Spec me an LED Torch

Pick one of the lensers, that nightsearcher product isn't anything special.
170 lumen for £50 is only something Stafford Council would buy. And then only to outdo Stoke Council in stupidity.
You can tell it is Chinese crud because it has 5 useless strobe modes, basically they are rebadging some old tat.


if you really need to burn £50, get this
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/torches/7157743/

and four AA Eneloops


This is what a Lenser P14 is like

 
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bitslice said:
Pick one of the lensers, that nightsearcher product isn't anything special.
170 lumen for £50 is only something Stafford Council would buy. And then only to outdo Stoke Council in stupidity.
You can tell it is Chinese crud because it has 5 useless strobe modes, basically they are rebadging some old tat.


if you really need to burn £50, get this
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/torches/7157743/

and four AA Eneloops


This is what a Lenser P14 is like

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could have found that useful back in the day when I was crapping myself playing Doom3
 
Just a few cheapies to stash around the house and for the kids to use (SS keychain is for me though) - it keeps them away from my Haikus and 4Sevens Ti's!

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Hard to upgrade 9 led. I ordered a 5x xml and it came with 3 and the main problem was power draw I think - does it get hot as hell? Mine wasnt 1000 lumens or close.

A single xml u2 is just as bright, my guess is because it runs on less power so gets closer to 100%, also my replacement has a focus to it. Maybe the 'AK-47' reflector is limiting its output also
Perhaps good 26650 batteries are the right choice for something that can consume so much. In theory but I expect its not setup to handle the draw, improving that would be the circuit board?

From new I'd bet on this being brighter - http://www.amazon.co.uk/KK-LIGHT-Lu...id=1394984492&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=xml+u2+x3
Considering thats all in one, its very well priced

Also super duper cheap - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ULTRAFIRE-W...id=1394984492&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=xml+u2+x3
I'd estimate thats maybe 40w bulb or more in light possibly
 
silversurfer said:
Hard to upgrade 9 led. I ordered a 5x xml and it came with 3 and the main problem was power draw I think - does it get hot as hell? Mine wasnt 1000 lumens or close.

A single xml u2 is just as bright, my guess is because it runs on less power so gets closer to 100%, also my replacement has a focus to it. Maybe the 'AK-47' reflector is limiting its output also
Perhaps good 26650 batteries are the right choice for something that can consume so much. In theory but I expect its not setup to handle the draw, improving that would be the circuit board?

From new I'd bet on this being brighter - http://www.amazon.co.uk/KK-LIGHT-Lu...id=1394984492&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=xml+u2+x3
Considering thats all in one, its very well priced

Also super duper cheap - http://www.amazon.co.uk/ULTRAFIRE-W...id=1394984492&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=xml+u2+x3
I'd estimate thats maybe 40w bulb or more in light possibly
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ROFL at stupid lumens claims - even at 6 amps you can't get 1400 lumens out of an XML. Even a more realistic 3.2 amps (and a light pulling 3.2 amps will get REALLY hot real quick) only puts out about 1000 lumens on an XML.

I'd estimate thats maybe 40w bulb or more in light possibly
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Nope. You can work out the watts - basically voltage times amps (ignoring LED forward voltage etc for the moment). The absolute limit for a single XML is 6 amps so that's 6*3.7 (nominal voltage for an 18650) so that gives 22.2 watts. Now, I've never seen a flashlight push 6 amps in single 18650 format because the heat would be unmanageable. The most I've seen is 3.4 amps on dodgy cheap drivers and 2.8 amps being a realistic draw in single 18650 format with a good driver so that's 2.8 x 3.7 = just over 10 watts from a well built "proper" light with a good heat path and a good driver.

Besides, if you were pushing 40 watts to an XML even the highest capacity 18650 battery would be dead in 10 mins (3.4ah Samsung NCR18650 has 12 watt/hrs of energy when measured @ 0.2c (0.68 amp draw)).
 
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Torch doesn't get hot, gets warm but not hot. Have had it on constantly to light a small room at work for around 30 mins.

looking at cree led's id like something along the limes of a xm-l2 U3 drop in module but cant find one, not even a single module.

Anyone got any ideas?
 
^Seriously, I keep recommending the Solarforce L2 host with one of their drop ins for good reason!

Thrunite TN31, it's my portable Sun and light sabre ;)

A26A0684.jpg
 
Which is the L2 body to go for?

Also, whereabouts is the best place to go, normally I just gravitate to Amazon but they don't stock Solarforce stuff?
 
Kapow! :)

You're going to want a dropin to go with that, the solarforce ones are good, but if you want the best of the best, get a custom-made one from Nailbender who's on Candlepower Forums. Don't forget to wrap your dropins to the flashlight body to make sure they don't overheat :D
 
Skunkworks said:
I'm after a decent headlamp to supplement my bike lights for night time offroading. I'm looking at this one, but just thought I'd check for alternatives first. I don't mind going up to ~£35.
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That looks like it'll probably be quite lousy. Unfortunately there aren't a great deal of good LED headlamps around, and because they're quite specialised (relatively speaking) they're pretty pricy.

This Fenix headlight looks quite nice and it only a little above your budget;
http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/fenix/fenix-hl30.html

You'd probably be able to find it a little cheaper on eBay too :)

Mark A said:
For some reason the Nailbender dropin I bought has awful runtime. It doesn't seem to get too hot and isn't all that bright, so not sure what the problem is..
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What did you get and what sort of runtimes are you seeing matey? Have you asked Nailbender about it? He's a very helpful chap!
 
Aod said:
That looks like it'll probably be quite lousy. Unfortunately there aren't a great deal of good LED headlamps around, and because they're quite specialised (relatively speaking) they're pretty pricy.

This Fenix headlight looks quite nice and it only a little above your budget;
http://www.flashaholics.co.uk/fenix/fenix-hl30.html

You'd probably be able to find it a little cheaper on eBay too :)
Click to expand...
Thanks, I shall look into that.
 
I bought an LED conversion for my AA mag ages ago, and it burns through batteries in minutes (terralux) and seems to behave oddly when it does have power.

I also bought a bi-pin led conversion for the solitaire, and it was terrible. So in my opinion on the smaller sizes, the manufacturers standard LED bulbs are a better option. They might be dimmer, but they will work, and last a lot longer :)
 
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