World’s Brightest EDC Flashlight: Truly Insane.


The Fireflies E07 EDC flashlight cranks out an unbelievable 6900 lumens of light. That’s 4500 more lumens than the average car headlights!

-WellRigged.com

UPDATE June 2020: The Imalent MS03 just became the brightest EDC Flashlight of 2020 @ 13,000 lumens! Check out my full review of the MS03 here.

Fact: At 6900 turbo lumens, the Fireflies E07 is, by far, the brightest EDC flashlight in the world.

Question: How bright is 6900 lumens?

Answer: The average car can only produce about 2400 lumens on high beams with factory halogen bulbs(source). Granted, the Fireflies E07 won’t throw the light as far as a car can because it doesn’t have the advantage of a huge projector lens. The below pics are shot at same camera settings and reflect (closely) what he naked eye sees.

It’s hard to believe that such a small flashlight can pack such a massive wallop. Flashlights like this have only recently become possible because of the unbelievable pace of developments in LED and lithium battery technology.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a small flashlight with insane power, the Fireflies E07 currently stands head and shoulders above the competition. This thing is an absolute light cannon.

It crushes all the competition including EDCs and the larger tactical flashlight category (by over 2600 lumens). That’s quite a technological achievement.

On the other hand its not the smallest EDC flashlight out there and is more at home clipped to your belt, backpack or inside cargo pant pockets.

Interested in more super-bright flashlights? Check out my list of the World’s Brightest Flashlights.

Pros

  • Bragging rights to the world’s brightest EDC flashlight
  • Value: Premium EDC’s cost $120+ and produce way less light (1-2000 lumens)
  • Highly Customizable Modes
  • Find it in the dark: backlit button and aux LEDs
  • Durable Construction
  • Flashlight Geeks can mod it easily
  • Use 21700 or 18650 batteries(adapter included)
  • 3 optional colors, 2 aux led colors choices, multiple main-LED choices

Cons

  • 21700 batteries are new and harder to find
  • An external charger is required.
  • Some early editions had quality issues reported(mine had no issues)
  • The steep learning curve to figure out Modes. (too many modes?)
  • Confusing instructions for Non-geeks

FireFlies E07 Specs

  • Size:  113mm Long
  • Max output: 6900 lumens
  • LEDs: 7-Cree XPL-Hi
  • AUX LED’S: find it in the dark
  • Net Weight: 125 grams
  • Batteries: 1x 21700 / 18650   
  • Color options:  Matt Black/  Gun Grey/Desert Yellow
  • Material:6063 aluminum alloy/304 stainless steel
  • Finish: HAIII Anodizing
  • Lens: Anti-Reflective coated glass
  • Thermal Regulated
  • Water Resistant: IPX6
  • Customizable light levels

Modes

The Fireflies E07 has 14 modes many of which can be further customized. The challenge is learning the sequence of clicks to get what you want.

  • Steady
  • Ramp Config.
  • Candle (with dimmer)
  • Bike Flasher(with dimmer)
  • Party Strobe(with speed control)
  • Tactical Strobe(Turbo with speed control)
  • Lightning Storm
  • Battery Check
  • Goodnight(slowly dims)
  • Beacon (Frequency control)
  • Temperature Check
  • Thermal Safety Config
  • Lockout
  • Momentary(lights only when pressed)
  • Muggle Mode (simple mode)
  • Aux LED Config

It’s hard to believe a single button can control and modify 14 different modes. Each mode and sub-mode is accessible by consecutively clicking the power button up to seven times in a row. Yeah, it’s a lot to remember.

That said, deciphering the instructions and memorizing the modes was the most frustrating thing about this flashlight.

The instructions were extremely vague. It’s a point-form list of the different modes with the click-formula to reach them. There are also no explanations for each mode.

On the other side of the included instruction sheet is this crazy diagram (see below) “perfectly” explaining all the modes visually…..yeah right.

I kid you not, it took me 40 minutes to figure out how to select different light levels because the flashlight didn’t ship with any preset light levels.

Instructions for the Fireflies E07

Yeah, I hear all you flashlight geeks snickering at me in the back row.

I did finally get a decent grasp of the E07 now. It may take you a while, but once you get a feel for the different modes, but I think it’s worth it for what you can do with this flashlight.

If you want to take customization even farther you can mess around with the open source Anduril UI firmware which has too many options to list here.

Performance

Even though the E07 is currently the brightest EDC flashlight in the world, it’s not a one-trick pony. It can perform multiple tasks quite well.

It makes an excellent rescue or navigation beacon, a powerful self-defense strobe, bike flasher, ambiance light or party light.

