# Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **NEW BEAMSHOTS ADDED**



## RichS (Sep 11, 2012)

So I've seen some of the posts on this tiny giant the Fire Foxes FF3, and have been itching to get my hands on one. Unfortunately I missed the group buy, and didn't really want to wait for another one to get organized. So, I searched the net and found a website in China I hadn't heard of before (has flashlight-torch in the name) that had 3 of these in stock, for $270 shipped. I asked around and no one had any experience with the site, so I emailed them to make sure I got responses to my questions. 

So, I went ahead and took a chance and ordered one late on Friday night (9/7). I got an email Monday morning that they'd shipped the light already! I got an email with an EMS Express tracking no. (keep in mind it was free shipping..). So, I watched the progress from Shanghai China to Ohio, and it was delivered this morning at 8:30am! 1 Day shipping from China?! Anyway, I didn't even know it was possible, but there you go.

Over and above my happy experience above, I am completely *BLOWN AWAY* by this light! I had a Magic Fire Scorpion, and I figured that with 4 batteries in the body, this light had to be close as big and hefty as that one. Boy was I wrong! Somehow this light is way smaller, and much much lighter than the Scorpion. I took a few pics to demonstrate how small, but it is way smaller. The build quality, fit and finish, and anodizing is all amazing on this light.

And yet, all of the above pale in comparison to my jaw dropping experience when I got it outside tonight! Keep in mind, I've been in the flashlight hobby for a few years now, and have had some pretty bright lights - 2,000 lumen mag mods, M6, a couple of HIDs, etc.. but when I got this out tonight, it was just mind boggling to me that something so tiny could produce such a crazy amount of light, not to mention the throw it has! On top of that, it has a perfect tint and color rendering is wonderful. To say I was blown away is an understatement. I wasn't able to get beamshots tonight, but I'll try to get some up soon.

One thing I did have to do is shorten the springs on the battery carrier. I am using protected AW 3100 18650s, and they wouldn't fit in to the carrier due to their height. I cut a few coils off of each of the springs, and now they fit just fine.

Oh yeah - and I fully expected a loud, annoying noise from the ballast based on what I read. Where's the noise on mine?! Seriously, until I was in dead quiet and put my ear close to the light, I couldn't hear a thing. Only beautiful silence and lots of pretty lumens.....

A few pics of the "unveiling" and pics in hand. Hope to add a few nice beamshots soon!

*(This thing was packed well)*






























*
This thing is crazy small for a 40 watt HID!!!*














*
Took a few coils off the negative spring, and AW 3100's then fit perfectly*










*Beamshots!!

*Ok - I got a few of the highest powered lights I could get a hold of from friends of mine (thanks Chris and Ryan!). So, below are shots from 350' and 850' using the below lights:



Mag09 - 2,000 lumens
Mag 458 w/ FM 3" Head - 6,500 lumens
POB 35W HID - 3,500 lumens
Fire Foxes FF3 - 4,000 lumens


*350 Feet
*

































*850 Feet

*




























*Close Cropped on Target*





*Conclusion:*

The tiny Fire Foxes FF3 bested the 6,500 lumen output of the Mag458, and to my eye has at least as much if not more _effective r_each as the POB spotlight. It may not be the pencil beam of the POB, but at 850 feet, I feel I could as easily if not more easily identify a target using the FF3 as with the POB. In addition, it covers a much broader area with close to the intensity as the POB. Much beyond that distance, you're not going to be able to identify a target with your naked eye anyway.


*Total Lumen Output Comparison
*
This helps to give a better visual representation of total lumen output, by letting you see how brightly each light illuminates the room. Again, I used manual mode with all settings locked (1 sec exposure, 100 ISO, Daylight WB). The same lights were used:


Mag09 - 2,000 lumens
Mag 458 w/ FM 3" Head - 6,500 lumens
POB 35W HID - 3,500 lumens
Fire Foxes FF3 - 4,000 lumens


:devil:






:devil::devil:






:devil::devil::devil:






:devil::devil::devil::devil:

























*
Conclusion: *I'm not sure how it bested the 6,000+ lumen Mag458, but it clearly did. 

*This little beast rocks!!!*


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## Leoht (Sep 11, 2012)

Congratulations on your purchase. I was blown away with the FF3 to. I am running Panasonic IMR cells in mine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.


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## hahoo (Sep 11, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



Leoht said:


> Congratulations on your purchase. I was blown away with the FF3 to. I am running Panasonic IMR cells in mine.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.




how many lux ?


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## Illum (Sep 11, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Nice review!

The only thing keeping me away from HIDs [tried it, sold it] is that the color temperature is often too high [4500K is wonderful, 6000K :green: ], and require being left on for awhile. Short term on/off cycling is supposedly bad for the ballest and the actual arc tube. If I have to leave it on, then I expect the light to operate well with a decent runtime. In retrospect, I regret having sold my amondotech N30. It wasn't pocketable, but it had everything on it I found useful. Whats the runtime on this fatboy, do you know?


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## rufus001 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Great Post RichS. I've had a couple of people PM me about this HID and I've always told them that they will be stunned by the performance. And it has such a nice tint compared to some other HIDS. I also purchased from the same website. Anybody who is ummmming or aaaahing about purchasing this HID ... JUST BUY IT!


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## rufus001 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

I'll double check the lux tonight for you Hahoo.


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## Glenn7 (Sep 12, 2012)

Hmmmm thanks for nothing! posting this thread about this light  ........... Now there is only 1 left  been eyeballing it for a while now $256.50AUD not bad IMO - thanks for posting this!


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## rufus001 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!!*



Glenn7 said:


> Hmmmm thanks for nothing! posting this thread about this light  ........... Now there is only 1 left  been eyeballing it for a while now $256.50AUD not bad IMO - thanks for posting this!



Don't worry. The stock left figure seems to jump up and down so I think they have access to more.


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## Glenn7 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!!*

Ha ha stock went down by 1 because it was me that bought one, I didn't make it clear


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## ma_sha1 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!!*

Congrats! RichS!


FYI, the loud ballast noise is only in the 1st 40 or so pre-release batch, which I fixed it by potting the ballasts top & bottom boards.

The later release fixed the noise, I suspect they potted the ballast in the production run, if you open the bezel, make sure to take a picture of the ballast.


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## Gunner12 (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!!*

Nice post!

I think I also found that same site with the light for sale, good to know that you have a good experience with them. Been eyeing the FF3 as well, but decided that I wanted to see how I like HIDs first before getting one. That and the buzzing noise of the FF3 ballast which seems to be fixed now.

Maybe they can also add a layer of insulation between the reflector and the electronics, so it can run at max for longer (like ma_sha1 did).

How's the startup time on the light?


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## Lips (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!!*

:twothumbs


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## RichS (Sep 12, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



Leoht said:


> Congratulations on your purchase. I was blown away with the FF3 to. I am running Panasonic IMR cells in mine.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.



Thanks!! I thought about using IMR cells, but from what I read the constant draw is not too much for the protected 3100s to handle. Gives me a little more run time.



Illum said:


> Nice review!
> 
> The only thing keeping me away from HIDs [tried it, sold it] is that the color temperature is often too high [4500K is wonderful, 6000K :green: ], and require being left on for awhile. Short term on/off cycling is supposedly bad for the ballest and the actual arc tube. If I have to leave it on, then I expect the light to operate well with a decent runtime. In retrospect, I regret having sold my amondotech N30. It wasn't pocketable, but it had everything on it I found useful. Whats the runtime on this fatboy, do you know?



Thanks! If color temp kept you away, come back to the beauty of 4300K! This rendering on this light is amazing. Not sure on runtime, but I'd estimate around 50 minutes (on 3100mAH batts) based on what I read regarding the current draw.



Glenn7 said:


> Hmmmm thanks for nothing! posting this thread about this light  ........... Now there is only 1 left  been eyeballing it for a while now $256.50AUD not bad IMO - thanks for posting this!



Whoops, sorry Glenn....you may hate me now, but you'll be thanking me when you turn it on for the first time!!



ma_sha1 said:


> Congrats! RichS!
> 
> 
> FYI, the loud ballast noise is only in the 1st 40 or so pre-release batch, which I fixed it by potting the ballasts top & bottom boards.
> ...



Thanks ma sha. Yep, must have been fixed in this one since it is so quiet. Thanks so much to you for your info and review that pushed me into buying this light. I truly feel like I'm holding the sun in my hands!!



Gunner12 said:


> Nice post!
> 
> I think I also found that same site with the light for sale, good to know that you have a good experience with them. Been eyeing the FF3 as well, but decided that I wanted to see how I like HIDs first before getting one. That and the buzzing noise of the FF3 ballast which seems to be fixed now.
> 
> ...



Looks like the site has 4 more in stock. Just get one man!! The startup time on this is better than I've ever seen in the 4 other HIDs I've owned. It is at full power in 15 seconds, but it seems super bright after about 5 seconds - maybe at 70% in 5 seconds or so. Pretty incredible.


