# Review of Astrolux A01: Pics and Runtime



## Budda (Jan 22, 2016)

I received the 3 Astrolux A01 from BangGood

They came very well secured from damage during shipping.





Each Astrlux A1 comes in a cardboard box.










Inside each box there is a light with a spare o-ring and a splitring.

The A01 comes in 3 colours: black, grey and purple. Grey and purple are kind of glossy and tend to reflect the light a bit.




Size is typical for an AAA class light: 70x16 mm.




On my 3 samples the anodization is flawless.
There is some knurling on the head. Well lubed sqare threads, and an o-ring on the body.


 

A big lanyard hole is at the end of the body. Of course, hard to tailstand for the A01.


 

On the plus pole of the light there is a sponge ring, like on some other lights. 




Oh, did I mentioned the Neutral white nichia emitter? It is in an OP reflector.




UI
The light will turn on when the head is fully tightened on the body (as stated on the head)
The A01 has 4 levels: low (firefly like), medium (less than 10 lumens), hi (100 lumens) and strobe.
The light has no memory, and will turn on at low level. To advance to the next level, you need to turn off and on the light quickly (loose and tighten the head on the body), thus you will go from low, to medium, to high, and finally strobe.
The light has no memory, after 5 seconds since turned off, the light will turn on at low mode.

Runtime test:



At hi level, the initial output is similar for the 3 different cells: alkaline, nimh and lithium. The regulation, however is better for the lithium and nimh cells. Alkaline are semi regulated. Please note that lithium are ufficially unsupported, but I decided to test them anyway.




The specs state 7 hours at med level. Here you can see that the light keeps running for almost 10 hours, keeping the output constant all the way.

My thoughts:
This is a simple and well made AAA light. I am impressed by the quality of the light given the price (less than 10€ as today).
I like the body with the round/squared portions, they also help improving the grip, without the need of knurling on the body.
The grey and purple anodization colours are not common in this class of lights. If you are not a fan of this colours, regoular black is also available.
The tint it is great. The usual nichia 219b is hicri and 5000 k. I love hicri lights but I find the 5000k too similar to CW. But the nichia on this Astrolux A01 it's much warm, around 4000K. 
The output it's ok: 100 lumens are more than enough for what I usually do with an AAA light. 
One thing I don't like is the lack of memory: when you turn on the light, you always get firefly mode. If you need something more than .1 lumen, you have to turn off and on again the light. Thus doing, you get mid level, which is around 10 lumens. If the A01 had memory, for my use will be better.


Other test and beamshot will follow.
Thanks for reading.


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## maukka (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Thanks for the review. I just got my A01 and the runtime matches quite well with yours.

My finish was a bit scratched on the grey one. Purple is perfect.







Here's a couple measurements on the color.


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## KeepingItLight (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Thanks for a nice review! I appreciate all the work you put into this one.

I ordered one of the gray ones, hoping it is a natural, undyed anodization. Three more colors, red, blue, and orange, are being offered in the group buy at BudgetLightForum. I believe they will be ready next month sometime. A copper version is contemplated, but signups at BLF only indicate interest at this point. 

*Pluses: *
High-CRI Nichia 219B in a 3-mode, 1xAAA flashlight is a great deal for the price. I ordered mine using the public coupon code that can be found at BudgetLightForum. It's good for a dollar off.

*Concerns:* 
I would have preferred springs instead of a foam pad, and a switch instead of a twisty. I am not sure I will like the 4000K CCT, but I am looking forward to trying it. 

By way of comparison, the *BLF-348* has both springs and a reverse clicky switch, but it only has one mode. The 5000K, high-CRI Nichia emitter it uses is nearly perfect.


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## derfyled (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Is the power regulated by PWM ?


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## maukka (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*



derfyled said:


> Is the power regulated by PWM ?


No PWM is used at any level.


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## Budda (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

I am very sensitive about pwm, and this light I can't detect it.

