Spec me an LED Torch

My wife thinks I'm a bit odd as I've bought 7 torches over the last 2 weeks, she can't work out why 1 isn't enough .. silly woman.

Anyhow.

2 x Ultrafire WF-502B's (Cree XM-L) as bike lights, nice yellow tint
Ultrafire WF-501B SSC P7 just to see if the Seoul emitters are better than Cree, this one definately is, apart from the donut hole in the middle.
2 x Cree Q5 flood-throw (no-name brand), was going to use these as bike lights but they're not bright enough, my son however loves fiddling with them.
An unbranded Cree XP-G, horrible light pattern but very bright.
AA Cree Q5, tiny little thing, ideal for keeping in your pocket.

Going to start soldering up my own soon, hoping to build a monster 3 or 4 * XM-L powered by 2 x 18650, just need to find a decent host.
 
^Interesting! It doesn't have the 2400s I have though (the grey ones), I have read there is a difference between versions?

The BC40 should arrive in a week or so, that torch will be the real test. I will put them against the Batteries I pulled from a laptop the other month. Might as well buy a spare set of 18650s too as I will probably be needing them!

Edit*
I just bought these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290617660234

I've bought from this seller before when I bought the UltraFire 2400s months back and they've not let me down and these look interesting!
Will break out the multimeter on them over several times to make sure though :p
 
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18650_yezl.jpg


Arrived today and charged. One gives out 4.10volts and the other 4.22. Not too shabby! Now just need to wait another week for the BC40.....it might even arrive tomorrow though.

Here's hoping!
 
Aod said:
it depends how small you want it and what batteries you're willing to use.
you can get torches which use ultra-tiny lithium-rechargeables that are as bright as a full-sized torch (albeit not for very long :p)

for something that runs on standard AAAs, the Fenix LD01 and the iTP A3 EOS are pretty damn bright.

<edit>
The A3 is also available in Stainless-Steel and Titanium :D
Click to expand...

Some of those look alright but they're a bit much for what you get and don't seem that bright, i want one that outputs hundreds of lumens about the size of an aaa battery, is it possible to make something myself using a copper pipe, an xml and a powerful small battery of some kind?
 
yes but;
1. the parts will cost you more than the retail of a pre-made torch
2. an XM-L at anywhere near its full power will suck a AAA-sized LiIon dry in about 5 minutes
3. an XM-L at anywhere near full power in a tiny package will get HOT. this is detrimental to the LED, the battery and possibly you.

80-90 lumens is a crapload considering that a 2 D-cell maglite produces less than 30.

There are AAA-sized lights that will accomodate a 10440-size Li-Ion cell and produce as much light as a full-size torch, but battery life is meagre at best and overheating is always an issue.
That's the reason why almost all of the major flashlight manufacturers don't make their flashlights to work with 10440 cells. some of them do but they aren't warrantied and overheating is frequent.

Out of interest, what are you comparing your brightness estimate to?
 
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mrk said:
Hmm they're a few quid dearer but these are going to be used as backups anyway so no reall bother :p
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i've not bought a single 18650, but if i did those are currently the only one's i'd buy :)

I got all 10 of my 18650's from laptop battery packs :D

<edit>
Awesome, i have 187 posts in this thread, beating you Mrk, by a large margin :D
 
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I didn't even realise I'd posted so much in this thread o.0

The BC40 will probably be the last torch I buy for a very long time now so future posts will be just to comment about people's purchases :p I don't think my need will ever go beyond what the BC40 and the current lights deliver ;p
 
Well this thread is... overwhelming, to say the least :p

But i'll endure, after years of buying cheap tat torches off the shelf that are disappointingly dim, have a tiny battery life and break after a few months of use max it's probably a good time to actually consider what to get. Looking at the Cree Q5 (is the one mentioned only the one from vikicompany on the bay, because there seem to be a lot of others by the same name...), i don't want anything overly bright and it seems decent enough, not sure i need to spend any more.

