How have you kept the switch working well? Both of my purples are unreliable. I had to fidget with them every single morning to get a half-day of reliable switch action and eventually gave up.
The three I bought for gifts recently all came with the little USB charging base and cell (all for under $15). As I have a bunch of 14500s, I just added an extra one in each box. I know that people might lose the charger, but I trust the people that I gave them to not do misplace them. Between the charger and extra cell, they should be fine.
2 Thanks
My absolute best flashlight purchase this year is the Manta Ray Osram.
1 Thank
Same as all my other FW3A / FW1A lights. After taking it apart once to clean everything and reassemble correctly, I generally don’t encounter any further issues.
However, these lights definitely needed the user to do a lot of things to get a new light working properly. Lumintop really dropped the ball on quality and assembly. For a while, Illumn did all that up-front work before shipping lights to customers, but it became too much of a burden so they stopped carrying the entire product line.
Same. It’s cool, but it’s so overpowered that I’d want to at least reflash the firmware to give it some safer limits before giving one to a new user. Also, I’d want to take it apart and ensure there isn’t any flux on the LEDs or anything like that. And add a charger. And give the person a tutorial on how to care for li-ion batteries. Maybe a new clip.
Added together, I would usually rather just give them something else. Like, a Wurkkos FC13 maybe.
1 Thank
Before I give a newbie an Anduril light, the first thing I do is lower the ceilings and disable Turbo…
fortunately Anduril has very good LVP, so I dont worry too much about LiIon hazards… I do always change the clip on the TS10…
for the SC21 Pro, the stock clip is fine imo…
It so happened that my path to BLF began with the Sofirn / Wurkkos brand.
this year my top:
- For open sea (searching, watch keeping and
ect, ect ) Wurkkos TS30S pro (LED color temperature is not ideal for me, but not bad). - for work inside el. panel Wurkkos HD20
- for walking Sofirn SC33
- multi-purpose
Sofirn SF16 - keychain
Sofirn SC21wurkkos fc11 (2700 k) - camping Sofirn BLF LT1 , LT1S
- party Wurkkos TS25
- headlight Wurkkos HD50 very nice
Peace to all.
3 Thanks
For me it was the copper Convoy T3 with a 3000K 519A. It was the only flashlight that I kept mostly intact for the year. The only mod was that I added a green lighted switch.
I was planning on slicing the 519A, but it was already nice and rosy so I left it as is.
My only complaint is that the low is not low enough with a 14500 to be considered moonlight. But I really like how it looks, has a great clip, good beam, and is plenty bright.
6 Thanks
Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia 3000K. It has better tint, UI, and ergonomics than my previous Zebralight headlamp.
I understand why for the most part you’re going to do that. I also don’t expect you to to be familiar with all manufacturers and how their model lineups should or should not be lumped into one pile/category. I think Armytek makes more headlight models then anybody else. For people that are not familiar with them many look almost identical. I assure you they are not. This is just a small sampling of their current lineup although the one on the bottom left is not in production anymore.
The nichia 3000k for a whole variety of reasons really is a separate and unique model. And it rises to the top of the pile.
1 Thank
Glad to see I am not the only one that likes ArmyTek.
1 Thank
good to know, thanks
it also has built in charging
otoh, be aware that the Pro lacks LVP
“NO Low Voltage Protection (LVP)! This is a big point, AFAIK all past Armytek lights have LVP, further inclusion of an unprotected cell with this light makes that choice all the worse. My recommendation for anyone who does purchase one, is to use a protected 18650 cell. Provided that the cell can handle a 7A continuous discharge, you should be fine to use all modes at full power. I recommend a Protected Sanyo NCRGA available from Illumn or Liionwholesale.”
update, I have been informed that the Pro Does Have LVP now…
That is from 4 years ago and it was fixed shortly after it was discovered. And that model is no longer produced. Their entire lineup was revamped starting about 2 maybe 3 years ago. They are more expensive than many other lights. And because there are so many models it is a daunting task to understand all of the different models and how they are different and which one may or may not appeal to certain people.
1 Thank
Armytek is cool! The UIs though… 
I’ve reviewed two from the Prime line C1 and C2 and they’re solid lights. The C1 Prime Pro has the highest, longest sustained output of any 18350 pocket light I’ve tested. It even beats 18650 lights. And it’s properly tiny. Expensive? Yes, but worth it.
