FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight Review

The FireflyLite ROT66 N45 flashlight is a flooder, with Nichia emitters that I love so much. This is the “Gen 2” model, with many updates.

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight product page.

Versions

There are at least two body versions of the Fireflies ROT66 N45 flooder flashlight. There’s matte black (seen here) and “silver” which is more of an unanodized (or clear anodized) aluminum version.

In those two bodies, there are many emitter choices. I don’t think I can make a comprehensive list, but BraynGear.com has standard models, and custom models, and there even seems to be another category, too. I’ll attempt a list, though:

• 12x SST20 5000K NW L4 Emitters
• 12x SST20 4000K FD2 NW Emitters
• 12x OSRAM 10W 6500K Emitters
• 12x CREE XP-L High-Density V3 6500K

Note that the model I have, the N45, is not even listed on the site now.

Price

These range from around $78 (sale price) to around $108 (sale price).

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Short Review of the FireflyLite ROT66 Flooder Flashlight

Unfortunately for me and for the review, during testing, this light died on me. It happens. This is not that big of a deal. So in the review, I do have some “on” photos but when it came to actual testing, it was no Bueno.

But at this point, I have multiple data points. I’ve had at least one ROT66 die. I’ve had other Fireflies lights with intermittent issues. Most usually, this is just a secondary emitter that dies or something. In the case of the ROT66, it’s two lights dying. You are welcome to draw your conclusions from this.

In fact, this ROT66 Gen 2 was a warranty replacement for my other non-working ROT66. I sent that one to BraynGear and they returned it to me as “unfixable” (which is understandable – I think I’d bent the bezel). I agreed to review the Gen 2.

Now here’s my biggest gripe about this whole scenario. I thoroughly documented the issue I have with this ROT66, and after one reply suggesting to tighten the head to the body, BraynGear.com absolutely stopped responding to my emails. What’s worse, other users have reported the same lack of communication from BraynGear.com.

Ultimately do what you wish regarding purchases from BraynGear. I’m sure many users have had great luck. I am just one data point, but it’s very unlikely that I’ll be making any purchases from BraynGear.

Long Review

The Big Table

Fireflies ROT66 Gen 2
Emitter:	Nichia 219b 4500K
Price in USD at publication time:	$92.99
Cell:	3×18650
LVP?
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	?
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	–
Candela per Lumen	0
Claimed Throw (m)	–
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	lux @ 0m = 0cd^
Throw (Calculated) (m)	0.0
All my Fireflies reviews!

^ Measurement disclaimer: Testing flashlights is my hobby. I use hobbyist-level equipment for testing, including some I made myself. Try not to get buried in the details of manufacturer specifications versus measurements recorded here; A certain amount of difference (say, 10 or 15%) is perfectly reasonable.

What’s Included

• FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight
• Spare Optic
• Lanyard with tripod attachment
• Spare o-rings (2)
• Manual

Package and Manual

FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight Build Quality and Disassembly

The body doesn’t have knurling, but just simply some ridges for grip. Coupled with the grippy anodizing, the overall grip is sufficient.

This version has an updated contact scenario. Previous (or “first”) gen ROT66’s had a cell holder, which fit into the cell tube. On this version, the cells drop straight into the body and are screwed tight against this brass ring in the head.

The threads on both ends of the tube are anodized, and it’s thus possible to lock the light out manually. These threads are frustratingly fine, and coupled with the chalky anodizing and lack of lube, they are loud to screw.

The parts separate as follows. The tailcap is dumb, with no electronics at all.

The cell tube is directional.

Just for giggles, and since per the photos above this light is clearly a parallel setup, I ran the light on just one cell.

Without the optic, I find this light to be absolutely stunning!

FireFlies includes two optics for this light. One is likely more throwy and one more floody.

If you do choose to swap the optic, be advised that it’s hard to get the o-ring to do what it should. I have found that using a toothpick to direct the o-ring is helpful in these cases.

FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight Size and Comps

4.13″ Length
1.97″ Head diameter
1.81″ Body Diameter
Net Weight (without battery): 10.2 ounces

If the flashlight will headstand, I’ll show it here (usually the third photo). If the flashlight will tailstand, I’ll show that here, too (usually the fourth photo).

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. Mine’s a custom “baked” edition Nichia 219b triple. A very nice 18650 light.

And here’s the light beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.

Here’s the Gen 2 (left) beside the older and bigger Gen 1 ROT66. Also note that we’ve added some emitters on the Gen 2. Gen 1 had 9 emitters, and Gen 2 has 12.

Retention and Carry

The FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight has a lanyard threaded hole built into the body. This seems to be standard thread.

Also included is a screw-in ring to which the included lanyard may be attached. The lanyard would not attach anywhere else on the light.

Unlike previous versions, there is no nylon pouch included here.

Power and Runtime

The FireflyLite ROT66 N45 Flooder Flashlight is powered by three 18650 cells, and they’re in parallel.

I will say that I had a very hard time finding cells that worked in the light. Button tops seemed too long (remember that the cell tube has to be screwed down far enough to make contact for the negative electrical path). Flat tops have to have enough of a rise to contact the brass ring.

It’s just hit or miss. If you buy the light, I recommend buying the cells from the same store which should confirm that they work with your light. BraynGear sells the Samsung 30Q, and I think that’s what they’d recommend for the ROT66.

