What was your best/favorite/coolest flashlight of 2019? Top 5 announced!

WalkIntoTheLight · 2019-12-18T14:38:17.000Z

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

My favourite lights this past year are probably one of the Zebralights I’ve bought. Maybe the SC64w HI, for EDC. Or my newest toy, the H600Fc, for a headlamp.

My favourite budget light is still an old favourite: the BLF A6. Just a simple, reliable, robust light, for a very good price.

I just want something that works. I don’t really care if my light can do lightning.

pennzy · 2019-12-18T14:44:08.000Z

I would have to say the Sofirn SP 36 Anduril. Nice balance of run time, sustainability, my newest go to. The default top of ramp is perfect for lighting up large outdoor areas without much heat. On board charging is great in my opinion.

the4ds9 · 2019-12-18T15:43:45.000Z

Acebeam EC65 Nichia from Andrew-Amanda.

Lightbringer · 2019-12-18T16:01:52.000Z

WalkIntoTheLight:

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

Unno, I never understood the fascination with it, either. I don’t like dual-tube designs to begin with, then you got the teeny little doodad that falls out from the switch if you unscrew the tailcap (oops!), the oft-mentioned need to clean all contact surfaces so it doesn’t go mental, etc., just seems too much bother for something that should work right out of the box and not require special handling just to change the battery (or to remember to unscrew the head and not the tail).

Looks pretty, though. Nice clean design…

WalkIntoTheLight · 2019-12-18T16:06:57.000Z

Lightbringer:

WalkIntoTheLight:

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

Unno, I never understood the fascination with it, either. I don’t like dual-tube designs to begin with, then you got the teeny little doodad that falls out from the switch if you unscrew the tailcap (oops!), the oft-mentioned need to clean all contact surfaces so it doesn’t go mental, etc., just seems too much bother for something that should work right out of the box and not require special handling just to change the battery (or to remember to unscrew the head and not the tail).

Looks pretty, though. Nice clean design…

Yeah, I’ll give it that. It is a very nice-looking light. They just designed it way too complicated to be manufactured cheaply and reliably. And, although people love Anduril, it’s too easy to accidentally go into some programming mode and mess it up. I don’t completely trust it, due to safety problems, either.

Both the design of the light and the firmware looks like it was designed by committee. Trying to be everything to everyone.

Scallywag · 2020-01-12T02:53:44.000Z

Lightbringer:

WalkIntoTheLight:

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

Unno, I never understood the fascination with it, either. I don’t like dual-tube designs to begin with, then you got the teeny little doodad that falls out from the switch if you unscrew the tailcap (oops!), the oft-mentioned need to clean all contact surfaces so it doesn’t go mental, etc., just seems too much bother for something that should work right out of the box and not require special handling just to change the battery (or to remember to unscrew the head and not the tail).

Looks pretty, though. Nice clean design…

Actually, that doodad was my entire problem with the damn light. Pulled it out and put a small oring in the tail and now it’s a wonder light.
I got the 4000k SST-20 and love it.

WalkIntoTheLight · 2019-12-18T17:55:11.000Z

Scallywag:

Lightbringer:

WalkIntoTheLight:

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

Unno, I never understood the fascination with it, either. I don’t like dual-tube designs to begin with, then you got the teeny little doodad that falls out from the switch if you unscrew the tailcap (oops!), the oft-mentioned need to clean all contact surfaces so it doesn’t go mental, etc., just seems too much bother for something that should work right out of the box and not require special handling just to change the battery (or to remember to unscrew the head and not the tail).

Looks pretty, though. Nice clean design…

Actually, that doodad was my entire problem with the damn light. Pulled it out and out a small oring in the tail and now it’s a wonder light.
I got the 4000k SST-20 and love it.

Yeah, one other nice thing is that it comes with lots of tint options. I have the XPL-HI 3000K option, and I really like that warm tint. Good movie light when tail-standing.

I really do want to like the light. It has positives, and lots of potential. The problem is that the drawbacks are too big to get over. Maybe if they made it $20 or $30 more expensive, it could have been much better built and tested. OTOH, then you’re getting into Zebralight prices, and may as well just get one of those.