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## rufus001 (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



hahoo said:


> how many lux ?



I get about 185K lux at 1m.


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## The_Driver (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

How long does it take until yours steps down?

Do they declare the real value of the light on the customs form?
Did you have to pay import duties/taxes?


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## BVH (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Step down has varied on mine from 8 minutes to 12, depending on ambient temps and if it's moving around or stationary.


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## ma_sha1 (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



hahoo said:


> how many lux ?



Here are some firefox lux numbers. All my numbers are measured at 10 meter & back calculated:

--*Fire-Foxes III*(火狐2012)*. 40W HID**, *3" reflector: *225,000 cp* (1st pre-production unit, Measured by ma_sha1)
--*Fire-Foxes III*(火狐2012)*. 40W HID**, *3" reflector: *224,000 cp* (Measured by Colonel Sanders @ 10m)
--*Fire-Foxes I *(火狐2009), *35W HID *2.6" SMO, Peeled naked bulb, *148,500* cp (measured by shinetop, 3 meters) 
--*Fire-Foxes I *(火狐2009)* 35W HID**, *2.6" SMO, Peeled naked bulb: *100,000 cp* (Measured by ma_sha1)
--*Fire-Foxes I *(火狐2009) *35W HID**, *2.6" SMO, Peeled naked bulb: *115,000 cp* (2nd unit Measured by ma_sha1)

*To compare with other HIDs lux numbers, see here:*
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...ated-Short-Arc-amp-HID-spotlight-Lux-readings


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## jmpaul320 (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

yeah, i love my ff3

i will go hungry and starve to death before i sell mine... that is until the ff4 comes out


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## Illum (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



RichS said:


> Thanks! If color temp kept you away, come back to the beauty of 4300K! This rendering on this light is amazing. Not sure on runtime, but I'd estimate around 50 minutes (on 3100mAH batts) based on what I read regarding the current draw.



:thumbsup:
I might consider it down the road, you mentioned the need to trim the springs, what was it originally meant for? flat top 18650s?


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## BVH (Sep 13, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Even with the newer 2900 and 3100 flat top cells, it's very tight quarters length-wise. It would be very easy to tear the shrink wrap insulator near the edge of the cylinder (creating a dead short point) after a few insertions and removals. I have not done mine but I think it's a good move.


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## RichS (Sep 14, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



Illum said:


> :thumbsup:
> I might consider it down the road, you mentioned the need to trim the springs, what was it originally meant for? flat top 18650s?



Yep - per the documentation that came with the light, it said to use unprotected cells. This is probably because the circuit would limit the inital amperage spike (5A maybe??) for most protected cells. I was pretty sure that the amperage protection on AW 3100 cells were set high enough to handle it, and I was right. But yes, the springs included were meant to be for the shorter unprotected cells.

Personally, I would never run 4 high capacity li-ion cells in series that didn't each have protection circuits. Sure, the light has a built in cutoff (12V), but this could mean that 3 cells could be at 3.5v, and 1 could be at 1.5v before it kicked in. That's not enough protection for me when it comes to li-ions in series in a fairly high-drain (for li-ion) application..


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## RichS (Sep 14, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



ma_sha1 said:


> Here are some firefox lux numbers. All my numbers are measured at 10 meter & back calculated:
> 
> --*Fire-Foxes III*(火狐2012)*. 40W HID**, *3" reflector: *225,000 cp* (1st pre-production unit, Measured by ma_sha1)
> --*Fire-Foxes III*(火狐2012)*. 40W HID**, *3" reflector: *224,000 cp* (Measured by Colonel Sanders @ 10m)
> ...



Wow...that's freakin' incredible for a light of this size. Thanks for the info!!


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## RichS (Sep 14, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



The_Driver said:


> How long does it take until yours steps down?
> 
> Do they declare the real value of the light on the customs form?
> Did you have to pay import duties/taxes?



I haven't had it on any long runs yet. I'll take it camping and go on a night hike in a couple weeks, so I'll see about this then.

I honestly didn't see a customs form on the packaging, and no, I didn't have to pay import duties or taxes.


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## rufus001 (Sep 14, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



ma_sha1 said:


> Here are some firefox lux numbers. All my numbers are measured at 10 meter & back calculated:
> 
> --*Fire-Foxes III*(火狐2012)*. 40W HID**, *3" reflector: *225,000 cp* (1st pre-production unit, Measured by ma_sha1)
> --*Fire-Foxes III*(火狐2012)*. 40W HID**, *3" reflector: *224,000 cp* (Measured by Colonel Sanders @ 10m)
> ...



I wonder why I only got 185k.


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## BVH (Sep 14, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Could be your measurement is being taken too close, not allowing for full/tightest collimation of the beam whereas Ma_Sha's is taken further away and calc'd back. I think member Get Lit has a number of posts on this subject in one of his threads.

Rufus, based on the below post, is there a chance your light was in stepped-down mode when you took the reading?


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## Leoht (Sep 14, 2012)

The_Driver said:


> How long does it take until yours steps down?
> 
> Do they declare the real value of the light on the customs form?
> Did you have to pay import duties/taxes?



When it is cold outside my FF3 does not step down, I have ran it a couple of times for more than half an hour once on the summit of Ben Nevis (Australia) and once at home checking the paddocks. Both times it was brass monkey weather. Mvyrmnd had it step down doing a runtime test inside, I think he said it took about 8 minutes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.


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## rufus001 (Sep 15, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



BVH said:


> Rufus, based on the below post, is there a chance your light was in stepped-down mode when you took the reading?



No it was only on for about 1 minute. I measure from 10 metres. Maybe I'm doing something wrong when testing. Hmmm. It throws plenty far enough anyway so I'm still extra happy with it. I'm just being inquisitive really. I may remeasure again tonight.


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## Glenn7 (Sep 16, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Thought mine would be here today but I think tomorrow will be the go, I think they are are sending it by carrier dolphin.... DHL tracking http://www.dhl-usa.com/content/us/en/express/tracking.shtml?brand=DHL&AWB=3197692772%0D%0A 
Anyway I think someone has been busy buying them as there was 1 left when I bought mine then there were 5 more now 2 left - Great find RichS thanks.


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## Glenn7 (Sep 18, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Got it today and using it at work, its unbelievably bright and makes all my led torches look dull - the throw on this thing is so good for such a small bodied light.

I'm VERY glad I got one


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## archimedes (Sep 18, 2012)

Glenn7 said:


> Got it today and using it at work, its unbelievably bright and makes all my led torches look dull - the throw on this thing is so good for such a small bodied light.
> 
> I'm VERY glad I got one



First HID for me, hope I picked a winner :thinking: .... Between the gorgeous warm tint and powerful output, it seems just like a tiny hand-held sun - 

BTW, could the experts here lay out the pro/con of IMR versus ICR (+/- protected cells) to power this thing? Four 18650s in series ... concerns me a bit. Anything to know beyond the standard basic safety precautions?


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## RichS (Sep 19, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



archimedes said:


> First HID for me, hope I picked a winner :thinking: .... Between the gorgeous warm tint and powerful output, it seems just like a tiny hand-held sun -
> 
> BTW, could the experts here lay out the pro/con of IMR versus ICR (+/- protected cells) to power this thing? Four 18650s in series ... concerns me a bit. Anything to know beyond the standard basic safety precautions?



I think you definitely picked a winner! I have never seen any light of comparable size put out anything close to this much light. And, it's a beautiful, practical beam and runtime to boot!!

Since the experts haven't yet been able to weigh in on your question, I'll give you my layman's opinion. If safety is your primary concern, and you are leary of li-ions to begin with, I would go with IMR batteries. You are right, running multiple, high-capacity li-ions in series - especially in a high-drain application - increases your risk. IMR would be much safer to use. 

However, runtime would be pretty much cut in half by using IMRs. 18650 IMR capacity is about 1600mAh compared to 3100mAh for li-ions - so almost 50% loss in capacity. The manufacturer recommends unprotected li-ions, which I would personally never use with this light. I am using AW li-ions which are protected. I had to shorten the springs to do this, but it was worth it to have the additional safety. This way, I can get the longer run-time of li-ions, and each battery is individually protected from over/unbalanced discharge. AW has a long track record of reliability and safety, and this gives me a lot of piece of mind.

In addition, the new AW 3100mAH 18650 li-ions have other safety mechanisms built into the battery in addition to the protection circuit. You can read more about it in his sales thread on CPFMP. This gives me a little more piece of mind when using these. Plus, they are rated at up to 6A max draw, and this light is well below that after the initial strike. 

The light itself has a protection cut-off at 12V, but this is at the overall voltage level, and doesn't account for potential unbalanced charged cells or unbalanced discharge. 

I hope this helps.


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## archimedes (Sep 19, 2012)

Thanks very much, *RichS* ... your comments confirm my thinking, as I have indeed gone with the AW IMR cells. Safety takes priority over runtime, for my use of this light. I appreciate your comments, and welcome others' thoughts on these issues.


