FireflyLite X1L Flashlight Review

The FireflyLite X1L flashlight is a brand new light that offers an innovative new USB-C charging cover as well as great throw from one 4000K Cree XHP70 HI.

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Official Specs and Features

Here’s a referral link to the FireflyLite X1L flashlight product page.

Versions

Three body colors are available: Matte Black HAIII, Fossil Grey MAO, and Dark White MAO. You can also get it with or without a magnet in the tailcap. I believe there will be a few emitter options too, but I do not see them listed on the page. I can say that this Cree XHP70 HI is a nice choice though!

Price

The FireflyLite X1L flashlight is still in the pre-order stage, so depending on how many are ordered, the price may go down. I think the most you can expect to pay for one of these is $103.50, though.

I did just get a referral link and code from FireflyLite. I am not sure if the coupon will work on the preorder, but you can try it. It should be good for one use per user, for 10% off!

FFLZeroAir

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What’s Included

• FireflyLite X1L flashlight
• Vapcell T50 5000mAh 21700
• Spare o-rings (4)
• Spare TIR cover
• Lanyard
• Carry pouch
• Manual

Package and Manual

Build Quality and Disassembly

I recently reviewed the FireflyLite E12C – a less new model. This FireflyLite X1L flashlight is definitely a step up in build quality. All the differences are subtle, but the new generation is better!

The bezel is coated in some way, and it is super clean.

Both the head and tail have nice beefy springs. Here you can see the driver, which is a Lume X1 by LoneOceans – and this is another fantastic reason to buy the X1l!!

The cell tube is not reversible.

Size and Comps

126mm length x 48mm head x 26.5mm, and approximately 165g.

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

Here’s the test light with the venerable Convoy S2+. The version below is a custom laser-engraved Convoy S2+ host by GadgetConnections.com. I did a full post on an engraved orange host right here! Or just go straight to GadgetConnections.com to buy your Convoy S2+ now!

Also above is the light beside a TorchLAB BOSS 35, an 18350 light. I reviewed the aluminum version of that light in both 35 and 70 formats. I also reviewed that specific edition, the “Oveready BOSS FT Collector Vintage Brass” 35. I love it!

Retention and Carry

A number of options are included for carrying the FireflyLite X1L flashlight. First, there’s this pocket clip. It’s a very nice pocket clip, attached under the tailcap. No friction-fit clip here!

Also included is a lanyard, which is unusual – very feature-rich. Both ends have a metal hook and there’s a keychain loop option.

There’s also the draw-string pouch, pictured above.

Power and Runtime

FireflyLite included this Vapcell T50 5000mAh 21700 with the X1L. I am not sure if all packages will include this or if they sent this for testing. The product page lists this as a recommended cell, so I imagine you should plan to buy this separately.

The cell goes into the X1L in the usual way – positive end toward the head.

Turbo steps down fairly quickly and at 30 seconds the light is still drifting down. The second-highest output is much more stable but still drops off at around the same time as Turbo. By the third highest level, we see fairly flat output.

The light did not shut off in every test, but by the time the cell voltage was down around 2.9V, the output was so dim that you’d necessarily take note.

Charging

One amazing improvement here on this FireflyLite X1L flashlight is the charging port cover. This is a USB-C port (no surprise) but the cover – the cover is special! It’s a little magnet held on a rubber leash of sorts, and flips off and snaps on so easily. I love it!

Charging looks good. Both C to C and A to C seem surprisingly fast at around 2.25A.

Modes and Currents

Mode	Mode Claimed Output (lm)	Claimed Runtime	Measured Lumens	Tailcap Amps
Turbo (Double click)	4000	–	2390 (0s) 2173 (30s)	10.9
High (Highest Stepped)	–	–	1822 (0s) 1754 (30s)	7.27
5	–	–	900	2.76
4	–	–	349	0.91
3	–	–	90	0.21
2	–	–	8.05	0.02
1	–	–	[low]	[low]

Pulse Width Modulation

None of the modes use PWM! This is a product of the light using the Lume X1 driver, I believe.

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

A single e-switch controls the FireflyLite X1L flashlight. It’s a nice metal switch with an indicating feature right in the middle.

