brightest/best throwing 14500 zoomie question

LED Flashlights – General Info 1 x AA / 1 x 14500 Flashlights
1

hello everyone. all right, i know this answer probably exists via multiple searches somewhere, but there are probably different answers, and, i'm being lazy.

what is the brightest, and/or best throwing flood-to-throw light that can run 14500 cells?

the brightest i have is an older C78 from dx, and i don't think they are as good as they used to be. shocking, huh? i have read a lot about the romisen rc-29 lately, and i know it is a great light. i bought one from shiningbeam a couple years ago for my girlfriend and she loves it. it is a one mode, AA ONLY, because she doesn't want it to be "too bright" (i know, i don't understand either, but they are a different species). i recently bought three from dinosaur direct, two to give as gifts, but even though i ordered the three mode with 14500 support, they sent me all one mode, AA only. after much discussion (uh, i mean frustration) they agreed to send me one of the correct ones free. sounded good to me, and i bet this will surprise no one, but i just got it and guess what? yes, that is correct, ANOTHER one mode AA only. so i have no idea how the three mode 14500 compares, and i'm pretty sure i'm not going to find out anytime soon. i've also read A LOT about the sipik, but it is a little difficult to sort out all the info about all the ever so slightly different models from all the different sources and even from the same source there are differences and you might order two and they might not be the same and the price might change tomorrow and they may have different pills or lenses and........ugh. (by the way, just fyi, of the four total i got from dinosaur, three had springs on the driver, one did not, one was cool white and the dimmest, two were neutral and good for an alkaline AA light, and one was cool and noticeably brighter in both throw and flood mode. see why this is not such an easy question?)

so, basically, i am looking for a single 14500, three mode zoomie. which one? the three mode sipik? the romisen if they ever send me the right one (if they actually even HAVE the right one)? maybe there is something else that stands out. thanks for any insight into this.

2

I can’t answer all of the questions because I don’t have the 3 mode Sipik. I did have the 1 mode Sipik and for its size it was very bright. It seems to be driven harder than the others in that size class.
I estimated that the emitter was getting about 1.5A so it was overdriven. Maybe it’s just direct drive. If so I don’t know if the same would apply with the 14500 in the 3 mode version.
Maybe 14500 wouldn’t be any brighter so that’s a gamble. I’d talk with someone on here who has both the 1 and 3 mode versions to make sure they are both overdriving the emitter.
I got mine at T-mart as I recall. If they don’t carry them then it was Manafont. It wasn’t eBay or DX.
Since everyone one here has one version or the other I’m sure you will get more responses. I think Sipik is your best bet however.

3

the sipik and its clones are very well loved. the romisen rc-29 is also though, and i am curious about it. you probably got it right, i'd guess most of them are direct driven, but that's to be expected in $15 and under lights. i guess.

4

Hi cabfrank, thanks for having tested the DD offering and I am really sorry that they shipped the 1-mode version only, which also means that you cannot use 14500's (afaik). i have added your experience to the PRICING section of the RC-29 review.

With DD, very often the webpage description (and photographs) do *not* coincide with what is actually shipped/delivered ("DD is lottery"). When this happens i usually contact DD thru the chat channel and accept a partial refund in form of a giftcard to be redeemed with your next DD purchase.

When it comes down to the RC-29 (which is per se an old torch model and already several years on the market i guess), i only see good sense in buying it if one gets the 3-mode version *and* if one operates the 3-mode version with 14500's. Then it makes sense to compare its light output performance with newer torch models such as the Xeno E03 or Balder SE-1 which are more expensive.

So you're looking for the brightest/best throwing 14500 zoomie?

There isnt much to choose from. There is the Sipik SK68 (the original revision comes nowadays with a 3-mode driver too!!!!!!) and there is the Romisen RC-29. If can find contenders in the sub 14.99$ price class, forget them. The Sipik and the Romisen are the two very best in the sub 14.99$ class.

And when you leave the budget class and search for zoomie lights in the 19.99$-29.99$ price class, then forget it too. At this higher price level you better buy something ELSE, e.g. a Xeno E03, Klarus P1A or Shiningbeam I-mini .. i.e. premium-like quality lights with fixed reflectors. Well that's how Sue C's it ;)

5

for the info and advice. i suppose i will get a sipik, eveyone else has one and likes it. i just have to decide where the best 3 modes come from.

6

My girlfriends c78 has a much smaller hotspot than my ebay sipik. The sipik is brighter but I can't help but think it would throw a lot better with a smaller hotspot. I miss the old c78s. I lost mine and bought a 2nd batch of 5 only to find they lacked in quality.