Tangra · 2019-12-18T18:33:36.000Z

Convoy S2+ SST40 5000K.
Convoy S12 Nichia 4000K.

atobe · 2019-12-18T20:44:51.000Z

EDC light is D4V2 in grey with mix 4000k and 5000k XPL. I know some people doesn’t like the FW3A but my TK edition hasn’t had any issues. FW1A in sst20 4000k is a pretty good thrower for it’s size for us city folks. Rofis R2 for camping that can take AA if needed.

Di_Joker · 2019-12-19T04:00:46.000Z

For me, in 2019, Mezzol X8R-L XHP70 (NW) was a great acquisition. It has become an ideal EDC for me and I think it will be a long time. 21700 battery, compact size, built-in charging, thermal monitoring, wide and unexpectedly pleasant beam from XHP70, does not overheat quickly.

VrestoTaylor · 2019-12-20T13:52:30.000Z

looks very good this Mezzol……its from Aliexpress? i see it just there…

wle · 2019-12-20T14:18:30.000Z

WalkIntoTheLight:

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

My favourite lights this past year are probably one of the Zebralights I’ve bought. Maybe the SC64w HI, for EDC. Or my newest toy, the H600Fc, for a headlamp.

My favourite budget light is still an old favourite: the BLF A6. Just a simple, reliable, robust light, for a very good price.

I just want something that works. I don’t really care if my light can do lightning.

BLF A6 is a winner.
had mine 2 years.
never EDCed it except briefly to discover it was too big to really carry around.
18350 tube makes it smaller but they do not have enough energy. plus it it still bigger than the smallest 18650s.

wle

spudley112 · 2019-12-20T14:33:46.000Z

Lightbringer:

WalkIntoTheLight:

I’m going to say something sacrilegious here, and state that I’m not a fan of the FW3A. Just way too many quirks, and potential safety issues. Also makes a horrible EDC due to the switch. Oh well, there, I’ve said it. Let the burning at the stake, begin!

Unno, I never understood the fascination with it, either. I don’t like dual-tube designs to begin with, then you got the teeny little doodad that falls out from the switch if you unscrew the tailcap (oops!), the oft-mentioned need to clean all contact surfaces so it doesn’t go mental, etc., just seems too much bother for something that should work right out of the box and not require special handling just to change the battery (or to remember to unscrew the head and not the tail).

Looks pretty, though. Nice clean design…

Hate to say it, but I am there too. I have one…I like the UI, but I am not crazy about the light like I expected to be after a lot of the hype I read. I honestly like several of my lights much more. Lately, hearing any news on the FW3A is like someone at a party mentioning a game of Cards Against Humanity.

xevious · 2019-12-20T15:30:50.000Z

WalkIntoTheLight:

Yeah, one other nice thing is that it comes with lots of tint options. I have the XPL-HI 3000K option, and I really like that warm tint. Good movie light when tail-standing.

I really do want to like the light. It has positives, and lots of potential. The problem is that the drawbacks are too big to get over. Maybe if they made it $20 or $30 more expensive, it could have been much better built and tested. OTOH, then you’re getting into Zebralight prices, and may as well just get one of those.

Too many drawbacks? I’m baffled by that statement. Firstly, the switch works just fine out of the box, but can be adjusted if need be. The early release had the tail cap unsecured for easy modification, but then Lumintop installed a retaining ring. The “nubbin” on mine was in rather tightly. Never had a problem with it falling out. I didn’t like the sensitivity of the button, so I removed the nubbin & installed an o-ring. Now it’s tight, just enough to minimize accidental activation, so when pocket carrying there’s no need to lockout. How many flashlights have the option to easily modify the tail cap to suit usage, without requiring soldering or complicated disassembly? Just swap the nubbin for an o-ring? Second, removing the head to get to the battery completely bypasses any issues with the loose tail cap issues (meaning, if you don’t tighten the tail cap sufficiently, you get some odd behavior due to incomplete contact). Plus, the clip stays where it is.

