Thinking to try out the Warsun X65 modded to NW XM-L2 and a Nanjg driver (running appropriate number of 7135’s to yield the runtime desired). I might even be interested in custom firmware set to two mode Med (35%) -> High without memory so as to keep it simple for the users. Any input on this light and its durability?
-Garry
I’ll agree with Auroa.
Ok, so I do runtime tests in my reviews. They are very simple. I turn on the light in my cellar and let it run, and point my camera at it. The BLF A6 has a near 6 hour runtime of about 200 lumens on level 4. Check it.
Also the Xtar H3 has about 243 lumensish for about 6 hours. I did a runtime test in my video.
Nice video on the Xtar! (Though I miss the chainsaws and ski masks.) How hard is it to open the Xtar to do an emitter swap (really want neutral white)? Beam is a bit throwier than I’d like but could be fine. Could even just DC Fix the lens.
Didn’t check out the A6 yet (that’s a light that appeared while I was staying away from BLF) but I think it will have too many modes fir non-flashaholics to use. I’d really prefer a simple Low-High arrangement and think no-memory will be easier for them.
-Garry
I have my hard hat with the H3 sitting in my lap right now. I would try pulling apart the H3, but if I messed it up I would be a bit screwed tomorrow 
. However from looking at it I believe an emitter swap would not be too difficult. There is a ring with divots that holds a lens and reflector in place. I think with a pair of split ring pliers and a soldering iron it would be doable.
As far as modes on the BLF A6, I think that if you were to change it to the proper mode beforehand (4 Levels, No mode memory), it wouldn’t be too big of a deal for them to figure out.
Also check out mhanlen’s review of it:
It wouldn’t be that bad to reprogram the A6 to two or three modes. The programming equipment can be had for under $30. The design with one 7135 chip and a FET for high modes is very efficient up to about 140 lumens more than that and the FET has to run cutting the efficiency.
Ha ha… I think that was the lantern one? I have not opened the Xtar yet. But yeah it’s a throwy lamp for sure. You could always try the Spark SG6 which has a medium 2 that I tested running for over 6 hours… I have since gone back and tested the output on medium 2 and it puts out about 105 lumens. The link back there has the review and runtime test.
The A6 can be configured with 4 modes and no mode memory if you want, via the setup menu. Although I don’t know which mode in the 4 mode version corresponds to in the 7 mode lineup.
If the H3 was cheaper I’d buy one to try out even if it were just for my own use. I do have the old Ultrafire H3b headlamp, but wouldn’t go with it for this application. No one has posted pics of opening up and getting to the emitter of the Xtar H3, eh?
Crew won’t be back from u-gnd work until Monday I believe, so no feedback until then.
Real quick (before I get to dig into the reviews of it) - what’s the hype with the A6, esp. compares to the Convoy tube lights? What’s its big draw? Built-in emitter shelf instead of pill? Takes standard 17mm drivers? Easy to access/upgrade all components? A6 available for purchase with custom firmware already loaded up? Just quick gist will suffice for now.
-Garry
Very interesting thread here. While I love the A6, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve handed it to a non-flashaholics and had them start tapping away at the button ending up in strobe or some other mode that is “hidden” within a few seconds. Then they look at me like “what’s wrong with your flashlight?”. For me the UI is perfect but newcomers can easily get confused, holding the button too long, reversing, etc. In a situation like this where it sounds like these need to be given to a group of “muggles” I think any form of mode memory would be a mistake. Particularly in cave work I would want my light to start in moon or the lowest possible setting every time, with no chance for error. Messing up your dark adjusted vision if working in a cave is unacceptable. My first thought was something like the A6 or something in the Convoy S series but in this particular circumstance mode memory would be a deal breaker at least in stock form. Depending on how many are needed I think Richard at Mountain Electronics could build perfect lights for these circumstances because of his wide range of driver options and consistently high quality (reliable) custom builds. That said, if you need a lot of them you may be waiting a while. Busy guy right there.
Edit:
If I were working underground I would never have less than 3 lights on me. Headlamp, a hand torch with high output available if needed and a AAA sized light that disappears in your pocket for those times when other options fail.