Since they’re in parallel the light will work fine (for at least lower modes) with just one (or two) cells. Note that since the higher modes draw high current, you’ll probably not want to put a single cell under such burden.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo	–	–	–	~15
7	–	–	–	4.77
6	–	–	–	2.28
5	–	–	–	1.10
4	–	–	–	0.57
3	–	–	–	0.23
2	–	–	–	0.09
1	–	–	–	0.03
Lowest of Ramp	–	–	–	0.01

Pulse Width Modulation

Didn’t get to test PWM on this light, but we do know that Andúril utilizes PWM. So seeing it here would be no surprise.

Here you can see a “baseline” – a chart with almost no light hitting the sensor.

Then there’s the Ultrafire WF-602C flashlight, which has some of the worst PWM I’ve seen. It’s so bad that I used a post about it to explain PWM! Here are multiple timescales (10ms, 5ms, 2ms, 1ms, 0.5ms, 0.2ms) to make comparing this “worst” PWM light to the test light easier. That post also explains why I didn’t test the WF-602C at the usual 50us scale.

User Interface and Operation

There’s one switch on the ROT66. It’s a side e-switch, with four blue indicating LEDs. It’s quiet but very clicky, and the rubber cover is nice and grippy. Old versions of the ROT66 shipped with Narsil by TomE. But newer (and this) iterations ship with Andúril by ToyKeeper. Andúril is a fantastic UI, and if you have a ROT with that, then be pleased!

My ROT has Andúril, and so that’s what I’ll focus on here. I’ve had (and reviewed) other lights with Narsil, such as the Sofirn Q8, which you can read more about here.

I’m dropping in ToyKeeper’s newest user interface diagram, which includes some features my light does not have. The firmware reset, for example, and also the secondary emitter options – but the graphic itself as a whole is much better. I am not entirely sure which exact iteration of Andúril the ROT66 ships with, and I can’t test it on mine.

Here’s a user interface table anyway!

State	Action	Result
Off	Hold	On (Low)
Off	Click	On (Mode Memory)
Off	Click 2x	Highest Hybrid Mode
Off	Click 3x	Blinkie Mode Group
Off	Click 4x	Lockout
Off	Click 5x	Momentary
Off	Click 6x	Muggle
Off	Click, Click, Hold	Strobe Group (Mode Memory Strobe)
Strobe Group	Click 2x	Strobe Cycle (Candle > Bike Flasher > Party Strobe > Tactical Strobe > Lightning Storm)
Blinkie Mode Group	Click 2x	Blinke Cycle (Sunset > Beacon > TempCheck > BattCheck)
On	Click 3x	Switch between Stepped and Smooth Ramp
On	Click 4x	Ramp Configuration
TempCheck	Click 4x	Thermal Configuration
Beacon	Click 4x	Beacon Configuration
Lockout	Click 4x	Off
Off	Click 15x	Andúril version check (blinks YYYYMMDD, zero is a very short blink)
Strobe Group	Click	Off
(Basically) On	Click	Off
Candle	Click 3x	30 minute timer to off
Strobe Group	Hold	Heighten selected mode (Make faster or brighter)
Strobe Group	Click, Hold	Lessen selected mode (Make slower or dimmer)
On	Click 2x	FET Turbo
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Single flash] Click N time for level N.	Selection of the “Low” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different levels of low.
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Second flash] Click N time for 1+Turbo-N.	Selection of the “Ceiling” you like best by clicking 1, 2, 3, etc. where 1, 2, 3, etc are different Ceiling levels.
Ramp Configuration	[Wait for Third flash] Click for how many steps you want in Stepped mode.	Sets Number of Steps.
Thermal Configuration	[Wait for First flash] Click for N times for N degrees C.	Displays Current Temperature.
Thermal Configuration	[Wait for Second flash] Click for N times for 30C + N.	Sets Temperature Limit.
Beacon Configuration	[Wait for First flash] Click for N times N seconds per flash	Sets Beacon Speed.

LED and Beam

What’s included in my (no longer available) ROT66 is the hinted by the name: “N45” – these are Nichia 219b with the CCT of 4500K. I like these emitters quite a bit.

Also on this light are secondary emitters as seen below. Again since mine is dead, I can’t tell (and can’t remember) if they’re blue and green only, or if they’re responsive in some way. Sorry for that.

I won’t say that the 4500K emitter option for 219b is my favorite, but they’re good enough that since my light is dead, I’ll probably harvest these for use in other fun projects.

These beamshots always have the following settings: f8, ISO100, 0.3s shutter, and manual 5000K exposure. These photos are taken at floor level, and the beam hits the ceiling around 9 feet away.

[No beamshots, sorry.]

Tint vs BLF-348 (KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b version) (affiliate link)

I keep the test flashlight on the left and the BLF-348 reference flashlight on the right.

[No compare beamshots, sorry.]

I compare everything to the KillzoneFlashlights.com 219b BLF-348 because it’s inexpensive and has the best tint!

Conclusion

What I like

• Nichia 219b!
• Twelve (!!) Nichia 219b!
• Fun secondary emitters
• Runs on 1, 2, or 3 cells
• Andúril

What I don’t like

• The light died during testing
• Hard to find cells that fit
• Lack of service from BraynGear.com
• Going from cell tube in Gen1 to no cell tube in Gen2.

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Notes

• This light was provided by BraynGear.com for review. I was not paid to write this review.
• This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
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