Also - batteries. I presume 18650s are preferable, but which ones and where from? How long roughly would they last, what charger should i get and are there any 'on the go' solar/dynamo chargers for them? Thanks for enduring all the newbie questions (or not, that's fine too ;)).
 
link to the one you're looking at please?

18650 batteries are preferable because they've got large capacities, are rechargeable and are quite affordable.

because they produce a voltage close to that of the LED's required voltage, it significantly simplifies the circuitry too.

you can spend between nothing and £30 on a single 18650, giving you a variety of capacities and reliability, but as far as i'm concerned the AW/Redilast 2900mAh 18650's with the protection circuit are the best. the raw Panasonic cells they're made from are cheaper but less suitable for novices or people who aren't obsessive like me :)

Cree currently make the best LED's as far as efficiency goes, and their Venerable XR-E (model) Q5 (Flux-bin) leds are still very popular with the cheap manufacturers who have very large stocks of them.

if you want a very simple and reliable torch that uses a 18650 rechargeable, the Shiningbeam S-Mini is highly regarded and also nice and cheap :)

Re. your "how long would they last" question, 18650's can be recharged from between 250 to 2000 times depending on how they're treated, but 500 cycles is quite achievable.
with an average 2200mAh cell, the shiningbeam S-mini would last about 2 hours on max, 5 hours on medium and about 90 hours on low.
 
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My dad has one just like the shiningbeam but his has a small tactical hood on the front. It's also sporting a Q5 and has 5 modes. It's pretty bright and focused for such a small reflector too. He paid about a tenner for it IIRC. it has no brand other than Cree Q5 printed on the barrel.

Edit*
PermaBanned said:
Just lifted this from page 10 :p

http://goo.gl/MtekQ

I get it, so Cree make the LEDs and other people (China?) put them in torch bodies.
Click to expand...

I have that exact torch, it was the first torch I bought and while it was bright and cool at the time it really isn't as good as non zoomable ones although it will do the kind of stuff you might be using it for just fine :p
 
Aod said:
yes but;
1. the parts will cost you more than the retail of a pre-made torch
2. an XM-L at anywhere near its full power will suck a AAA-sized LiIon dry in about 5 minutes
3. an XM-L at anywhere near full power in a tiny package will get HOT. this is detrimental to the LED, the battery and possibly you.

80-90 lumens is a crapload considering that a 2 D-cell maglite produces less than 30.

There are AAA-sized lights that will accomodate a 10440-size Li-Ion cell and produce as much light as a full-size torch, but battery life is meagre at best and overheating is always an issue.
That's the reason why almost all of the major flashlight manufacturers don't make their flashlights to work with 10440 cells. some of them do but they aren't warrantied and overheating is frequent.

Out of interest, what are you comparing your brightness estimate to?
Click to expand...

At the moment i have a very bright 18650 xml and a smaller aaa cree of some sort, the small one is nowhere near as bright but quite usable, easily more than a bulb torch, at the time i ordered i wanted something for a keyring but this thing was too big, i want something really small and a bit brighter, i suspect 90 lumens isn't too bad but if i had the option of a few hundred it would be good.
 
Mrk's very keen on the Ultrafire C8, it's a nice light with a wide, deep reflector for excellent throw.

I'm very keen on the Solarforce L2-something, any of them, the L2, L2P etc. add the dropin of your choice and you've got a light to be reckoned with :)
 
I have both the L2 and C8 although there are 2 or 3 C8 variants about, one with the XR-E Q5, one with XM-L T6 and there is an SST version around as well. Mine is the Q5 version but it's capable of lighting up about 183 metres into the distance with a very strong centre beam and nice flooding.

PermaBanned said:
I figured, since it was your post i got the link from :D

What comparable 'prime' torch would you recommend?
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I have a SolarForce XP-G P60 drop-in that you can have for free if you want, you'd then just have to by a P60 host, there are loads available and I'm sure AOD could recommend a decent one for you too :p I had it in my SolarForce L2 but it sports an XM-L drop-in now. The XP-G was dubbed the "burn time king" it's this one: http://www.solarforce-sales.com/product_detail.php?id=113&s=10&t=RB

That would set you off nicely I think :p
 
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