I know that these two lights are vastly different in terms of size, price and light output but I know that I like them both and I would love to pick one up soon.
My concerns are;
I only have 2 protected 18650’s (I have about 20 unprotected cells). Will running unpro’d cells be an issue as long as I keep the cells at or very close to the same voltage and check them with regularity?
2) On the TRJ-18 would I need to procure some 26650s? If it makes a huge difference going from 18650 to 26650 this might rule this light out as I don’t relly feel like “investing” in a new battery type at the moment.
3) On the King, is there a huge difference between cool white and neutral white? I’ll admit I am a bit of a noob when it comes to tint. I would like to know if paying the $10 price gap to go from CW to NW is worth it.
4) Are there any issues with either of these lights out of the box? I do not want to get them if they require work as soon as I get them. (other than cleaning)
5) And last but not least, I would like to get some feedback from those that have these lights as to what their pros and cons are.
Just an example - my fake blue ultrafire with 2mAh capacity have 4.1V standing voltage. So does my Panasonic 2900 with, well, 2900mAh capacity. Would you mix them in series since they're close in voltage?
Just saying that standing voltage don't mean squat.
My take is quite simple, if you wish to use unprotected go with SR King.
If you’re a virgin who would ya prefer? Matthew McConaughey or Woody Allen? Looks like ya got two Matts there. I’d get done by him twice and double my pleasure, double his fun. I’m mean not me personally mind you.
Pulsar13 - sorry I did not clarify, but I would only mix like cells (UR18650FM 2600mAh)
I thought that I read on here somewhere that if you mixed batteries with different voltages that are unprotected, that this may cause a scenario where the higher charged cells actually try to charce the cell with less voltage. Am I wrong here?
Lumatic - Haha thank you (unfortunatley) for putting that into vivid perspective for me….
I love the sky ray king right out of the box,the tr-j18 I do not have,so I can't comment on it.The king is impressively bright and build quality is good,parallel battery set up in the king is more ideal with unprotected cells.My only complaint is no medium and bothersome PWM on low.hope that helps.
I own a SR King and a genuine TrustFire X100. If you’re gonna go with a really big torch, you might as well go with the X100. It’s a better light IMO for various reasons; foremost it’s more efficient and has longer runtime potential while doing it at lower temp. It’s gonna last you a long time. Why mess around? The J18 is ok but it’s really not in it’s overall performance league.
Like I was risquely implying to get the point across , if you can possibly swing it, get both. They’re both dang good lights at what they do. They should cover your big horsepower lumen desire for a good while too if that helps ya rationalize the bigger $ purchase than prolly originally envisioned.
You’ll be happier. Lumatic’s giving ya the no-wussyfootin’ skinny here. 8)
But if he gets that, for portability the SR King is the way to go. He can stick it in his coat pocket and no one would know the better with his hand in there with it. IMO, ya kinda want both to cover all the OMG bases.
Everyone says it’s so easy to ‘stick it in a coat’… I personally can’t. I have this ‘74 lumen Energizer’ light, which uses 2 D batteries. Uses a few 5mm bluish white LEDs and feels like a freaking feather after holding the SR King. My point is, the king when fully loaded is damn heavy.
A NW King is around 1800 lumens I think. Still super bright to me and the difference barely distinguishable from a J18 which I think is around 2500 lumens.
just if ya had to flick outta the house for 20 minutes or so ya could definitely carry it and conceal it in your coat pocket - I’m talking a trench coat with deep pockets or ya know like an Army jacket or just a big ol’ typical winter job. I’m not saying it’s super incredibly easy either but hey c’mon it’s only what, 5 1/4” long by 2”. In fact, I just went in the garage took it out fully loaded and stuck it into my shorts back pocket. I strolled around with it for 5 blocks. No problem. I’m about 5’ 10’, 190 pounds. Sure it felt like an SR was back there, but hey totally manageable. Please. And this was with golf-type shorts mind you and a t-shirt.
Yeah ok I agree it’s relatively torch-heavy compared to a C8. But too much to stick in a coat? Or even shorts? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Not even.
