Hi, I’m new to the forum and new to high-end flashlights as well. I would appreciate your input!
I’ve been searching around for quite a while and I would like to add a EDC flashlight that I can pocket carry.
I would love if the bezel isn’t super wide and the body isn’t super long (~30x130mm).
Tail Switch prefered.
I would prefer the highest sustained output (not 3000lm for 5 minutes then down to 300 lm).
I would love if it has more throw than flood (I have a zebralight floody headlamp that I use a ton already).
Under or around $100 would be best.
Onboard charging is neat, but by far not required.
I can wait several weeks on delivery if it’s coming from China.
The Sofirn SC31 Pro fits the dimensions you gave (and is actually a bit smaller: 25x114mm, just measured mine) but doesn’t have a tail switch (which I don’t really mind). I don’t EDC it but it’s certainly doable. It’s very cheap but high quality and has a NW 5000k (6500k is also available) max 2000lm SST40 emitter (a bit on the green side maybe on lower levels) with build-in USB A -> USB C charging. IMO it turbo’s pretty long, inside it can stepdown a but when I used it outside in about 15 °C ambient temperature I didn’t notice any stepdown. And I wouldn’t use the max brightness anyway to have a longer runtime… I find it a nice flood/throw combination, perfect walking light.
But maybe best of all: it has Anduril firmware! I really like the powerful functions it has like the ability to check the voltage, check/set light temperature, set lower/upper ramp values, … Maybe worth taking a look at this little beast!
Well, I was going to suggest a light I recently got and that I like, the Olight Warrior Mini.
But thenI looked to your specs, and saw that you are talking about 13cm max.
Ín that range you can check some Convoy flashlights namely the S21A or S21B, which are 21700 battery flashlights, giving you more “juice”.
You can search for some reviews on these lights and you will see that they will handle lumens for a while.
Not 3000lm perhaps - as that would require bigger heads to dissipate heat - but a good amount of them for a while.
I know others will chime in and give better suggestions
Your requirements aren’t really possible. The highest thermally sustainable output possible in a 1x18650 EDC light (30x130 size range and under) isn’t much above 1,000 lumens, and most will be well under that, depending on LED, driver efficiency, and heatsinking.
The Thrunite TT20 is the most efficient EDC-size flashlight with a tail switch I am currently aware of, it can maintain about 1300 lumens for 80 minutes before stepping down. The SST-70 LED it uses is more floody, but it still hits 325m throw due to output and smooth reflector. It’s also 1x21700 instead of 18650 but it does come with the battery and is still within your size class.
Other than that, the Noctigon KR1 is much more throwy than the TT20. but the highest sustained output is probably closer to 500 lumens. Same for Manker MC13. Those two are more pure dedicated throwers, but both have head sizes well above 30mm, which is necessary to really throw.
One other option which again doesn’t meet all your parameters, but I would still recommend, is the FW1A in XP-L HI. This light is so small and light you forget you’re carrying it, but it has throw unparalleled for its dimensions. Again, highest thermally sustainable output will be under 500 lumens. Throw will be similar to the TT20 but much more focused beam.
I greatly appreciate all of your help. I do understand the design and engineering trade-offs, so yes, it’s simply trying to get as close to good as possible. Perhaps I will do as many do, and buy several!
I was looking at the Noctigon KR1 yesterday and it’s very interesting in the options that could be selected. I wasn’t aware that selecting certain LEDs affected the throw.
I’m tempted also to go up to the 1x21700 as it’s a marginal increase in size. My size requirements were just an aspiration so I didn’t get recommendations that were clearly not pocketable.
I’m trying to determine what is the best way of understanding flood vs throw when I look up specs of these lights online. Seems like there is a universal metric that is reported by all companies…
For throw, you’ll need a bigger reflector and/or smaller and more intense LED. Small-diameter reflectors don’t collect enough light to throw enough of it downrange. You can get a deeper reflector like in the S2 (vs S2+; both tail-clickies), and maybe stick in a white/black flat or whatever.
The SC31pro has a nice thermal step-down, not timed. So it’ll gradually and slowly (ie, pretty much imperceptibly) step down only when needed, and just enough so the light won’t cook itself. Makes more sense than a timed-stepdown when it’s sub-freezing or scorching hot outside.
I wouldn’t get too hung up on lumens, esp for a thrower. Think of lumens a bit like torque in a car. A 2.0 litre Turbo diesel can make way more torque than a naturally aspirated Ferrari V8 can. It’s what you do with the torque that counts. So think of HP a bit like lux or throw. More torque will give more lux, but if you tailor what you have right, you can get awesome throw with quite low lumens.
This is usually down to the LED design. Smaller LEDs generally make less lumens, there is less surface area, so less “amount” of light. But a smaller LED can be focused tighter in any given reflector, meaning nearly always a small LED will out throw a large one in the same reflector. Also, often smaller LEDs have a higher surface brightness over larger LEDs, this then enhances the throw even more.
Ultimately wanting high lumens and good throw is pretty though. Especially in a small package with manageable heat. I’m less versed on the modern SST emitters, but something like a CREE XP-L HI is a good blend of high output and good throw.
In the KR1 the SST-40 will offer double the lumens of the XP-L HI, but with only 2/3rds the lux. so here you have to make the choice on which you value more.
The Osram emitters I’m completely unfamiliar with, which is partly why I’ve bought one of these. Plus they look friggin awesome for their size. The W2 claims the same lumens as the XP-L HI, but with over double the lux! How much heat either product I don’t know. Although controlling heat is what the lower modes are for really. As the only way to get rid of heat is via mass and surface area, which would mean a bigger torch overall.
The KR1 seems to be one of the more compact throwers with this level of performance. At the very least, I don’t know of any/many others.
no i get the lumen =/= cd part, but i thought given the same design, reflectors etc. then more lumen = more throw, because u have more light to be focused into that beam
What you’re missing there is that size of the LED (and whether it has a dome, which basically acts as a magnifying glass and increases the… I think it’s called optical size? of it) is another factor. The throwier ones like Osram “white flats”, XP-L HI and SST-20 are either very small and/or don’t have a polymer dome. Higher output ones like the SST-40, XHP50.2, etc. are often physically much larger and have domeless versions less often.
The ratio of optical size of the LED to the size of the reflector or optics is basically what determines throw.
