You must have the link wrong. I have that exact light and while I use it all the time, it’s not a thrower. If it wasn’t raining tonight I’d go try it again side by side with a few others.
The Small Sun T13 - I side with JMax and ChiX . I just recieved it and hands down the best $24.00
you can spend. Its well underdriven, i see serious potential with a swap of the driver. less than $30.00 and you have a great mid size thrower. As good or better than name brand version.
Which driver would you recommend? The Small Sun T13 seems like a good choice. Best bang for buck so far. I have the Trustfire X8 and it’s an amazing performer. Windering if there would be significant difference between the two. Can the X8 be driven even harder?
The XT11 isn’t much of a thrower though, it’s probably the most floody light in its class. So I’m not sure using it as a throw benchmark is all that meaningful.
You must not have tried a thrower the reflector dimensions mean it cannot be classed as a thrower.
Best small cheap light I have that can be classed as a thrower is the UltraOK, I believe it’s a MRV clone, it’s up there with my SF MPP1 and almost with the Crelant 7G5 for distance, obviously much less light due to the emitter but can be seen at 300m.
I don’t have one but if I was buying now I’d go with the Fandyfire STL-V6 as ILF says.
FWIW, if you value having a AA driven light (yes there are some advantages in having AAs as your powersource), the PA40 by Jet Beam is a great light and near your $50 budget, as you can get it for about $55. The Fenix E40 is simalar about $10 less, but from what I gather won’t throw like the PA40, however I don’t own one to compare to my PA40. Good luck.
Here’s what I would do since I have both. I would buy the FandyFire STL-V6 first. It’s right at about 48 to 50Kcd. Deal Xtreme is where I bought mine for $45 and change. Then I would buy the Small Sun ZY-T13 from Manafont for $24 shipped. If it were me, I would buy 2. You will like it that much. You can’t beat that light for the money in XM-L flashlights. The beam is perfect and I do mean perfect. I love my 2. I would guess this light to be around 40-42Kcd.
That other link for the SkyRay STL-V2 I know nothing about them.
The FandyFire STL-V6 is one bad thrower for less than $50. There’s none that will beat it that I know of for the money. It’s just a little shy in the throw department of the better quality throwers like the Olight SR51, Sunwayman T40CS, Olight M3X, and Crelant 7G5, all of which I do have.
This or that big assed halogen ilf has, or any of the plethora of 1M candle power huge reflector spot lights.
Their all basically a h4 bulb, 7+” reflector, 12v battery pack and a shoulder strap lol.
I’m thinking of fitting mine with a 14.8v li po pack, and before someone says it’ll blow the bulb, stick your multimeter on your cars battery terminals….