The tint and high cri are preferred by a lot of people.
I’ve been out of the lighting business for many many years so take what I say with a grain of salt. My understanding is that the Nichia LED achieves superior CRI (Color Rendering Index) at the expense of efficiency. Also, I think that LEDs that are cool white often appear to be brighter to the human eye.
For me, it boils down to what tasks I’m trying to perform and “How bright is bright enough?” When I’m stumbling around the house in the middle of the night, knowing the exact shade of red of the lego I just stepped on isn’t so important. If I’m a dentist and I’m trying to match the color of teeth, CRI becomes much more important.
Personally, for what I do, I prefer cooler tints for the most part, but I do carry the Nichia for when details matter.
If you’re going to buy one … buy the BLF version with the nichia 219B for like 2$ more … tint is much much better
I think he’s saying that he purchased both and while most prefer the Nichia, he prefers the Cree, so he’s wondering if he’s missing something.
Hey …it’s hard to be tint snob 
The 240 lumens on the nichia /blf singfire 348 is with a lithium ion 10440…The output on the xre ? or xpe cree is going to be about the same as the nichia but the cree has a lot more LUX and throw . a hotter hot spot .and a cooler tint which always seems to be brighter .All higher lux lights seem brighter since the intensity of that hotter hot spot says to your brain ….brighter !!!
IMHO the blf 348/nichia is a much better light
i still give a big nod to the old thrunite ti that you can’t find anymore and the KD buckle …great uber cheap lights …just need tint modded /
Correct. I like the tint and hot spot better. I also like the almost 50% greater run time.
To each his own. Thanks for the replies.
Jerry
I love my Olight i3s EOS, except for the greenish XP-G2 in it (will swap with Nichia).
The i3s U.I. rules.
I missed the crazy price drop at Gearbest, but i like it so much i recently ordered a new one from Banggood for the normal (rather high) price. Of course it is one in purple. :sunglasses:
I will de-anodize and polish the older one.
It’s the most elegant, light (12.1 grams) and petite AAA light i have, has a clip and can tail stand.
Next best is SingFire 348, will put in a Nichia too, or wait for the next BLF 348.
Just simple on / off. (a bit heavy maybe 24.5 grams, but with 12 mm diameter as slim as they can get.)
Astrolux A01 (was lucky to get the earlier rebranded Manker one) starts with near invisible (i.e. useless) firefly mode and doesn’t turn on and off as easy as the i3s, so i don’t like it too much in real life. It does have a nice warm white Nichia though. (and weighs 16.6 grams)
For the rest i have cheapo AAA lights that are fun to mod, like an AAA zoomie i swapped the LED and lens of, but most of them end up as hosts waiting for intestines.
I still think the Lumintop Copper Tool w Nichia is the best AAA Pocket Flashlight available in stock configuration.
pictured 3rd from left
fwiw, the Astrolux A01 is no longer made by Manker. The new version has PWM, and the LED is cooler than the original.
My personal favorite AAA light is a Lego of a ReyLight Copper Tool and Copper Maratac… Seen here with a recent Miracle Grow Patina on the head
So who makes the best quality 10440 batteries? I vape and I buy good batteries(Panasonic Sony, etc) for that, but I haven’t much experience with the smaller sizes.
fwiw
you can still get a Copper Tool w Nichia for $25. I dont think you can beat that deal:
use code e8b575
The Tool head w Nichia also legos well with my CuMaratac body
Besides the Lumintop Tools or Copper Worm, I cannot think of any other AAA light available with NoPWM and 90+CRI (Nichia 219b 4000k), much less in Copper
you may think the Astrolux A01 is similar, and it does also have a Nichia and is also available in copper, but unfortunately the latest version now has PWM
The Prometheus Beta has a Nichia, and it does also come in copper w a Nichia, but it has PWM too.
As a High CRI user, the Lumintop Copper Tool w Nichia is my pick for AAA light of both 2015 and 2016.
I must also nominate the SingFire SF - 348 great little flashlight with plenty of light and nice stainless steel body.
Lumintop Tool Cu and Ti :+1:
And second the Astrolux A01
I wish someone would compile all the votes and come up with a top five.
I might do that after Christmas. :innocent:
Another vote for the Lumintop Copper Tool. Just an amazing little light!
3 copper Maratacs on ebay right now http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_trksid=p2053587.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcopper+maratac.TRS0&\_nkw=copper+maratac&\_sacat=0
Titanium and Aluminum versions are at county com
AAA Flashlights – CountyComm
Copper Tool w Nichia still available for $25 w code e8b575 at
Thank you for the links :+1:
I don’t have the picture but I can say that it’s also legoed to Foursevens Preon Copper.
I like Lumintop Worm 4 silver
Olight i3s most of the time with a 10440 in it, but would run eneloops for wife etc. Its my EDC, love the twisty as it NEVER gets turned on accidentally and has easy one hand operation. I may get a second one just in case I lose this one.
Astrolux S01 (preferably in Old Lumens edition) but also in the “cheap” version.
Lumintop Tool Ti