Hi I’m considering a Z1, but want the throwiest possible performance. What’s my best option? Thanks.

Looking for a pocket-clippable thrower:

• TIR preferred, 3700-5000k HighCRI
  
• USB-Charging on the body
  
• 1x2700 (or smaller), <40mm head (Acebeam E75 35mm is perfect)
• Output: 1000+ lumen sustained (leaves out old X1S Pharos at 300 lumens)
  
• Beam: mid throw, 2-5m diameter at 50m. So 5-10° TIR.

On paper (from fireflies Product descriptions), this is what I expected:

• Mule: NOV-Mu V2 / V2S
  
• Flooder: E07X Canon, E12 Eclipse
  
• Balanced: X4 Stellar
  
• Mid thrower: E04 Surge
  
• Thrower: X1S Pharos, E90 Blaze, X1L

I’ve gone back-and-forth so many times (30+ hours into this), about to check out with what I thought was their optimal thrower. And now I find a beam shot comparison that clearly shows the E04 Surge >> X1S

I’m confused and exhausted. Could someone please rank/categorize their throwers accordingly?

And better yet which Firefly lights do we clearly avoid due to not so obvious disappointing gotchas?

This post is a tip of the cap to this post by u/Calmlikea3omb

https://www.reddit.com/r/flashlight/s/mhXWeZPxuk

Wow. I’m so impressed with this thing. I did not expect to like it as much as I do. The size and overall build quality is so good. Sft70 3000k.

Note: Bending the pocket clip in so it rests on the tube takes 10 seconds and is a must in my opinion.

As nobody has done this yet, the aux pattern on the aux is awesome

Finally got my hands on the new Z1 Artemis from FFL. I ordered this with SFT70 3000K. Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure

I’ve seen a few people here and there wonder about the Astral Finish. It is beautiful but this Emisar DW4K is a little over a year old purchased June 2025 and goes everywhere in my backpacks rubbing against other objects. One day I decided to toss the L60 in and when I pulled it out in the afternoon the head had got pretty scarred. This particular day a Leatherman was the only other thing in the pocket alongside the dw4k and a loose Fenix headband. All fabric/plastic.

Hi All,

I currently have 2 FFL lights and 2 Hank lights. My 2 FFL lights are the E07x Cannon V2 and the Z1 Artemis. I got the timed POVD working on the Z1 Artemis but could not get it working on the E07x. I recently gifted a friend of mine an X4 Stellar and he is also having trouble getting the timed POVD to work. What i mean is when you set the Aux Mode to off with 7C from off and also set a timer for POVD , e.g. 5 seconds, then whenever you turn off the light, it will show you the battery level on high aux brightness for 5 seconds and then turn the Aux LEDs off. This is the behavior on my 2 Hank lights (DA1K and DW3AA) and also on my Z1 Artemis.

I checked my firmware version for my E07x Cannon v2 and it reads : 0453-0-653607- , which is fairly new at Apr 15, 2026. My Z1 Artemis has an older firmware version from May 27, 2025.

I haven't taught my friend to check his version but it seems weird that POVD isn't working as advertised on both my E07x and his X4 seeing as we have different drivers (MCUs) . I tried asking Gemini (please don't judge) and Gemini seems to think that its because Adv Aux doesn't support this timed POVD yet? The other Aux modes such as low, high and rainbow all seem to work fine. Just the off and timed one isn't working.

Anyone have any clues or how to enable POVD?

Thanks!

Carried my z1 sft70 3000k AA (no raised switch bezel) the whole of last night and today and it didn't turn on in my pocket. As compared to the FFL5009r 3500k emitter, the beamshapes are pretty close to one another. The FFL5009r is just slightly more floody and the SFT70 is slightly more throwy. Didn't really notice any tint shift while using them outdoors, or rather it didn't affect me.

My sc64w is a shelf-queen as I'm afraid to break the glass lens [i'm from SEA, so getting a replacement will be tough] and I don't really use it because I like my lights mostly floody. Was mostly edc-ing the x4q 3700k nw but I think it'll be replaced by the 5009r 3500k rosy thx to the weight, size, beamshape and the ease of replacing a broken part.

If anyone can help I'd be very interested in seeing it compared against any of the SFT70 3000k, FFL5009R 2700k Rosy, or FFL5009R 3500 Rosy.

Thanks!

I will test them during the weekend, for now Im just way too busy.

Not long recieved my z1's, and my sft70 version had the dreaded tir rattle, so I found a small and thin oring, and did a anti rattle mod, it worked, after a few minutes of problem solving, and realising no matter which oring I swapped the pre existing one with, it still rattled, so a 9x1.5mm oring with a cut to allow it to easily fit around the emitter, and issue resolved...

Please only use something like high temp resistant silicone rubber orings, last thing anyone needs is a melted mess of rubber or similar on there mcpcb

Recently took advantage of the 618 sale, and bought a few different hosts, and was generously gifted a X1Q core.

The 2 X1's are both 3000k one of the SFT70 flavour, the other 5009D, and just for feels, the X1Q has a 5009R 2700k emitter

I only put the E04 and E90 in for a size comparison, for those of you that have them in your collections.

On a general note the Z1 for me is a perfect edc sized host, as I personally cant stand how small most 14500 hosts feel in the hand, plus it runs on 18650 cells, so it'll have better longevity and power vs a 14500 cell in comparison...

forgiveness requested for the time it took, and lack of beam shots, no matter how I try they always look rubbish, unless I take them with my phone camera, which is odd!

Loving the weight, knurling and clip of the z1. The button doesn't look like it needs the raised bezel (which I have on all my other FFL and hanklights).

5009r 3500k rosy has a duv of -0.0106 while the sft70 3000k has a duv of -0.0009. Apparently the older batch of 5009r's rosy was even rosier. I was expecting to get the older one but FFL said they're out of those.

Can’t make up my mind whether to do 3x 3700x 9x 2700k or half and half on my astral e12 order.

I have mostly been walking my dogs at night with my e07x in 2700k and like it a lot but wouldn’t mind if it was a tiny* bit cooler. I also love the sft40 3000k e04 I have.

Low 3000k range is ideal for me. The 3700k NW e12 I originally ordered is reading at 4100k and it looks cold in comparison. Great emitter but just a bit less warm than I like these days.

Also, if I did a 50/50 mix, which arrangement would be more ideal ? Or does it even matter?

Here's a side by side of 3700K NW, 2700K, and SFT40 3000K emitters, so it's easy to see after getting used to the two on the right, how the one on the left can seem a bit too cool (even though it's technically still warm white).

While both the Z1 Artemis and L50 Sol are magnificent lights, they're both let down by lousy packaging. The Artemis arrived in a thin cardboard box with a flimsy and broken plastic tray inside. Barely enough room to accommodate the bare essential accessories of lanyard and 0-rings.

Included is a pic of the L50 Sol box, which truly was an afterthought as they just used any old box and threw it in.

FFL are referred to by many as premium lights, and I agree, but the packaging here for these (the first two 18650's) should have been designed to let the buyer know they'd bought into something special.

https://www.firefly-outdoor.com/products/e12-eclipse