Welcome back to the 400 Lumens Challenge!
- Part 1 - 3 KR1 Flavors Face Off! [here].
- Part 2 - FFL X4Q Comet [here]
- Part 3 - Wurkkos TS30S Pro [here]
Maybe this round should be called The Driver Challenge: two hosts enter the ring with the same FFL909MX emitter, but powered by very different drivers.
We already saw impressive performance from the KR1’s 9A linear driver, so I was curious to see how it would stack up against the Lume1 driver. Are we getting paranormal results?
As always, the rules stay the same:
- Ceiling temp: 60 °C
- Cell: VapCell N40 + adapter (for consistency, even in 21700 lights)
- Anduril level: nearest step delivering ~400 lumens
Here’s the setup:
| Brand | Model | LED | CCT | Driver | Cell | Set level | Ambient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireflylite | T9R | FFL909MX | 6500 K | Lume1 6A Constant Current Buck Driver with FET Turbo | VapCell N40 | 94/150 | 18°C |
Click here for the full-size runtime graph
Click here for crowded all-in-one runtime graph
It’s tricky to declare a clear winner. Hank’s 9A Linear driver maintains an exceptionally flat output, whereas the Lume1 extends runtime by about 38 minutes, showing a steady decline from the 400-lumen mark to around 90% of its initial output before entering a sharper falloff phase.
To help settle it, I measured the area under the curve using Paint•NET’s magic wand tool. You can see the results in the last two pictures above (or follow the links):
Based on this metric, the T9R with the Lume1 driver achieved roughly 14% better efficiency in this round. Both lights performed admirably, each with its own strengths.
Next up: a special guest! The Skilhunt M300 V2 Nichia 144AR R9050 (4500 K). It’s not running Anduril, but its “High” mode happens to land right around 400 lumens. Perfect!
Stay tuned!