I missed out on the sale price. Still looking for one. Thanks for the review.
I am liking mine so far. I am getting 2.57 at the tail (spring bypass both ends and 26650 King Kong Gold 4000mAh unprotected) with the new Uni-T clamp meter at start and leveling off at about 2.43 after 30 seconds or so. The beam to me is a perfect flood/throw combination really, lots of area but decent distance at the same time.
EDIT: with the 18650 LG HE4 I am getting 2.52 at start and at 30 seconds 2.40
Also with a little extra lube on the threads mine are really smooth.
Here are a few beamshots from mine.
Light 3ft from light Gray wall
50yds (medium)
50yds (high)
Gate 100yds (High)
175yds (High)
Did you by chance take reflector measurements? Maybe you could shoehorn a C8 reflector in it.
My bezel is on super tight. Trying to find my channel locks to get it off. Once I do I’m going to start hunting.
That is a great review, appreciate all the beamshots and comparisons to the other lights… Now the wait for mine will seem longer….
I know, mine seems to be bouncing around in China.
btw Bc412, very nice review.
No, the C8 reflector is much bigger.
Ok… got some updates for those wondering.
The lens is 40mm
The reflector is 37mm x 24mm
I don’t see any easy replacements for either of them.
and the cool news. I did my first spring bypass. I was a little nervous doing it, but since I have 2 of these bad boys it gives me a chance not to worry if I destroy it.
So I set up a test using 2 Sonyo 2600mah ur18650fm protected cells. They both have just a handful of cycles on them and were both charged to 4.20 according to my DMM. One had the original springs, the other the bypass. I think the results are above any level of error in measurement and prove that the spring bypass does provide an appreciable result to the flashlight.
runtime:
Normal JM07 - 82 minutes @ 3.22v
Spring Bypass - 92 minutes @ 3.24V
Here is the result:
So… in order for anything to be a scientific result it has to be repeatable and consistent. So tomorrow I’m going to run the test again with a high drain battery.
In this case we ended up with 10 minutes additional runtime and a slight difference in the profile. The initial brightness is 17% higher, which is far more than I estimate my error in measurement. The two level out for the majority of the run, and then the bypass hangs on those extra 10 minutes before it ramps down.
as long as I don’t get a contradictory result tomorrow, i’d say that the spring bypass is definitely worth your time!
That is a cool result from the bypasses. We all tend to think of lumen gain, but on a current regulated driver, it sets the output, so the runtime would be longer….
Keep up the great work Bc412!
Trying to approach this scientifically and eliminate variables. So I ran another test using The Sanyo ur18650fm 2600mah
I compiled all of the results into this chart. It pretty obviously shows that the flashlight runs brighter and also longer with a protected battery.
Run times:
Trial 1 normal - 82 min
Trial 2 normal - 78 min
Trial 1 bypass - 92 min
Trial 2 bypass - 98 min
There is probably quite a bit of error in my measurement, just using a cell phone. However the trend is pretty obvious. Your getting a substancial 10% increase in brightness and about 10-15% longer runtime. Granted with this small of a sample it is very difficult to say how much of the result is actually error
So I ran another Test! This one was a simple test with the Samsung 30Q battery. I used the same procedure and jig to measure as trial 2.
The results on this one where different.
Runtimes:
Normal trial 1 - 96 min
Normal Trial 2 - 86 min
Bypass trial - 76 min
You can see that the spring bypass actually shortened the runtime by 15% but the light was significantly brighter for the duration of the test. I’m chalking this up to the difference between protected and unprotected batteries. I’m going to run another 30Q test just to make sure that bypass runtime wasn’t a fluke.
Also of note… I did measure contact resistance on both tailcaps. The normal tailcap read .4 ohm, whereas the spring bypass read .3 ohm. Of course not the most accurate meter on earth, so take that with a grain of salt.
Once I complete this last 30q test I’m calling it a day and am done testing this light.
My next venture may be to try to find a low resistance switch for this thing… because why not… this is what we do, and this is why we have a flashlight problem.
This has been a nice little project. Being able to see spring bypass in graphic form definitely helps me visualize what I am getting for the effort. I just hope that the real data isn’t lost in error and variables, but given the consistency of what I’m seeing sofar, I don’t think it’s the case.
Thanks for all the info Bc412. From what I hear the lights not available any more. Shame really.
Yep, it has been discontinued. Thorfire may make another 26650 light, but I bet it will be totally different from this one. 
I must be spoiled ordering from Amazon. I usually have my orders in 2 days, sometimes next day. This ones been bouncing around China since the 2nd day of Feb, lol.
Nice review, and great work on the runtime and output graphs!!
Just fyi -- this light is definitely moddable with an upgraded driver -- I've done a few dozen by now with that type of side switch. Actually I much prefer e-switch lights for modding than tail power switches. The UI is much better for advanced features.
Example of a Yezl Y3:
Eagle Eye X6R with the USB charging port that still works:
Roche AS31:
ZY-T11 clone, still one of my favorite lights: cheap, compact form factor, great for modding, takes a big MaxToch 26 mm MCPCB:
Thanks for the review and pics. This light looks like a steal for $10 and a great host.
Thanks for the pics Tom E. Those look great. I don’t think that I’d previously seen pictures of how you were installing the gate pulldown resistor. Very nice/slick!
Finally received mine today. China Post sucks, tracking still has it in China. Sorry that I didn’t purchase 2, it’s a nice light, and likely a keeper. Doubt I will do much to it, I like it the way it is.
Edit: I did find a smooth reflector that could be fit to this Reflector I’m gonna order one.
FWIW I’m pretty confident that the reflector you linked to is intended for the Cree XR-E emitter rather than the Cree XM-L emitter.
Right now I don’t remember what effect(s) that will have on the beam, but one of them may be to make it quite ringy?
You may be right. This XR-E reflector improves throw over the original XM-L reflector in my Thorfire C8s, without much ringyness (is that a word, lol), so it may work, maybe not.
I am interested in this piggybacked Fet that’s being discussed. I really wished I had gotten 2. I really like the simple 3 mode driver, and will probably just do the normal spring bypass, and once I look the driver over, maybe do a resistor mod. I’m not expecting much, but if I can get 3A+ I would be happy.
Equiped with an OP reflector I did not expect it to be an ultra-thrower, but I’m not disapppointed with the results. So please keep us informed about the SMO reflector you ordered. BTW: with a fresh charged 30Q I measured 2.59A at the tail. And the tail-spring just begs to be bypassed, direct to the switch.
I would not pursue an SMO reflector for this light - why? I measured my stock JM07 at 26.5 kcd, measured at 5 meters, so would probably do better measured at 10+ meters. Outstanding throw for a light this size.
Note: I used a very good 26650 EFEST cell and measured 3.0A at the tail w/clamp meter. Lumens were 986 @start, 932 @30 secs. So the rated 910 lumens is about right, but the rated throw is much lower.
Did anyone else measure throw?
Keep in mind, the reflector width (I.D.) dimension is very important for throw. Here's some #'s:
Light |
O.D. (mm) |
I.D. (mm) |
Depth (mm) |
JM07 |
36.8 |
34.7 |
24.47 |
F13 clone |
36.8 |
33.75 |
26.1 |
X6 |
35.25 |
29.5 |
20.724.5 |
D80 |
|
34.0 |
20.7 |
F30B |
|
35.2 |
25.2 |