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## Glenn7 (Sep 19, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

My light came with instructions in Chinese, so no help.
does anyone have or know where I can read the manual because when I turn my light on the switch lights up of course but I just wanted to know after some use the light in the button starts to flash on and off - does that mean 50% or change batteries,or what?

Thanks for your help.


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## RichS (Sep 19, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



Glenn7 said:


> My light came with instructions in Chinese, so no help.
> does anyone have or know where I can read the manual because when I turn my light on the switch lights up of course but I just wanted to know after some use the light in the button starts to flash on and off - does that mean 50% or change batteries,or what?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


Mine came with English instructions in addition to the Chinese (you can read them in my first post), and it does mention that the battery carrier has a "low voltage indicator", which is the flashing light. So, it means low voltage, but doesn't say what voltage the pack had to reach before it starts flashing. Is it possible to check to voltage on your pack and let us know?


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## Glenn7 (Sep 19, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

I don't have a voltage meter sorry, when I got home I just charged the batteries anyway - I do have a cottonpickers charger that can tell me the voltage of each battery, I could check each one if you want but I guess you guys can do that anyway.


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## RichS (Sep 19, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



Glenn7 said:


> I don't have a voltage meter sorry, when I got home I just charged the batteries anyway - I do have a cottonpickers charger that can tell me the voltage of each battery, I could check each one if you want but I guess you guys can do that anyway.


If you could, I'd be curious to know...hopefully all your batts are pretty close to the same voltage, so it would give us a good idea anyway.


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## The_Driver (Sep 20, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Could everybody chime in on the humming problem some users have reported? Does your light prodoce a continuous loud noise (audible when holding the light ans walking around with it)?


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## parkschr (Sep 20, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Ordered this light. Thanks RichS for the awesome review.


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## bigsteve (Sep 20, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Hi does anyone no how this compares to the Magic Fire 65W?


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## RichS (Sep 20, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***




The_Driver said:


> Could everybody chime in on the humming problem some users have reported? Does your light prodoce a continuous loud noise (audible when holding the light ans walking around with it)?


As I mentioned in the OP, there is no hum or whine from my light. Ma Shai mentioned that this was only an issue in the prototype, but was fixed in the final production version. Apparently from my experience this is true.



parkschr said:


> Ordered this light. Thanks RichS for the awesome review.


Congrats on the purchase Chris - you're gonna love it!



bigsteve said:


> Hi does anyone no how this compares to the Magic Fire 65W?



I'd love to know this too..anyone have both?


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## ma_sha1 (Sep 20, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Mohan have both, but he doesn't want to post beam shots for some reason


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## The_Driver (Sep 21, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



RichS said:


> As I mentioned in the OP, there is no hum or whine from my light. Ma Shai mentioned that this was only an issue in the prototype, but was fixed in the final production version. Apparently from my experience this is true.
> I'd love to know this too..anyone have both?



I now that yours doesn't hum, but what about the other guys here?
I know a guy here in Germany who's light hums very loudly and he says that he has a production model.


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## rufus001 (Sep 21, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Mine doesn't hum.


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## BVH (Sep 21, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Mine hums but it is very, very slight and the light must be within about 24" of my ear, beyond that I cannot hear it. So in normal use, it will not be heard.


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## IMSabbel (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

This i just a pre-anticipation post. My FF3 has cleared customs and will arive tomorrow, and threads like this really skyrocket the expectations.

I hope it is better than my old china-hid I got a couple years ago.


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## mohanjude (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



ma_sha1 said:


> Mohan have both, but he doesn't want to post beam shots for some reason



Ouch... I better get off my back side.. Time to get my SLR and tripod and go to the back garden. Not very good t taking beam shots.. Ok enough with the excuses I am hoping to go out tonight and do it.


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## Yavox (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

What is the runtime of FF3?


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## The_Driver (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

It you run it continuously at 42W high mode I'm guessing you would get around 50minutes with 3100mAh cells.
With the step down to low mode (24W) after 10-15min it's more difficult to calculate this.


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## mohanjude (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

It is raining cats and dogs here so inspite of my best intentions it was not possible to go out on the street to take beam shots. So I used my back graden and shone the lights from my living room. My Garden is not very big so the lights look very bright against the back fence.

Control shot - exposure time and aperture kept constant







Magicscorpion 65w 






FF3






Magic Scorpion 65w on the left and FF3 on the right






Magic Scorpion 65w on the left and FF3 on the right against the trees






another shot of the same from slightly different angle







I cant really make a conclusion. Perhaps the FF3 renders colours better as it is more natural / neutral light. I think both the lights are excellent. However the FF3 is nearly half the size of the MS 65W so perhaps that should give it my thumbs up. If it doesnt rain during darkness over the next day or so I will try and take beam shots outside on the street


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## ma_sha1 (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



mohanjude said:


> Ouch... I better get off my back side.. Time to get my SLR and tripod and go to the back garden. Not very good t taking beam shots.. Ok enough with the excuses I am hoping to go out tonight and do it.




Yeah! Can't wait to see this. 

The strangest thing is that there are many beam shots on shoudian.com with FF3 or MF65W,
but non with the two of them together. Even from guys that I know for sure that had both lights.
From indirect beam shots, both were compaired to olight x6 (different people), my impression is that they should be pretty close.



Edit, we posted at the same time, LOL.

Great shots, finally see them together. Thanks!


----------



## BVH (Sep 23, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Pics confirm what many have said about MF having a tighter focus while FF3 is more floody. I'd rather have the MF reflector in my FF3 for a tighter focus but oh well!


----------



## IMSabbel (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Yay. Got my FF3.

And not a single of the ca. 20 18650 cells I own fits into the battery carrier. Great. I guess they were not kidding when they mentioned "unprotected cells" as a requirement, but who the hell makes such tiny tolerances?


----------



## Glenn7 (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

You might just have to bite the bullet and cut the spring down a coil or two, as was mentioned in this thread then 3100's will fit.


----------



## koti (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Where to get the replacement bulb for this light and how much is it ?


----------



## IMSabbel (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



Glenn7 said:


> You might just have to bite the bullet and cut the spring down a coil or two, as was mentioned in this thread then 3100's will fit.



I just did so. And even metal-to-metal it is a tight fit.
Seems like the switch-on current is high enough to trip the protection of my cells.

I did hook it up to one of my lab power supplies, and got about 8A peak at the beginning at 16V.

Current draw while warm is 3.37A at 16V.

Funny fact: According to the manual, the light should have an undervoltage protection (sensible, as they want you to use unprotected batteries). But if I look at the lab supply, it keeps up the power draw down to below 12V, ramping up the current draw to over 5A. Even at 9V (i.e. <2.4V per cell) it still happily draws 5.5A.


----------



## BVH (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



IMSabbel said:


> Even at 9V (i.e. <2.4V per cell) it still happily draws 5.5A.



That's definitely not good news!


----------



## archimedes (Sep 24, 2012)

IMSabbel said:


> I just did so. And even metal-to-metal it is a tight fit.
> Seems like the switch-on current is high enough to trip the protection of my cells.
> 
> I did hook it up to one of my lab power supplies, and got about 8A peak at the beginning at 16V.
> ...



Where is the undervoltage protection circuitry located, and how are you attaching your power supply? In other words, are you bypassing the battery magazine?


----------



## IMSabbel (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



archimedes said:


> Where is the undervoltage protection circuitry located, and how are you attaching your power supply? In other words, are you bypassing the battery magazine?



Ah, OK, I did not consider this. Yes, I did bypass the magazine. Never considered the posibility of it being in the magazine tray.


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## BVH (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



IMSabbel said:


> Ah, OK, I did not consider this. Yes, I did bypass the magazine. Never considered the posibility of it being in the magazine tray.


That's definitely Good news!


----------



## bxstylez (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

ok, i pulled the trigger and ordered from the same website as well
looks like 1 more in stock 


and i'll be running this off AW's IMR 18650 2000mAH cells

.


----------



## IMSabbel (Sep 24, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



bxstylez said:


> and i'll be running this off AW's IMR 18650 2000mAH cells
> .



After getting frustrated that it triggered ALL my protected cells, and I had to find out that I seriously only own 3 unprotected cells, I contemplated ordering the IMRs.

But in the end, I found a rather cheap local seller for Panasonic 3100 (€9.50 a piece), so I decided to order them. I mean, the only problem is the initial pulse. For 1-1.5C discharge current, as in continuous operation, IMR are overkill


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## ayla85 (Sep 25, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Hey all,

Just put an order in for the Fire-foxes 3 HID, but I am unsure of what battery I should use with this light.
The specs says 4x18650 (unprotected cells) but if it is possible I would like to use protected cell just in case..
I guess the battery rack has built in protection, but what says the limits are correct for all types of 18650 lithium cells...

looks like most of you use unprotected cells..

...However anyone used protected cells with this FF3 that could recommend something?
I am looking at panasonic or sanyo-cell I guess.


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## BVH (Sep 25, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Just look back in this thread and you'll see many posts on what people are using and why. If you want to use protected cells, most likely you'll need to trim down the contact springs as others have done. An alternate is safer IMR's and CGR's with less capacity but better able to handle the high current.