Just like some other recent FireflyLite lights, there’s a metal bezel around the switch too, which makes the whole experience of clicking the switch quite pleasant. And again, this version (or this “generation”) just seems better.

Despite having a different driver (in this case, Lume X1 by LoneOceans), the light uses Andúril2.

Here’s more info about the Lume X1 driver, apparently called “Lume1-ff-6af” https://github.com/loneoceans/lume1-ff-6af

One thing I love about the Lume X1 driver: no PWM!

As with other FireflyLite flashlights, it seems to be a modified version of Andúril2. All of the features seem present, but the stepped modes are limited to 5, and not the usual 9. You’ll see many series photos below with 6 or 7 photos – Turbo is not part of the “stepped” group, as it’s accessed only by double clicking. This is fine for my use case. I’m copying the table from a standard Andúril2 light, but there may be some other wrinkles in the X1L, too.

Here’s a UI table!  This table is directly from ToyKeeper’s Andúril2 manual, which you can view here:

http://toykeeper.net/torches/fsm/anduril2/anduril-manual.txt

I am putting this in a table here with ToyKeeper’s permission.  Thanks, TK!  This is so much better than me writing it because it’s more reliable, and I completely trust its accuracy (at least, if I can paste it accurately).  I’m breaking it up a little differently than ToyKeeper did, though I certainly understand why it was done her way originally.

First, the table for Either User Interface.  These actions work whether you’re in Simple or Advanced UI.

State	Action	Result
Off	1C	On (ramp mode, memorized level)
Off	1H	On (ramp mode, floor level)
Off	2C	On (ramp mode, ceiling level)
Off	3C	Battcheck mode
Off	4C	Lockout mode
Off	13H	Factory reset (on some lights)
Off	15+C	Version check
Ramp	1C	Off
Ramp	1H	Ramp (up, with reversing)
Ramp	2H	Ramp (down)
Ramp	3H	Tint ramping (on some lights)
Ramp	3H	Momentary turbo (on lights without tint ramping)
Ramp	4C	Lockout mode
Lockout	1C/1H	Momentary moon (lowest floor)
Lockout	2C/2H	Momentary moon (highest floor, or manual mem level)
Lockout	4C	On (ramp mode, memorized level)
Lockout	4H	On (ramp mode, floor level)
Lockout	5C	On (ramp mode, ceiling level)
Batt check	1C	Off

A table for only Simple User Interface:

State	Action	Result
Off	2H	On (momentary ceiling level)
Off	10H	Disable Simple UI
Ramp	2C	Go to/from ceiling

A table for only Advanced (aka “Full”) User Interface:

State	Action	Result
Off	2H	On (momentary turbo)
Off	3H	Strobe mode (whichever was used last)
Off	5C	Momentary mode
Off	7C	Aux LEDs: Next pattern Switch LEDs: Next option
Off	7H	Aux LEDs: Next color
Off	10C	Enable Simple UI
Off	10H	Simple UI ramp config menu (1: floor, 2: ceiling, [3: steps])
Ramp	2C	Go to/from ceiling (or turbo if at ceil already)
Ramp	3C	Change ramp style (smooth / stepped)
Ramp	5C	Momentary mode
Ramp	5H	Sunset timer on, and add 5 minutes
Ramp	7H	Ramp config menu (1: floor, 2: ceiling, [3: steps])
Ramp	10C	Turn on manual memory and save current brightness
Ramp	10H	Manual memory config menu (1: off, 2: set timeout)
Lockout	7C	Aux LEDs: Next pattern
Lockout	7H	Aux LEDs: Next color
Lockout	10H	Auto-lock config menu (1: set timeout)
Strobe (any)	1C	Off
Strobe (any)	2C	Next strobe mode
Strobe (any)	3H	Tint ramping (on some lights)
Strobe (any)	5C	Momentary mode (using current strobe)
Candle	1H/2H	Brighter / dimmer
Candle	5H	Sunset timer on, add 5 minutes
Party strobe	1H/2H	Faster / slower
Tactical strobe	1H/2H	Faster / slower
Biking	1H/2H	Brighter / dimmer
Lightning	1H	Interrupt current flash or start new one
Batt check	2C	Next blinky mode (Temp check, Beacon, SOS)
Batt check	7H	Voltage config menu
Temp check	1C	Off
Temp check	2C	Next blinky mode (Beacon, SOS, Batt check)
Temp check	7H	Thermal config menu
Beacon	1C	Off
Beacon	1H	Configure beacon timing
Beacon	2C	Next blinky mode (SOS, Batt check, Temp check)
SOS	1C	Off
SOS	2C	Next blinky mode (Batt check, Temp check, Beacon)
Momentary	Any	On (until button is released)
Momentary	Disconnect power	Exit Momentary mode
Config menus	Hold	Skip current item with no changes
Config menus	Release	Configure current item
Number entry	Click	Add 1 to value for current item