I love warm tints, so I don't like the usual 5K NIchia 219 that I have for example on my sportac dropin.
To my eyes, used to 7A3 and 8B4, that 5k looks like a royal blue 
So, I am very pleased with the tint on the A01. 

Thanks maukka for providing that graphs and infos. Could you tell me which instrument did you use to get them?


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## maukka (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*



Budda said:


> Thanks maukka for providing that graphs and infos. Could you tell me which instrument did you use to get them?



X-rite i1Pro spectrophotometer with ArgyllCMS and HCFR software.


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## Budda (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Thank you for the reply and for significant contribution to the thread.
Can I also ask what is the difference between CRI (Ra) and CRI (R9)?


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## maukka (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

CRI (Ra) is the average of eight different colors (R1-R8). R9 is deep red that is not included in the calculation of CRI (Ra). It is usually the most difficult one for LEDs since the light output at that wavelength is so small. R12, deep blue, is also challenging.

Here's an example how well a high CRI Eagletach D25LC2 with a Nichia 219 emitter renders different colors.






CRI (Ra) isn't necessarily the best way to tell if an LED light source is great at rendering colors accurately, but it is the most common standard. To remedy this TLCI was developed.

More about TLCI: http://www.asensetek.com/television-lighting-consistency-index-tlci-introduction/

There's also CQS, CRI2102, GAI and MCRI, but these are not standards. I recommend reading the manual of Babelcolor CT&A software for more information:

http://www.babelcolor.com/index_htm_files/CT&A_Help.pdf


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## jon_slider (Jan 22, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Im guessing these Manker E01specs apply also to the Astrolux E01:
Modes: low 0.14lm (l00h) mid 7lm (7.2h) high 102lm(0.5h) strobe 102lm




maukka said:


>


THANK YOU!


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## Budda (Jan 24, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*




At hi level, the initial output is similar for the 3 different cells: alkaline, nimh and lithium. The regulation, however is better for the lithium and nimh cells. Alkaline are semi regulated. Please note that lithium are ufficially unsupported, but I decided to test them anyway.




The specs state 7 hours at med level. Here you can see that the light keeps running for almost 10 hours, keeping the output constant all the way.

I added the graphs and some thoughts to the review.


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## stephenk (Jan 25, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Thanks for this review, I wasn't aware of this light. I like firefly being the first mode. 
Anyone know if there is realistically likely to be a copper version?


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## kreisl (Jan 25, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*



Budda said:


> I received the 3 Astrolux A01 from BangGood
> They came very well secured from damage during shipping.
> Each Astrlux A1 comes in a cardboard box.
> Inside each box there is a light with a spare o-ring and a splitring.
> ...



Wow, awesome review!!


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## Phlogiston (Jan 25, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

A good review and lots of interesting information in this thread. 

Thanks to everyone involved


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## jon_slider (Jan 25, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*



stephenk said:


> Anyone know if there is realistically likely to be a copper version?



I do not know, but given that I have been buying Copper Worms, Tools and Maratacs for over $40 each, I doubt the AO1 in copper would be the same price as the Aluminum ones.

I would not be suprised if they come out with one that is Copper COLORED, but not solid copper. These are however just my opinions, based purely on speculation without evidence. I look forward to being educated further.


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## stephenk (Jan 25, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*



jon_slider said:


> I do not know, but given that I have been buying Copper Worms, Tools and Maratacs for over $40 each, I doubt the AO1 in copper would be the same price as the Aluminum ones.
> 
> I would not be suprised if they come out with one that is Copper COLORED, but not solid copper. These are however just my opinions, based purely on speculation without evidence. I look forward to being educated further.


I think there was talk on the other forum about a copper version being under $20, which is pretty cheap, though no confirmation that it will go ahead.


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## Bullzeyebill (Jan 25, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

I'm thinking that the foam pad is used for mechanical reverse polarity protection. I may be wrong, with it being used for protection for the + side, and to keep accidental activation from occurring.

Bill


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## Budda (Jan 26, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

you can see a white plastic ring, on the plus pole, under the foam ring. this should provide also the absolute protection of polarity inversion.


