FocusWorks EDC F2 Flashlight Review

The FocusWorks EDC F2 is a new 14500-cell flashlight available in many colors, including the Blood Orange seen here! Read on for testing!

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight product page.

Versions

There are many finishes of the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight. This version is aluminum and finished in “Blood Orange” anodizing. Also available are cerakote versions and different metal versions, too. Jordy of FocusWorks has an interest in … everything, too, so if you have a wild hair idea for metals, you can probably get Jordy to make an F2 out of it!

Two emitter options are available, too. There’s Samsung LH351d 5000K (seen here), and Nichia 219c 4000K.

Any of those options can be selected with memory or no memory.  A battery is available, too.

Price

This aluminum FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight sells for $185. Other metals are sometimes available; they cost more. Other finishes (like cerakote) are sometimes available; they too understandably demand a premium. Currently available at FocusWorks EDC is this collaboration with Urban Survival Gear – the Zombie Apocalypse version, which has “Umbrella Corporation” and branding. It’s very neat and has a price of $400.

I also have a coupon that’ll work on F2 as well as Eryx lights! That coupon is:

zeroair1

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Short Review

I had long thought I’d love the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight. As soon as I opened the package, I knew my intuition was right. The F2 just handles so nicely. The body has enough variation that it’s easy to hold and orient without even looking at it. There’s room for change, though. You may decide to swap the driver from Qlite to H17f or the like, and you might want to go with an emitter like the Nichia 519a. With those two changes, I think you’ll be crazy about the FocusWorks EDC F2. And in Blood Orange… I’m glad this light wasn’t called “orange” but I’m also glad it’s the color it is… It’s a really great color!

Long Review

The Big Table

FocusWorks EDC F2 Flashlight
Emitter:	Samsung LH351d (5000K)
Price in USD at publication time:	$185.00
Cell:	1×14500
High Runtime Graph	Medium Runtime Graph
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	Mechanical
On-Board Charging?	No
Claimed Lumens (lm)	–
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	747
Candela per Lumen	9.1
Claimed Throw (m)	–
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	175lux @ 4.94m = 4271cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	130.7
Claimed CCT	5000
Measured CCT Range (K)	4700-4900 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	FocusWorks EDC
All my Focus Works EDC 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

• FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight
• Business card
• Sticker

Package and Manual

This light is made in Canada!

The package has a sticker identifying the contents.

Check out these custom-cut packaging donuts! They are delicious, I can tell you that for certain.

There is no manual.

Build Quality and Disassembly

The build quality of the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight is what I’ll say is the main selling point. Not just the “build quality” specifically, but more generically the design as a whole. The F2 is not just a tube light! This aluminum light has a nicely flared head as well as a tail area that flairs to a larger diameter than the main body.

All in all, this makes for a fantastic size and shape, and in-hand feel! I do really love it.

You may be wondering how grippy the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight is. Well, it’s not very grippy. The cell tube is smooth and the design on the head isn’t really intended as a grip area. So hold on tight! But I didn’t really ever worry about dropping it. The F2 might not be the best for use with gloves, though.

I like the seam between the head and body, too. Hanko Machine Works does the seam this way, I think – it’s an acceptance that there is a seam, and because there’s acceptance, a tiny chamfer can be added. And the chamfer really adds a feeling of refinement!

The FocusWorks EDC logo is nicely placed right under the pocket clip, too.

Here on the head are these design features – I’m not willing to call them “cooling fins” since I don’t think they’re really deep enough. And they’re in the wrong direction to be considered grip areas for head removal. So I just consider them for looks. For that purpose, they’re great!

Inside, the head has a small spring – I believe this spring is commonly called a “qlite spring.” That would make sense because this is a qlite driver… Threads, which you can see at left below, are unanodized and fairly fine. There’s a nice beefy o-ring there on the cell tube.

The tail gets a spring, too, which means just about any 14500 cell should work just fine.

Another detail here – inside the cell tube has a very nice chamfer.  This does a few things – makes cell installation easier, softens the edge, but also nicely shows the internal anodizing, too.

All in all, the FocusWorks EDC F25 flashlight is very well built, and I’m super pleased with it.

Size and Comps

4-1/16″ (104mm) x 7/8″ (22mm) diameter
Weight with a battery 75g

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.

Also seen above is the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight beside my custom engraved TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light.  I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats.

I have some other 14500-sized lights… Below is a brass triple by the store now called Lumencraft (formerly Adventure Sport Flashlights.) These are both mechanical clicky lights.

Here’s the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight alongside a couple of Lumintop e-switch lights.

And here’s a smattering of other 14500 and/or AA-cell lights.

