Well, looking for a good budget thrower. I see the Sky Ray STL-V2 is ~$55 with the Fandyfire STL-V6 ~$45. I am also looking at the Ultrafire HD2010 since it is 26650 and smaller. Overall I know the STL-V2 is one of the best but I don't know if there's anything better out there for about the same price or less, so let's cap this at $60 for the light. Any suggestions will be looked at.
i 2 would like 2 find a decent thrower/light sabre since i seem 2 have a serious problem with floody lights. it seems 2 me that u buy a flash light to reach out and touch some one/thing not light a room with it,
The Marsfire W-C88 I just got is a clone of the STL-V2/V6 and the reflectors are nearly identical (exact same depth but 0.5mm smaller ID). Need a new driver to bump up output as it's driven very mildly but if done should match the Skyray & FF rather easily. I only paid $23 for mine but good luck on getting that price again for a while.
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/sipik-sk98-cree-xml-t6-3mode-floodtothrow-led-flashlight-black-18650-p-10046 Might throw well enough!
By the looks of it, you are targeting XML throw as opposed to XRE throw... BIG beam versus skinny pencil beam. An XRE thrower in this price range will significantly out-throw any of the current XML designs... FYI.
45K lux seems to be the ceiling right now for XML throw in this price range. At your $60 ceiling most SST50/90 lights are out of reach, and none of them will have higher Lux than the comparably priced XML designs you are targeting. So thats right where the STL-V2, Fandy-V6 and Ultra-HD2010 are all at. All 3 lights push a T6 at ~2.7-3Amps, so they are all in the same Lumen ballpark. Their reflector geometry is nearly identical, so thats why they are all around 45K, and hence throw near-equal to each other. A stock HD2010 at ~40K is the lowest of the three, but unlike the others it can be easily modded to take a 7135 driver, for better regulation and a steady ~3-3.5A to the LED.
Theres just no one making bigger XML reflectors and pushing the LED at ~3A... in this price range.
This light here has the biggest XML reflector I am aware of... but its only pushing a T6 with 2A. BLF-er Pok measured it at 37K lux. So at 2A & 37K its not too far behind a stock HD2010, so that just shows how much more tightly its 75mm reflector is concentrating the beam. I think for ~$50 someone (ultrafire, sky-ray...etc) can easily make this light in a 1-26650 form and push the XML at ~3.5A.. that would sell like crazy and dominate XML thrower-land. Although with a beam that tight and concentrated... you might be starting to approach XRE pencil-beam territory, and you're kind of back to square-1.
Pok was able to mod it up to ~75K lux with 3.6A to the LED. But again, thats going to be over your $60 ceiling.
http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1358
are there any throwers that don't require a large reflector? and multi bats?
In a word "no" :) Of course it depends on how much "throw" you need.
No... Given the smooth-flooding, semi-sphere beam pattern of most LEDs, A high lux thrower requires a large reflector dish. It makes sense when you think about what a reflector does. It collects the side emitted lumens from the LED dome, and reflects them forward in a concentrated beam pattern. The bigger the reflector dish, the more lumens it will "touch", regather and reflect.
Multiple cells aren't necessary to push an XML to its I limits. XML Vf is low enough (even at higher drive currents) to very closely match Vbatt(nom) from a single healthy 4.2V Lithium cell.
True, except “no” for large reflectors, and “yes” for multi bats. The HD2010 is a single cell but has a large reflector. You can also go with aspheric vs reflectored if you need a smaller head.
Something I have always wondered... Will your garden variety DX/KD ($8-9) ~50mm aspheric lens have a higher lux than a 50mm "throw" reflector from an STL-V2, V6 or HD2010?... so we're talking about peak lux value in the spot-beam. Keeping apples-apples, lets say were talking about XML designs at ~3A.
????
A new budget light at Manafont - a 59mm-head 2x-18650 X9 clone with a XM-L for $24: http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/dongrui-dr922-t6-1200lumen-5mode-led-flashlight-rifle-green-218650-p-10036
Here's a Small Sun 1x-18650 clone of the X9 for $36.50: http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/small-sun-zyt619-cree-xml-t6-1200lumen-5mode-flashlight-titanium-18650-p-8458
And the original X9 here; 1x18650 for the much higher price of $54.80 but with a single 18650 cell and charger included: http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/trustfire-x9-xml-t6-white-led-flashlight-gray-118650-p-7293
I don't own any of these lights so I can't comment on how hard they are driven or how well they throw. At one time, the X9 was supposed to be the king of the single-cell XM-L throwers IIRC...
So I am assuming that the STL-VX and the HD2010 are pretty much the best budget throwers. That Zhi Jun looks awesome but is pricey.
Ok, HD2010 or STL, either one? I am leaning HD2010 for form factor and it's just a good looking light, just want to make sure that it throws just as well as the STLs.
I have already ordered an HD2010 (thanks to kramer5150 also) from EasyLightBuy, seems it is becoming a favorite one among BLF members...
Exactly, looks like a very nice light.
Yes, a 50mm aspheric will have a higher lux reading than a 50mm reflector.