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## RichS (Sep 25, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

I finally got a chance to get out and take some better beamshots, so I added a bunch of new ones to the OP.


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## BVH (Sep 25, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



RichS said:


> The tiny Fire Foxes FF3 bested the 6,500 lumen output of the Mag458, and to my eye has at least as much if not more _effective r_each as the POB spotlight. It may not be the pencil beam of the POB, but at 850 feet, I feel I could as easily if not more easily identify a target using the FF3 as with the POB. In addition, it covers a much broader area with close to the intensity as the POB. Much beyond that distance, you're not going to be able to identify a target with your naked eye anyway.
> 
> This little beast rocks!!!



Excellent pics and excellent portral of the results!! Very well done!

I fully agree with your reasoning quoted above. I found this out with my Maxabeam (80 Watt, 1 degree beam) and MegaRay 175 Watt, 2 degree beam) shootout. I was shooting at big tree at 900 Yards. In the close-up crop, the Maxabeam yielded a brighter hotspot on the tree but the MR was only slightly less bright but gave a much wider field of view. I could not find the tree with the Maxabeam but easily did with the MR. In fact, I had to find it with the MR so that I could take the MB shot.


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## The_Driver (Sep 26, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



RichS said:


> I finally got a chance to get out and take some better beamshots, so I added a bunch of new ones to the OP.



Thanks for the great shots 

I really want this light, but I don't need at all and there are few places I can use it without disturbing anyone 
I already have this problem with my Varapower Turbo


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## ayla85 (Sep 26, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Anyone got a recommendations for a beltholster that fit ff3?


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## IMSabbel (Sep 26, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Ah, finally got my Panasonic 3100mAh cells... only to realize that they really are in specification, and now the springs of the battery holder are too short. Thank god for 1 cent coins to squeezy in as a shim 

And WOW. Quite a bit brighter than my (5 times larger) old china-hid. Much quicker startup, too, although of course sloooow if you are used to LED. And pretty artifact-free beam. And bright. A real handfull of sunshine.


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## BVH (Sep 26, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



IMSabbel said:


> Ah, finally got my Panasonic 3100mAh cells... only to realize that they really are in specification, and now the springs of the battery holder are too short. Thank god for 1 cent coins to squeezy in as a shim
> 
> And WOW. Quite a bit brighter than my (5 times larger) old china-hid. Much quicker startup, too, although of course sloooow if you are used to LED. And pretty artifact-free beam. And bright. A real handfull of sunshine.



You could be looking at potential trouble. If two, possibly even one of the coins slides towards and contacts the raw barrel, you're looking at a dead short.


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## ICUDoc (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Thanks to all the fun reviews I ordered one from flashlight-torch last Friday. It arrived (in excellent packaging) yesterday via DHL- awesome free shipping!
Fired it up with 4 Redilast 3100's- 15 sec start-up seemed right, and it's VERY bright. Quite a loud whine- louder than any other torch I have, but not troubling. Like a mosquito at arm's length???
Anyway, I shut it down after a min or two. 
Pulled it out to show someone else: sppllltttt. A multicoloured flash and then nothing. And that's all it does now! Oh well, at least I got 2 minutes out of it!


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## mvyrmnd (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



ICUDoc said:


> Thanks to all the fun reviews I ordered one from flashlight-torch last Friday. It arrived (in excellent packaging) yesterday via DHL- awesome free shipping!
> Fired it up with 4 Redilast 3100's- 15 sec start-up seemed right, and it's VERY bright. Quite a loud whine- louder than any other torch I have, but not troubling. Like a mosquito at arm's length???
> Anyway, I shut it down after a min or two.
> Pulled it out to show someone else: sppllltttt. A multicoloured flash and then nothing. And that's all it does now! Oh well, at least I got 2 minutes out of it!



Ouch!

Here's hoping you get some warranty love.


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## ICUDoc (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



mvyrmnd said:


> Ouch!
> 
> Here's hoping you get some warranty love.


Thanks, mvrymnd, I'll see what they say: it's a long way back to China...


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## BVH (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Do you mean it will flash each time you try to start it or now there is not even a flash? If it flashes each time, could be it's your Redilast protected cells will not handle the increased current draw after running for the two minutes and now they're at a lower Voltage (meaning more current must flow to maintain Watts and that current may be enough to trip the protection circuit) Try charging them up full again.


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## ICUDoc (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Thanks BVH- I am charging some unprotected Panasonics now and waiting anxiously...
The batt pack measures at 16.47 (unloaded) with the redilast cells, and I did try a power supply with the same outcome, but yes, I hope it's just the high current draw. I'll post re: the outcome.
Thanks again.


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## BVH (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Here's hoping for you, too! But if you tried a power supply with no luck, well.....I'll keep my fingers crossed! You didn't say.....does the bulb flash each time?


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## ICUDoc (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Sorry, BVH, yes, it does flash each time, so I'm hopeful it's a power issue as you say- the power supply I used maxes out at only a few amps, so that may be the same problem...


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## BVH (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Well, thats good news. I thought someone measured btw 7-9 Amps starting current so if your PS is only a "few" then there's hope!


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## IMSabbel (Sep 28, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



BVH said:


> You could be looking at potential trouble. If two, possibly even one of the coins slides towards and contacts the raw barrel, you're looking at a dead short.


Thanks for the reminder. I am so used to using protected cells that in my mind, the worst case scenario was just lock-out, not flaming doom.

There was thankfully enough of the springs left to pull them out with pliers to make it fit directly (although not optimally).

Anybody know if springs like that (or better, i mean, they are steel, not really that great for >3A) can be bought online?


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## koti (Oct 1, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

I received the light today. It is my first HiD and I have to say that my jaw dropped when I fired it up.
Its almost the size of a coke and produces an insane amount of light. I've had 2K lumen incans and various high powered LED's and this is just crazy. A nailbender XML in a Solarforce L2P (my very respectable EDC) in comparison with this light is like comparing a match to an LD01 running 10440


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## parkschr (Oct 2, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

I received the light a few days ago based on the awesome review by RichS. When I turned this thing on, I was blown away as well. This things puts out some serious lumens. I have never seen anything this small that puts out that much light. I highly recommend this light to everyone who wants something small and super powerful!


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## BVH (Oct 2, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Great to see all these "HID newbies" seeing the "Real Light". All others pale in comparison!


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## jimmyt1977 (Oct 2, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



BVH said:


> Great to see all these "HID newbies" seeing the "Real Light". All others pale in comparison!



Yeah I bought one as my first HID and its fair to say it puts all my LED lights to shame including my 'heavy hitters' Fenix TK70 and Thrunite TN30. So much power for something so small. Now I just want something even more powerful haha


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## koti (Oct 3, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

A SMO reflector would be nice...


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## cchurchi (Oct 3, 2012)

Thanks for the great review. I think I may get this light, but I might wait a while to see if they offer a SMO reflector and change to battery mag to allow for the larger 3400mah protected cells.

No way I would want to run unprotected cells in a light like this.


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## hahoo (Oct 3, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



jimmyt1977 said:


> Yeah I bought one as my first HID and its fair to say it puts all my LED lights to shame including my 'heavy hitters' Fenix TK70 and Thrunite TN30. So much power for something so small. Now I just want something even more powerful haha




bet it wont outthrow my tn 31


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## RichS (Oct 3, 2012)

cchurchi said:


> Thanks for the great review. I think I may get this light, but I might wait a while to see if they offer a SMO reflector and change to battery mag to allow for the larger 3400mah protected cells.
> 
> No way I would want to run unprotected cells in a light like this.


I would never run unprotected cells in this light either. Not sure if you saw in my first post, but I am running AW 3100mah protected cells. Are there protected 18650's that are significantly longer than these?


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## RichS (Oct 3, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



hahoo said:


> bet it wont outthrow my tn 31


You're kidding, right??....(not putting down the TN 31 of course, it's just hard to compete with a high powered HID)


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## cchurchi (Oct 3, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



RichS said:


> You're kidding, right??....(not putting down the TN 31 of course, it's just hard to compete with a high powered HID)



The modded TN31 has 240K lux. I should know in a week or two how well they work.:naughty:


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## hahoo (Oct 3, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



cchurchi said:


> The modded TN31 has 240K lux. I should know in a week or two how well they work.:naughty:




correct:devil:


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## Doberman (Oct 4, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Would also be very interested in a SMO reflector for the FF3.

Hm, 240KLux sounds enormous for the TN31; is there something to read about this mod around here in a thread


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## The_Driver (Oct 4, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



Doberman said:


> Would also be very interested in a SMO reflector for the FF3.
> 
> Hm, 240KLux sounds enormous for the TN31; is there something to read about this mod around here in a thread



Yes


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## Doberman (Oct 4, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***

Ah,
thanks. Will read tha during my lunch break


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## RichS (Oct 4, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



cchurchi said:


> The modded TN31 has 240K lux. I should know in a week or two how well they work.:naughty:



Wow....240K lux for an XM-L reflector-based light is indeed impressive. I'd love to know more about this mod....