7

my old one is really beat up, the switch died so it has a nite-ize switch (which gives it modes) and i still love it. it runs on AA and 14500 cells too. i think i might give this one a try:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mini-cree-q3-220-lumen-3-mode-white-led-flashlight-1x14500-1xaa-102627

8

I got the ultra fire version, heard it was built better and find usually ultra fire are the nicer built budget lights ,I got mine off eBay 1.99 plus 5 shipping ,someone posted it so I bought one :slight_smile: lol

9

It would seem that way but that’s not the case. The size of the hotspot is determined by the focal length of the aspheric but the focal length doesn’t determine throw.
You have a shorter focal length and therefore get a larger hotspot. If it had a longer focal length you would get a smaller hotspot.
Logically it might seem that the smaller hotspot in that case would throw further. It doesn’t however. It throws the same.
You, I guess the point is…just enjoy your light with the larger hotspot. You are missing out on any throw :slight_smile:
Especially in the case of the Sipiks since they seem to be overdriven.

10

Where would all the extra light go if the sipik had the same focal point as the c78?

Also I've heard of the sipik coming with 2 different sized lenses. Which one would throw more? If anyone happens to know.

11

The answer to the first question is it would be absorbed by the interior of the head before it got to the longer focal length lens.
The answer to the second question is that the larger diameter lens would throw further but only if everything else remains the same (emitter and driver).
I had a Sipik SK68 and the SK78 as well. The lens on the SK78 was just barely larger but in my opinion the light itself was a piece of crap (and burned out shortly). The SK68 was very bright and overdriven.

12

It's not a zoomie but the WK26 (14500 only) throws excellently for such a lipstick sized light. :) The Wk25B althrough 1,5V max is no slouch either but has fixed modes (not customizable). I prefer it much more than the sipik for throw. Spill is rather weak, so no joy there if you need flood too. You might get away with a diffuser but probably is not that pratical.

13

I've never owned a Sipik, but I've owned three other small zoomers:

  1. Shiningbeam Romisen RC-29 II, 1-mode (XR-E Q3, 5C tint), AA only
  2. Shiningbeam Romisen RC-29 II, 1-mode (XR-E Q3, 5C tint), modded to 2-modes, 14500 only
  3. LED Lenser P5R (=880014, =8405-R), 3-mode (XR-E R2, 1A or 1B tint), 14500 only.

For total output, The LED Lenser ranks first, then the 1x14500 Romisen and finally the 1xAA Romisen. I would estimate the Lenser's output as 260 or 270 lumens, based on ceiling bounce comparisons with my two 1x14500 reflectored lights: an XTAR WK26 (250 lumens confirmed) and a Peak LED El Capitan (270 lumens confirmed). Since LED Lenser claims "only" 220 lumens, I suspect that the P5R's XR-E emitter is actually from an R3 or R4 bin.

The LED Lenser is outthrown by the 2-mode Romisen, by perhaps 20 percent. But the Lenser's throw beam is far more useful; it's surrounded by a BRIGHT corona.

If we accept the P5R's claimed range of 193 meters, here are my estimates of my lights' throw:

  1. 250M (corrected from 220M) Shiningbeam Romisen RC-29 II custom 2-mode (1x14500)
  2. 200M LED Lenser P5R (1x14500) (corrected from 193M)
  3. 105M XTAR WK26 (1x14500). 105M is XTAR's claim.
  4. 60M Nitecore EZAA OEM 2-mode (1xAA)
  5. 10M Peak LED El Capitan (17-degree flood, 1x14500)

The Led Lenser is unregulated; according to a German review, it starts at about 11,000 lumens and ends at about 5700 lumens. I can see that happening, but I like it a lot, and it has replaced the XTAR WK26 as my slim (26mm head) shirtpocket thrower.

14

great info and advice!

@Paul_in_Maryland, how did you mod the romisen? I wonder if it is similar to the stock dx 3-mode Romisen.

15

I didn't. A CPF member had already modified it and I bought it from him on CPF Marketplace in November 2011. Here is how it was described:

Lastly, a Romisen RC-29 II NW that I modded to a two level driver with 1 amp high that uses lithium ion batteries only (7135 based driver). This has the Q3 5A XRE LED. Just light no package. How about $15 shipped in bubble mailer. ETA- I will include the original driver with this that runs 1.5 V only. These are very easy to mod.

16

looks like you got a good deal on a very sweet light.