Review: SkyRay STL-V2 XM-L T6 3 or 5 modes adjustable

LED Flashlights – General Info 18650 Flashlights
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SkyRay STL-V2

Reviewer's Overall Rating: ★★★★★

Summary:

Battery: 2x18650-3x16340(18340)
Switch: Forward Clicky
Modes: Hi-Lo-Strobe or H-M-L-Strobe-SOS
LED Type: XML T6
Lens: Glass
Tailstands: Yes
Price Payed: $54.75
From: Manafont
Date Ordered: 6-24-11 received 7-7-11

Pros:

  • Really bright spot beam with no noticeable donut hole
  • Wide deep SMO reflector. 60mm wide by 40mm deep.
  • Excellent build quality and machining.
  • Led mounted on 30mm x 2mm aluminum disc.
  • Very flexible battery options.
  • GITD o-rings on lens produce a nice green afterglow.

Cons:

  • Blinkies on both mode groups.
  • Threads does not come lubed.


Features / Value: ★★★★★

Upon opening the box the most prominent feature of this light is the large head and the cooling fins right below. The reflector is big and shiny with a glass lens and a GITD O-ring. The LED emitter sits centered at the bottom. The body has ridges throughout which helps in gripping the light. the tailcap is designed with an anti roll feature and allows for tailstanding and mounting the included lanyard. It has 2 mode groups that can be changed with the twist of the body counterclockwise. They are H-L-Strobe and H-M-L-Strobe-SOS.

dull black finish seems pretty scratch resistant

ridges in the body provide better gripping surface.

Design / Build Quality: ★★★★★

Build quality is excellent. The threads are smooth after adding some silicone grease. The led is centered quite well on the reflector and sits on a 30mm x 2mm thick aluminum disc. The outer edge of this disc sits on the head assembly and lined with thermal grease. It is then screwed onto the head and should provide enough heatsinking. The driver sits down below.

Pill looks just like the one for olight m3x

30mm x 2 mm thick heatsink

driver sits at the bottom, not quite sure what type it is

The tailcap is a forward clicky which is not the best for multimode flashlights. There is a brass cylinder which makes contact with the batteries. It is also squared off to provide an anti roll feature.

Battery Life: ★★★★★

Battery life should be over an hour with two cells. This can also be used with 3x16340 or 18340 by removing the extender.

Light Output: ★★★★★

The STL-V2 puts out a lot of light and should be a strong thrower. The hotspot is bright and uniform throughout with no donut holes.

Measured current on 18650: 1.40A on high

0.73 on mid

0.16 on low

16340: 1.01A on H

0.53A on M

0.13A on L

Added 7/17/11 testing for regulation. Im doing some testing tonight to see if this light is regulated. Im doing 10 minutes on high then take readings and 5 mins of cool down then back on again for 10 mins. the head gets quite hot while the body stays warm and easily holdable. im doing a side by side with the Trustfire X8 also.


Cell voltage 4.2v 4.08 3.99 3.90 3.82 3.77 3.74 3.70 3.63 3.50 2.99v

Current draw (tailcap)1.42a 1.40 1.42 1.46 1.48 1.52 1.54 1.54 1.56 1.63a light shutoff at 2.99v

Stl on left X8 on right

High

X8 left STL-V2 right

Summary: ★★★★

Overall i am amazed with this light. Its got a good amount of throw. The big 60 mm reflector focuses the beam quite nicely. Putting it side by side with the trustfire X8, The hotspot is bigger and much brighter. Heatsinking should be adequate with the 30mm disc trasferring the heat to the head. All i can say is buy it, you won't be disappointed.

2

Id want to glue a chunk of something under the emitter ...

3

I was just going to melt solder into the bottom of a coke can and fujik it under there.

4

Wow, very nice looking light! Looks like it has enough heatsinking to actually run it nonstop on maximum, right?

Thanks for the review! Frontpage'd and Sticky'd.

