Hey folks,
I’m thinking about assembling a Convoy S2 with a new-ish emitter. I was looking at dropping an XP-L HI in there to try to squeeze some extra throw out of it, but I’m wondering if it’ll make any difference in such a shallow reflector. Should I just not worry about it and put a standard XP-L or an XM-L2 in there, or does anyone have any other options that might increase throw a bit? I’m not looking for anything astonishing.
Thanks
sst20 is also good throw with smooth reflector.
The S2’s reflector is actually quite deep, around 50% deeper than the S2+’s. With an XP-L HI or SST20, you can get a pretty doggone focused beam.
Now, if you mean the S2+, I doubt there’ll be a difference. Mine has a 219C and the beam’s throw factor can be considered “balanced” at best. If you want to make a small thrower, I recommend the M1 (M2 works fine, but I cannot recommend a torch with zero waterproofing at the bezel).
Several Convoy S2+ and Convoy S2 beamshots
(camera settings are set manually to the same setting: 1/10th second shutter speed, ISO 800, daylight white balance, aperture f/2.8)
distance of flashlight to "wall" at around 18 meters or 60 feet)
Convoy S2+ with XM-L2 (cool-white 7135x8)
Convoy S2+ (XPL-Hi 4C, 7135x8)
Convoy S2 (XPL-Hi 4C, 7135x8)
Convoy S2+ SST40 CW
Convoy S2+ SST40 (with 45-degree TIR optic)
Convoy S2+ (SST20 cool-white, 7135x8)
Convoy S2 (XPL-Hi 3A, 7135x8)
Left: Convoy S2+ (SST20, 7135x8) vs Right: Convoy S2 (not S2+) (XPL-Hi 3A, 7135x8)
Thanks. The beamshots are very helpful. I should have been more specific. I meant the S2+ instead of the standard S2.
What type of reflector do you have? Orange peel or Smooth?
Smooth one will improve the throw,
Orange will improve flood.
On one extreme The SST20 with a Smooth Reflector has some serious throw,
might be too much for a lot of folks.
XM-L2 is very floody with Orange Peel reflector on the other exreme,
XP-L HI might be a good compromise depending on reflector
Then there is TIR optics, but I am not very well versed in that , sorry.
BTW awesome shots, d_t_a 
My SST20 outthrows my XP-L HI by about 20% even though it’s less bright. SST20 is a really good thrower since the die is small.
The ‘standard’ S2 is a remarkably good light, especially with a smooth reflector. Personally, I’ve never seen the advantage of the slightly shorter S2+ considering the throw you trade away for a few mm of reduced length.
Orange peel reflector smooths beam transitions and eliminates tint shift, there is zero noticeable difference in throw vs smooth.
S2 will have a more narrow and therefore brighter spill, but NOT more throw. I think wider spill is generally more useful on most lights.
All testing and the mechanics at work are totally conclusive on both these decisions.
As Playd0h said, the tradeoff is not throw, but rather spill angle. The S2’s beam is overall tighter, which is great for looking down holes and crevasses or close-up work, but I’ve noticed it tends to give me tunnel vision in open areas, unlike the S2+.
Besides that and the 2mm or so of length (and the different knurling distribution), the only difference I can think of is that the S2+’s tailcap has thumb cutouts. Some people REALLY value that.
dome sliced sst-20 should work great
While assessing hotspot intensity by looking at pictures may not be very accurate, in my opinion the hotspot of the S2 seems more intense than the hotspot of the S2+. Presuming properly shaped reflectors, to me it is logical to believe that a deeper reflector results in increased throw, mainly because the deeper reflector captures and focuses a higher amount of emitter output. It would be helpful to obtain the intensity numbers, although the difference looks to be small. 