Retention and Carry

Included with the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight is a custom-made steel pocket clip.

This clip attaches with two Hex screws that I believe are called “machine screws” because of the head style. I’m no expert in screws though… wait a second…

Anyway, this whole setup is exceptional. It’s a custom pocket clip that has fantastic attention to detail.

For example, check out the brushed finish on this clip! Also, and very importantly, as you can see in some photos above, the edges are finished. I’m not sure what Jordy of FocusWorks does to these (maybe a tumble!), but the edges don’t feel like an afterthought and don’t feel like they’re right out of the machine that cut them. They’re very nice clips. One more point – check out where the clip lands on the body. It’s right on a nice smooth spot, so using the clip (on pants pocket or whatever) is very pleasant. I found the clip tension to be sufficient and I didn’t worry about the light unintentionally leaving my pocket.

The screw holes go all the way through the tail, as you can see below.  Just by eyeballing a light or two against this pocket clip, I believe this to be standard SteelFlame pocket clip hole spacing.

That’s it – no magnet or lanyard or anything else. The pocket clip does have a hole where a lanyard can be attached, though.

Power and Runtime

The FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight runs on a single 14500-sized lithium-ion cell. It’s possible to add one of these at the site for purchase, but I didn’t get one.

I don’t have a ton of 14500 cells, so I tested the light with one of my newest Acebeam 14500 cells. The cell fits into the light in the usual way – positive end (in this case “button end”) toward the head. NiMH cells and other 1.5V cells do not work in this light.

Here are runtime graphs for all three modes.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
High	–	–	717	3.02
Medium	–	–	255	1.00
Low	–	–	30	0.03

Pulse Width Modulation

PWM is seen by the oscilloscope on the lower two modes (left) but the highest mode does not have PWM. PWM on those lower two is probably fast enough that you’ll never notice it.

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

Interaction with the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight comes by way of a mechanical clicky in the tail end. This is the stalwart of clicky switches – the McClicky!

Also, check out this logo switch cover that with the FocusWorks EDC arrows. This is a very nice touch.

Thankfully, despite the illustrator image of the F2 that’s seen on the package, the rubber boot cover does not protrude past the tailend of the light. That means tailstanding is easy and stable.

The driver on the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight is a qlite driver. That’s a very simple driver and does provide an interface that just about anyone can pick up and run with. But we aren’t just anyone, and I can see how you might want more. While I didn’t do it, I can say that other drivers fit into the pill with relative ease. For example, you could put into this light a Dr. Jones H17f and have programmability and many modes, and…. tons of options. At that same time, you might opt to throw in an emitter from more “current gen” like the Nichia 519a.

Even if you did those things, at $185, you can still get parts and perform the work and come out having spent less than other comparable lights. (You might even be inclined to buy a light such as the Acebeam Rider RX and driver/emitter swap into this body. You get a nice “custom-type” light but with a driver supporting 14500 and AA cells!)

Here’s a user interface table! Note that there are some options you’d need to select from when buying your F2. You can pick with or without Memory. I have the version with memory.

State	Action	Result
Off	Click	On (Memory)^
Off	Tap	Mode selection^^
On	Click	Off
On	Tap	No action (because this is a forward clicky)

^ It’s possible to purchase the light with or without memory enabled.
^^ Repeated taps cycle modes Low > Medium > High. Taps need to be “together” – if you wait for more than a second or so, tapping will put you in the same mode you’re already in. It’s very clean in practice but harder to describe in text. Anything down to like a “slow double click” speed will suffice for mode changing. Anything you would describe as being slower than the speed of a “slow double click” will be too slow, and you’ll reenter the same mode.

LED and Beam

There are a couple of options, but this review copy of the FocusWorks EDC F2 flashlight has a Samsung LH351d in 5000K. That’s a great emitter and coupled with the TIR, gives a great beam profile. The setup is a single too, so don’t think you’re getting YAT here!

Singles are great, too, and I love them! And in this application – a 14500-cell light, it makes great sense!

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

CRI and CCT are both good on this emitter – from around 4700K to around 4900K and around 90CRI. Duv is positive, which supports the idea that you might see a bit of green in the beam. It’s low (technically “near zero” I guess), though.

Beamshots

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.

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.

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

Conclusion

What I like

• Great build quality
• Very nice design
• I love a single-emitter flashlight
• Comparatively low cost
• User interface is very simple
• Some very custom parts (switch cover, pocket clip)
• Carries very well

What I don’t like

• Qlite driver – h17f would be a fantastic choice for this light
• Emitter options – throw in a Nichia 519a option!
• Doesn’t support AA cells
• Three modes isn’t many modes!

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Notes

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