Review: Convoy S2+ (the red one!) – Fantastic 18650 EDC

Do you need a long runtime spread over different increments? Or a long time all at once?

I’d say if you want to run a tube light continuously without overheating you’ll want to keep it around 1.5-1.8amps. (Like medium mode)

I wanted to couple this to my fenix bc30 for a bit more throw…But it needed to be run on high. medium would not cut it. 1 h runtime is great. IF I needed more, I’d cut to medium…

All of this is relative. The “medium” on some of my lights is way brighter than “high” on many lights. I’d rather use my light on “medium” and still have a higher mode if i need it for a short burst, instead of lowering my “high” mode so that it can run longer.

It isn’t a problem of power efficiency, the battery isn’t going to die after 20min at 3amps, but the small light will get too hot. So if you need to have a light run for an hour without stopping, your option is to use a small light at less current, or get a bigger light. This isn’t a matter of a bad design by Convoy, its a matter of physics.

Exactly, less amps lead to more efficacy (light(lm)/power(W)) so it might be considered if you have the needs covered.
Use-case plays a role in that too.

Biking and warm -> no problem
Mild weather, a little wind -> might get hot or pretty warm.
Winter, windy, sub 0°C(32°F) -> no problem with temperature. Winter, windy, sub 10°C(14°F)> you’ll need the high current to get temperature in the battery, to get the amps and charge out.

plus 1… this is exactly what I was trying to say.

TBH runtime is going to be the same on most lights that pull the same sort of amps from the same capacity battery.

Ok driver efficiency will vary, but probably not by a huge margin. This all means, it doesn’t really matter what make of torch it is, if it pulls ‘x’ amps from ‘y’ battery, the runtime will be pretty similar.

Larger hosts will handle heat better if you are pulling high amps, so may stay more efficient. But again, I think the differences are going to be minimal.

If runtime is important you’ll need to look at 26650 lights as they have more capacity, or multi 18650 lights, again because they simply have more energy, be it series or parallel configuration.

But do remember modes such as High or Medium don’t mean much without some context. For example, the red Convoy in this review it has the 2.8amp driver. On high it pulls 2.80-285 amps at the tailcap. On Medium it only pulls 1.15amps.

If you opted for the 1.4amp driver instead, then on high it would only be marginally brighter than the 2.8amp driver on medium. (output modes are normally a percentage of the max output). I don’t have a 1.4amp driver, but I suspect the medium mode on it would be a lot less than 1amp.

Fyi, everyone, thanks to BLF'er freeme, who, I think, runs the freedailydeals.org site. I just ordered one last night from the link below. This one is a nice neutral tint LED of T6 4C, my favorite neutral tint. The exact same configured light goes for $18.44 at FastTech here, which is normally a good price.

For $13 shipped: http://www.gearbest.com/led-flashlights/pp_154256.html, use coupon code: S2490,

advertised here: http://freedailydeals.org/2015/05/convoy-s2-1000lm-cree-xm-l2-t6-4c-3-5-modes-led-flashlight-torch-12-99/

Not sure how long the coupon code will work for though…

Aight guys…500 lumens is not that bad I guess but still got time to think of my options as will only be riding at night in 3 months time :slight_smile:

I picked one up at the old price. Sometimes later is better, I guess. The T6 4C tint is really nice. My favorite so far.

Also found the discount code listed here by GearBest: https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/28604 way back in August and it's still good - amaz'n.

Sigh :stuck_out_tongue:

When I joined this forum I was warned up front to hide my wallet. Yeah…I didn’t listen.

I ordered a Convoy S2+ from Simon (at his Aliexpress store) back in February. Received it and I really liked it a lot. In fact I’ve got it in my cargo pocket as I type this. I got the one with the 7135*3 because I wanted to maximize my run time and paid $14.92. Flash forward to last weekend. For some reason I wondered if they made a holster for it. So I found one on Fasttech:

Nylon Holster for 1*18650 LED Flashlight

Well the price was so cheap, especially with the BLF code I figured I’d order three of them so I had a couple of spares. Well that led me to thinking about getting a second Convoy S2+. You know, to have a spare on hand. After all, I’m a prepper and we live by the ‘two is one and one is none’ philosophy. So I ordered one off Banggood (7135*4) for like $13.72 (with the BLF code). So that’s on the way.

So I come to the forum, to this thread to…you know…talk about the new one I ordered and what do I see in the post above?!? A friggin red one and an even cheaper price! Well, what the heck, I’ve got three holsters coming in so I may as well have a third Convoy S2+ on the way as well. And it’s 7135*8 on top of it so I’ll be able to compare between the 3,4 and 8. You know, for scientific research and all…

So thanks a lot, who should I send the bill to? :wink:

“Hi sweetheart, whatcha need? Okay. Uh huh. Got it. Okay, you need milk, eggs a loaf of bread some stamps and by the way I ordered two more flashlights, okay love you gotta go. Click.”

Smile - you never know... Went to work yesterday, Friday, with 2 modded lights: my BLF EE A6 quad (the wow light), and a more practical ZY-T11 clone set for ~4.0A, XM-L2 U2 3C, UCLp lens, copper penny in the pill, bypass's, etc., with my custom e-switch firmware. My boss asks me what lights I had with me - says he needs a light to gift to his father for his birthday - Sunday. Showed him the ZY-T11 clone - sold, $50 with the LG MH1 I had in it and the holster it was in.

I dunno, but this $13 shipped deal is fantastic. For me to mod, it's basically the cost of the host, but throw in a $5 LED and driver than can be re-used.

I just checked the discount code and it's still working Smile and looks like for any qty.

I don’t know if GB still has the $9 deal on the F13 but I know they had it for quite a long time. I ordered four of those during that deal.

Soon as I saw your post above I went and checked the Convoy out and yep, deal still was working which is why I jumped on it. Forgot to say thanks for the link :slight_smile:

Thanks for the link too :)

Yay. Just ordered one :slight_smile:

Me too! - The Red Convoy S2+ 2.8A XM-L2 4C, that is…

Ordered Friday morning, with E-Packet, tracking, and Insurance.

The said that they received my PayPal payment 1 minute later, but today, still Processing:-(

I’ve heard that “e-packet” is faster than Auto free ship? - Is it?

My last (only) order took 21 days from GB, I “think” with auto…

Thanks for the good review Chicken Drumstick!
-Chuck

Does anyone know if it comes with a glow in the dark (gitd) lens o-ring? If not, what size is the o-ring?

I think this is what you are referring to:

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-shipping-21-1-5mm-green-fluorescense-silicone-O-ring-for-flashlight/330416_1042901922.html

But they don’t glow very long, not even in my Convoy S2+ where I replaced the XM-L2 with a UV-led!

Yea I know they don’t glow for long, which is why I need to order quite a few of them :smiley:

Yay….The convoy entered my country today. It should be at my mailbox in 2 days or so :smiley: Kind of waiting to check out the floodiness of it and the great neutral tint :slight_smile: