Hi all,
First post on the forum so please forgive any annoying noob mistakes. First off I’m on the hunt for a new flashlight. I have been reading forums for days and think I have narrowed it down to these three lights. To be clear I am looking for opinions based on performance of the lights as they can be shipped, not modded. Possibly I might look into modding down the road but I want to be as satisfied as possibly with it as it is.
My requirements and pretty much why i have narrowed it down to these three is:
- 1 battery, 18650 or 26650 (already have 18650 so it would be great if i could just use these)
- top notch throw with some useable spill
- good value for the money (they’re all within a few dollars of each other) so decent quality materials and build quality and finish
- all around good light to use (throw is great, but its not everything?)
This is what I understand about my options so far:
HD2010
-at the moment I can only find fandyfire at fasttech or tangsfire at Tmart. Tmart have a few, but the cheapest one for $25 while fasttech is $35
-been around for a few years and has a huge support and mod community
-poor quality control and big variations in performance amongst the same lights being sold even from the same vendor
-all come from the same factory so little point in buying the more expensive versions
-no guarantees what LED you will actually receive
- fantastic wide and bright throw and spill when you receive a good one
-decent thermal management
-nice wide reflector, but still compact
-accepts either 18650 or 26550
Summary:
- excellent throw and spill, 18650, good size hand feel
- bad quality control, old drivers, no led customisation without modding. not sure what led you will receive
Convoy X3/Xintd X3
-a newer model than the 2010
- the consensus appears to be the iOS and simon from convoy are prob the the best to buy from. Simon sells it for $36 while iOS sells it for $50. Both allow for customisation, though simon has more warm led options which i like. iOS version has AR coating, the holster and better quality AA adapter. Simon uses a LD25 driver while iOS uses a qlight(7135?). Don’t think i can justify the price of the iOS as for a bit more money i can get a Maxtoch M12
-Fasttech sell the Xintd X3 for $35 and you can also choose which LED as well as LD25 driver or 7135 driver.
-Consensus is that the this a fantastic quality light and doesn’t have the quality control issues of the HD2010. In terms of construction and finish and build quality and thermal management.
-I can pick exactly what color temp led i want (though that may affect throw a lot)
-not as big a thrower as the 2010, and has less spill
Summary
+Fantastic quality control, great finish and build quality, 18650, great led choice customisation, excellent thermal management, very bright, decent throw, possibly bit more travel friendly with it being the smallest head size.
-less throw than 2010, not as much spill, wider to grip, just as heavy, awkward battery configs can cause rattles
Yezl Y3
-also a new model
-found on gearbest for about $33 (used code from another post), appears to be the best price.
-not as widely sold as the other two
-quality control seems to be better than 2010 but not as good as X3
-thermal management on par with 2010 but not as good as X3
-best thrower in the bunch, brightest hotspot, tight beam, not as much spill as 2010
-only uses 26650 batteries?
-biggest in the bunch, but only a bit a longer than the 2010 with a slightly wider grip
-biggest reflector
-not sure about the tints of the LED but no customisation
Summary
+Fantastic throw, bright, decent quality and thermal management
- no LED temp choice, biggest and heaviest, only uses 26650?
Obviously I don’t own any of these lights so I might be completely wrong on all accounts. This is just what I have gathered from the many many posts I’ve read.
My problem is that every time i think i have decided on a light, I read something about it or the others and Im back at square one. I like the quality and finish of the X3 and the warmer led options particularly the xml2 5b. But I want something with really good throw and think i might be disappointed. Then I think about the other two lights and think i won’t be happy with the 2010 if its a bad one, and concerned about the color temp of both of them. I have an armytek wizard warm and I love the color temp. Its 4000k so which is a 5b i think. The Y3 appears to be the best of both worlds but I’m concerned about the color of the led, the size and heaviness. Also its the same price as the X3, plus I will need to buy 26650’s for it which makes it more expensive with not as good build or finish.
I have read posts from Tom, who is a well known contributor on here, and hoped he may weigh in on this post. In one post he said that he owned all three of these lights and that his favourite was the Y3. I wonder though if he were advising someone that would not be modding their lights at all, if he would still recommend the Y3 over the other two.
So sorry for the long post. I’m just after opinions from people with experience with 2 or more of these lights particularly unmodded. Is the X3 the worst thrower by a lot? Are 2010s these days better? Is the Y3 a cold light? What is the light on the Y3 like, pleasant, cold, green? Did I leave out a much better light? Am I missing the point and I should just buy all of them? Wish I could, but at the moment I’m just after the one to get me through a few years. By the way its mainly used for camping which i do regularly. Hope you enjoyed the read and look forward to the advice. Cheers
As far as i understand XPG are better for throw while XML are better for flood, so makes perfect sense for flashlights to use XPG, and perfect sense for me to pick a C8 XPG2. Unfortunately, I’m not totally that logical. What about an X3 XPG2, do they exist? is there still good spill from XPGs? Think even an Y3 XPG2 could be really enticing. I guess i obviously want something a bit chunkier for now :), also if i can choose would prefer a 3a or 4c or 5b.