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## dealgrabber2002 (Feb 9, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Are the led centered on yours?


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## Budda (Feb 10, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

Yes, they are.
On another forum a member has one with not centered led, and the beam is fine.

EDIT: I looked again at the black one and is off center, but the beam is fine also on this one.


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## KiwiMark (Jun 10, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

I have just receive an Astrolux A01 from Banggood and I must say that for the US$10 (with free shipping) I paid I'm pretty impressed with it.
I've been using an L3 Illumination L08 light on a daily basis - it is also a Nichia 219 (Here's a thread - http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ichia-219-1xAAA)-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMS-VIDEO) and it also has moonlight mode as its first mode.
The L08 does tail-stand easily so it wins on that.
But the A01 costs less and produces a fairly similar output - great value IMO.
My L08 has one obvious failing - the holes for a split ring are quite close to the edge and I had to stop using mine because it looked like it would wear through completely and I would lose the light off my key ring. The A01 definitely wont have that problem.

I think I'll put the A01 on my keyring and use it as my EDC - it does exactly what I want from my EDC light.


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## markr6 (Jun 10, 2016)

*Re: Review of Astrolux A01 - for subimission in the review Forum*

I have the Manker E01 version. Very nice little light. Warmer than I would like, but not bad. 4500 or 5000K would have been great.


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## Sicnarf (Jun 11, 2016)

Thanks for the A01 review, just ordered one.
Be interesting to see if it lasts as long as my Led Lenser aaa P2.


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## KiwiMark (Jun 11, 2016)

Has anyone else noticed a dimming & brightening of the output on firefly mode? Mine seems steady on medium and high but on the low mode I notice it going dimmer and brighter and dimmer again, I tried with 3 different batteries and it does the same on all of them.
I'm considering buying another one or two if this is unusual as these are cheap enough that I wouldn't sweat this one doing that and it is still usable anyway.
I've put a fresh charge on an Eneloop AAA and put my A01 on my main keyring, gonna try it out as my main EDC (I have other lights to supplement it for backup or when I need more light) for a while.


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## GarageBoy (Jul 19, 2016)

I just got two when they were $8 a pop on bang good - one's pinker, one's warmer - guess I'll keep the warm one - replacing my single mode E05 for a little bit


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## evgeniy (Oct 7, 2016)

received few A01.
Measured color temp: 
Astrolux A01 1 (max.) : 5050 auto , 5000-5100 manual
Astrolux A01 2 (max.) : 5050 auto , 4800-4900 manual
Astrolux A01 3 (max.) : 4850 auto , 4800 manual.

sw50 LED instead of sw40 in early flashlights.


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## KiwiMark (Oct 8, 2016)

KiwiMark said:


> Has anyone else noticed a dimming & brightening of the output on firefly mode? Mine seems steady on medium and high but on the low mode I notice it going dimmer and brighter and dimmer again, I tried with 3 different batteries and it does the same on all of them.
> I'm considering buying another one or two if this is unusual as these are cheap enough that I wouldn't sweat this one doing that and it is still usable anyway.
> I've put a fresh charge on an Eneloop AAA and put my A01 on my main keyring, gonna try it out as my main EDC (I have other lights to supplement it for backup or when I need more light) for a while.



Four months later and I'm still using it as a keyring EDC, the dimming & brightening has either stopped happening or I've stopped noticing. This light is working very well and considering the cost it is hard to not be impressed by the value for money.


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## jon_slider (Oct 10, 2016)

*PWM reported on the new driver:

EyeballFryer wrote:*
Instead of resetting back to moon mode after x seconds, it always goes to the next mode
...
The driver in the head no longer says Manker.
...
the middle mode, … has PWM.


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## KiwiMark (Feb 18, 2017)

KiwiMark said:


> Four months later and I'm still using it as a keyring EDC, the dimming & brightening has either stopped happening or I've stopped noticing. This light is working very well and considering the cost it is hard to not be impressed by the value for money.