To be completely honest, I’m not entirely sure yet what’s the best way to tell if you’re in Simple UI or Advanced UI.  Based on what I see here and with the light in hand, I think the fewest-clicks way will be 3 clicks from on (technically “Ramp” in the table, but I think “On” is accurate.)  This action – 3C from Ramp – in Advanced UI will iterate smooth or stepped.  In Simple UI, this action will do nothing.  There are other ways, though.  For example, double-clicking from the top of the ramp will either do nothing or go to Turbo.  If it does nothing, then you’re in Simple.  If it goes to 11, then you’re in Advanced.  One more reliable way to check between Simple and Advanced is to enter Batt Check (3C from off) and then see what 2C does.  In Simple, the light will just turn off.  In Advanced, the light will go to the temperature check.

Another great way to tell, thanks to a reader is to see what the lowest level of ramping is.  Advanced UI has a quite low low.  Simple UI has a much higher “lowest level.”

LED and Beam

The emitter offered to me was the Cree XHP70 HI at 4000K. It’s a high CRI emitter, and I recommend it!

A TIR rounds out the package, to give the X1L some punchy throw.

Below you can see both how easy the bezel and optic are to remove and note the secondary emitters. These are RGB emitters!

The RGB emitters really get lost under that single-emitter optic, though. So they’re not nearly as visible as on other lights.

I just left this photo in (below) so you can see the order of parts.

LED Color Report (CRI and CCT)

As stated, this emitter is high CRI – around 93CRI. The CCT claim is met, too, at around 4000K (ranging from 3800 to 4100K.) This is a great emitter! The Duv is positive, so if you’re sensitive to greens, you might take note.

Beamshots

These beamshots are always with 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!

Summary and Conclusion

I can safely say that I really do like the FireflyLite X1L flashlight. The throw, high CRI, warm output, and easy-to-use USB-C charging make it a good purchase. I like the white finish, too (and not just because the photos are so much easier to edit on this body color!). I think FireflyLite has a winner here!

The Big Table

FireflyLite X1L flashlight
Emitter:	Cree XHP70.3 HI (4000K)
Price in USD at publication time:	$103.50
Cell:	1×21700
Runtime Graphs
LVP?	Yes
Switch Type:	E-Switch
Quiescent Current (mA):	?
On-Board Charging?	Yes
Charge Port Type:	USB-C
Charge Graph
Power off Charge Port	With cell: all modes Without cell and/or body: no modes (secondary only)
Claimed Lumens (lm)	4000
Measured Lumens (at 30s)	2173 (54.3% of claim)^
Candela per Lumen	497
Claimed Throw (m)	380
Candela (Calculated) in cd (at 30s)	1922lux @ 5.673m = 61856cd
Throw (Calculated) (m)	497.4 (130.9% of claim)^
Claimed CCT	4000
Measured CCT Range (K)	3800-4100 Kelvin
Item provided for review by:	Fireflylite
All my Fireflylite 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 I like

• Updated build and build quality
• USB-C charging port cover
• High CRI
• Coated Stainless bezel (I love it!)
• LoneOceans Lume X1 driver (no PWM!!)

What I don’t like

• Cell doesn’t seem to be included
• RGB secondary emitters are hard to see
• Output doesn’t meet the claimed 4000 lumens (but that is probably for one of the cooler CCT emitters anyway.)

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Notes

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