I don’t see any other possible drawback. My FW3A has been totally reliable. Plus, I really enjoy the range of customization available, unlike any other 18650 light on the market at this price. My SC64c LE was twice as expensive (before accessories purchased). And while I enjoy that light as well, the FW3A feels like the better value. I left home for a winter holiday trip. Guess which light I took with me?

wle · 2019-12-20T15:42:01.000Z

my FW3A is mostly reliable

sometimes i end up turning it on in pocket, but it doesn;t start on turbo
it does have the 4 press lockout, i use that sometimes

the modes have been totally reliable

the noob [muggle] mode thing doesn;t work right, the UI is slightly quirky - different from normal operation
and when you use it on 100 lumens, max, sometimes it will step back to 10 [minimum]
i sometimes use noob mode instead of lockout, if i might accidentally activate for some reason

all in all, favorite light of all time

wle

Photonica · 2019-12-20T15:50:56.000Z

My FW3A has been totally reliable.

my FW3A is mostly reliable

I’ll go with Option B. My two are mostly reliable - for an enthusiast light. I’ve done the full maintenance treatment (disassembly, cleaning, assembly in the proper order). They still go into hinky states, like they’ve got gremlins. Not often, maybe once a week. Considering they are EDC and fidget bait, I can live with that.

The latest? I loosened the head on the WW light and put it away. Took out the CW one, tightened the head, clicked it to put it into lockout mode. It started this weird pattern of fast blink, pause, fast blink, pause. Short Press, Long Press, Double Press - nothing changed it. Fiddled with it for a minute, then took the head off. Made sure the tail was tight, put the head on, got the “Hey, I’m Alive” blip, and the light was absolutely normal.

Again, no big deal for an enthusiast light, big deal to muggles or professionals.

mr_magoo · 2019-12-20T16:44:05.000Z

Photonica:

My FW3A has been totally reliable.

my FW3A is mostly reliable

I’ll go with Option B. My two are mostly reliable - for an enthusiast light. I’ve done the full maintenance treatment (disassembly, cleaning, assembly in the proper order). They still go into hinky states, like they’ve got gremlins. Not often, maybe once a week. Considering they are EDC and fidget bait, I can live with that.

The latest? I loosened the head on the WW light and put it away. Took out the CW one, tightened the head, clicked it to put it into lockout mode. It started this weird pattern of fast blink, pause, fast blink, pause. Short Press, Long Press, Double Press - nothing changed it. Fiddled with it for a minute, then took the head off. Made sure the tail was tight, put the head on, got the “Hey, I’m Alive” blip, and the light was absolutely normal.

Again, no big deal for an enthusiast light, big deal to muggles or professionals.

You accidentally clicked four times while on instead of 4 times from off and entered programming mode. I’ve done it a number of times myself.

I wish I could change the button sequence to something like 3 click and hold. I wish everything except normal operation uses were hidden with that kind of sequence, where the last click is a 1/2 second hold.

I do use lockout, but 4 clicks is excessive. Plus you have to turn the light off before you can lock it out, so it’s a long drawn out process to do so. I do like the light, but the u/I could use some tweaks to suit my tastes.

Honestly, any e-switch light should just always immediately go into lockout mode when turned off. Double click to turn on. Easy, easy. Hold to turn on sucks and doesn’t really work for accidental turn on prevention since its usually when sitting that it gets turned on, and that happens for more than a second most of the time.

If I could pay TK a pile of cash to build/ modify a u/I for me, I would. Alas, I dont believe I have enough spare cash for that. I wouldn’t want to insult her with the chump change I could afford.

Firelight2 · 2019-12-20T17:01:39.000Z

mr_magoo:

…
Honestly, any e-switch light should just always immediately go into lockout mode when turned off. Double click to turn on. Easy, easy. Hold to turn on sucks and doesn’t really work for accidental turn on prevention since its usually when sitting that it gets turned on, and that happens for more than a second most of the time.
…

Not a bad idea. Just add 1 click to the front of the most commonly used commands in Anduril.

So the new, pocket-protected UI would look something like this:

1 click from off - moonlight only while button is held down (equivalent to clicking in present Anduril in lockout mode)
1 click from off, then click again and hold down - moonlight then if continue holding, ramp up. (equivalent to click and hold from off in Anduril)
2 clicks from off - memorized mode (equivalent to 1 click from off in current version of Anduril).
3 clicks from off - turbo
4 clicks from off - battery check
Previous Anduril Lockout mode - removed. Not necessary with the extra click in front of all higher settings.

Once the light is on, all the controls can operate just like Anduril does today without the extra click. However, I think turbo should remain 3-clicks rather than 2 just to keep it consistent.

With this setup it should be ok to use Anduril even without manually activating a lockout mode and without taking any extra precautions like setting max ramp below max turbo, or adding washers around the button.

Maybe someone with some experience programming can try modding Anduril with this revised pocket-protected UI.