I hope Armytek comes to their senses and uses a 519A in 2024 … the C1 Prime Pro looks like a light I would normally be excited about… but the beamshot tints of the low CRI LH351D in those TIRs was 
1 Thank
Most popular Flashlights for 2023 on BLF were:
| Flashlight | Count | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Wurkkos TS10 (all versions) | 1111111111111 | 13 |
| Emisar D4Sv2 | 11111 | 5 |
| Acebeam E75 | 1111 | 4 |
| Emisar D4K (all versions) | 1111 | 4 |
| Acebeam Pokelit AA | 111 | 3 |
| Emisar D2 | 111 | 3 |
| Acebeam Terminator M1 | 11 | 2 |
| Armytek Wizard C2 Pro Nichia | 11 | 2 |
| Convoy M21H | 11 | 2 |
| Convoy S3 | 11 | 2 |
| Lumintop FW3A | 11 | 2 |
| Wurkkos HD15 | 11 | 2 |
| Acebeam E70 mini | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam L19 2.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam L35 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam P16 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam P17 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam P18 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam TK18 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam W3 | 1 | 1 |
| Acebeam X80-GT 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Aliexpress S11 (Rovyvon clone) | 1 | 1 |
| Amutorch XT45 Nb90.16 | 1 | 1 |
| Armytek Wizard C1 Pro Magnet USB Warm | 1 | 1 |
| Armytek Wizard Nichia | 1 | 1 |
| Astrolux EC01X | 1 | 1 |
| Astrolux EC07 | 1 | 1 |
| BLF Q8 | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy 3x21D SBT90 | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy L21B | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy M21B | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy M21F | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy M26D | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy S21B | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy S21D | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy S21E | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy S6 | 1 | 1 |
| Convoy T3 | 1 | 1 |
| Emisar D1S | 1 | 1 |
| Emisar D2 | 1 | 1 |
| Fenix TK20R V2.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Haikelite MT09R | 1 | 1 |
| HDS Rotary | 1 | 1 |
| Imalent SR16 | 1 | 1 |
| Imalent SR32 | 1 | 1 |
| Jetbeam M64 | 1 | 1 |
| Jetbeam RRT-01 | 1 | 1 |
| Lumintop FWAA | 1 | 1 |
| Lumintop GT Nano | 1 | 1 |
| Lumintop Mach 4695 | 1 | 1 |
| Manker MC13 II | 1 | 1 |
| Manta Ray Osram | 1 | 1 |
| Noctigon M44 | 1 | 1 |
| Novatac 120P | 1 | 1 |
| Olight Marauder Mini | 1 | 1 |
| Skilhunt E2A | 1 | 1 |
| Skilhunt EC300 | 1 | 1 |
| Skilhunt H150 | 1 | 1 |
| Skilhunt H300 | 1 | 1 |
| Skilhunt M200 v3 | 1 | 1 |
| Skilhunt MiX-7 | 1 | 1 |
| Sofirn BLF LT1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sofirn HS20 | 1 | 1 |
| Sofirn SC21 | 1 | 1 |
| Sofirn SC21 Pro | 1 | 1 |
| Sofirn SC33 | 1 | 1 |
| Sofirn Q8 Plus | 1 | 1 |
| Tunenge S15 | 1 | 1 |
| Wuben TO50R | 1 | 1 |
| Wurkkos HD20 | 1 | 1 |
| Wurkkos HD50 | 1 | 1 |
| Wurkkos TS22 | 1 | 1 |
| Wurkkos TS25 | 1 | 1 |
| Wurkkos TS30S pro | 1 | 1 |
| Wurkkos WK15 | 1 | 1 |
| ZebraLight H600Fd | 1 | 1 |
| Zebralight SC65C | 1 | 1 |
| Zebralight SC700Fd | 1 | 1 |
7 Thanks
- Emisar D4K
- Acebeam Terminator M1
- Emisar D2
- Noctigon M44
- Imalent SR32
- Emisar D4Sv2
- Sofirn Q8 Plus
2 Thanks
updated the list!
Emisar D4K 100%. Not only did it make me buy a whole bunch of them but also made me realize that 21700 Quad is my favorite form factor!
1 Thank
I carry the 18650 version every day and haven’t gone for the D4K yet. I like to let pocket lights ride horizontally on the bottom of my pocket and I’m worried the extra length will make it harder to get out or cause binding in my pocket. The expanded capacity is awfully tempting though. And I like that the button bezel/ring screws into the D4K rather than being glued.
1 Thank
I would like to stop updating the table from now on. At this point more people would like to push certain flashlights up, just because of the current data.
5 Thanks