Convoy S2+ Desert Tan Available Now!

Depending on the FDE, it may very well be. I’m happy with any shade of FDE/sand/khaki/coyote type of tints. There are multiple varieties of this color ranging from a darker Magpul FDE to a lighter more tan variety. This Youtube video shows a comparison of the tints:

Example, my model AR, as pictured earlier in the thread, is listed as a FDE, but it is a much lighter tint than the typical deeper-brown Magpul FDE commonly seen.

Magpul FDE would be my first choice.

Black logo is only a consideration at this point. Simon thinks it would look weird. He also thinks a black metal switch is weird yet he’s still trying to appease us weirdos. :smiley: If the black lettering won’t be durable like the white laser engraving then we’ll probably just stick with white. Oh and for the O-rings I asked Simon to go black on this one. I don’t think GITD has any place here. It would be kinda like putting a neon sign on an M1 Abrams tank.

As far as talking other lights we should probably circle back to the light this thread is about. That said, I do own an M2. Even with the OP reflector it’s definitely throwier than the S2 and mine isn’t de-domed. I find it a very nice useable balance of flood and throw without being a dedicated thrower. Once you get into true thrower territory you need to carry two lights as a thrower just stinks for up close work. The M1 has even more throw and has about the same “pocketability”. Personally I find both too big for all but a coat pocket. The only Convoy I consider truly pocketable is a stumpy S2+ with the 18350 tube…until we start making Convoy 14500 lights anyway. :wink: If the desert tan anodizing turns out the way we want it to the M1 is my next target light to receive this treatment. :sunglasses:

Is a black rubber boot out of the question at this point? Come to think of it~~ it’s odd that Simon finds a black stainless switch “weird” but doesn’t think the same thing about a black rubber boot.

Good call on the o-rings.

Personally while I carry an 18650 tube light today, for years I EDC’ed a Solarforce L2P. That’s in the same size range as the Convoy M1/M2. Lots of folks also duty-carry a light of that size.

Well wight you sure did drop a big old deuce in my punchbowl… but at least you threw in an edit that the Tan/Black sounds good. :stuck_out_tongue:
Honestly you brought up some good points and things I didn’t know about the S8. I don’t own one and I now realize that I never looked that closely. I liked the look of the S8 (admittedly at a glance) because it at least did something to break up the shape a bit. Simon may have already made tweaks like going to the newer, nicer square cut threads and other details but then again the S8 may also just be new-old stock. I find the S2 pretty boring in the looks department but like you said that’s just personal preference. The S2 has a great reputation but I’ve always preferred the looks of the S3 and S2+ because they each have a little something to make it stand out but they also have a shallower reflector than the S2 and its siblings. I liked the S8 squarish fins because they would keep the light from rolling away every time you set it down which is my only grievance with the S3 and any tube light without a clip for that matter. As far as designs being inspired by Roche, Simon legitimately acquired and took over several Roche designs. He did the same with a few previously Dipper branded designs and at least one XinTD design (X3). As far as the anodizing flaking off your tailcap that is the first I’ve heard of that happening. I’d contact Simon. I’m sure he’ll send you a replacement. I asked Simon to look into the black lettering. That was another good point you brought up about how well black lettering would hold up. All the laser engraving I see is white. If it seems black is going to flake off eventually then it should stay white. Thanks for all you input…well, most of it. :wink: :beer:

White lettering does not seem right on a black-tan light. Black lettering sounds good.
I don’t think it matters if the letters scrape off, that might be a plus.

Wow, a lot of action in this thread. That is a good thing.
Clear anodizing is a great option! Let me know if you have an extra prototype. }:slight_smile:

^ Now that’s more like it! ^ If the S8 is revisited all of these things are what I have in mind. Certainly ditching the crenelated bezel, better knurling, square cut threads, all the fine details. Of course this is all just talk for now but it’s good talk. :slight_smile:

Well since there’s some interest in the FDE color, I’ll go ahead and share a photo of my Cerakoted FDE light for discussion purposes. I personally think its a bit darker color than what I think the goal here is, but maybe not.

Honestly though I’m going to buy Simon’s “Desert Tan S2+” no matter how it comes out! :slight_smile:

Yeah, that’s a much darker shade than what I’m familiar with. It’s nice, but not what I’m looking for as a match for my rifle.

