Thanks.
I use 9mm x 1mm o-rings.
I’ve also tried 10mm x 1mm with a 9mm by 1mm nested inside. That works too. I’m not sure the result is any different than just using a single 9mm x 1mm though.
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Hello all,
Haven’t been on BLF for a while. Discovered something which might be worth contributing.
Update: 22/DEC/25 - Another light arrived. Added a two more pictures.
Size comparison . . .
Two AA lights ensconced by AA batteries.
KR1AA next to my beloved D11.2
Single AA light size comparison . . .
Ascending heights from Left to Right.
AA Battery, Wurkkos TS10, Wurkkos TS10 SG, Wurkkos TS10 Brass/Ti, LuminTop FWAA, NOCTIGON KR1AA, NiteCore D11.2
KR1AA beam colours . . .
I don’t have brightness quite matched, but NTG50 5000K on the Left and FFL5009R 5000K on the right.
Like in the picture, the left side is a bit rosy in real life. But not so much it makes me want to throw up.
The right side shows a bit green in the picture, but is a bit creamy in real life.
Wurkkos TS10 SG v/s NOCTIGON KR1AA beam
Wurkkos TS10 SG, SFT-25R 6000K, TIR on the left. Not green, but white in real life. With rings and “petals” more visible than shown in the comparison picture. More concentrated hot-spot with larger corona.
NOCTIGON KR1AA, TIR, FFL5009R 5000K on the right. Not quite as rosy in real life. Larger beam, but more uniform in real life than the picture shows.
6 Thanks
Looks like NTG50 is superior to FFL5009.
Darn. I ordered the FFL version.
I was gonna get the raw Al, but it sold out so I grabbed the gray one. I kinda want to order a raw Al when Hank releases, but I know I will end up getting the TiCu one anyway.
Oh how I really really wish Hank would do 100% Titanium bodied lights. I’ve asked him a few times but the answer was always no due to the bad thermals. I get it, but I have the TS10 and FW3T in all Ti. I just think it would look a lot better than TiCu in the D3AA, and that’s why I haven’t bought one yet. I do plan on grabbing the all brass one though.
I don’t mind as much with the KR series, I have the KR4 TiCu. I think it’s the blockiness of the side switch model D3 that makes me want a solid Ti one. It looks alright with the round body like the KR1AA, but this is all just pictures in my head atm.
sorry for rambling on about random stuff always
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I haven’t received my KR1AA yet, but if I don’t like the button, I might try the same o-ring trick as with all of my FW3As. I couldn’t get it to work on the KR1/4. basically just a specific size o-ring between the rubber switch cover and the actual switch board.
Hopefully the KR1AA button feels more like the TS10 button than the KR4,
I only have the FFL5009R in 3V 5000K, but it is very neutral, not rosy. very similar to my 5000K FFL351As. very clean sterile white. it might be different with the 6V version, but it doesn’t look like it from that picture. I also got the FFL5009R in my KR1AA, but I got 3500K.
edit: if I don’t like it I’ll swap it to NTG50 4200K of SFT-70 3000K (which was going to be the LED I ordered at first). 3500K is kinda in the weird zone for me, as it’s slightly cooler than my house lighting indoors. it’s supposed to be rosy though, so who knows. it’ll be here sometime next week.
Are all of the NTG emitters rosy? I’m trying to decide if I want something other than an SFT but I dislike violet tinge as much as I dislike green.
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Eh…rosy is pinkish I thought…i actually just had another question…those with certain altered color perceptions, does cool white vs. warm white look drastically different to you?
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From my limited first experience with the two KR1AAs I have, and strictly by feel, ”The metal button allows for table- standing. Its throw is longer, not as crisp, and requiring more force than my TS10. This should help mitigate accidental activation.”.
In addition, each of the buttons feels a little different.
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One of my D3AA’s has FFL351A 4000K Rosy bin, and it’s really not all that Rosy, to my eye. It only seems that way when I’m comparing it with other options I have ranging from 6500k all the way down to 1800k.
I live in the Central New York, so we always get hammered with snow. Took the dog for a walk the other night and brought that light with me, reflecting off all the snow it seemed like the bright/coolness of a 6500k light, but a more pleasing color to look at. First time using it in the snow and thought…damn, this looks really good!!
Personally, I absolutely can tell the difference between warm and cool. Cool, too me looks BMW headlights where warm is like a 1997 Ram headlights haha.
1 Thank
I received my black KR1AA with 5000K FFL5009R emitter yesterday. I compared it to my D3AA with NTG35 5000K:
My initial impressions:
- Hand Feel - EXCELLENT. The slightly gritty anodizing combined with micro-rings on the fluted body tube makes for a very good grip. This light is extremely comfortable to hold with cigar-grip. The hand-feel and grip feel much superior to other similar lights I own such as the TS10 or FWAA.
- Beam - Floody. The light is noticeably dimmer and has less throw than my D3AAs with NTG35 5000K. It also isn’t as rosy. It’s not a bad beam, but overall, I prefer the D3AA’s beam pattern when comparing these 2 leds. There are many other emitter choices I haven’t tried though. Alternatives might be better.
- Clip - Ok, but not great.
