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- May 30, 2013
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GearBest has an entry light of their own make branded zanfare and called the zanflare f1. It's an 18650 tube light with some twists, interesting ones at that.
The information under, is from DB Customs review, and later on my personal experience with the light.
General info,
The light comes in an very high quality box, which is something rare to see in this price range, f1, a small box made just for holding the black Ti coated SS clip, a lanyard, an odd neoprene zippered case that fully encloses the light (it's a bit tough getting the f1 inside) and no orings for spares.
What is even more interesting, is that the package it self, include very well written manual, which include tons of details.
Right off the top lets look at the readings… as you see above they list the output levels, here's what I get with a Samsung 30Q button top at 4.20V
0.01A for 0.414 Lumens
0.12A for 63.14
0.52A for 284.63
1.16A for 580.98, this is what they refer to as Turbo
3.46A for 1269.6, this is what they refer to as Flare.
t's important to note that Flare starts ramping down at about 30 seconds and reverts back to the lowest setting within about 5 seconds of the ramp beginning.
Also worth noting that it takes a double click of the side switch to get into Flare, and it won't stay in the memory if you turn it off. The main 4 modes will work with memory and the light comes on in any of those 4 you turn it off in.
Engaging strobe or SOS is somewhat more tricky, taking a long 3 second hold down of the side switch and again the same thing to switch it off and use the normal modes. Ugh. Since the light is turned On and Off at the tail switch, it can get a bit weird for me.
The finish is well done, seems pretty tough (I mean, I did get a chance to test it which you'll see directly)
See this tighter area of "spline" under the switch housing? This is a threaded ring that has 2 o-rings under it, one on each side of the micro USB charging port! Yes, it charges with the cell inside, there's a small window that lights up red when charging and green when done.
This small oval window is for the lanyard, it does go all the way through and the groove allows for tail standing.
The clip… possibly reversible but it would block the cover ring for the charging port. Hmmm…..
Side switch is well coated, ano'd, whatever it is… it blends well with the light and has nice activation… I'll show you what's behind it directly…
Have you noticed anything about all this external design?
t's a bit eclectic, a fairly heavy "spline" on the tail cap, then the half finished knurled spiral on the tube, followed by a different value spline on the cover ring for the charge port, and yet another value of spline on the head. Seems odd to have so many different design styles.
Some of y'all won't like this bit at all. It's glued. Seriously and heavily glued. Looks like Blue Loctite, and a lot of it! They really don't want you going in, warn against it, and it voids the warranty to do so, plainly stated. But you know, I can't do a review without showing it all, right?
Multi panel driver has slots in the head to keep it from rotating, machined flats to line up the board mounted switch, all nice and solid.
The reflector is supposedly optimized, it seems to have steps all the way up it, but the beam is pretty nice and it's made of aluminum so…
There's a very elaborate machined cup that acts as insulation disc and cups the base of the reflector, pretty well done, they're trying quite hard to get this right…
Lens is chamfered, AR coated, nice touch.
The tail cap button is actually metal, with a rubber skirt that fits snugly in a groove… tight enough it's difficult to remove so I left it intact, afraid of tearing it.
Mcpcb is proprietary, apparently made for GearBest or by them for this light, it's DTP and again a nice touch.
This is the same tree normall in my beam shots, but from a different angle. It's trying to rain and getting late. (It's 32 yards to the tree from my front porch)
Pro's and Con's
Pro's
Premium Cree XP-L V6 emitter on a DTP copper mcpcb.
Regulated constant current circuitry
Thermal step down to protect from overheating
3.5A in Flare mode ~1250 lumens
Good beam profile, hot spot easily fills a target 50 yds away
Built in USB Charger, well protected from dirt and water
Nice pocket clip
Metal clicky button in tail cap with good seal
All actuation is firm and positive
High grade anodization
Glass breaker point in tail cap
Con's
Pocket clip is attached to tail cap, will scar up the battery tube with cell replacement (provided internal charging is not used)
Overall style is a bit eclectic
Head glued (sealed, in their words)
UI is slightly confusing, not difficult to get used to though
I don't know the price point on this light, but from the feature set and quality of construction it should compare favorably to other lights in it's class and come in at an affordable level. Will make a nice EDC with good moonlight and top tier common level, not sure I like how it steps down in thermal protection, it seems to go a bit too far and reset to moonlight instead of merely stepping down to High and then Medium if necessary. A better stepdown ramp would make the Flare mode much more useful.
This is great news! The light looks nice! 
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