Ever see the CatMini? Think it’s a 26mm TIR lens but throws a pencil-beam that rivals my P30 and GTmini, only without the wasted spill. And it ain’t a bright (lumenwise) light at all, running from a 18350 (16340?).
A small hot high-strung emitter behind a big(ger) TIR lens could probably work some serious magic. I wouldn’t count it out without trying it, at least not if you’re starting from scratch.
Thanks for signing up, ramsfgdc!
From the reviews of various TIR and reflector lights I’ve seen, TIRs generally need slightly larger diameter to achieve the same throw as reflectors. If a 65mm reflector is needed to achieve a certain level of sustained throw, then a TIR that achieves the same throw must be at least as large, and thus be quite heavy.
It seems that nobody has yet brought up the possibility of using a Fresnel lens: it’s lighter and cheaper than a TIR. But it loses a lot of sideways emission from the LED, and would require a condenser lens to collect the output first before sending it through the main lens, and thus a complete re-design of the entire head cavity of the light.
If having spill is ok then it appears that a reflector is still the easiest option, it has higher transmission efficiency than both TIRs and Fresnel lenses, meaning that the same throw can be achieved with a slightly narrower head.
For this size a light and for your purpose, you may want to consider this special throwy TIR, that you can use to achieve a fatter beam that meets your throw requirements:
67mm x 39.8mm - narrow TIR LLC56N, (w XHP70.3HI 8.0 deg, 35cd/lm; w XHP50.3 HI 5.7deg 70cd/lm; w SFT40 4.0deg 150cd/lm)
NZ shooter here, but I don’t know much about torches, however, on my wish list would be the silent switch on the tail, if you have to have a clicker can you have a group with just 0.0% and 100%? Tail is easier to get to when lining up a shot.
Reflection off the suppressor is a pain, not a problem on my 16in .22, but is on my 22in 7mm. If a extended body / can / whatever you might call it would fixes this I’d say that would be a good addition.
I’d say update the Rat Tail too, it’s also loud, and doesn’t look very waterproof, although I might be wrong on that.
I had the old shooter 2x, about 5 years old maybe, it would reflect off the suppressor really badly, I ended up mounting it underneath the suppressor, which is not good for barrel harmonics, didn’t matter on a .22 though. This might be why they narrowed the beam.
It’s a pleasure to have you onboard, TommieAye!
You’re not the “NZ shooter”, are you?
Unfortunately, this thread fell silent because I was threatened by one of the NZ guys that designed the Maxtoch Shooter 2X. He accused me of trying to replicate and steal their Maxtoch designs if I went ahead with it.
“It is so easy to lose your business reputation in small NZ marketplace with its very active social media/user forums etc - and a long hard task getting it back.”
“Design your own lights… I do not want to see you quoting our models, specifications/designs in future - on BLF, on NZHS or anywhere.”
I had posted an image of the Shooter 2X as an example of the range and output, and the size. Not steal their design. I want nothing to doing with Maxtoch. I just want to design something that would compete with them. I also had posted the Maxtoch Shooter 2X image to answer a question in another thread, by a member who didn’t think a light that size could sustain 1200m without stepping down in brightness.
The guy had offered to help design new hunting models for NZ. I personally think he was upset that I refused his help and then posted here on BLF asking for ideas.
Seems like they are threatened by you, shooter 2x is a great torch, the older one anyway, I haven’t used the new one, but I remember it costing a lot less when I bought mine. I hope you still make your torch.
Hahaha almost got me…