Looking for a throwy single 123

Hey everyone,
Newbie here. I’m looking for a single 123 light that will get me some distance. I’m not really sure what qualifies for a ‘throwy’ light, but from what I’ve been reading on here it means a more far reaching light and less of a flood. I don’t have any experience in this flashaholic thing so I’m goin to ask some stupid questions and I hope you can all bear with me.

The only led light I have is my Surefire Minimus, so I figured I would stick with the 123 format. I like the output just fine, but it doesn’t reach very far(also seems a little battery hungry, but that’s another strory). I have an old incandescent Surefire G2 that I have used for this sort of thing in the past, but I hear the new led stuff is light years ahead so I’m ready to upgrade. The G2 is not that impressive anyway.

I’m looking for something that can get me to around 100-150yds or so, if more is easy to come by even better. I would love to reach 200yds and beyond. My budget is around $75 and I don’t need 50 different settings. In fact I would prefer something simple with just 3-4 settings.

I was looking at the O-light S10 and the output looks impressive, but I have never seen what 300 lumens looks like.

So how far roughly will an S10 actually reach? Any other suggestions for something to look at? And finally, could my goals be reached with a AA light?

Thanks

Hi there and welcome :smiley:
Smaller emitter will give you more throw. So, discard XM-L lights and go for XP-G or even XP-E.
Right now, these few babies comes to mind :stuck_out_tongue:
Nitecore EC1
JetBeam BC10 or Klarus P1C
Eagletac D25C series

That Nitecore with primaries is one of the best throwers for sure, but with 16340, both JetBeam BC10 and Klarus P1C will give a little bit more throw (they are direct driven on HI). 2 modes on those last two though, low and high, forward clikies with head twisting method for changing modes :wink:
Eagletac is really nice too, especially with latest XP-G2. You have both versions: twisty and clikie :slight_smile:

The Lumapower D-mini with Turboforce head is the undisputed single CR123 throw-king.

I don’t have a bc10, but I don’t think it the tiny difference in throw would make up for the tons of features the EC1 has.

EC1 for sure. Amazing how much light comes out of it for how small it is. Very impresive little guy.

Or the Ray D1. I tried to find one a year or two ago, but they are all gone.

A Jetbeam bc10 with an AW battery puts out double the lumens of a 123a battery.

only two lights come in mind, as were mentioned already.
eagletac d25c xpg
jetbeam bc10

but that lumapower d mini sounds impressive…and expensive.
Ec1 i needa look up, sounds nice too

just looked up the ec1, the eagletac d25c looks way brighter and throws visible further

ok, i just saw videos on all the lights listed above exept the ray d1 and lumapower.
the eagletac was brightest and furthest throwing, second came the klarus p1c, third was jetbeam, and last was nitecore

Wow! 7 responses in just over an hour, nice.

Of the one’s suggested I think the Eagletac fits the requirements best.

Thanks everyone.

I have both the eagletac d25c and the Jetbeam bc10. On primarys they are close in lumens but the bc10 has an edge in throw. On AW IMR’s both lights are impressive but again the bc10 has the edge in throw. Iirc the bc10 on imr threw 8600 cd compared to 6000 cd for the d25c on the same Imr. My d25c has the xpg r5 not the xp-g2.

Since I am, admittedly a total flashlight newb, please do tell about the 18650. Could you recommend a flashlight and a battery/charger? I had wanted to stick with a single 123 for size, but I may go bigger if it makes sense.

You underestimate some of the newer powerful XML’s. While its generally true a small emitter like a XPG or XPE offers more throw than an XML with all things equal, the problem comes when things arn’t equal. Mainly output. For example a Eagletac D25C XML U2 clicky. Running these lights on IMR’s will delivery well over 600 lumens. I’ve tested two in the 650-660otf at 30sec. That many lumens even with an big XML and small head, will power enough light down range to give reasonable throw.
Meaning one of those lights will throw a true 150m. I’ve actually tested them to be almost even with the much bigger BC10 with its XPG and it also running on A IMR. Both do fall short of 200m. I’d still give the slight edge to the BC10, but not by much.
Now running both on primaries, the BC10 takes the lead pretty easy. The BC10 will do about 130m or so vs about 100m for the D25C XML, both on Cr123’s.

No, not at all. Any light can have aspherical lens mounted in front, regardless of emitter. And all come most often with traditional reflectors.

Even XM-L’s will project a square beam when fitted with a well focused aspheric lens. I think rdrfronty was trying to point out that if similar reflectors and power outputs are used, smaller emitters like the XP-G and XR-E will out throw comparatively large emitters like the XM-L.

I’m not underestimate anything, and I know what I’m talking about. OP asked for better throw, and while the size is the same (reflector), smaller emitters always will give you more throw. Not overall lumer output, that’s for sure, but not everyone needs floody beams, right? :slight_smile:
Of course HD2010 with XM-L will out throw BC10 easily, but I’ve suggested EDC sized lights.

Oh man don't send him to ebay ...why would you want to do that to anyone ..??

Throw and a bigger reflector go hand in hand .

it makes sense to have a ( dedicated thrower ) Jacob A60 or a HD2010.. There are a 1000 options when you open up it up to an 18650.

Cr123/16340 is much harder if you're looking for throw .Easy cheap answer would be a cr123/16340 flood to throw like a Edi-t t11

Nitecore sr3 maybe .. bigger head deep reflector 16340

tuff one ..

But you are sir. The problem with that chart is that it is all estimates. Not true throw. I’ve tested many of the lights on that chart. And tested them on real throw, not just at 1m.
And irregardless of flood, a D25C XML clicky will likely out throw every light on that chart except the BC10. The 660 lumens out of the D25C will allow it throw 150m. Lumens do matter.
Believe or not, it’s a fact I have confirmed on two different ET’s, while tested along side many other single 16340 lights including D25C xpg twisty’s, BC10, Olight i1, Mini XPG, Mini x, etc.

From testing we did about 6 months ago -

Jetbeam BC10 from doingoutdoor.com. Great price! Not recommended for extended runs on high though, gets too hot.

You should probably use an IMR battery. (Though the Keeppower 16340’s at doingoutdoor are a nice addition to his site.)

The BC10 pulls too much current on high for a standard 16340 (RCR123) ICR cell.
IMR 16340:
http://www.efestbattery.com/index.php?route=product/product&keyword=16340&category_id=57&product_id=49

Eagletac D25C is great too but I think you’ll find the price a fair bit higher.

If you want to do some research check out Reviews – Selfbuilt's Flashlight Reviews.ca