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## lcb83 (Oct 4, 2012)

I love my FF3!. China to Illinois in 3 days. I ordered 4 Panasonic 3400mah NCR18650B from Texas, told 5 days later that they don't even have them. Tried it out with some 18650's that have been salvaged from laptops and Milwaukee battery packs. Got about 4-5 minutes before the low voltage light flashed and shut off. There is no step down that I've read about earlier in the thread. just on then off. I immediately checked the voltages on the cells after shutdown, 4.01v on each cell. Not sure what this is about, figured it would drain them a little lower.


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## IMSabbel (Oct 7, 2012)

lcb83 said:


> I love my FF3!. China to Illinois in 3 days. I ordered 4 Panasonic 3400mah NCR18650B from Texas, told 5 days later that they don't even have them. Tried it out with some 18650's that have been salvaged from laptops and Milwaukee battery packs. Got about 4-5 minutes before the low voltage light flashed and shut off. There is no step down that I've read about earlier in the thread. just on then off. I immediately checked the voltages on the cells after shutdown, 4.01v on each cell. Not sure what this is about, figured it would drain them a little lower.



Step-down is when the light overheats.

The reson for your switch-off is most likely that your cells have too much inner resistance. The light draws >3.5A from the cells, and with older cells that might have caused the voltage to drop below 3.5V or whatever the cutoff voltage is.

After switching off, the battery voltage recovers according to its discharge level.


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## cchurchi (Oct 20, 2012)

OK, I received mine yesterday and I am very happy with it and can highly recommend it. I went hiking in the mountains and the output was awesome and clearly bested my TN30 that I brought along to compare. It was about 45 degrees out, so I never did see the light drop down to 24 watts and it didn't get very hot, unlike when I ran it earlier indoors.

I'm using AW 3100mah after trimming the battery mag springs and the runtime was great.

Thanks RichS for the great and detailed review.


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## Doberman (Oct 21, 2012)

cchurchi said:


> [..]
> and the runtime was great.
> [..]


Hi, 
could you translate "great" into minutes ?

Thanks in advance


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## cmichael (Oct 21, 2012)

cchurchi said:


> OK, I received mine yesterday and I am very happy with it and can highly recommend it. I went hiking in the mountains and the output was awesome and clearly bested my TN30 that I brought along to compare. It was about 45 degrees out, so I never did see the light drop down to 24 watts and it didn't get very hot, unlike when I ran it earlier indoors.
> 
> I'm using AW 3100mah after trimming the battery mag springs and the runtime was great.
> 
> Thanks RichS for the great and detailed review.




I order the TN30, should be here on Wednesday, Its that Fire Fox FF3 blow away the TN30? Where can I get one of those FF3? and where can I get a replacement bulb?

Thanks.


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## Zephrus (Oct 21, 2012)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- I Am Blown Away!! **Beamshots!!***



mohanjude said:


> It is raining cats and dogs here so inspite of my best intentions it was not possible to go out on the street to take beam shots. So I used my back graden and shone the lights from my living room. My Garden is not very big so the lights look very bright against the back fence.
> 
> Control shot - exposure time and aperture kept constant
> 
> ...




It almost looks like a draw to me. Looks like both lights are very close in total output. The MF65 has a tighter and brighter hotspot because of the SMO reflector, but the FF3 with its OP isn't lagging in any way. In fact overall it seems to be putting out just as much light considering it's dispersed more widely. As a guess I'd say the MF65 would only be a slightly better thrower, again, because of its SMO Reflector. Based on your current draw and wattage tests, the ballast pulling around 59 watts, at 80 percent efficiency we can assume that around 47 watts are getting to the bulb. F-T.com had them earlier listed at 5500 Lumens but that figured had been reduced to 5000 Lumens. But I would suspect the true output is going to be somewhere between 4400-4600. Mohan could you run the same test while stopping down the camera a couple stops, or do some longer beamshots? I'm sure it would be much more telling. Also Toppe said he would do a LabSphere test when he gets his MF65. Based on LabSphere his FF3 is putting out 4100 Lumens so it should prove to be an interesting test. I will (hopefully) have my MF65 tomorrow and will start doing some tests, shots etc.


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## Isak Hawk (Oct 21, 2012)

cmichael said:


> I order the TN30, should be here on Wednesday, Its that Fire Fox FF3 blow away the TN30? Where can I get one of those FF3? and where can I get a replacement bulb?
> 
> Thanks.



I don't know about replacement bulbs, but the ff3 can be bought for $270 from China. It's the first hit when you google "fire foxes ff3", and everyone seems to have had a good experience buying from them (including me). There are two left in stock right now.


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## The_Driver (Oct 21, 2012)

Isak Hawk said:


> I don't know about replacement bulbs, but the ff3 can be bought for $270 from China. It's the first hit when you google "fire foxes ff3", and everyone seems to have had a good experience buying from them (including me). There are two left in stock right now.



I don't think that there will ever be replacement bulbs for sale since the return wire of the bulbs goes through a hole in the reflector. Removing the bulb from the light would require soldering which is not something that most people do.


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## cmichael (Oct 22, 2012)

Isak Hawk said:


> I don't know about replacement bulbs, but the ff3 can be bought for $270 from China. It's the first hit when you google "fire foxes ff3", and everyone seems to have had a good experience buying from them (including me). There are two left in stock right now.



I try to google, but no luck, What Website is on for sale?


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## The_Driver (Oct 22, 2012)

cmichael said:


> I try to google, but no luck, What Website is on for sale?



If you google what he said without the apostrophes it is the first link (flashlight - torch dot com).


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## cmichael (Oct 29, 2012)

Any one have the Thrunite TN30 and FireFoxes FF3 Beam Shots comparison?

Thanks.


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## vudoo (Oct 29, 2012)

I bought my firefox a few weeks ago and was very impressed by it. However the lens cracked after about 5 minutes the first time I turned it on. Most likely a manufacturing fault and with the heat it caused it top crack. I emailed the seller and they were really helpful. They have organised a replacement lens to be sent out to me.


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## vudoo (Oct 29, 2012)

Does anyone have pics of the contact points for the head? I just tried turning on my FireFox and got nothing. I checked the battery pack, turned on the switch and the green LED's turn on. I measured the voltage and am getting 16.5 volts so that seems fine.

I notice though that the contacts on the head extend out at different sizes? The outer contacts extend more then the inner contact. Is this normal? Is this maybe why its not turning on at all as it is not making contact?

I did try to manually connect the battery pack with the head but I don't think its making contact.


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## bxstylez (Oct 30, 2012)

what kind of cells are you using?

HIDs draws almost 9A before settling down to 4A ... so IMR 18650s is the ideal setup


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## vudoo (Oct 30, 2012)

I am using unprotected Panasonic 18650 which I have used before in the Firefox without problems. This time I am not getting anything at all.


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 30, 2012)

possibly the impact of glass breaking shaked the head & cause wire solder joint broken?

When I open the head for modding, the wire soldering to ballast broke, it was a weak solder joint.

Brave enough to open the head & look?


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## vudoo (Oct 30, 2012)

There was no impact when the glass broke as it was tailstanding and just cracked by itself. I have also turned it on a fe times since the glass lens broke so its unlikely that the wire solders broke.

IN saying that I am being sent a new lens so will have to open up the head to replace it. I will check then. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can connect the battery rack to the head with wires. If it doesn't light up then I will definitely know that something is broken inside the head.

Ma_sha is your inner bacttery terminal/connector not as raised as the outer terminals?


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## ma_sha1 (Oct 30, 2012)

Mine are same height, neither one was raised. The spring on the battery carrier are same height on mine.


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## vudoo (Nov 2, 2012)

Here is a pic of the contacts. Not sure why but the middle contact had been depressed and was not making contact with the battery pack. I pulled it out so that it was in line with the outer contacts and this fixed the problem. 

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt343/vudoo_01/IMG_1414.jpg



Your image is too large and has been replaced with a link. Please resize and repost.
See Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. - Thanks Norm


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## cchurchi (Nov 3, 2012)

Just wanted to report that I have 6 full runs (fully charged 3100mAh batteries run until the battery pack is flashing) and several runs to 50% with no problems. I'm very happy with the light and would recomend it to others.


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## bxstylez (Nov 3, 2012)

do the lens or reflectors fog up when you run it for more than 20 or 30 minutes?


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## cchurchi (Nov 4, 2012)

After running mine in cold weather, and then shutting it off, the lens fogs up after about 20 minutes. After awhile, the fog disapates and it's good as new.

If you are asking if the lens gets smoked after use, the answer is no.


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## tomtomy44 (Nov 4, 2012)

Hi,

I got mine, beautiful!
by cons, is there protection against appuies untimely on the switch ?? : on / off / on / off / on / off...etc
it is always the weak point of HID?


