FREEME ✌ ASTROLUX FT03S SBT90.2 4500lm 1428m 26650/ 21700/ 18650 Flashlight - EXPIRED

No, Catapult V6 is not throwier than FT03.
Catapult throws 151-195 kcd depending on who measured it while FT03 does 190-263 kcd.

And Catapult comes stock with much throwier LED. SST-40 is awesome for throwers when it’s dedomed - but in FT03 it’s not. So FT03 with mediocre LED outperforms Catapult with XHP35 - which is very good.

Overall FT03 is going to throw significantly farther than Catapult V6 with any LED - precisely because it’s larger.

I expected ft03 to be throwier than catapult before I bought them both but the advertized throw numbers say otherwise, even though I didn’t measure the candela myself, I guess I can now that I have a lux meter. But… when I compared in the field , catapult, granted having a much smaller hot spot seemed to illuminate objects better. Of course with a larger hot spot and corona , the eye/ brain gets easier time making out that the objects are and the end result is often times more favorable with the ft03, but the actual illuminated spot appeared brighter with catapult. It’s hard to believe the delta you are quoting betweeen the two, but by virtue of being a human being, I could, of course, be wrong

Ok let’s say even if it turns catapult is slightly less bright ( i stilll can’t imagine it being much dimmer than ft03), it make sense to create a much smaller light with a slight shortcoming in the throwiness. At this point I still believe the catapult somehow throws father but inside the very small hotspot though . Did you compare same tints?

Does the large die area mean that the light will have a decent amount of spill, or are all those lumens concentrated in the hotspot?

According to what we’ve seen in the NI40 it should have a similar sized or maybe a tiny bit bigger hotspot that the SST40. The spill will of course be brighter as well.

In theory:
Spill angle is pretty much determined by the same regardless of emitter.
Spill brightness is proportional to light output, depends a bit on LED emission pattern but both LEDs have it similar.
Spot size is proportional to apparent die size. SST-40 has a dome which pretty much doubles its apparent die size. So both LEDs shoud produce similarly sized spots…but SST-90 will be much brighter. :slight_smile:

BTW…How does FT-03 spill angle compare to BLF GT Mini?
I care about reflector lights that are not too deep, so when I walk and have the spot directed forward the spill illuminates the road just before my feet.

Thanks for the explanation. I was hoping for a wider spill in addition to the increased brightness, but it seems that something like a fused quad reflector would probably provide the best combination of throw and spill for my preferences (but not necessarily for my wallet!).

Forgive my ignorance, I sincerely believed that the size of the hot spot is controlled not only by the die or dome size as much as by the shape of the reflector? What part does reflector play in th shape/size of the thrower’s hot spot then?. I though with the right reflector a light can have a much wider hot spot at a certain distance ,(with a smaller emitter )than another light with a much bigger emitter but a differently shaped reflector ( at same distance)? Am I wrong?

Everyone’s measurements are different but let’s say the Thrunite is doing 170kcd. If the SBT90.2 is pushed hard enough it could probably do 40% more but that’s still only 238kcd. The FT03 pushed to the same levels should do 450+ with performance similar to the TN40. How I came up with these numbers is I looked the K75 SBT90.2 which has a smaller head than the GT/MF04 (XHP35 HI) and still beats them in intensity by 30-40. The Acebeam T27 which has the same emmiter (XHP35 HI) as the Thrunite V6 does 340kcd so it should do 476 kcd (40 more) with the SBT90.2. THE FT03s head is the same size as the T27 so the performance should be pretty close. The Thrunite could be better with a deeper reflector but it still wouldn’t be able to match the FT03. I do get what you’re saying though about making a more compact light. I think a shorter version of the NI40 with a side switch would make a lot of sense.

Oh yes, I’d give everything for a side switch……

I focused on the effect of the LED rather than all variables. Yes, reflector proportions and dimensions are just as important as LED when it comes to spot size.
A very good writeup is here:

Long story short:
Nearly all reflectors are sections of a parabola. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. Or the same in other words - deeper or shallower.
Hotspot intensity is proportional to reflector area.
Reflector shape being equal, spot diameter is proportional to reflector diameter.
Deeper reflector of the same diameter has smaller hole in the middle - so it throws better, but only slightly.
It also puts more lumens to a beam (not very much typically), but makes it less defined - the spot is smaller but it comes with a larger corona.

[quote=Cloud]

…and it would be nice to have a smoother switching of brightness modes, 6 modes + turbo

Didn’t know that. Now it makes sense to me that my L16 and FT03 have a noticeable corona whereas the GT mini doesn’t.

Interested.

The large head is needed for two reasons.

  1. Larger deeper reflector=more throw.
  2. Larger head will handle the heat better.

The SBT-90 performs best in a large light.

Im interested

How much estimate allowance for the spring when using a 21700? Fully compressed? What will be the cons for a fully compressed spring? Adding much more resistance and create more heat and having a chance that the spring will collapse?

I have some P42A that I have no confident or not comfortable using them on the FT03.

is nobody worried this host is a bit too weak for this kind of emitter and lumens on highest ??

Sent.

A few people already expressed their worries in this thread.

Myself I’m not worried, I like hot rods.