Brightest 18650 ramping light?

I want the brightest ramping single 18650 light, prefer 4500K CCT or as close as I can get, hotspot/spill. I don’t know what’s out there. Not interested in the FW3A as it loses 2/3 of its output in the first 30 seconds.

Thanks

you will have to get something big then, fw3a is perfect except for what you said
to dissipate the heat it needs to be bigger and or have fins

maybe one of the convoys with biscotti, i think that ramps

you will also have to decide on a beam pattern, floody or spotty
oh
you said hot w spill, ok

wle

Brightest single 18650? Emisar D4v2, or Fireflies E07 is brighter but it’s 21700 :wink:
But, you said brightest possible, then complained about the light stepping down. That simply won’t do. Every light in the “single 18650” form factor is going to have a much lower sustainable output than the max output of FW3A. Your best bet is to look for something with good heat handling that uses XHP70.2 on a single 18650 - the XHP70.2 because it will probably be among the most efficient options to produce high lumens. Zebralight SC700d but it’s 21700 is the first that comes to mind. Here is a custom search at Parametrek with the criteria for single 18650 and XHP70(.2). The list is not exhaustive, but a possible starting point.

blf q8 ?

true, after all he didn;t say ‘small’.

No but he does say single 18650

The BLF A6 can have 4 or 7 modes and can sustain a good output for little money outlay. Not ramping but you get bored of that after a while anyway.

It comes in a warm, neutral or cool white LED as well.

Have to deal with science first

right - i would concur, the blf a6 has 7 levels,which are nicely spaced,

in fact it is faster to cycle through them all, with half-presses, than it is to do ramping in any light i have ever used, including FW3A

it;s my 2nd favorite UI
and i have used at least 3 other ramping UIs besides anduril

or i would also say that convoy i saw on sale recently with biscotti UI

wle

SP32Av2, GTmini, unno.

Not interested in having a weenie-roast if one accidentally turns on in my pocket, so…

Small and sustainable are kinda mutually exclusive.

Fireflies E07 can also run off 18650. Adapter included. 6900 lumens

Small single 18650 form factor and sustainable high output just does not compute. The best sustainable output you can expect from such tube like lights is around 600-800 lumens - nothing to brag about.

However if you can live with a 15-30 seconds real bright turbo, then Emisar D4V2 is probably one of the best these days - and it may even help if you need to start a fire somewhere lost in the deep forest, although it still has to be demonstrated.

Thanks for the replies. As usual I didn’t explain clearly. What I meant by excluding the FW3A was that the claimed output doesn’t last long enough to be useful. It drops to half or less in microseconds, before your eyes can even adapt (seemingly). I’d be happy with something like 30 - 90 seconds of turbo which could be regained after a cool down, at the expense of short battery life.

IOW I don’t think the claimed lumens of the FW3A is an appropriate number and I can’t find any info on what the output would be that it could sustain for, lets say, a minute or 2. It might still be the best option if I knew how it performed in greater detail. Especially compared to the D4V2. The flashlight itself is beautiful so I’m disappointed a little.

I haven’t bought a light in many years so I haven’t kept up with what’s out there now. I appreciate the help.

As far as ramping goes, well, to each their own. :slight_smile:

I’ll check out all the suggestions except the Q8 :slight_smile:

Thanks!

You have to think about pocket rockets as 500 lumen lights with benefits.

I kind of understand what you’re saying. The FW3A should have an ANSI lumens rating, the standard for which calls for measurement after 30 seconds of being on.
There are some lights out there more like what you describe. Nitecore has a few lights with XHP35 HD that do ~1800-2000 lumens for a ninety-second turbo run. It is timed. You can immediately resume it by going back into turbo, but eventually you’ll start overheating things if you do that constantly.

But I guess that really goes back to my earlier comment that recommended the XHP70.2: the XHP series in general will get you more lumens with less heat. 70 would be the most efficient there, but you can look at XHP35 and XHP50 lights as well.

The Sofirn SP32AV2 holds turbo forever. Mine does anyway. Mine steps down when in step mode but not in ramping mode. ??? Doesn’t make sense to me either. Anyone else’s do this? Does’t overheat either. Both turbos look the same to me.

Im not well versed on whats available nowdays so im sure there is something higher - but iv got a Maxtoch rainbow 1+ on the way that is 5000+lm on a single 1850 and has ramping. (4 x XP-L2 HD leds)

I’m a big fan of the Astrolux S43 and S43S

Also the Astrolux S41/S41S (Stainless)

Pity you don’t like the 26650 size rather than the skinny 18650’s.
I have both, Use both.
But for range. heat per output. size of beam and comfort.

Much more comfy in hand. grips better.
More weight when you snot somebody.
Plus it instantly opens up a much wider range of beams.
Strength, and time duration.
IE. Imalent DN35/70. Just as starters

I’d try (read up on) a couple. they really are a better range with more comfortable grip.

I’m not at all opposed to the 2xxx0 battery. That’s just a different thread. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the ongoing replies. It will take me a few days but I will look into all of these.

Also, some of the ramping OS can set a limit to the ramp. Is the FW3A like that? Does anyone have experience limiting it to something like 1200 Lm and seeing how long it can last there?

And there’s another light that’s an FW3A with a little longer nose that I came across but now can’t find and can’t remember the differences.