I found this chart of Cerakote colors that can give us a nice listing of colors we can reference (click for full size):

Your light looks close to the H-250 A.I. Dark Earth while my AR looks closer to the H-199 Desert Sand.

My ideal color would likely be either the H-199 Sand, H-257 Texas Tan, or the H-235 Coyote Tan.

Yeah that H-250 is a much “richer” brown than my light is in real life. I’m pretty sure mine is actual H-265 Flat Dark Earth, which isn’t on your chart. Regardless, I agree its darker than this project calls for.

Okay… Here’s another chart, may be a bit better:

I’m leaning toward the Desert Sand as the ideal color.

I concur.

A lot of those colors are very close to each-other.

Don’t forget, not everyone has a color calibrated monitor.

I did not know that the S8 does not have square threads. That is a dealbreaker.
Tan and Black is great. Not dark tan, or dark earth, please.
Black steel switch is genius.

Yes, I’d say it’s too late to switch switches unless for some reason they can’t properly blacken the steel. If Simon were to tell me the black metal switch can’t be done then I would ask him to switch to the rubber boot version of the S2+ with a black boot. Personally I love the metal switch and I’m really looking forward to seeing it against that desert tan color. The carry size thing is definitely user specific preference. While I always have an 18650 or three within fairly easy access. One or two in my jacket and half a dozen in my laptop backpack. As far as what is with me at all times my personal EDC preference is a 10440 light. I work in an office most of the time and am usually in khakis. I have my standard pocket fillers. Left front is my phone and only my phone. Right front is a AAA/10440 format light, a flash drive and a folding knife with a deep carry clip. Any time I’ve carried anything bigger than that it’s just a bit too much not to mention bouncing against my knife half the time. When I do carry my M2 it’s in a holster. As far as what Simon finds weird it has been very interesting and amusing to find all the personal preference things as well as cultural things that factor in. For example, he refused to make a green flashlight for a long time because of the symbolism of the color in Chinese culture.

I have a Roche F8 in “gold” or tan whatever they called it at the time (looks tan to me). I think it looks great with the black button. The lettering is white, but very thin and doesn’t stand out at all. If the S2+ had the same look I would be more than pleased.

Ok I just looked at it. Maybe it’s a little too “gold” looking, but I do like the finish.

IIRC my main functional hangup with the S6 is that it lacks thumb scallops in the tailcap.

:wink:
That particular design would be “inspired” quite a while before Simon acquired the Roche/Dipper/XinTD designs. Honestly while everything else I said was above the board, I really meant that comment as a slight against the S8. To me it doesn’t look like it was inspired by the F12 as much as it looks like it was inspired by an F12 imitation. :frowning:

If the Convoy S8 was ‘refreshed’ many of my complaints would probably go away, but oversized fins and small knurling would still be a deal breaker for me. I agree that the oversized hex-fins on the S8 seem like they’d provide decent anti-roll, that’s a good thing. My take is that anti-roll in a tube-light is probably best provided by a full-length hexagonal exterior with limited or no radial cuts (both points should make it easier to insert and remove from the pocket).

I’ll take a look at my red S2+ and compare the chamfers on that tailcap with those on the green one. The red one is approximately 1 year old while the green one was just received. Neither has ever been carried. IIRC the chamfers on the red one’s tailcap may have been better than those I saw on the green one’s tailcap. Maybe a tool wasn’t quite right in the CNC when the green one was made. I’ll let you & Simon know what I find out.

AFAIK black lettering would be done either using ink (not durable) or cermark/thermark (expensive laser marking material). Thermark’s LMM6018.LF seems to be the manufacturer-recommended solution, but even that will be much less durable than the laser engraved lettering.

This is a good point. The white lettering looks fine on the gold/tan Roche F12 I have. It’s very low key.

As soon as the first sample comes back Simon is going to take a bunch of pictures and send them to me.

As far as what he is basing the color on we can all blame keltex78 if we don’t like the way it comes out. :wink:

I’d been working on Simon for a while showing him what we were looking for. It wasn’t until I showed him that AR that he truly got onboard with the idea. These two pictures are the ones I kept referring to. If it comes out like either one or in between I’m a happy camper.