Goodbye 2023, Welcome 2024!

Goodbye 2023, Welcome 2024! Here at zeroair.org, 2023 has been great. I hope it has been for you as well! I’m going to take the opportunity to highlight some posts from this year, including some of my favorite posts and favorite gear! Just glancing through all the reviews from 2023, I’m amazed at how far we’ve come, but also how quickly we’ve carried here!

Goodbye 2023

I can safely say that I’m terrible at this type of post… I hope it’s a fun and useful post, but writing it terrifies me. If you have any thoughts about improving it, please let me know! Respectfully, these posts don’t get a ton of traffic anyway… If you get the “nonce” error when attempting to comment, just shoot me an email! (I’m also clearing the cache, which should fix the problem.)

Most Read Posts

Here’s a list of the most-read posts in 2023.  This is sort of a hard-count list – I haven’t normalized by date, so the info could be skewed toward older posts since they’ve had more time to have more traffic.  But it is what it is. I also always forget where in my stats to go for this data. I should just put that info here in this post!

Most Read Post – Sofirn Q8 Plus

The most-read post on this website for 2023 is my initial review of the Sofirn Q8 Plus. This is no surprise. The Sofirn Q8 Plus was and remains a very popular light!

Second Most Read Post – Sofirn IF19

Sofirn occupying the top two spots!? Yes! The Sofirn IF19 was a fun little inexpensive thrower offering (like the Q8 Plus) USB-C charging. This light offers a ton of knurling, and I love that!

Third Most Read Post – Sofirn SC31 Pro

Believe it or not, the third most-read post in 2023 was the second most-read post in 2022 and the most-read post in 2021!  That’s the review of the Sofirn SC31 Pro. I wouldn’t call that a surprise – this is a low-cost light that hits hard, and many people are interested in it!  It also features Andúril2 and is one of the least costly ways to get into that user interface. In past years, a post on SlickDeals linked to my review of this light, and that bumped the traffic. Sharing links to my reviews like that usually works out great!

Fun Fund Friday

I posted even fewer Fun Fund Friday reviews in 2023 than I did in 2022 (just 3). A couple were big favorites. The Zebralight SC53C N is a new favorite light of mine! Zebralights are a ton of work to review and that particular post was for Patrons only. Thank you to all the Patrons for making posts like this possible!

I do invite you to join my Patreon so that more content like the Zebralight and HDS Rotary posts are possible. You can visit my Patreon page here!

I’m already looking into other Fun Fund Friday items. Some or all will be just for Patrons!

Favorite Reviewed Items from 2023

In no particular order, here are a few items I really enjoyed spending some time with during 2023. I was super pleased that Acebeam sent a customized version of the Pokelit in copper. That’s a solid AA/14500 flashlight with a great emitter and good performance. Thank you to Acebeam for their support!

I also really enjoyed this Laulima Diamond Slim. Another nice 14500 flashlight!

Laulima makes another of my favorite lights and favorite photos from 2023, with the Todai you can see here:

I ended 2023 with more than just those two lights by Laulima, and I hope to match that success in 2024, too! (I hear an 18650 version is in the works!)

My Top Personal Lights of 2023

The year 2023 has seen little reshuffling about my top personal lights. This list has simply not changed much in the last few years. That’s good really and speaks both to the quality and longevity of these lights. Here are four lights I reach for most often.  

Emisar D4V2 Nichia 219b Cerakote Orange

Without a doubt, this custom Emisar D4V2 is the light I reach for the most. This Emisar D4V2 uses Nichia 219b emitters and has been Cerakoted in orange! This one is especially special since it was a gift from a reader well-versed in my favorite things.

Why is it the most reached for? Well around the house when I need a light, it’s usually very dark. The lighted switch on the D4V2 makes the light very easy to find. This is one of the very few lights I embrace mode memory on. I know it’ll always come on in a low output. Couple all that with the warm white emitters (and narrowest optic!), and it just makes for a great light to use without disturbing others.

I think this light will always be a favorite. Aside from actually just being a fantastic flashlight in general, it’s very meaningful!

TorchLAB Future BOSS with MOFF

I don’t know if I’ll ever stop loving this light. I don’t like to necessarily assign favorites, but let’s just say this one’s easy to carry.

TorchLAB BOSS flashlights make up the headlining image from this site, so it should come as no surprise that it’s a favorite.  However, I’ve added more over the years since taking that headline image. I need to do another group shot because I think at least two are missing from here.