Honestly in this circumstance I would rule out the A6 simply based on the thread quality. The threads are too fine and not what I would consider durable. Far too much chance for cross threading and killing the light under dusty/gritty work circumstances. Sounds like these lights would have to be recharged almost daily and though I love the A6 for the achievement it is, I would not count on it where light=life. The A6 is an achievement in high lumen output from a tube light and an excellent user-programmable UI. That same UI while great for us may be too complicated for the “average Joe”.
Thanks J-Dub74! Sounds like you’re right on the money. I’d only need a couple of each light (to outfit either 2 or 3 guys - each with headlight & flashlight). These guys work underground sporadically, but at least twice a year they are busy u-gnd for a couple weeks at a time. We have 2 to 3 new mines which will start operations meaning they will be u-gnd even more. So no, these won’t get used everyday, but when they are in use it will be daily for a few weeks at a time.
I can build S2’s with a custom driver, but my issue is the “2 mode without memory” setting in guppydrv is at 10% - 100% instead of 35% - 100. Then again I could setup enough 7135’s so that 10 is the 6hr runtime mode and 100% is a huge turbo boost (guess that would work). So a Convoy S-series would be better for me to customize than an A6 I take it?
One thought I had was that the headlamp really should be very floody (or at least flood->throw adjustable). The rod guy is frequently up in a lift at the ceiling (close enough to reach to the ceiling) trying to drill and hang “spads”. A bright hotspot type of headlamp could be distracting compared to a wider more even flood. Then again, there are times when they are carrying equipment (read: can’t hold a flashlight due to hands being full) and want some throw as they are walking.
Like I said before, I don’t know how the heck they are working with the crap pencil beam lights they have right now!
-Garry
The Convoy lights I know I can build rather quick (with someone else flashing drivers if I so choose). I don’t expect to need to fix them.
-Garry
The big difference with the A6 is the FET for a higher Max for a light that you want to use for 6 hours constantly a linear driver with a lower max could be better. The stock drivers in the Convoys are 105d’s they have an ATTiny 13a also so they are easily reprogrammable. If you want to build from hosts Richard at Mountian Electronics will sell you drivers pre flashed with custom firmware.
JonnyC’s STAR firmware can easily and quickly accommodate 2-mode w/ no memory. Those options would be setup before compiling and then flashed onto the driver. RMM can certainly flash that for you or you can build and flash it yourself using this procedure: Hoop - Guide: how to flash a NANJG / Qlite driver with custom firmware
If for some reason you wanted a high-output / wow mode it would be fairly straightforward to make that awkward to use continuously. A 60s turbo-timer with a stepdown to the normal “high” mode would discourage continuous “wow mode” use while still allowing large galleries to be fully illuminated for brief periods. If a person was so inclined they could take that one step further with turbo ramp-down. It’s surprisingly difficult to notice the rampdown in action if setup well.
In any case I’d use the offtime firmware along with an offtime cap. It’s much nicer, including with “no memory”.
Spare cells sounds logical to me.
10–100 Might be 6 hours run time depending on how long 100% is used. Heather tried that mode while walking the dog. She said the 10% was too bright for ground in front of her.
I use 50ish lumens from my Armytek Wizard most of the time while hiking or dog walking. I go brighter when I go faster.
The darker it is the brigher your lights will be 
I agree, a little edc keychain light for backup (although I personally am Joe overkill on back up) and an old knife pouch or camera pouch on the belt for a couple or few extra batteries.
One would hopefully want a few extras anyway, and switching batteries is no big deal.
Guys finished up a day early and so I got some feedback from the crew chief. Seems the other two assistants really like the two flood-to-throw zoom lights I lent him (my W-878 & my Zuesray - both direct-drive on high and cool white, completely stock). Chief wasn’t certain why they preferred those two, but they definitely did. The Zuesray was preferred due to it’s thinner size making it easier to pocket carry. Holster would be very tough to wear due to the fact that they are already wearing very thick mine belts (think WWE wrestling championship belts) making it tough to access their pockets or pants belt.
Some more observations/feedback:
1) Nobody commented on cool-white vs. neutral white. Don’t care which they get, just so they are bright.
2) Flashlight does NOT need to run 6 hours. They were using my zoom lights on a single cell and they always lasted the full day. (They are only using the handheld flashlights for a couple minutes at a time to light up the rod when the instrument person is taking sights.)
