“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in…”

—Michael Corlene, Godfather Part III

As Tom Hanks’s character put it in You’ve Got Mail (a charming but anachronistic remake of Shop Around the Corner), The Godfather is the I Ching, the sum of all wisdom, and the dialog is almost written to be quotable. This quote summarizes my feelings about Gizmo Lights perfectly. With a smaller form factor, a battery format that seems more practical (but probably isn’t), and promises of a better UI in the form of Anduril II, I couldn’t say no to the FWAA.

After more than a month of almost daily carry, I am glad I didn’t. It is not a perfect light, but it is better than what has come before and offers hope that the era of the Gizmo Lights is coming to an end.

Here is the product page. There are so many variations of the FW series and even a few good old fashioned GM/Chevy style badge swaps that it is probably impossible to account for all the variations. This is a the first version of the FWAA. This was purchased with my own money and is mine to keep. Here is the review sample:

Twitter Review Summary: A Gizmo Light worth owning

Design: 2

The body tube of the FW series has always been a strong draw and as the previous post about Rethinking Flashlights emphasizes, good body tubes go a long way to make a flashlight great. My previous complaints about the FW series had to do with the battery and the UI.

In the FWAA, as the name implies, the 18650 has been swapped out for an 14500 aka a AA sized rechargeable. Unfortunately, the FWAA is not dual fuel so the swap in batteries doesn’t make the light easier to power in a power outage, but the size reduction is quite nice. This is a light can can both fit in a coin pocket AND fills the hand nicely, which is a very difficult line to straddle. In fact, I think this might be the only light I know of that can do both those things well. That is a masterstroke. So while I would normally take off a point for lack of dual fuel options, here, the change in format offers a substantial upgrade in carry and utility.

The real revelation here is the Anduril 2 UI. I am not going to go in depth in this section, but suffice to say Toykeepers revamp is a very successful one.

Fit and Finish: 2

Despite its sub $50 price tag there is nothing to complain about with the FWAA. Lumintop is to flashlights what Civivi is to knives—cheap items that punch well above their weight in terms of fit and finish. The threads clean and tight. The emitter dead center. The edges of the machined elements are either rounded or chamfered.

Grip: 2

The cylinderified hour glass shape has been around since the Arc4 and it is very, very good. It is wonderful in the hand, providing great control. This form factor has been used by no fewer than 4 different companies: Arc (long gone), Novatac (also long gone), HDS (still very much alive and kicking), and now Lumintop. It is, was, and always will be great.

I often thing about the idea that there is an innately superior shape for certain human used objects. Think about how similar video game controllers are, and think about the evolution of something like a baseball mitt. In the beginning there were a wide variety of designs and now there are basically one or two different designs. Flashlights are no where near as consolidated, but the cylindrical hour glass shape SHOULD be the dominate form—its amazing. As mentioned above, this particular size is really, really great: hand-filling yet small in the pocket.

Carry: 1

While the light itself is quite good, the e-switch is acutely sensitive and sometimes results in a bit of hot pocketing. Its not bad, but I would prefer either increased activation pressure on the switch, a longer compression distance, or some kind of raised lip around the switch. Look at the switch on the BOSS 35 for a perfect tailcap.

Output: 2

This little, itty bitty light throws out a wump of lumens, blinding and firing out a surprising amount of photons for the size. It also gets whisper dim. There is nothing to complain about here, on either end of the spectrum.

Runtime: 2

So of course it won’t run as long as an 18650 light, but the FWAA, with some concession to not running at turbo forever, can last a 2 hour night hike. The reality, of course, being that your eyes are so powerful that they will adapt to virtually any level of light and after about an hour 30 lumens is plenty to avoid tripping on a root or a slippery rock.

Beam Type: 2

This is, of course, an all flood beam. There is nothing like a reflector and the small triple is mounted behind a frosted lens. If you want throw, this ain’t your jam, but for a good EDC torch, flood is what you want. That decision is correct. How Lumintop got there is a different question.

Beam Quality: 0

The frosting on this first run of the FWAA is simply too much, obscuring the beam to the point where it loses most of its power about 20 feet out. I don’t mind all flood and I generally think that is the right call for an EDC light, but this stunned beam is too much for me. Of course Lumintop will release a version with different optics and so I would advise finding one of those. This cloud of light approach with the frosted optic doesn’t work for me. Give me a TIR instead (that, of course, would add cost).

UI: 2

Anduril in its first iteration was to UIs what puzzle boxes are to jewelry boxes—an unnecessary complication that detracts from the primary function. If you WANT a puzzle box, they are great. If you want to store stuff in a box, they are miserable. With all of the added “function” there was just too much for a single button UI to handle. The chance you fall into a random mode is just too high. But with Anduril 2 I have had no accidental mode traps and it is easy to use with a simple conceptual model to commit to memory. I have yet to have to consult a Five Mile Island flow chart to turn my light on. Remarkable how making something simpler to use makes it better. What’s even more remarkable are the people arguing the opposite. The history of product design is not on your side here.

Hands-Free: 2

With a lovely washer-style clip and a dead flat tailcap, the simple design of the FWAA works incredibly well in all sorts of hands free operations. I don’t think a magnetic tailcap is necessary and this light proves why. It is also small enough in diameter to function hands free in a pinch.

Other Considerations

Fidget Factor: High

With a great finish on the body tube, a nice form factor, and a clicky switch, this is a fun little light to play with when sitting in traffic or chatting on the phone. Just don’t blind yourself.

Fett Effect: High

Anodizing does okay for a while, but then it starts to fall apart in beautiful and use-worn ways.

Value: Very High

This is a truly great (flawed but great) flashlight for under $50 (or just above). Lumintop delivers again.

Overall Score: 17 out of 20

The FWAA is a very strong light, especially in the sub-$50 market. I wish it had dual fuel capability, better beam pattern, and was less of a hot pocket machine, but beyond those three drawbacks there is not much to complain about here. I love the form factor and the clip. I also like the UI, which is surprising given how much I disliked the original iteration of Anduril. There is just enough of a design speed bump to make it hard to drop the light into accidental Gizmo Modes. That, alone, is a blessing. Every light with Anduril would be instantly better upgrading to Anduril 2. The FWAA is the fulfillment of the promise the FW series made a few years ago—a very competent, well designed, inexpensive light.

Competition

Tossed into a fight with other FW series lights, like the FW3A, this light laps the field thanks to the superior UI and better size (see above). When compared to other similar EDC lights, I still like the 47s lights, llike the Mini Mk. III, better, but this is not that far behind. I like it more than the oLight Baton series lights. Its a better form factor by a landslide. I like to better than pretty much all side clicky lights. I’d like to run this against a Zebralight or a Malkoff Gen. 2 light, both of which are dual fuel.

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