Hank Machine Works Trident

Next up is the brass Hanko Machine Works, which has tritium that makes it super easy to find at night, so it’s easy to grab.  I also “finished” this light in 2021, outfitting it with a SteelFlame Hardness Triple in bronze. This finished version of the Hanko Full Twist is brass with tritium, a Lux-RC 371d driver, and this Steelflame pocket clip – I call it my “heavy Hanko.”

If I had a light that I considered more of an “art piece” than a flashlight, it’d be this one. That said, it’s still a user (as are all my lights.)

Hanko Machine Works Trident

Another of my “most reached for” lights is also a Hanko – The Hanko Machine Works Trident Reactor in titanium.  This is my “light Hanko.”

It’s not just an HMW Trident. I converted this one from a stock triple to a single with a reflector. The emitter is now a single Cree XP-L HI in 4000K with an H17f driver, and it is the perfect flashlight. The conversion engine is by Devin of Sigma Custom Works. The conversion is more throwy and also quite significantly lighter than the stock triple.

I never reviewed either of these two Hanko Machine Works Tridents, but I did review one that is functionally similar to a stock Trident. That’s the Hanko Machine Works Trident Total Tesseract in brass.

Finally, there’s the light with a ton of added flavor! This Convoy S2+ (which I always love, anyway) was laser engraved by GadgetConnections with my logo! They do a bunch of other stuff you should check out, too!

I have picked up a number of fancy flashlights so those lights above get used a bit less than they did in prior years. I like to mix it up! But I almost never go anywhere without a BOSS! These are a few of the other “regular” carry lights from 2023.

Acebeam E75. I carry this one in a bag; nearly always have it!

Olight Warrior Nano. Honestly, this one should be in legendary status already. I love this little light. It’s the light I wished for since the moment Olight came out with their dual-stage tailswitch. I liked this black review sample enough that I went out and bought the only other colorway available (zombie green!)

Over 1,100 Posts!!

One final note about 2023 – as of December 2023, I have posted 1,108 posts on zeroair.org. I don’t aim for quantity. But if I can keep up the quality and have the quantity, I’m ok with that too. Not every single one of the 1,108 posts are flashlight reviews. I’ve reviewed a bunch of knives lately, for example. And there’s an occasional news post and the like… But that’s still probably a solid 1,050 flashlight review. I’m pleased that my reviewing technique has improved (and if you need a good cringe today, go back and read some of the old posts!)

This year I published around 181 reviews. Unlike in previous years, 2023 was nearly entirely flashlights! I prefer that, and love testing flashlights! That’s a post nearly every other day for the year! It’s a lot, frankly, and this volume might precipitate some changes in the coming year. If you’re a writer or inclined toward WordPress, I’m interested in a conversation!

Unrelated but relevant: I usually like to check how many words I’ve typed in any given year, too. In 2022, I was nearing 2 million words and despite typing more words in 2023, I’m still just shy of 2 million words! That’s a lot of text about flashlights, either way!

As ever, I welcome constructive feedback!

Patreon

At the suggestion (I say suggestion, but I mean “insistence”) of my family, I added a Patreon in 2021. Specifically, regarding how much time reviewing takes away from my family (since I do have a full-time “regular job” that isn’t reviewing flashlights), and given that my family doesn’t want (more) flashlights as gifts, Patreon is a great way for me to make my the time taken reviewing valuable to them.

So please support me on Patreon!  My family will both love you for it and probably allow me to continue reviewing flashlights with your support!

Welcome, 2024!

What’s in store for 2024?

I’m already working on a slew of reviews for 2024. There are some site changes that I’d like to incorporate too, and I think your experience as a reader can improve, too! Site changes might mean fewer

I enjoy making Fun Fund Friday posts, particularly of unusual and/or custom items, and I will continue that. This gets costly, so any help you can offer is greatly appreciated! Help comes in the form of just clicking links! The traffic matters! If you’re feeling wild, shoot your favorite manufacturer an email and recommend that they send review items to me for review. (Notably absent in 2023 is Fenix, for example!)

My list of responsibilities has grown this year, but in 2023 I hope to keep posts going here. I enjoy it, and I hope you do too!

What would you like to see here for 2024?

Let me know in the comments, or shoot me a private message through the contact page!

Thank you for reading!

I love all of you, kind readers!