I was looking to acquire my first 18650 powered flashlight, but need some help please.
I wanted something quite floody, compact and as bright as possible... I have a couple in mind but they are at the top end of 'budget' and there may be better examples around for less. Don't get me wrong, if it's worth it, I will spend the money, but cheaper would be nice.
Shiningbeam S-mini (overpriced? under driven? nice and compact though)
Personally, I dig the 5-mode UF-2100s. The ones I have are from The Dino. Depending on how much they're selling for and how many DinoPoints you have, they can be a good deal.
i was not knocked out by my XP-G s-mini initially. it does not fill the night with light like, say, the 980L.
and, yet.....
slowly, wearing it at work, unobtrusively it became my most USED light. nothing else comes close. have dropped it, several times, and it continues without pause. periodically i will think, "when did i change this battery last?", it seems to run, and run. got an xm-l version, but still prefer the XP-G.
It's mostly a hunch, but there is some evidence. Over at The Dino, they had the 3-mode listed as Hi>Med>Lo, then a BLFer received their 3-mode flashlight and it had strobe. DinoDirect changed the description to Hi>Low>Strobe for a while, but recently they changed it back to Hi>Med>Low. Also, at FocalPrice they used to list the 3-mode as Hi>Med>Low, and then they changed their description to include strobe. So now I don't trust the descriptions. I think until someone gets a 3-mode [UF-2100 from DinoDirect] or [UF-2160 from KaiDomain] that is actually Hi>Med>Low, the 5-mode is a safer bet. Now who wants to be the guinea pig?
I already have the UF-2100 3-mode (strobe and it was listed as such at the time) from dino... I think I will feed it a 6x7135 driver that I have laying around here to get rid of the strobe... a SF clip is a must on this light imho, but I wish the tail threads were longer and of better quality.
Ultrafire UF-T50 is everything you're looking for, for around $40 shipped. Infinitely variable brightness with memory, XM-L, VERY small form factor for an 18650, roughly 500-600 lumens on max, maybe 10 on min, built like the proverbial brick outdoor convenience building. Check the review by Chicago X to see how amazed people are when they get one. It's not a Zebralight, but it's not $100 dollars either. I got one a couple weeks ago and things will have to change a lot before I consider another new light for EDC.
Seriously, 500-600 lumens fitting easily in almost any pocket AND driven gently enough you can run it on high 'til the battery is tired (around 2 hours) AND very long runtime (more than a day) on low with plenty of light for most needs with the ability to select just the amount of light you need. You'd have to be a lot pickier than I am to not love it. Google prices have a broad range, but I got mine in around 2 weeks in the western USA from the cheapest supplier. Much better than the average from China.
I'm in agreement with scdaf completely here. The Ultrafire UF-T50 is quickly becoming my favorite light and the one I grab most often. I''m searching to find something that it doesn't do well. No it isn't a thrower but it will throw far enough to suit most needs out to about 100 yards or so. If I need more throw I have other lights that have that covered. The T50 is the brightest light that I have that will carry easily in any pocket.
The T50 has completely replaced my S-mini as my choice of easy to carry 18650 lights. Same length and only a little larger in diameter. Only thing it lacks is a pocket clip but it's small enough that I can easily slip it in a shirt or pants pocket. My wife who doesn't generally get excited at all with my lights used the T50 last week to go out and feed the chickens last week. When she got back in the house she commented how bright and small the light was and asked me to order two more just for her. Now that's saying something.
I don't own a Pocket Rocket but I do own a Shiningbeam Blaze which is probably close to the Pocket Rocket in performance. The little T50 is just as bright and throws just as far as the Blaze. Puts out a wall of brightness. I will be buying a Zebralight SC600 just for fun and to compare to the T50 but I really doubt it will out preform the T50 by much if at all plus with the T50 you don't have to deal with the step down feature that the SC600 has from turbo mode after a few minutes.
Couldn't agree more. I have both and they are really different lights. I love the form of the S-mini, but it's more of an EDC all arounder. I have the XM-L and the tint is quite green, but that's fine for outdoor use. I don't have the XP-G version, but it's on my list. It is about the same size (slightly shorter) as the Yezl Z-1, but better quality and about the same brightness with a much nicer even beam. Both have H-M-L modes, no disco.
P-Rocket is what I would consider Natural White and is quite a bit brighter than the S-mini. It has the OP reflector but is still a pretty good thrower and is bigger than the S-mini, just about identically sized to a Solarforce L2. P-Rocket is also H-M-L. I find it to be a great light for biking.
Both Shiningbeam lights are great quality, just depends on your needs.
One more light to consider, that falls about 1/2 way between the P-Rocket and the S-mini in terms of size:
The ST50 is a great quality light, good price ($37), Cool white, so it appears slightly brighter than the P-Rocket. It has SMO reflector, decent throw. Downside is it's a 5 mode with disco, but it has turbo mode that throws out 720 honest lumens and that disables the strobe and SOS. It is also a forward clicky.
Here's a picture comparing all the lights referred to above. (L-R):
SF L2P, P-Rocket, N-Light ST50, SB S-mini, Yezl Z1
Please keep us posted about your comparison ... I am highly interested in your impressions. Aren't you worried for the lifetime of the T50 on high? Especially since the T50 doesn't do the step-down? I mean ZL had probably good reasons for that measure... what's your take on that?
I'm not Chidwack, but I believe the Ultrafire is driven less hard on high than the SC600 on turbo. I've seen a couple reviews where the T50 has been left on high for runtime testing and has suffered no ill effects. Seems a useful bit of userproofing by Ultrafire. I don't know, since I can't afford the Zebra, but I doubt the extra 150 lumens or so on turbo would make a real world difference to me, because I have other lights if I really need to reach out and touch somebody. Suffice it to say that the T50 on high is brighter than 95% of my needs, therefor the ramping feature makes it nearly perfect. For most of my uses, 20- 100 lumens are plenty, but the ability to ramp up to 500 or so very quickly with a light small enough for even shorts pocket carry is something I couldn't have imagined 2 years ago.
I'm going have to take another look at all the links tomorrow... but quick question first. A drop in, is it as easy as it sounds. I have no modding experience at all, nor do I have the tools/skills to start.