What would you like to see in 2016 ?

So what would you like to see from the manufacturer's in 2016 ? It can be anything in terms from the obvious increase in lumens, to functionality, reliability, battery etc etc and in what form factor - EDC, standard, thrower etc.

For me it's actually nothing too exciting, making the lights more efficient to get longer runtimes would definitely be a big help to me in my line of work ( I tend to work away from home a lot)

FourSevens Smart App.
More Smart lights.

I'd like to see some higher milliamp rated batteries with higher drain characteristics. A 4000 mAH rated battery that sustain 10-15 amp draw.

I'd also like to see the next generation of LED from Luminus that replaces the SBT-70 emitter. Would love for it to have 2500-3000 lumens and only draw 5-7 amps for full brightness.

For Cree to shrink the die size for the XHP50 and XHP70 chips for greater surface brightness. At present the doughnut hole does nothing for me.

d88 said:

So what would you like to see from the manufacturer's in 2016 ? It can be anything in terms from the obvious increase in lumens, to functionality, reliability, battery etc etc and in what form factor - EDC, standard, thrower etc.

For me it's actually nothing too exciting, making the lights more efficient to get longer runtimes would definitely be a big help to me in my line of work ( I tend to work away from home a lot)

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^^ I'm with you on the runtime thing.

Accurate specs, none of this 1000lm from an 18650 for 2hr rubbish! Just honesty basically ,but i guess that does not sell...............

Higher mah cells without the sag, real 20-30a rated with 3500-4000mah

More tint options from the big names, 4000/4500/5000/5500k for example....................

Proper ano HAIII or better.............

I want to see lights from manufacturers in 2016 that will make all the lights I have, and all the lights currently on my buy radar look hopelessly obsolete. I want to have to give them all away to friends and family, due to revolutionary increases in power and throw, due to revolutionary advances in battery technology and heat management technology, as well as revolutionary advances in emitter technology and reflector technology in 2016.

Runtimes.

A titanium version of the new Preon I and 2!

ven said:

Accurate specs, none of this 1000lm from an 18650 for 2hr rubbish! Just honesty basically ,but i guess that does not sell...............

Higher mah cells without the sag, real 20-30a rated with 3500-4000mah

More tint options from the big names, 4000/4500/5000/5500k for example....................

Proper ano HAIII or better.............

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I am in agreement with ven on standards being used by all manufacturers to be an accurate account of lumens, battery capacity, and amp ratings based on an independent standard.

As for development I would like to see more technology in the further development of 26650 batteries and single cell lights on a parallel to what Zepbralights have done for the 18650 compact light.

Actually.... a revision of the ANSI specifications and testing procedures.

In no particular order, I'd like to see:

1) Nichia 219C in a 90+ CRI and even Cree LED with some real HCRI.
2) An efficient variable output UI or some other innovative UI.
3) Lights with LED on copper pcb with sufficient heatsink instead of dropping out of high mode after couple minutes.
4) Advancements in the CR123/16340 and AA/14500 battery format.

I'd like to see manufacturers concentrate more on reliability of their lights rather than going for a lumens race or fancy UI. Nothing worse then a light malfunctioning after a fall from waist height or one that malfunctions from one too many clicks of the tail switch b/c the manufacturer uses cheap parts or crumby soldering. Other than that I would like to see longer runtimes in the lights I have so that would mean improvements for batteries. Also higher CRI in lights across the board.

Quality Control.................by that i mean just that!!!

i know if there are issues and it looks very one sided due to being posted here , however when you read about a specific brand it can get very frustrating . Especially if they are known to be a solid dependable one of past!! I guess i dont need to mention names. Also rather than give teasers and never release lights, or by the time they do they are dated, concentrate on getting dependable lights out. 600 reliable lumens is far better than 1000 hit and miss ones...........(example).

Improved runtimes, reliability improvement, better QC, more lights that support rechargeable batteries (specially from SF), honest given runtimes, tint improvement, led/tint options.

Like to see the major companies release lights on par with those that are a bit more "Deft" in performance.At a price range that allows a bit more general affordability.They have the capability.

Tint is my biggest issue right now; I want neutral and warm. A choice of tint would be excellent, like ven mentioned above: 3000/3500/4000/4500/5000/5500/6000/6500/7000k. I would be happy to pay extra to have the tint I want in a light that I otherwise love! (I really like all my Fenix lights, but they're all cool-white and I'm not digging that right now...)

Grijon said:

Tint is my biggest issue right now; I want neutral and warm. A choice of tint would be excellent, like ven mentioned above: 3000/3500/4000/4500/5000/5500/6000/6500/7000k. I would be happy to pay extra to have the tint I want in a light that I otherwise love! (I really like all my Fenix lights, but they're all cool-white and I'm not digging that right now...)

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My knowlege of optics is not sufficent to know if the head of a flashlight was threaded to accept optical quality filters, would this be a viable way to change tint or color temperture?

People have been calling for this for a long time (forever), the only way it's ever going to happen is for people to actually test them, call them out when they are excessively optimistic and refuse to buy lights from the manufacturers that make outrageous claims... so yeah, probably not going to happen.

sidecross said:

I am in agreement with ven on standards being used by all manufacturers to be an accurate account of lumens, battery capacity, and amp ratings based on an independent standard.

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Affordable, neutral or even warm white LED, 18350 powered, TiN coated Ti (or SS? or ..?) body, simple moon -> med -> high or low <-> high modes with a modest output on max. Flexible w/regards to switch type, as long as it works well and adds little to overall length.

Oh yes and... solid-state batteries. Die, die, you liquid electrolyte, die! For those who don't know what I'm talking about: the battery equivalent of a ceramic / tantalum / solid polymer capacitor. Guessing it'll take longer than 2016 for that to materialize, though.