Update:
On a motorcycle trip my Astrolux had a failure - the head became unscrewed and fell off, lost forever. The magnetic base of my tank bag 'caught' my AAA eneloop and the body of the light was still attached to my keyring - the driver and emitter were in the head though and they are gone.

I saw the Astrolux A01 lights on special at Banggood so I ordered 3 and I have them now - yay!
But all 3 have the new UI with the non-Manker drivers - boo!

I've been testing:
If I get the light onto medium and then turn it off, 2 hours later I turn it on and it I get high mode.
If I get the light onto medium and then turn it off, 3 hours later I turn it on and it I get low mode.
Somewhere between 2 and 3 hours this light resets.
I use the light each morning and it comes on in low mode as I want, that's good I suppose. But if I turn it off then I'll get medium mode unless I wait for more than 2-3 hours.

I bought a Manker E01 for $15.95 from Manker's site. 
If I get the light onto medium and then turn it off, 5 seconds later I turn it on and it I get high mode.
If I get the light onto medium and then turn it off, 11 seconds later I turn it on and it I get low mode.
Manker says it resets after being off for 10 seconds, happily this information is correct.

If you don't want the new (completely rubbish) UI then I'd recommend buying the Manker E01 for a few more dollars and forget about the Astrolux.


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## a16 (Apr 16, 2017)

@KiwiMark:
Thank you so much for saving me throwing away a few quid, that I can now spend on chocolate instead. I placed an order for the BLF-348 Nichia on GearBest, and took a gander at BangGood to see what they had, and was going to take a punt on an Astrolux A01. I definitely don't fancy the inferior driver, and those off times to then come on and blind me - no thanks.
I recently bought my first 'proper' flashlight, Lumintop IYP-365 after creating a thread looking for advice to replace the 2AA incandescent Mini Maglite. I'm happy with the IYP365, turns off, comes on in medium pretty much every time, unless I'm pretty quick to turn back on. I guess the mode switch gap is about 1-2 seconds, so it's more predictable.
I might well take a look at Manker lights next.

Cheers!


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## sbslider (Apr 16, 2017)

I purchased the Manker E01 a couple months ago. I struggled a bit with it for about 6 weeks, lots of mode skipping. The heatsink that screws into the head and holds the driver board was loose in the head, and would slowly unscrew as the light was turned on and off. Then the driver board disconnected from the heat sink. Yikes!! I managed to put it back together again with a bit of flowable silicone. Since I did this repair and reassembled the light, the driver heatsink stays put thanks to a bit of extra silicone on the side, and the light has only mode skipped once in over 100 tries. So I am now very pleased with this light. I did purchase it as an open box unit from Amazon, I suspect the previous owner had the same problems and returned it. For $9,not bad. It was a work to fix, but the sort of work I enjoy in general, especially when I am successful. 

I will say I only use the light on firefly mode in the middle of the night, it excels for that task.


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## Zorzi (Apr 15, 2018)

KiwiMark said:


> Update:
> On a motorcycle trip my Astrolux had a failure - the head became unscrewed and fell off, lost forever. The magnetic base of my tank bag 'caught' my AAA eneloop and the body of the light was still attached to my keyring - the driver and emitter were in the head though and they are gone.
> 
> I saw the Astrolux A01 lights on special at Banggood so I ordered 3 and I have them now - yay!
> ...



Hey KiwiMark, I just found this thread looking for any information about people that thought the Astrolux A01 had too short screws... That was the first thing that caught my attention when I got one of these in may hands. I thought the head would be easily lost as it is needed only a few turns to remove the head... That's a pity, I like this flashlight appart from this..

Cheers,


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## AB8XL (Dec 22, 2018)

Is there a spring at the base of the tube for the battery at the (-) side?


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## KiwiMark (Dec 28, 2018)

yoyobrotha said:


> Is there a spring at the base of the tube for the battery at the (-) side?



Yes, definitely. The Manker and the Astrolux both have a spring at the base of the tube on the -ve side.


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