No one asked yet.. but, how does the light manage heating?
And
When you use 18650 or 26650, can you fully screw on the tailcap?
Bro, your foymeter needs zeroing. ;)
The trash can looks lighter and your neighbors patio shade can be seen with the Cyclone.
So is it brighter than your 980L?
I would say it dissipates heat well. I didn't compare to other lights but both head and body are heating evenly when using on high, see budgetlightforum.com/node/8513?page=2 posts #120 and #126
With unprotected 18650 or 26650 you can fully screw the tailcap, not sure about protected.
Thank you FOY !
fishmaniac -
I wondered how long it would take for somebody to jump on that and your comment is completely justified. I am however, confident in my assessment; the original SMO in the MCU seems too small around the emitter and the emitter seems slightly too far behind the reflector. If I'm wrong, I'll publish it (sourcing another reflector) but the E/C88 is pulling roughly a half amp more and in a ceiling bounce in a dark room, the output between the two is nearly indistinguishable. Obviously I'm not putting my light meter out there as a reliable measurement of lumens.
The same meter, using the same anecdotal test - the Cyclone and the 980L read almost exactly the same.
additional information/possible rant:
I think Boaz had a point; like anybody else, I don't decide to purchase a flashlight because I think I'll hate it. I buy with the hope that I'll love it and as much as I try to rise objectively above my excitement, new owner affection does make it into the dialog. I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. I've put the Cyclone to use over the last 30 days and it (at least) equals the 980L in output and pretty much blows its doors off in every other respect.
I buy a lot of (too many) flashlights but only a handful rise above as potential game changers. A recent good example would be the JM07. The Crelant V9-T6 is a great flashlight. The X-Power Wildfire is an even greater flashlight and the Shadow VG-20 is an absolutely superb flashlight but none of those three examples are game changers for me. The Cyclone is. It is everything that is good about the JM07 with a larger/deeper reflector. It is as bright as the 980L with nearly double the run time and none of the heat. That a 2.80 amp Cyclone can even be in the same conversation with a 4+ amp fire hazard is telling.
Something I just tried; with a King Kong, the Cyclone measured 150 in the falling evening light in my office. With 3 Eneloops it reads 130. I'll do a run time test and hopefully, my this-is-not-primarily-a-AA-light theory will hold water.
/rantFoy
I hate you Foy, I will have to get one.. BTW, did you tried a protected 18650? does the tailcap fully screw?
Foy,
I'd love to hear more on AA (NiMh) runtime. Wouldn't mind hearing about AA alkaline use (since that became a topic of conversation a little while ago and I don't expect much to come from alkaline use). I think this light could be a good option for my co-workers to carry on them underground. (I want to keep them away from Li-Ion cells.) It's this, or make the jump to something like a Jetbeam PA40.
Also, can we get one of your famous beamshots across your pool? I'm looking for a beamshot which shows it's "flood" or "spill" in comparison to its throw.
Thanks!
-Garry
P.S. I'll probably have to pick this one up for myself anyway, so I'll be cursing your name too! Just think, maybe in the near future manufacturers might add "Foy Approved" to their advertising/packaging!
Perhaps I missed it, but what are the 26650 runtimes ?
Run times coming . . . sorry . . .
Foy
I updated the review but I'll add it here too . . .
With an unprotected King Kong 26650 (INR) charged to 4.22 volts, my Cyclone ran on high for 1 hour and 30 minutes, with the battery discharged to 3.40 volts.
With 3 fully charged Eneloop AAs, it ran on high for 1 hour and 10 minutes before dropping into low voltage warning mode. (blinking light)
Foy
Thanks for measuring this. I never had time for measuring the 26650 runtime.
Those were "normal" 2000mAh Eneloops, right? That would be quite in line with my 1h 25min with Eneloop XX 2500mAh:
Not bad for 3x AA's.
_the_, is the lux output during runtime ceiling bounce value?
Yes. But measured by my meter in my room etc. => not comparable to any other readings. Kind of arbitrary unit..
Thanks Foy for the runtime data! So the 2500mAh Eneloops don't offer much more runtime at all compared to the 2000mAh's? Seems a little odd to me. Why is this? Why spend so much on the 2500mAh's then?
Also, Foy, is your King Kong INR Raised-top or flat top? I'd like to know if the raised top INR will fit? Here's my measurement on my raised-top INR (minus 0.50 for the plastic disk = 68.05mm).
EDIT: They don't fit according to rikr! See here. Dang!
Thanks!
-Garry
My INR is a flat top . . . the paper is the back page of my Tenergy charger booklet so, about the thickness of two sheets of paper?
@_the_
My Eneloops are 1900 mAh.
Foy
Hi guys
Does anyone have any ideas about how to mod this light so protected 18650's will fit? I recently purchased a couple of protected Panasonic NCR18650A cells as pictured here: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/280769021348?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649
They are good for 5A sustained even with the protection circuity, so they are otherwise very suitable and I'd love to be able to use them. The ones I have are exactly 68.8mm long.
Also, since 18650's are thin, how does one adapt them for use in this light? (I'm interested in this even if there's no way to mod the light to make protected 18650's fit, since I also have some unprotected cells as well).
Thanks :)
Hi cainn24,
I was planning on using these adapters to get the 18650s to fit (together with the o-rings that come with the light for 26650s):
http://www.intl-outdoor.com/18650-to-26650-battery-converter-case-sleeve-p-235.html
I would waste more than $1.88 in time trying to make my own. Of course I have to wait weeks to get one from China.
As for the length of unprotected 18650s, I'm hoping - since I also prefer the protected cells) that adding an o-ring to the body of the flashlight body will suffice. Seems like I recall seeing a post about someone doing that.
Aloha and welcome to BLF cainn24!
Thanks for the reply, and the information. I'll definitely remember to add one of those 18650 to 26650 adaptors to my cart if I decide to go ahead with a C88 purchase. The problem is that I really want to phase out my unprotected lithium battery use, rather than add a device to the mix that needs them. It's not so much about the (albeit minor) safety concerns as it is about the convenience of not having to micromanage charge and discharge scenarios (being able to lend my flashlights out, at full performance, without worrying so much, is one such scenario). It's one of the reasons I spent $15.00 per cell on the best protected 18650's I could find.
Thanks for the welcome! I've been lurking around here for a couple of weeks and learning a lot about flashlights in the process. This forum is a great resource with some great people it seems :)