WalkIntoTheLight · 2019-12-20T17:10:44.000Z

xevious:

WalkIntoTheLight:

I really do want to like the light. It has positives, and lots of potential. The problem is that the drawbacks are too big to get over.

Too many drawbacks? I’m baffled by that statement.

Okay, off the top of my head, here are some of the issues I have with the FW3A.

1. The switch is way too easily activated for EDC. I tried mine, and it would go off in my pocket 2 or 3 times every hour. I’m not going to lock it out, just because the switch isn’t suitable.

2. If I take the battery out from the tail, like every other light I own, the tail assembly falls apart. I know it comes with a big warning, but no design should fall apart when used normally.

3. The light needs adjusting way too often. Clean the tail, clean the head, adjust the inner tube properly, etc. It should work out of the box, and keep working unless abused.

4. Quality control problems, some dangerous. Mine had the tail soldering issue. Others have had dirt in the tube that causes shorts.

5. Anduril. Yes, I know it’s fun, but it’s not product quality. There’s a Anduril muggle mode bug that causes the temperature to be ignored and ramps to high. There’s one of the D4v2 that causes it to melt down when you’re not around!

6. Anduril, again. It’s way too easy to put the light into a programming mode and mess up the settings. No reset on mine.

7. Temperature needs to be adjusted out of the box. This shouldn’t be necessary.

8. Switch is awkward for a hand-held light. Yes, I know this is user preference, but I was expecting the tail-switch to be easier to use, like on a C8 or BLF A6. I find it awkward to use the tail switch with one hand, while still keeping the light facing forward.

9. Difficult to remember how to use the UI. Yes, okay, if all I want to do is ramp up and down, it’s pretty easy. But I never can remember what happens if I triple-click or something like that, so I don’t do it unless I have the flow-chart with me. Will it lock out the light, change a setting, blink out some alien code? I have no idea without the chart.

10. Pocket clip. Meh. Where it rests, and with the slope of the body, it’s difficult to use. I have to scrape my pocket along the knurling, while I try to tuck it into the body slope. To be fair, a lot of lights don’t have very good clips, but this design seems to make those problems bigger.

Most of my other issues are more user-preferences, which isn’t really fair to list as problems.

Scallywag · 2019-12-20T17:32:51.000Z

WalkIntoTheLight:

Okay, off the top of my head, here are some of the issues I have with the FW3A.

1. The switch is way too easily activated for EDC. I tried mine, and it would go off in my pocket 2 or 3 times every hour. I’m not going to lock it out, just because the switch isn’t suitable.

2. If I take the battery out from the tail, like every other light I own, the tail assembly falls apart. I know it comes with a big warning, but no design should fall apart when used normally.

3. The light needs adjusting way too often. Clean the tail, clean the head, adjust the inner tube properly, etc. It should work out of the box, and keep working unless abused.

4. Quality control problems, some dangerous. Mine had the tail soldering issue. Others have had dirt in the tube that causes shorts.

5. Anduril. Yes, I know it’s fun, but it’s not product quality. There’s a Anduril muggle mode bug that causes the temperature to be ignored and ramps to high. There’s one of the D4v2 that causes it to melt down when you’re not around!

6. Anduril, again. It’s way too easy to put the light into a programming mode and mess up the settings. No reset on mine.

7. Temperature needs to be adjusted out of the box. This shouldn’t be necessary.

8. Switch is awkward for a hand-held light. Yes, I know this is user preference, but I was expecting the tail-switch to be easier to use, like on a C8 or BLF A6. I find it awkward to use the tail switch with one hand, while still keeping the light facing forward.

9. Difficult to remember how to use the UI. Yes, okay, if all I want to do is ramp up and down, it’s pretty easy. But I never can remember what happens if I triple-click or something like that, so I don’t do it unless I have the flow-chart with me. Will it lock out the light, change a setting, blink out some alien code? I have no idea without the chart.

10. Pocket clip. Meh. Where it rests, and with the slope of the body, it’s difficult to use. I have to scrape my pocket along the knurling, while I try to tuck it into the body slope. To be fair, a lot of lights don’t have very good clips, but this design seems to make those problems bigger.

Most of my other issues are more user-preferences, which isn’t really fair to list as problems.

Mine was $30. Sounds like you want an $80 light. That’s fine.