really want to have to get a multimeter out every other day to check on cells I honestly can’t be bothered. Add in the fact that I have a wife and kids that use the various lights scattered about and they simply are not inclined to learn all the ins and outs of safe battery usage. If I could get the performance I like from something as simple to use an Eneloops, I would.
One could argue, reasonably enough, that perhaps this ought to disqualify me from enthusiast flashlights, but it is what it is. I ordered some AW IMRs about an hour ago, so my problem will be resolved. Moreover, it didn’t say what I said to complain, it was only as an FYI statement.
A whole year and it still has PWM! What has the world come to? Let’s all hold hands and gather around a fire to rectify this issue……
C’mon guys not that serious and it’s only $20. I haven’t ordered it yet and I still plan to even if it has PWM. I’ll see how noticeable it is when I get mine, as mentioned above A6 has PWM and u still can’t tell. U can always give it away to someone you don’t like and they’ll have automatic headaches everytime they use it lol
And a valuable piece of information at that! 0:)
Dale, despite the hotrod properties of this flashlight, there is a good reason to want to use protected cells in this LS D80 for quite some: the driver apparently does not have low voltage protection.
I do not understand the battery issue. I just tried EVVA's and protected B's without issue.
Woo Hoo! It’s a second Christmas!
My light arrived today and everything appears to be in fine working order. The bubble padded shipping envelope GearBest packed the light in seemed a little inadequate to me, but the box the light came in wasn’t in too bad of shape, so it got the job done. The light seems to be working just fine and the finish looks great to my old eyes.
My first thought about the light is that it feels a lot better in my hand than it looked like it would. I’ve read others say the same thing but I was skeptical, I’m now a convert.
Great work krono, and everyone else who was involved in the project. This is my third BLF special edition and deserves pride of place in my collection right next to my other two. Thank you to everyone involved for all your hard work!
I wasn’t meaning to sound like I was griping, I don’t have protected cells, so was merely wondering if there were better ones and worse ones like in everything else. Since the protection circuit comes from a 3rd party, it doesn’t matter really what the cell inside is, what matters is the circuit they used, like dual mosfets from japan, I’ve heard those are the best and amongst the thinnest.
As I stated, my understanding of why people use em is limited. I personally don’t let my kids play with hot rod flashlights that are not toys. I school my wife on how to use the one’s I build for her. She’s got 8 flashlights now, but still, as you say, it’s something to worry about. Then again, my wife also has a .357 Mag, much more worrisome than her flashlights. 
(LS D80 reflector in the test rig)
I dressed up my reflector test rig tonight (I'm allowed 2 square meter of permanent hobby space in the house, so part of my rigs must be dismantled after each use) and tested the X6 and D80 reflector. Because I wanted to know for these two flashlights in the same category, separated from all other parameters, which reflector in principle was the better thrower: the odds were at the D80 reflector: larger diameter, smoother surface finish. For details of the method, see my reflector test thread (I will add these data to that thread too).
I'm getting quite a good feeling for finding the best focus for each reflector, so with more reflectors tested the numbers are getting pretty accurate. The test leds are a dedomed XP-E2 and domed XM-L2, both cool white, both constant output at 350mA. Throw is measured at 7 meters, lux numbers were calculated back to kcd. Here you go:
| reflector | XP-E2 dedomed at 350mA, 120 lumen |
XM-L2 at 350mA, 180 lumen |
remarks |
| BLF X6 reflector | 21.2 kcd | 3.79 kcd | diameter=29mm |
| Lucky Sun D80 reflector | 29.4 kcd | 4.71 kcd | diameter=33mm |
So indeed the D80 reflector is the better thrower, for the dedomed XP-E2 the throw is 39% more, for the XM-L2 the throw is 24% more. The actual throw from the whole flashlight is dependent on many more things, I just wanted to single out the reflector.
Holy cow djozz…that is some piece of test equipment. 
Thanks for the comparison.
LOL, I really like your sense of humor, Dash.
Well, my kids are not toddlers and, like your house, there are all sorts of potentially dangerous stuff, so they treat the flashlights like the tools that they are… not toys.
My 8 yr old is still a toddler. lol He’s pretty good with the usage and all, but he is hyper and somehow manages to shine his lights in our eyes every time! Working on that, but it’s largely why his lights are still lower power.
Djozz, nice test on those. I saw in a side by side that the hot spot stayed tighter in the D80, which actually surprised me… I would have thought it’d be the one to spread based on it’s larger close-up profile, but it’s definition must be why it stays together.
Might need to stick a de-domed XP-G2 S2 0D in one…
At risk of riot, what kind of wood is that on your test bed?
LOL, it is meranti, one of the many pieces I had leftover from all sorts of woodwork projects in the past. It is actually FSC-certified, for what that is worth, but it is at least a bit better than tropical hardwood without label.
Got mine in and WOW, it is a great compliment for the BLF A6! I do not have an X6, but this thing is a more compact C8 with a better beam profile in my opinion. I am very happy. First off, fit and finish are great, the SS bezel proved its worth when I dropped it onto the tile floor from about 2 feet while sitting down…. My fumble is did not leave me with scrunched aluminum or bad anodizing as it hit the bezel…
The PWM is there, I have determined I am a bit more sensitive than average to PWM, so driver swaps are in order… which is what I was anticipating anyway for me. I have a BLF A6 driver from RMM and a 3A Qlite with Guppydrv, so those two are taken care of. Thing is, the light is freaking amazing for the money, even with the stock driver. The modes are good, starts in High, memory, etc. No LVP and some visible PWM are the drawbacks… OK, this light still beats all others in this stock configuration except my BLF A6 for output. No BLINKY modes either… If I was not sensitive to the PWM, there would be no issue.
For a Host with everything but a driver in place (what it would be if you wanted to do a driver swap) then it is still in a good price range as a complete host with a copper Noctigon and XM-L2 ($7 alone, so $14 host? ). The finish is great, the machining is excellent, no issues there. So you spend however much on a new driver, and there is nothing like it for the money still… and you have a driver to use somewhere else. Or if you are not seeing the PWM, then you are good to go with a real BUDGET mini thrower…
PS, if you are in the US and really do not like yours, PM me, I have PayPal
Sorry… I just had to.
Now that I’ve had my fun here is a bit more fun.
Here is the same beam shot that I posted last night but under slightly different weather conditions. Gotta love a Michigan sleet storm. 
Cool Pic! 0:)