3) Headlamp needs to last 10 hours runtime. This is their worst-case scenario. Current headlamps are meeting this requirement and nobody is complaining about either the pencil beam cap lamps or the Princeton Tec Apex.
4) My Mule Headlamp was way too floody and not enough output, even for the instrument guy lighting up just his immediate area. Each crew members desires some throw with bright spill, although none of them are complaining about the current pencil beam cap lamps. We may pursue just flashlights for now (4 of them), and maybe 1 headlamp to try out.
5) Cabling on a headlamp is not a big deal so long as it’s clipped down. It has not been an issue on the Princeton Apex light.
6) Headlamp for assistants need to be mounted rock solid. Headlamps with headbands (like the Apex) tend to fall off the hard hat while swinging a pick or sledgehammer. (I threw out the possibility of using velcro to hold the band in place better.) Current cap lamps clip in and withstand the thrashing they get while swinging tools. If we get new headlamps they may need some sort of “clip mount” fashioned. OR - can the rubber mounting like the Xtar Warboy H3 has be attached to the hardhat’s current clip point fairly permanently?
7) Like the FastTech flashlight clamps, though unsure how long they’ll take abuse. (And I see they are discontinued now!)
8) Nitecore i4 charger charging 4 cells (375mA) was WAY too slow.
Output & Modes Desired for 4 lights (3 carried on each person, 1 left at instrument tripod on a mount of some sort like the flashlight clamp):
NOTE: Gauged output based on my Convoy S2, XM-L T6 4C @ 2.1A 3-mode 5% (110mA) -> 40% (870mA) -> 100% (2,100mA) (I just confirmed these #’s)
1) For the 3 lights carried: Two modes, no memory, always starts in high. No “turbo-timer” wanted.
2) For the 1 light used at the instrument tripod: Two modes, no memory, always starts in low. No “turbo-timer” wanted. The “high” will be more of a “medium”, the max level which can be ran continuous for 8 hours (i.e. get a full day of actual use in case instrument guy never bothers to drop it to low to conserve battery, same reason no “high” mode - no accidental running the battery down too quick). Instrument light should be easily distinguishable from the other lights since it has different output.
3) “Low” should be a little higher than my S2’s “low”, but a little lower than my S2’s “medium” - somewhere in the middle.
4) “High” should be “max” (for the 3 hand carried lights, see #2 above for instrument light). I figure it should be toned down to a level the light’s heatsinking can handle reasonably well. So definitely not “direct-drive”, not 4.0A, but perhaps 2.8A or 2.1A etc . . .
Observations about the use of the Apex headlamp:
- High (the maxbright setting) of 275 lumens has only been used for checking roof quality, but really isn’t bright enough.
- Typical all-day setting of this light is the 5mm LEDs on their low setting. Too bright a setting causes too much glare. (I would have expected my Mule to be pretty good here, but it wasn’t liked.)
Thoughts:
I could go back to AA options, maybe and forget lithium ion entirely, especially since we threw out the need for 6hr runtime on the handheld lights. Max brightness would likely come down a little from what they experienced though.
If I go lithium-ion, I’d need a good safe reliable inexpensive 4 bay charger that charges at least at 500mA, 1000mA preferred. I’d get them whatever is the best bang for the buck protected 3000mAh+ 18650’s - likely the LG M1’s or NCR18650GA’s, although the 3400mAh Panny’s have come way down in price too.
Since they really like the zoom lights, which zoom light is a good solid reliable choice (easily modded with driver / emitter combo desired)? I mentioned I might just change to the Convoy S2, perhaps with diffusion film on the lens, since I can buy they ready to go without any modding needed by me. I lean toward the S2.
Might give 1 Xtar Warboy H3 a try since it has some throw to it.
-Garry
Hi Garry!
Just a reminder that if the best ones you can find are too spotty, there was someone here at BLF that was selling small quantities of that film (I forget what it’s called) that diffuses the beam. I put that on one of my Rayovac 3xAA lights and it really smoothed out the beam, and it’s been on since then.
If nothing else I do recommend looking at HKJ’s conclusions. There are certain actions I typically want to specifically caution the user(s) about… with these or any other charger.
This material is “DC Fix Sand”. Phaserburn’s Diffusion Film - DC Fix - BLF Service & Int’l Shipping
Boaz was at cost sharing the diffuser material.