Sofirn C8F host. 21700 C8F Available

So, back to the OP… 26650 or 21700 for a new C8F-like flashlight.

This is my personal opinion and what makes sense for me. YMMV

Like many here, I am eager to see the true potential of the 21700 format.

But for TODAY, I choose 26650 and will immediately purchase several 26650 based C8F flashlights.

I already have several 26650s waiting for flashlights/hosts… and prices are very good when I purchase more.

I have zero 21700s (or compatible chargers) and my limited research tells me these new cells are currently more expensive.

If this new flashlight is brought to market in a year or two, then 21700 might make sense.

If this new flashlight is brought to market in a few months, then definitely 26650.

Like I said, a light built for the 26650 can house the 21700 much easier than the other way around.

And yes, Jason, they wouldn’t use USPS either so FED-EX was another $11! $50 for 2 cells!!!

I think maybe Jason hit on something we should think about here. If the new breed of 21700 can deliver TOO much, would it blow emitters in the Sofirn C8F triple?

So if the light is made FOR the 21700 size then it might be somewhat more difficult to find cells that perform LOWER, would be a lot easier and safer all around to have the light made for 26650 and when we mod we could take measure to prevent over-current if we plan to use the top 21700’s.

Just a thought…

You may be interested to see this light I purchased which is 21700/20700 but fits 18650 also:

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/50748

It has very unusual springs and battery sleeve to size down. If such a thing as a protected button top 21700 were to exist i’m not sure this would be compatible without changing the springs. By doing that you probably lose out on 18650 flat tops or may run into drop disconnects? I guess the point i’m trying to make is that for you and I this is clever and makes a flexible host but for a ready made light it’s sort of like a jack of all trades master of none. To be fair it does work well with flat top 21700 and flat top 18650 as is.

I suspect when I end up modding this light in the future I will choose springs which fit 21700 really well and if it ends up breaking other compatibility then so be it. I’d rather have a light that does one thing really well.

Your argument makes a lot of sense, considering a product released, you’d have to count on batteries available in the present, and for higher capacity 26650s still win

Yet my preference still lies with “aspect ratio” and portability. I don’t have any 26650 flashlights, but I have a C8 and it feels like it’s on the upper end of the size of flashlight I’d purchase. Both 26650 and 21700 sized tubes would fit our current 18650 cells, so they would still be useful in the present, and for that I’d rather have the narrower of the 2.

But maybe a 26650 version of a C8 or an SP33-like flashlight will make into my collection someday

I’m sure there is or will be. Companies can add protection circuitry to any battery type. Acebeam has a protected 20700 in their L30 light. It is about 74mm long, though.

Oddly enough, within a couple of hours of my ordering the Samsung 30T from IMRBatteries I got an email from them pushing this new cell. So it’s a brand new arrival with limited stock. The point really is that the new 21700 is taking off and they’re becoming available in many different brands now.

If Sofirn were to make the C8F in a 21700 format and supply a cell with it like they did the 18650 triple then it really wouldn’t be an issue of availability as it would come ready to go.

I change virtually all my lights anyway, so cell compatibility is really not a concern of mine.

Not sure protection circuits would work well on a high discharge cell of this caliber unless they have cababilites out there that they haven’t been using to date. With 50A and more on tap, the protection circuit would possibly be highly prone to failure. Not exactly sure how that works.

Hey everybody, just a heads up…. in case someone is thinking about these new Samsung 30T cells, be careful! They are POTENT! Like, wicked monster potent!

I built my triple XHP-70.2 from scratch, right? Found the best results with iJoy 21700 cells at some 32.2A at the tail for 18,940 lumens. I was really stoked about that, but I got the Samsung 30T’s today and all I can say is Dayum! These things will kill a lot of lights, I’m telling ya, fresh charged they did 48.8A in this light for a whopping 21,631.5 lumens!

Pretty sure they will damage lesser emitters than the 70.2’s, well ok, they’ll kill most emitters. Just saying beware that they are beasts and proceed with caution if you decide to get these, ok?

Hmm, 50% more current for… 9% more light?

Still, almost 50A out of the beastie is pretty impressive. :smiley:

RIP Dale’s collection of VTC5A batteries

50A from a single cell… that’s insane!

WTF, that is over 200W.

Wow, you got those suckers super fast.

So that’s 48.8A at 6v? Wowsers. I told you they were good.

Well, Mooch said they were good.

Maybe closer to 350W since he’s running 2 cells in series. That’s 48.8A at about 7 something volts. A lot of heat!

Sounds about right for Dale. Lol

No. 200W = 4V × 50A, the massive voltage drop at the source (cell) prevents this. With more current maybe. See:

And I don't buy into the woohoo anyway.

Cheers ^:)

Barkuti, these are XHP-70.2 emitters, making them 6V. So there are 2 cells in series. So even if you’re talking that kind of sag it’s crazy watts for sure! I have a $25 Tofty switch in it so if anything is going to withstand the current this one should do… I was still scared to run it very long though, blew me away seeing 48.8A on my meter. Gotta get used to the idea before I just whale away at it.

Let me shine it in your face from 6’ away, we’ll see what you buy into… :wink:

I set it up with my son videoing and ran amperage while on the light box. It started at 47.3A for 20,148 lumens and in 45 seconds dropped to 45.8A at 14,455.5 lumens. The gold plated banana plugs on the ends of my 6” long 12Ga loop were about to burn my fingers. The big TeCu head was too hot to touch coming off the light box. Remember, this head started out in excess of 3 pounds of copper. Current was really amazingly stable once it dropped that first bit, I just couldn’t hold the leads on anymore.

I’m assuming output was dropping from the excessive heat on the emitters…

Correction: I transposed what I saw at the end of the video incorrectly… it dropped from 47.3A to 41.9A, from 20,148 lumens to 15,801 lumens.

Oh yeah, Jason, you know IMR Batteries is in Houston, right?

I forgot.

Some places take a couple days just to package it and ship it out.

Were they worth $50? Is the wife still upset?

Well, value is a perception of the beholder, these cells made my scratch built light exceed 20,000 lumens which is mind boggling. Worth it? I think I can say I’m ok with the $18 per cell that I was charged, the extra $11.xx in shipping is still difficult to stomach.

Mary hasn’t seen what I spent, she saw the cells and how they tested out but she probably doesn’t really want to keep track of what I spend on flashlights, nor do I! Lol