Thanks to the new 21700 lithium battery technology, this flashlight offers unprecedented reserves for long mid-low light output while still offering up to 40A discharge rates if you want to light up the block.

All of that power means a lot of heat can develop. The E07 thermostatically throttles back the light output to protect itself from overheating.

Don’t expect more than a minute or so at full Turbo power before it steps back down. You can adjust what temperature it steps down at but I wouldn’t drive it any hotter. The factory presets are already a little on the hot side.

Handling

I like the feel of the E07 in hand. It feels substantial and offers a confident grip with a nicely textured handle. Along with all that power comes heat..and a lot of it so be careful.

Don’t let kids play with this flashlight. They could burn themselves or blind themselves. It’s a big-boy toy.

In the tail-stand configuration, you can easily light up a large room or tent.

I’m a big fan of the back-lit button. What good is a flashlight if you can’t find it in the dark. The drawback to this feature is there is no way to shut off the backlit button. This leads to unnecessary parasitic drain if the light is left unused for weeks on end.

The Fireflies E07 ships with a lanyard and friction mounted steel belt clip. The lanyard is meh...but the belt clip is very robust and holds tightly to whatever you attach it too.

Build Quality

Body

The Fireflies E07 body is a nicely anodized aluminum available in three different colors.

The head features a very aggressive heat sink grooves to cope with the prodigious power and heat this puppy produces.

The tail cap, tube, and head feature O-rings can unscrew from each other so enthusiasts can modify flashlight as desired. The threading itself is tight and smooth.

Wiring

In order to claim the title of world’s brightest EDC flashlight Fireflies had to maximize available current to the LEDs by reducing resistance. To do this the Fireflies E07 has gold-plated copper springs and 18 AWG Teflon-coted silver wires.

Waterproof?

No, the E07 is not submersible. It’ll handle everything else though. A quick dunk won’t hurt it, but it’s not a good idea to use it underwater. The flashlight does ship with two extra O-rings.

This flashlight is IPX6 rated which means it can withstand high-pressure heavy sprays of water.

LEDs & Lens

7 XPL-Hi LEDs burning 20 Amps at the business end is why this beast is the stands as the brightest EDC Flashlight in the world.

To get the highest 6900 lumens, make sure to buy one of the two XPL Hi V3 versions in 6500K or 5000K.

Optics

The glass lens has an anti-reflective coating for maximum light pass-through. Given that this flashlight is so compact, the Fireflies E07 doesn’t have much room for deep reflectors.

Beam Characteristics

As expected, the beam is very floody with a wide center hotspot. While I haven’t measured the throw distance myself, other reviewers are claiming a throw range of around 280 meters (306 yards.)

Battery & Charging

21700 or 18650

The E07 takes a 21700 rechargeable lithium battery which has to be charged separately. That’s a bummer.

Make sure to get a 21700 with at least a 20A continuous discharge rate to get the full 6900 lumens.

Hint: I found the easiest place to find 21700 batteries is at my local Vape shop.

Alternatively, you can use the included 18650 adapter, but you will not have as much burn time.

Chinese Flashlights: Yeah or Meh?

It may surprise some to discover that China is actually leading the world in high-performance flashlight technology. I know right?

Yes, junky flashlights are still pouring out of China, by the gazillions. It’s like this: The bad ones are very very bad, but the good ones are the best in the world.

For instance, Imalent, Acebeam and Nitecore are lead innovators in the flashlight industry. They are all Chinese companies. They are also locked in constant heated battle with each other for the title of world’s brightest flashlight across various categories.

For more on that check out my regularly updated list of the World’s Brightest Flashlights to see who’s winning the battle on this fast-moving technology.

Then along came Fireflies- a relative new-comer to the premium flashlight market and BAM! They came out of nowhere and almost doubled the output of the previous brightest EDC flashlight (Emisar D4 @4300 lumens)

Now, that’s one way to get noticed.

Conclusion

Size Comparison: Fireflies E07 Vs. Bic style pen

There is no denying that the Fireflies E07 is a show-off. It’s not just a party trick though. The E07 makes an excellent all-around EDC flashlight.

My main complaints are that you can’t charge this flashlight via a USB cable and the UI interface has a steep learning curve.

On the plus side, my favorite features were the programmable beacon mode and the ramp mode which allows as many progresssive light levels as you wish.

Overall, this flashlight is a well-built piece of cutting edge technology that combines unprecedented power in a very compact design.

At only $80 the most compelling reason to consider the Fireflies E07 is the price tag. That’s amazing value for the amount lumens you get.

The E07 isn’t available on Amazon yet but you can find it on Fireflies’ Website.

For more on flashlights:

Check out my review of the brightest tactical flashlight of 2019 here, or head over to the regularly updated list of the world’s brightest flashlights.

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