A Really Great Real Budget Light!

[Timothybil]

Just got a couple of these from Gearbest. It is a single AAA stainless penlight (no ano) with a Nichia NVSW219B emitter. Claims 240 lumens, which is in line with what that emitter should do. Here's the kicker - price is $9.90 USD with free shipping. Right now they are showing 'Out of Stock', but hopefully they will be getting more in soon. If they do I will be getting a couple more.

I dropped a 10440 in and it worked fine, but got hot really fast, so I took it out again. Guess I will stay with primary cells on these.

Even though it has a deep OP reflector, there is really no hot spot, just a nice smooth beam of 219B goodness. Definitely worth the $10.

 

[KeepingItLight]

Just two days ago, BLF member _the_ announced a custom 1x AAA flashlight that will be manufactured by SingFire and sold through GearBest. It's a Nichia 219B version of the stainless steel SingFire SF-348. The selected Nichia emitter is not the 4500K version we see most often. It is the Nichia NVSW219B-V1 R9050 (~5000K 90CRI). It has one mode, and although output has not been specified, I believe it will be pretty low, around 35-40 lumens.

I think the light you are referring to is the unbranded version of the BLF-348. Turns out it gets about 50 lumens on NiMH. The estimate of 35-40 was based on using an alkaline battery with a Cree emitter. The Nichia emitter has a lower forward voltage, which results in more current flow. At least, I think that is the explanation. Perhaps the lower voltage means that it outputs more lumens than a Cree emitter would do at the same current level. Anyway, its brighter that the standard SingFire 348.

The BLF-348 is a great flashlight. I bought 6 initially, and when I saw how good they were, I ordered 4 more. I've got some gifting to do! Using the coupon code that is freely available at BLF, the price was only $6.99 USD each.

Recently, a couple of buyers reported receiving lights with the wrong emitter. They did not get the high-CRI Nichia. Check yours.

Alas, the entire production run has now been sold out. As yet, there has not been any announcement about making another run.

Click the symbol to open the CPF discussion thread for the BLF-348.

 

[Ethan_90]

I just looked, they still have them for around $7.

 

[Timothybil]

I just looked, they still have them for around $7.

Thanks for the heads up - who knows how long they are going to have them available. Ordered two more, that's two more presents taken care of.

 

[KeepingItLight]

A second group buy was recently announced on BLF. This one includes an optional presentation box for an extra $1 USD. The group buy needs 800 subscribers to trigger production.

These lights are surprisingly good. The floody beam is perfect for household use and close work. For my money, the 5000K, high-CRI Nichia 219B emitters have perfect tint. There is no PWM. Being a single-mode light, there is no need for it.

 

[Timothybil]

I've got a 219B drop in from Mountain Electronics in my G2. The tints are obviously the same, but I kind of like the fact that the BLF 348 doesn't really have a hot spot. For closer work it is so even and smooth that I find myself turning it on just to look at it sometimes. The Nichia 219B has definitely become my favorite emitter. I also have one of Lumens Factory's XP-G 90+ D26 modules in my 6P - just as good of color rendition, but just a little warmer tint.

 

[Ethan_90]

I just ordered one too. And that 1Xaaa hugsby light.

 

[LightObsession]

Appear to be out of stock now.

 

[emarkd]

There's a new group buy for these lights being organized now on blf. Not sure when they'll become available, but they're coming.