for the last 4 years or so i was mostly using a BLF A6 at work but just yesterday i have somehow lost it and i am sad. it has been a bad run this year, as i also managed to lose an FW3a at work.
A6:
- 5a tint (this is my perfect tint)
- very good pocket clip
- tough (clearly, it was dropped and knocked quite a few times in a manufacturing environment)
very nice tail switch that was firm and never accidentally activated
fw3a:
- looks beautiful
- nice pocket clip also
- love the ramping
- i did sometimes accidentally activate it
- body is a little slippery
smaller form factor than A6, which in any scenario other than work i would prioritise over all else (my work pants have big pockets)
also considering the fw1a. this is almost entirely used inside in a dingy environment, flood is more useful than spot and i don’t need 3000 lumens. i think for this i prefer tail switch over spot. is there anything else that i should consider? i haven’t paid attention to flashlights for a few years.
I haven’t got a lot of tail switch lights recently but coincidentally they all arrived in the last two months this year. All on the bigger side compared to A6 & FW3A. Lets see how my spreadsheet pastes:
FC12 is more of a thrower but the other two are nice lights. Can’t speak for how well they put up with rough environment, mine get babied. M21B is half price of E70 but has a button on the driver end instead of a spring so bigger drop impact.
The Wurkkos suggestions of fc11/fc12 look interesting. I could definitely take the bait on the 4000K fc11. I haven’t previously heard of Wurkkos though, they have proven reliability?
I use a Convoy S2 on my bike, which it does a good job of, however I prefer cycling modes on the A6. I just on/off the bike light.
With the sales on, I decided to give this new Wurkkos brand a crack. I ordered a TS21 (with battery) and a FC11. USB charge is handy at work and the magnetic tail is useful too. I read some good things re: quality, we’ll see. I do hate the name though.
Sofirn sc21, magnetic tailcap, CRI and tint, can use on baseball cap, usb C. Or TS21 as someone else mentioned, for all night run time, although I’m sure both will run all night just SC21 less bright mode.
I feel your pain on losing a good flashlight at work. Happened to me a couple of times too.
I EDC a 18650 cheap ($40-$50 Cdn) light that I use everyday at work. I stocked up on some Sofirn SP32 for this purpose when they go on sale. I’ve lost one, gave away one, and down to my last one. I use my flashlight fairly frequently during the day and prefer the 18650 format because it has a good balance of value, size, and brightness.
