Something I have not seen mentioned , that to me is a great little thrower for the size (310 meters ANSI rated and 2100 lumens) and also serves as a headlamp / EDC (comes with a clip as well as headband) is the Thrunite TH10 V2. It is a single 18650 with XHP 35 HI emitter and smooth reflector.
My full review with charts , beamshots and live outdoor comparisons …… HERE
It is the same size as the Convoy M2 different emitter, the M2 will have a better throw with the XPL-HI also has a little deeper reflector great light, head is larger than S2+
I’ve dithered around on this topic myself for a while, but haven’t bought anything new yet.
GT Mini, Emisar D1s, Thrunite Catapult V6, C8+ and other Convoys, various Sofirns, etc… All look like nice lights, but I’m not sure any of them would get more use than the S2+ (I have 3,) especially in terms of being pocketable.
I do already have a couple of Sofirn SF36’s. Fantastic budgets lights for the price I paid and fairly throwy, but even those are a little bulky for a pants pocket.
Also have the ss BLF X6, which is a gorgeous light, but mainly a shelf queen. A lot of that is the weight, which is why I keep thinking about another compact thrower, but I haven’t been completely sold on anything to this point.
So if you were looking for an unhelpful ramble, there you go.
25mm is squarely tube-light territory. Nitecore P12GT is a nice but pricy option (a thinner sibling of the MH20GT). I’m working on a review of the Sofirn SP31 V2.0 - a tube light with XP-L HI. It seems to be a great light so far… smaller than the P12GT, much cheaper, and has 90% of the throw of the P12GT (I measured 17,900 vs 20,150 lux).
From afar, basically the differences are not big, considering they have similar-sized reflector/heads. The Sofirn SP31v2.0 is a bit brighter (confirmed when I use a basic lux meter and do a ceiling bounce test at the same distance).
For instance, using a fully-charge battery, and doing the same ceiling bounce tests, I get these lux readings:
Sofirn SP31 v2.0 (XPL-Hi) : 115 lux
Convoy S2+ XPL-Hi NW (7135x8) : 90 lux
Convoy S2+ SST20-4000K (7135x8) : 60 lux
(lux readings when on max brightness, at the start)
I would have guess that the Sofirn sp31 was brighter than the convoy s2+'s too . I was surprised to hear people saying otherwise .The Sp31 is simply a great tube light,nice tint, with a forward clicky on the tail , side switch,bright as hell and works great with an18350 tube and tail magnet to make it a very small very versatile pocket light for about $20 it's hard as hell to beat .
i'm not sure why the OP is having so much difficulty deciding over which tube light to buy if indeed he's willing to spend upwards of 100$ why not just buy 3 of the most recommended and see what you like ? IMHO lights are much more about how it feels in your hand or cri/tint than just output .After years and years of playing with lights it's still very hard to know anything without actually having a light in your hands . it becomes easier but as a noob there's no way for you to know until you try something .
Listen to some good advice .and go with what you like the looks of .be prepared to be wrong .rinse ,lather ,repeat.
Tube lights imho are some of the easiest lights to enjoy ,one of my an N-light L2 .i'm not sure I know anyone else who has one .Ak-47 driver nichia 219A swap Nitecore d-10 clip .< best pocket 18650 tube light I know