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## bxstylez (Nov 5, 2012)

I added a shoulder strap I took off from a large carry-on bag to the FF3


----------



## one2tim (Nov 7, 2012)

Just ordered the FF3. Was wondering if its alright to restrike the light, like I do with my led lights?


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## Isak Hawk (Nov 7, 2012)

No, you should wait a while before turning it back on, 1 minute at least I think. You CAN restrike it if you have to, but it's not recomended (wears it out a lot faster).


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## BVH (Nov 7, 2012)

The manual recommends at least 10 seconds off before re-strike.


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## one2tim (Nov 8, 2012)

Ohh okay, so not like polarion. I live in a quite populated area and mostly use my flashlights for fun when walking my dog, except for fishing trips. So it's usually switch on briefly to shine at some distant trees without putting too much light at the houses all around. Hmm suspect this light might get me rather unpopular in the neighborhood.


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## one2tim (Nov 13, 2012)

Help ! I'm receiving my ff3 tomorrow, but the aw3100mah cells I've ordered is still on their way. Can I use my old aw 2600mah cells with 5,2 max discharge, untill I get the new cells?


----------



## koti (Nov 13, 2012)

As safety is concerned, It doesnt matter if You will be using 2600 or 3100 mAh - it will affect run time only. The light draws high amps only during startup and the manufacturer doesnt say anyting about having to use IMR. Im using non IMR cells in my ff3 for 2 months with no problems so my suggestion is that You drop those 2600 cells into the light as soon as You get it and enjoy a crazy little monster light


----------



## RichS (Nov 13, 2012)

one2tim said:


> Help ! I'm receiving my ff3 tomorrow, but the aw3100mah cells I've ordered is still on their way. Can I use my old aw 2600mah cells with 5,2 max discharge, untill I get the new cells?



Yes, the 2600mah cells will be fine if the circuit threshold is set high enough for the initial spike. Not sure what the threshold is for the 2600s vs. the 3100s.


----------



## cmichael (Nov 15, 2012)

Just got my SupBeam K40, I was plan to get the FF3 first, It's a good deal won't pass it up, Its that a big different between the K40 and FF3, any picture to compare with both light?


----------



## tomtomy44 (Nov 20, 2012)

Hi,

Here are some Beamshot I took with my Fire-Foxes FF3!
A little fuzzy because I am a beginner in photography. I apologize.

http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/Discus...torches-addict-sujet_54128_1905.htm#t32388581


:thumbsup:


----------



## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Nov 20, 2012)

Where do you guys order the FF3 from?


----------



## RichS (Nov 20, 2012)

ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> Where do you guys order the FF3 from?


PM sent.


----------



## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Nov 20, 2012)

RichS said:


> PM sent.



Thank you.


----------



## axim (Nov 21, 2012)

Just received mine this week in Germany!
It is really amazingly small compared to my Fenix TK70. Some neighbour peeked through the window when I switched it on and flashed around outside.
Still waiting for some batteries I ordered (CGR-18650CG as well as NCR18650A), but some old CGR18650CF could give it at least a few minutes runtime.
I also did a quick measurement and it shut off slightly below 11 Volt which is perfectly fine.
Build quality also looks pretty good. Small improvement would be to cut out a little bit off its tailcap so that you could attach a keyring and still allow it to stand on it's tail (like Fenix does). But when using a strap you'll not have this problem anyway.


----------



## jalal20 (Dec 13, 2012)

Guys I am an LED guy but thinking seriously about buying the FF3, my only question would be if the bulb is replaceable ? I don't know whats that tiny rod coming out of its head and if its possible to change the bulb in case it needs to.


----------



## Patriot (Dec 16, 2012)

jalal20 said:


> Guys I am an LED guy but thinking seriously about buying the FF3, my only question would be if the bulb is replaceable ? I don't know whats that tiny rod coming out of its head and if its possible to change the bulb in case it needs to.



I think it's replaceable as a lamp/reflector or lamp/reflector/ballast unit. The guys "in the know" will have to verify that though.


----------



## Chopper1 (Dec 17, 2012)

RichS said:


> PM sent.



I'd like to know too, please!
Thanks.


----------



## BVH (Dec 17, 2012)

They are replaceable by themselves but you must unsolder the return wire after it goes thru the wall of the reflector and resolder the new one. IIRC, you should have a decent level of soldering skills. Someone has posted, maybe it was Lips possibly with a pic in one of these threads.


----------



## jfl (Dec 17, 2012)

BVH said:


> They are replaceable by themselves but you must unsolder the return wire after it goes thru the wall of the reflector and resolder the new one. IIRC, you should have a decent level of soldering skills. Someone has posted, maybe it was Lips possibly with a pic in one of these threads.



This is good news. However, does anyone have any idea where to purchase a spare bulb and what kind to buy?


----------



## Lips (Dec 17, 2012)

.
.
.

Bulb is replaced by itself but requires some work. 

Placement of the bulb is hard but critical for max throw. Just a little off and you get a little flood. Hard to play around with stock bulb to tweak it as you may break the bulb. No way to easily shim with washers as bulb is potted in with high-temp silicon type glue. You have to dig that out to re-bulb also. Hard as heck for factory to get bulb exactly right as most units I saw have a little variation in beam pattern... Get it right and it makes a whole lot of difference...



You can see silicon around red wire that goes into bulb holder in back of reflector






Bulb wire attaches to this connector then siliconed in








Return wire attaches to reflector with pinch clip here. This is the wire that goes through small hole in reflector







Black ring screws bulb assembly into reflector. I haven't had time to play with it but you could possibly work out a shimming forward or back to get optimum focus in the reflector that makes a nice difference in throw... Not as simple as screwing tighter or loosening to adjust focus as if you loosen bulb will be loose and not seated all the way...








Bulbs (Should last a long time unless you break one...


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## BVH (Dec 17, 2012)

If you change one out, be sure to run the light quite a long time with the front window removed so any silicone vapors are allowed to escape as opposed to depositing themselves on the reflector and window.


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## RichS (Dec 18, 2012)

Chopper1 said:


> I'd like to know too, please!
> Thanks.


www.flashlight-torch.com was carrying these, but unfortunately it looks like they are out at the moment. Not sure where else you can pick one of these up from.


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## RichS (Dec 18, 2012)

Lips said:


> .
> 
> Bulb is replaced by itself but requires some work.
> 
> ...



Thanks so much for the detailed info and pics on the bulb replacement Lips!! :twothumbs


----------



## Toppe (Dec 19, 2012)

No lucky for me with these cheap hids... Just realise that ff3:s bulb was not perfectly centered so.. i twist it open and you know what, bulb takes contact with front glass. Thats why it was not possible to get it centered in factory. Frontglass turns also when you tighten the lamphead and twist bulb... Quality? Damn.


----------



## Oztorchfreak (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



rufus001 said:


> Great Post RichS. I've had a couple of people PM me about this HID and I've always told them that they will be stunned by the performance. And it has such a nice tint compared to some other HIDS. I also purchased from the same website. Anybody who is ummmming or aaaahing about purchasing this HID ... JUST BUY IT!



*
Hi Guys.*


I forgot about this thread.

I have had my FF3 for about four months now and what the photos show is really true.

The FF3 is just an unbelievable little HID light.

I copied the photos below from another CPF thread on this light that was started by jayrob.
*
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?339713-Fire-Foxes-III-compared-to-Magic-Scorpion-40W-and-85W-Ebay-HID*

If Jayrob objects to me using it here in this thread then I will respect his wishes and replace his photo with one that I will take of my FF3.

I will PM him to ask his permission to use his photos in this thread ASAP.

Jayrob's photos are very well done and I could not really improve on his work.













*
The photo below is my FF3 disassembled.*







The tint of the FF3 beam is a nice Neutral one that improves the vision of anything this light is pointed at compared to a lot of other HID lights that usually but not always come with a very distinct harsh blue tint.

*JUST BUY IT!*

You will not be disappointed in what this little beast can do.

The real achievement of building this compact HID light was to wrap the ballast around the reflector resulting in a *massive* reduction in the length of this light compared to most other HID lights in the marketplace.

I have just been reading the other posts in this thread and all I can say about the alignment of the HID bulb is that my light is spot on centre and the throw and output is just unbelievable from this little light.

"Unbelievable" is a well worn word but in this case owners are believers in that word considering the size and the abilities that the FF3 can achieve and it sometimes sits in my back pocket when I am using another light when the FF3 is not really needed.

It is really hard to comprehend what this little HID beast is capable of in such a tiny package.

I still have my Stanley 35W HID and it will probably never be dusted off ever again after buying the FF3 40W HID light.

The FF3 absolutely beats the Stanley HID in every conceivable way.

The person that designed and built this monster from the future needs to be congratulated for letting all of us owners be amazed as most of us are pretty hard to please as flashlight enthusiasts.

The big time collectors of flashlights really need this HID piece of *DYNAMITE *added to their *ARSENALS*.

This is not a light for everyday use it must be pointed out as it has only one level and the push button switch at the tail end of this light should be labelled* "INSANE"* with a warning on the body stating *"BE PREPARED FOR A WILD RIDE"*.

