That wouldn’t be possible, especially for a 60$US starting price.
Because:
1. You’d need a 100W+ boost driver with NarsilM to power XHP70.2s, and components, along with R&D, would cost a lot more than the simple 7135+FET driver of the current Q8.
2. You’d lose a LOT of throw by going the XHP70.2 route, and the tint, and tint shifting, would be very bad. Color rendition? Let’s not talk about it.
3. The power dissipation would be limited at 100W+ compared to the 50W+ currently used.
4. The light would actually be longer with 21700s compared to 18650s.
5. The cost of 21700s are still higher per Wh compared to 18650s, and aren’t as easy to find. Still better than 26650s though.
Overall, it really wouldn’t be a Q8 anymore. More like a Haikelite MT09R with USB charging.
And the Q8 isn’t 2 years old at all. It’s about 1,5 year old.
I think that the advantage of the Q8 over all other multi-thousand lumen lights is that it uses hard driven small size leds (XP-L or XP-L Hi) in relatively large reflectors. Therefore it has some serious throw (65kcd) compared to the other sodacan lights out there (Olight X7, Fireflies ROT66, Astrolux MS18 etc., all with less throw). The 5000 lumen combined with the throw makes it stand out.
All the plans that I hear here (more/bigger leds, smaller reflectors) are giving the Q8 more lumens but considerably less throw, and the Q8 will be more like all the others. The only advantage leftover would be that it is cheap which is not what I wish to be the Sofirn’s only quality, we already have Astrolux in that segment.
If the Q8 should continue in what it does best, it should keep using 4 hard driven small leds in those relatively spacious reflectors, I think that the Sofirn Q8 with the XP-L Hi leds was a good successor to the BLF Q8 for that reason, and the SP36 is a nice spin-off too with still some good throw. Maybe a Osram Oslon Boost HX version (6500 lumen, 120kcd throw) is a worthy next one. The reflector of the Q8 can also be optimised a bit more (slightly wider and deeper, bit more overlap and extending to the very edge) to become more throwy.
But honestly, we (BLF+Thorfire) did a pretty good job on the Q8 as is already
Why not SST20? In same reflector SST20 gives 20% more throw than XPL HI.
SP36 with 3 x 18650 is good format. It is more pocket friendly than Q8. Just need some more throw.
Because a 4xSST-20 Q8 (cool white high output bin) gets you 4500 lumen max, while the HX Boost gets you 6500 lumen with even more throw. Admittedly the SST-20 does come in every tint and CRI thinkable and that is of course a good reason to go for it. And it is already there while the Boost HX is still in the pipeline (at least for us poor budget hobbyists).
Combination of XHP35 with relatively deep reflector in center and 7-9 STT20 with TIR optic around it is also good idea. But will need big head. Minimum 7cm.
I agree, Q8 was a great time at the time of release and it still does.
There’s a space for many soda can lights and we could do a few more. These wouldn’t be the next-Q8 but rather something to cover a somewhat different niche.
Another flashlight with s huge head does not appeal to me….or maybe others too.
The Q8 may be “throwy” to some but to me, it’s the perfect balance between throw and flood. As an outdoor security light, it’s perfect. Let’s face it, most of us aren’t patrolling 2000 acre ranches, more like suburban homes with the need to flood the area and see out to 300 feet.
Also, 5000 lumens to 6500 lumens is a waste of time. The human eye can barely make that comparison. Double is absolute MINIMUM.
The size of the Q8 is just about perfect. Small enough to be in a handy place and carry, big enough to put out huge lumens.
I’m not grabbing the BLF GT brother to investigate a noise or carry as an emergency light in the car.
So the challenge would be 3 times as much with very little size difference.
3x XHP50.2 3V with all bypasses, you can do the mod yourself with the Led4Power Q8 board, you get 12,000+ lumen, floody, ugly rainbow beam and an incredibly fast heating flashlight.
Not without completely sacrificing beam intensity by using larger/more emitters, and also demolishing your runtimes due to heat and battery drain. So you might have double the output but no more throw and you cut the time you can run at that level down significantly.
Just look at something like the MT03 or MT09, those are as big or bigger than the Q8 and have turbo times similar to the D4 due to the heat. Absolutely “burst” modes.
I think 3x18650 format (or option to swap on a single 26650 tube?), Anduril instead of Narsil, USB charging and other emitter options are the only real changes that could improve on the Q8 right now and the SP36 already has at least two of those covered. I’ve heard modding it is harder though, Sofirn could certainly work on that.
I’ve used the Q8 twice for emergencies on about 3 months. Full blast for 3-4 minutes.
By definition, emergencies like investigating a break in are short affairs that need maximum light. Emergencies like power outages are covered by powering down.
18650s can’t match 21700. I have to check it out, but I’m pretty sure 3 21700 are smaller diameter then 4 18650s.
As you said, there is the SP36, the next light on my buy list. But then, I want the bigger, next gen brother.