- It doesn’t grip as well on sweat pants as the thicker and wider D3AA clip. I removed mine to try bending the ring down for increased grip. This didn’t help much due to the thinness of the clip. The clip is still in the acceptable range, but I prefer the D3AA clip. I prefer the KR1AA clip to the TS10’s awful 2-way clip that requires 2-hands to attach the light to anything.
- I would have preferred the clip to have the same width and thickness as the D3AA’s clip. The extra metal would have given it a bit more grip.
- Button - too easy to activate. The button is noticeably easier to activate than the TS10’s button. I modified mine by adding a 9x1mm o-ring below the boot (which didn’t help much), and replacing the metal nubbin with a thin piece of rubber (this helped much more, but makes operation feel a bit squishy).
- Accidental activation. I have experienced accidental activations with this light before I modified the switch. These occurred when I tried clipping the light onto sweat pants. Most of the clip doesn’t have much tension on it so the light slides on quite easily. However, the deep-carry portion of the clip near the tailcap is narrow enough to clamp onto sweatpants. The result is fairly good grip, except I have to push the light down to get it into a deep-carry position. This push would often hit the switch causing the activation. This shouldn’t be a problem when clipped to something narrow like a shirt pocket.
- Pocket carry in pocket. I would not feel comfortable carrying a KR1AA with unmodified switch loose in a pocket with my keys. Too much risk of accidental activation. Note however that the same applies to the D3AA. However, the D3AA is easy to modify into a safe enough configuration by adding a single o-ring to the switch.
Conclusion: Overall a very promising light. However, I would have preferred a thicker clip and a bit more pressure needed to activate the switch. It’s a good light, but doesn’t blow my socks off like the D3AA did when I first handled one.
2 Thanks
How doest it compare to the FWxAA if you have one ? It’s easier to activate on these compared to the TS10.
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Thanks for your impressions
Glad a switch mod solved the problem with keys in the same pocket.
I carry a TS10 in pocket by itself, unclipped, not with keys. I dont use the stock clip.
The TS10 does not turn on in my pocket.
When i get a Kr1AA, if it turns on in pocket, im glad to know i can do the Oring mod, including removing the center nub, as I did in my FWAA.
I will try the stock clip, and also want the metal Ring spacer so i have the option to remove the clip
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Or not.
There are reasons why I left, and many of those are also reasons why fake accounts are NOT happening. Period.
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It does. As I said above, it takes the same amount of force to click as a TS10 button, or about 30% more force than the KR4 button.
it does feel much better than the KR4 button, but I’ve found that sometimes my KR1AA button will click without actually activating the switch. I haven’t taken it apart yet but I’m glad to see that the driver is held by a threaded retaining ring like the switch, instead of glue.
I spent a little more time experimenting with modding my KR1AA button to increase the pressure needed to activate it.
- The optimum O-ring to add is 9mm x 1.5mm.
- Insert it into the bottom of the rubber boot. It fits perfectly and greatly increases the resistance.
- I also tried 9mm x 1mm, but doing so didn’t significantly increase resistance.
- Nubbin mod - I’m not sure this is needed, but I replaced the metal nubbin with one carved from hard plastic.
- I started with a scrap piece of epoxy putty and used a hobby knife to carve it into shape.
- The new nubbin is slightly flatter than the metal nubbin so the button has to depress a bit more to activate the switch.
Result:
- With the 9x1.5mm o-ring and nubbin mod, the switch is now fairly stiff. It requires noticeably more pressure to activate than my stock TS10 switch. This is great for anyone who wants to pocket-carry their light without using lockout.
- One downside (or upside depending on how you look at it) is that the click the switch makes when activated seems loud. It’s louder than my TS10 switches or the stock switch without the o-ring mod. It feels satisfying to press and the switch doesn’t feel mushy at all.
With these switch mods I’m much more impressed with my KR1AA.
I’m still undecided whether to replace the 5000K FFL5009R 98CRI emitter with an NTG50. Personally, I prefer the tint of the NTG50 and have a couple spare laying around so will probably make the switch.
3 Thanks
Thanks for sharing your Oring size tests for the Kr1AA
I had best results w my FWAA by adding an Oring and deleting the hard plastic nub completely
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The first thing I tried with the KR1AA was removing the nubbin and seeing how the switch worked without it.
Result: Without the nubbin, the switch wouldn’t function at all no matter how hard I pressed the button.
Apparently a nubbin of some kind is required for this light to work. However, it doesn’t have to be the stock metal nubbin. Anything flat and round can be inserted into the nubbin socket. I tried the following alternate nubbins:
- A piece of 3M safety walk tape cut into a tiny disk with the backing still on. It worked, but was too tall. The result wasn’t appreciably different from the stock metal nubbin.
- Then I shaved the tape down to make a thinner disk. This worked much better. The switch required much more pressure to activate and was safe for pocket-carry, but switch operation felt mushy. There was barely any noticeable click when the switch triggered.
- Best results were achieved using something slightly harder than rubber tape for the nubbin, with the o-ring providing the increased resistance.
NOTE: The metal nubbin is press-fit.
- However, unlike other lights with nubbins that I own, the KR1AA’s nubbin wasn’t a simple cylinder. It widens out at the bottom of its socket so cannot fall out on its own.
- I used tweezers to carefully pry it out, but be very careful. If it slips out of the tweezers, it might go flying and its so tiny you may never find it.
2 Thanks