The photos do a very good job in showing what the FF3 is capable of and many thanks must go to *RichS* for doing a really great photoshoot in comparing all of those lights.

*Keep up the good work!*



*CHEERS


Warning.

*The only issue that I have found during my testing that I did on the FF3 is that the battery carrier *"MUST"* be inserted with the switch facing the tail end of the body.*

*



*

*




*
*




*
*





*
*I hear you say, well that is what anyone with a slight amount of intelligence would do.

In testing this light I tried everything in my list to check for current and potential problems.

The reversal of the battery carrier by accident most likely when using it in the dark results in the centre positive contact spring tab being pushed completely in towards the front end of the light.
*
*



*


*




*

*The spring tab was bent very badly out of shape resulting in the user virtually being unable to use the light until the spring tab had been repaired.*
*




*
*
This repair was hard enough for me to do on my test bench let alone a user out in the middle of nowhere without the correct tools or skills being able to repair the out of shape centre contact and that is if the user even noticed what was wrong with their FF3.*

*After I repaired the spring tab without wishing to break anything behind the thin insulating plate it looked like this. I have been able to bend this tab to make it a bit more rounder since I took this photo during my initial tests.
*
*



 

The battery tube issue is the main point that needs to be addressed in any future builds of this little HID.

The label stating *"This side outward"* regarding the orientation of the battery tube is not easy to read when first using this light due to the highly reflective nature of the colourful label on the the battery carrier near the on/off push button switch.

I read the label ok and noted that fact but when testing lights I do everything that a user could probably do in any real world use of a light.

This light is very powerful and obviously it should not be pointed at anyone nearby.

The highly intensive beam of this light can burn skin pretty fast.

This light can burn a hole through paper in a very short time in my testing of this great little light.

It is a great party trick but not very advisable to try out in my opinion as safety would be thrown to the wind in doing so.

The front glass of this light gets very hot and should not be touched at all whilst in operation.

My final words are *"USE RESPONSIBLY"* and have fun.


----------



## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

I finally got me a FireFoxes FF3. Should be here next week.


----------



## Oztorchfreak (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> I finally got me a FireFoxes FF3. Should be here next week.




*Good choice mate!* :twothumbs

My FF3 is a real keeper.

The throw of this little light is amazing but the spill that nearly comes all the way back to me is even more amazing IMHO.

It literally lights up my whole street right down to the end and nothing could escape this light without being noticed!

As long as you don't damage the FF3 by trying to adjust the position of the HID bulb or drop it too heavily then the FF3 and you should have a good long term patnership.

I am using four Blazar unprotected (Panasonic) 18650B 3400mah batteries in my FF3 as the protected versions do not fit into the battery carrier.

I am not sure why it would be designed like that.

Maybe the FF3 draws so much current at startup that protected 18650 batteries would probably trip the protection circuits.

The Blazar batteries use only the best quality Panasonic cells with very good PTC boards being used.

I have used this brand of batteries for a long time now and never experienced any problems with them.

This little beast needs good quality high capacity Li-ion batteries to allow it to work at it's maximum output and run times.

In other words, feed the FF3 well and it will give you the *"WOW FACTOR"* every time you hit the button!

We are counting on your expertise to take some good beam photos of this little beast. :grouphug:

*
CHEERS*


----------



## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Thanks.

I'll be sure in take plenty of beamshots all the way out to 445yds.


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## Oztorchfreak (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I'll be sure in take plenty of beamshots all the way out to 445yds.




You may need some bigger areas soon or buy a bigger property to take good beam shots of monsters like the FF3.

You will have fun with the output of the little beast.

Both the throw and the spill is amazing as you will soon find out for yourself soon.



*CHEERS*


----------



## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Sounds like your sold on this light. That makes me even more excited to get it. I heard that it's a mean little light. Now I'm gonna find out how mean.


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## Oztorchfreak (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*



ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> Sounds like your sold on this light. That makes me even more excited to get it. I heard that it's a mean little light. Now I'm gonna find out how mean.




I am sure you will be astounded by the FF3 even though you are probably hard to please in the flashlight world just like a lot of us.

I think most flashaholics have very high standards in what lights they like and which ones they would be willing to buy.

Most of us have been spoilt by the continuing advances in the LED and HID technologies and we need something extraordinary to make us sit up and pay attention to.

Word of mouth, forums and reviews are our main source of looking out for that special light that ticks all of the boxes again to satisfy our hunger for even better looking and more powerful lights. 

My little FF3 beast has been in my possession for a number of months now and it still amazes me every time I light it up.

It is not used by me very often, but as I am a collector more than a serious user it does not really matter that much.

Most of us just like the *"WOW FACTOR"* that these high powered lights have when we show them to others especially the people that use very stock standard flashlights.

The FF3 is going to be hard to be beat by anybody else in the near future very similar to the creations that Michael (Saabluster) produces.

I would think that any serious competition will only come from the minds of the original creators of these lights as they are always challenging themselves in producing an even better light than the last one.

Michael is a prime example of this way of working and from what I have read about the guy that produced the FF3 he is another Michael but his forte is in designing HID lights.

While Michael is going about his business in getting these current creations delivered ASAP he is still thinking of new ideas in his head.

How does Michael turn off to go to sleep at night?

Maybe he counts flashlights in his head!

His forte is in the design of lights and not in the manufacturing and delivery areas where he has to multitask himself in as this is how he has worked for so many years in having to do it that way.

His OSTS and OMG Lumens businesses are both cottage industry based that are very family run and owned but with his revitalising of the OMG Lumens brand in producing the DEFT-X that may all change if he has a lot of sales of his OMG Lumens flagship light.

What will he come out with next as he is never satisfied by his last creation for very long as good as what we all think it is.

I am sure you will be posting some really good shots of what this little FF3 beast can do in comparison to any competition that is available in such a tiny little package.

I seriously doubt that there is another competitor as good as the FF3 in the marketplace at the moment.

The FF3 may actually be the smallest light in the world right now that can achieve the specs that it can.

This light needs to be seen in person to be believed.

I have taken some photos of the beam of this light but it is hard to show what it can achieve without using some serious competition to make any comparisons to it unless some of you guys have some big guns like the POB HID lights and others.

Polarion HID lights may beat the FF3 in output but it would not be a fair comparison due to the price differences and the tiny size of this light.

The FF3 absolutely kills the old Stanley 35W HID that I still have and boy that Stanley HID is very heavy, hard to hold, has a harshly blue tinted beam, is virtually impossible to switch on with one hand and is very power hungry with short run times unlike the FF3.

We all look forward to your photos as I know you can't wait to check it out for yourself as it has a serious amount of throw and spill that is hard to comprehend even as flashaholics.

The creator of this light needs an award of some sort for what he has done with this little beast especially in managing to wrap the ballast around the reflector so well to keep the length at a minimum.

My FF3 makes no noise at all at any stage without holding it right up to my ears and even then it settles down after the light reaches its maximum operating power in about 15 seconds.

The HID bulb is perfectly centred in my light and it has a very nice beam pattern that has no noticeable irregularities or artefacts and it has a nice down to earth neutral beam tint that is not blue in any way.

It almost looks like the beam pattern from a high powered LED light to me.

The spill wraps around the front of me so well that I can easily see my surroundings quite easily.

I can't get over how I can put the FF3 in my back pocket so easily knowing the huge output that it delivers very quickly after hitting that button.

*JUST BUY IT AS I DID BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF A KIND RIGHT NOW EVEN THOUGH I HAD GIVEN HID LIGHTS THE FLICK IN FAVOUR OF LED LIGHTS A YEAR OR SO AGO!!!

* :twothumbs



*CHEERS*


----------



## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

I actually have 4 other HID lights to compare it to the FF3.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?352356-Power-On-Board-35Watt-HID

The other 2 or 85watt HID flashlights with 4300K bulbs. They are very good throwers as well for their size/weight ratio.


----------



## Glenn7 (Jan 14, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Hmmm strange double post this one dissapered now its back - DELETE!


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## Glenn7 (Jan 14, 2013)

*Re: Fire Foxes FF3 -- World's Brightest Compact Light??*

Don't know if its OK to post this here or if I'm breaking any rules? but I've had my fun with this light and going to move back to LED's - I don't know if these are hard to find any more but mine will be available.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 14, 2013)

I got my Fire Foxes FF3 today. Now just waiting on dark to get here.


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## hron61 (Jan 14, 2013)

what batteries are you running in your new toy? curious indeed.


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 15, 2013)

I cut the springs way down to accept the KeepPower 18650 3400mah protected batteries. They are a Panasonic cell. KeepPower just installs the protection circuit.


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## n2deep (Jan 15, 2013)

Where can I buy one of these? Anyone want to sell theres?


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## Glenn7 (Jan 15, 2013)

hron61 might sell his


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## hron61 (Jan 16, 2013)

Glenn7 said:


> hron61 might sell his




ha...im sure that day will come. but i have to at least get to turn it on first. lol


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## n2deep (Jan 16, 2013)

hron61 said:


> ha...im sure that day will come. but i have to at least get to turn it on first. lol



LOL


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## scheven architect (Jan 17, 2013)

If i wouldn't have bought the ebay one, i would have bought this one, the size is just incredible!