5

Nice review! That light looks really nice. Glad to know that the pill is a little more substantial than it looked to be in early pics. That thing is a beast of a thrower! Makes the X8 look shabby and it's not. I'd love to see a comparison against the Fenix and Solarforce throwers(*cough* hint *cough* hint) from those who have them!

If I had the cash I'd consider it...maybe in a few months. Right now I'm still honeymooning with my 3*18650 XM-L Maglite. :)

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It's unlikely to throw as far however it will have a bigger hotspot. It's only driven at about 1/2 of it's max spec and at full spec the XM-L doesn't have the surface brightness of the XR-E/XP-E.

It does have a larger diameter but a HS-802 for instance still has a diameter of 45 mm or so.

I'm sure it has decent throw for an XM-L since it has a decent size reflector and since most XM-L's don't seem to be fully driven.

Edit: I guess maybe it is fully driven since those are battery numbers and you are using two batteries.

7

Very nice review. Thanks!

It has nice beam profile and very bright hot spot as well.

I can see the two screws on the aluminum disc in your picture.

But mine has neither screws nor holes as follows:

I wonder if it make any problem unexpectedly.

8

LOL, chinese QC.

There looks to be thermal glue under the pcb, so you should be ok. Obviously better w/ screws, but, well... that was to be expected.

9

Yeah its probably thermal glued on there and should be ok. I just changed the thermal grease to arctic silver on mine. Id say this light is probably regulated as i had it on the same batteries since i got it and still quite bright.

10

Thanks for the reply, agenthex & jamesearljonesisascab! Laughing

11

Im doing some testing tonight to see if this light is regulated. Im doing 10 minutes on high then take readings and 5 mins of cool down then back on again for 10 mins. the head gets quite hot while the body stays warm and easily holdable. im doing a side by side with the Trustfire X8 also.

results so far:

STL V2

4.2v 4.08 3.99 3.90 3.82 3.77 3.74 3.70 3.63 3.50 2.99v

1.42a 1.40 1.42 1.46 1.48 1.52 1.54 1.54 1.56 1.63a light shutoff at 2.99v

X8

4.18v 4.03 3.95 3.87 3.80 3.76 3.74 3.67 3.55 3.04v

1.54a 1.53 1.50 1.53 1.55 1.55 1.57 1.61 1.67 1.95a

Pretty linear current on both.

need to plot these on a graph.

thats 100 mins of runtime with 5 mins of off time in between.

Brightness was pretty constant but i have no way of measuring Lumens.

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So, does the x8 shut off or did you stop the test? Are they protected or unprotected cells (shutoff via light or battery)?

Thanks.

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4.2v 4.08 3.99 3.90 3.82 3.77 3.74 3.70 3.63 3.50 2.99v --> Is this voltage of the battery?

1.42a 1.40 1.42 1.46 1.48 1.52 1.54 1.54 1.56 1.63v light shutoff at 2.99v --> Is this current draw of the LED or battery?

14

I used unprotected cells. the stl v2 shut off and then i took the battery voltage. the x8 would probably keep going but i decided to stop. Big dip in voltAge at that point. the x8 will dim when it hits the cliff and won't change modes anymore. seen it once.

I took those voltages and currents as soon as i turned off the light and unscrewed the tailcap. maybe i should have let them rest? i figured that by doing the way i did it i would get the most accurate cell voltage without letting it creep back up to resting voltage and give closer results.

Amazing how bright they were throughout these tests. again im still pretty impressed by these two lights.

15

Sorry yes voltage on top and current at the bottom. thanks!

16

Wow, You did check every step!

Thanks a lot for your effort and information.Surprised

17

How does this light compare to the sky ray 3800. I was going to buy that light but I saw some beam comparisons with tk70 and an olight and throw was very poor. Although i'm not that throw minded i was wondering how the spill of this stl-v2 is. And i suppose it has a memory?

greetings!

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The light does have memory. i don't own a 3xxml and i can't tell you how they compare to this light. either one you choose im sure you'll be happy with. why not get both.

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Have you thought of getting the Yezl T9 Flood to throw. this seems like what youre looking for.