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## jmpaul320 (Jan 17, 2013)

n2deep said:


> Where can I buy one of these? Anyone want to sell theres?



There's one in the marketplace now


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## CNR (Jan 22, 2013)

Does anyone know, by any chance, how the FF3 compares to the Microfire K3500R (Warrior III) beamwise ? and what would be the percepted difference in output ?


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## n2deep (Jan 24, 2013)

CNR said:


> Does anyone know, by any chance, how the FF3 compares to the Microfire K3500R (Warrior III) beamwise ? and what would be the percepted difference in output ?


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/phils383/IMG_0477_zps41b4f53d.jpg
Is this what your looking for? I will try to take some photos this weekend but I can tell you the FF3 is brighter and has better color than the MF all day!


Your image is too large and has been replaced with a link. Please resize and repost.
See Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. - Thanks Norm


----------



## CNR (Jan 24, 2013)

Yes, please !!! i'd be obliged !! And i'm also very interested in your view on how the two beams compare in throw/spill ratio, the warrior has a generous wide spill, enough to be aware of your surrounding at night, and a bright large hot spot to see far ahead where you're going, has the FF3's beam more throw and less spill, about the same, or the other way around ? 
How much brighter you'd say ? I take it you're talking of the overall output and not only the hotspot, right ?


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## n2deep (Jan 24, 2013)

CNR said:


> Yes, please !!! i'd be obliged !! And i'm also very interested in your view on how the two beams compare in throw/spill ratio, the warrior has a generous wide spill, enough to be aware of your surrounding at night, and a bright large hot spot to see far ahead where you're going, has the FF3's beam more throw and less spill, about the same, or the other way around ?
> How much brighter you'd say ? I take it you're talking of the overall output and not only the hotspot, right ?



I will start by saying I'm not a photographer!!!! With that said the below pics are taken with my IPhone 5. lol I will let the pictures do the talking. If I had to guess the field is about 175-200yrd across. Both lights where allowed to warm up for about 2 minutes before taking any pics.

Microfire III K3500




FF3!!!! 




And just for the hell of it here is my Olight SR95SUT





Your images are too large and have been replaced with links Please resize and repost.
See Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. - Thanks Norm

Sorry Norm..........


----------



## n2deep (Jan 24, 2013)

Now throw away that MF and go buy a FF3! :twothumbs


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 24, 2013)

Glad you like the FF3.


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## n2deep (Jan 24, 2013)

ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS said:


> Glad you like the FF3.



Thank you for selling it to me.... :twothumbs


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## ILIKEFLASHLIGHTS (Jan 24, 2013)

n2deep said:


> Thank you for selling it to me.... :twothumbs



Your welcome.

I told you that you would like it.


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## hron61 (Jan 24, 2013)

I have an FF3 inbound. (great pic btw).
I hope mine looks as nice as yours. 
WOW, what a great looking beam, and powerful, yikes.
The tint is pretty awesome as well.


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## Frugalbuyer (Jan 25, 2013)

Here's a few videos I took this morning with the FF3 at the beach, vs a Coast HP550 and a Stanley 0109 HID.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-HP550-LED-vs-Stanley-0109-HID-beach-shootout!

FF3's beam looks like the tail of a comet :naughty:


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## CNR (Jan 25, 2013)

ok, if these photos have been taken with the same cam adjustments i'm more than impressed !! i'd still be impressed if they haven't..... 
the difference looks huge !!!
Beam of the FF3 looks floody, big spill with enormous hotspot but still throwing far due to sheer power, seems quite usable for daylight walks in the night :twothumbs i bet birds will start to sing as you pass also :laughing:


----------



## one2tim (Jan 25, 2013)

CNR said:


> ok, if these photos have been taken with the same cam adjustments i'm more than impressed !! i'd still be impressed if they haven't.....
> the difference looks huge !!!
> Beam of the FF3 looks floody, big spill with enormous hotspot but still throwing far due to sheer power, seems quite usable for daylight walks in the night :twothumbs i bet birds will start to sing as you pass also :laughing:



They dont sing but flop away everywhere. Tried one night to walk around the lake we have near but seriously all bird life flew away, all swans ducks, and pigeons in the trees. All get scared. So i dont walk that route with my ff3 anymore. But yes its really great for walking as it have big sidespill and quite long throw at the same time.


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## CNR (Jan 25, 2013)

n2deep : so impressed that i forgot to thank you  ... :thanks:

one2tim : i see  feels more like an invasion than a night walk, right ? To tell you the truth there are only a (very) few places, remote enough, where i dare to use my Microfire in fear i will disturb or alarm other ppl, but i want this light anyway.


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## n2deep (Jan 25, 2013)

Your Welcome! Like I was saying I just took the pictures with my Iphone 5 but I just looked at iphoto info for all the pics and they all say ISO3200 and F/2.4. The Microfire was my brightest light until two weeks ago. I have purchased a Olight SR95SUT, Fenix TK75, & FF3. I have banned myself from the marketplace and Im about to ban myself from CPF all together. LOL Oh poop my wife just sat beside me gotta go!!!


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## CNR (Jan 25, 2013)

That's what i call shopping your heart out !! unfortunately my "secret funds" aren't enough for buying so many at a time, and i don't seem to have much success trying to convince my wife that a nuclear winter is imminent, so.... 
Olight, though an incredible light, too dedicated thrower for my use, about the TK75 what do you think of it ? It's on my wish list, do you think it could possibly replace the Microfire ? (ie same if not higher output, usefull beam for wandering in the night but smaller form factor and more flexible power source)


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## n2deep (Jan 27, 2013)

CNR said:


> That's what i call shopping your heart out !! unfortunately my "secret funds" aren't enough for buying so many at a time, and i don't seem to have much success trying to convince my wife that a nuclear winter is imminent, so....
> Olight, though an incredible light, too dedicated thrower for my use, about the TK75 what do you think of it ? It's on my wish list, do you think it could possibly replace the Microfire ? (ie same if not higher output, usefull beam for wandering in the night but smaller form factor and more flexible power source)



The TK75 is an awesome light as well! Super bright with great throw but also very floody. This light to me is the best out of all of them for overall use. 1 hour 20 minutes on turbo and 200 hours on low (18 lumens). Also has med and high so you have plenty of options with incredible run time.


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## CNR (Jan 28, 2013)

so, since i know the Microfire isn't putting out 3600lm but less, would you compare it with the TK75 in output ? I'm really curious..


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## n2deep (Jan 28, 2013)

CNR said:


> so, since i know the Microfire isn't putting out 3600lm but less, would you compare it with the TK75 in output ? I'm really curious..



That's a tough one. They are pretty close in comparison of light output. Just remember that you will need to buy 4 18650 cells and a good charger if you don't already have one so you will need to add about 100$ US on top of the price for the light. If I have time tonight I will go back to that field and take a photo of the TK75 for you too. I mean what are these threads w/o pictures anyway!!

There is a TK70 w batteries and a charger in the market place for 225.00 right now. That might be a good option as well.


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## n2deep (Jan 28, 2013)

CNR There is a FF3 for sale in the market place right now #1 it was just added!! You better hurry!!


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## CNR (Jan 28, 2013)

> They are pretty close in comparison of light output




Hmm.. i was afraid of that ... and, as you said, the multiple levels, better runtime, smaller size makes the TK75 a true winner but the MF served me well for 3 years now... tough call. TK70 too large
Thanks for the ring about the FF3 but isn't it a bit pricey (EDIT:and doesn't seem to be willing to ship overseas) ? Flashlight-torch.com has it new for US270 and they say they will have a new batch in a month or so...
I think i'll get the TK75 now from Europe (no custom taxes) and hopefully the FF3 on March or so (praying that it won't cost me an arm and leg at customs)


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## n2deep (Jan 28, 2013)

Ugh oh..... Pulled out my protected AW 3400 cells today to check on them and this is what I found. Looks like ill be buying AW IMR cells after all. I really hate using unprotected cells!


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## koti (Jan 29, 2013)

Anybody changed the bulb in FF3 ? Mine is still fine but I want to prepare for the day when it craps out.


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## ampdude (Feb 7, 2013)

Glenn7 said:


> Got it today and using it at work, its unbelievably bright and makes all my led torches look dull - the throw on this thing is so good for such a small bodied light.
> 
> I'm VERY glad I got one




I have your old (new looking) light Glenn7 and it is so far running happily on four new AW IMR18650 2000mAh batteries from Lighthound. This thing is incredible.

Was just comparing it out back to a Surefire M6 with new batteries and an MN21. Uhhh.. Wow


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## ampdude (Feb 7, 2013)

koti said:


> Anybody changed the bulb in FF3 ? Mine is still fine but I want to prepare for the day when it craps out.



I too would like to know this info and the life expectancy of the bulb and ballast under normal use.


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