I posted Photobucket IMG code on here - but they don’t show up as images at all, even if I use the forum’s own image buttons - very annoying!
Ohaya - I have no way of measuring lux or lumens.
I have had mine out for a bit of a play.
It does put out a fair swathe of light - I’d say it out throws the two mode XM-L P60 dropin from intl-outdoor.com, that they claim is driven at 3A. So that’s not bad for a big emitter in a shallowish reflector. Throws about on part with the Solarforce M3 with a single 18650 battery (around 750 lumens claimed) which is again not bad. It is of course no match for a dedicated thrower so I didn’t compare it to the Pro-1. Side by side with my Solarforce XP-G dropin in an L2, throw looks much the same with maybe a slight edge to the K3, but with a much larger hotspot and spill. In fact the hotspot of the K3 looks to be four or more times the size. Being a neutral tint, colours look pretty natural.
If I was designing this light, the whole lot would have been in the Pro-1 head with a deep, smooth reflector designed for the MT-G2. You’d still get a lot of spill but you’d get more throw as well.
Thanks for the photos and comparison with M3 and Pro 1
I’m also surprised at the size against the M3 there’s not much difference
I still like the design of the head and it appears really good with the L2n batt tube
Hmmm… waiting game
I received mine today;
more to follow if anyone’s interested…
I love the look of that head……looks so much better then the M3 and M9 Head.
Love it! Running 2 or 3 cells doesn’t change the output, only runtime. Nice hotspot with excellent spill from a relatively shallow reflector that lets you get a real good look at that MT-G2! The S2200 has a lot deeper reflector and is considerably brighter, but also has a dedicated host to dissipate the heat so it is a reasonable assumption that they designed this to run in accordance to the host it’s mounted on. The head is the same depth top to bottom as the M3, but a bit wider…the M3 about fits into the bezel of the K3.
I like it, glad I bought it, wish it ran on a single cell for the compact size. Need to get some new cells for this one and I’ll run it on 3 for runtime.
Just ran amperage tests and found it pulling 1.97A, .65A, and .08A. Nice spread, reasonable pull on Hi. This on 2 Panny NCR18650PD cells. 1.21A, .49A, and .12A on 3 cells.
Funny to me that some people actually expect this humongous emitter to throw! After all the comparisons between XM-L’s and XP-G’s/XP-E’s it should be fairly obvious by now that the bigger emitters have so much more surface area that throw is simply not going to be their specialty. That said, this one easily lights up objects over 100 yds. Will try to get some beamshots tonight and compare it to an S2200 and a modified M3. Won’t be fair, I know, as my M3 is sporting a de-domed XM-L U2 on copper with a Nanjg 105C pushing 4.28A and hitting out to 610 yds +.
I absolutely love this light!
In an earlier posting I questioned where this and the 2200 would fall in overall output, throw and flood (to each other mostly), so really looking forward to your comments on those points and your beam shots when you get them.
I wanted that SF 2200 really bad before but my buy list is none too short these days…now, its #1.
The K3 out performs (my expectations) where my M8, my M3 and my Masterpiece Pro-2 are kind of ‘meh’ in satisfaction.
15.3K Lux (taken at 8m and converted) on 3x Cells, and actually slightly brighter on 2x Cells @ 16K :~
Tailcap current readings:
3x Cells @ ~4.08v:
H=1.32 (~15w)
M=0.53
L=0.15
2x Cells
H=2.64 (~21w)
M=0.58
L=0.08
Thanks for the pics and figures. Pity Solar force scrapped the L2X extended as it would be a great match.
Jeansy pictured it beside a Masterpiece Pro 1 and it’s obviously quite different. I took it apart and wrapped the pill with strips from a Coke can, did the same in the host L2P. The aluminum reflector screws off, and there’s a second threaded piece on top of the pill that lets you break it down to 3 pieces. Different than the M3 head for sure. With such a short reflector, they made the driver side longer to reach into the host. Don’t think I can get pics tonight, might yet squeeze in some beamshots.
Edit: Forgot to mention it’s on a copper star! 
Least they’re trying, that’s a great step in the right direction for this sized light.
Took quick beamshots aimed at the red 55 gal oil drum 97 yds distant. Canon G1X at 1/5 sec, f 5.8 1600ISO. S2200 first up, then the K3, then the highly modified M3.
Yeah, yeah, I know. I need to mow. Been out of town.
Think that your beamshots answer my question about how much more light the S2200 puts out over the K-3. And thats at 97 yards - lots of lawn to mow! (is that 97 yards correct?!)
More importantly, it blows away my M-3, which is stock, what did you do to yours to make it pop like this?
It’s not pulling quite the power that the S2200 does, but it doesn’t have the massive heat sinking capabilities either, nor the deep large reflector to get the output downfield. I might just try a couple of 18340 IMR cells and see how that works for a small package. In a 5 minute or so runtime, it did start getting quite warm with the aluminum wrap to bring the heat from the pill to the head.
My M3 has been pretty much totally reworked. I took the U2 off their star and put it on copper, then de-domed it. Added one of Erik’s 5 mode drivers and added 2 chips to that to get it up to 4.28A at the tail. Spring bypasses let that power flow…it’ll hit a barn with some pretty good light at 610 yds away! Should be in the 1450 lumen range as I understand it.
The MT-G2 is so large, it isn’t going to make a good thrower. And in the K3, it’s a shallow reflector so that’s emphasized even more. The tint is perfect for me though, as is it’s beam pattern. Nice fat hot spot with a very useable spill make it a good all-rounder. Nice addition to a good spread of lights that I already have. It’s going to be getting more and more difficult to choose a light when I need one! lol The K3 has a very nice Lo and Med will work for relatively close-up jobs where Hi would blow everything out and be too intense.
And yeah, 97 yds from the light to the red oil drum, I was zoomed in to my lil camera’s max 4x optical, about a 112mm equivalent if I recall correctly. That’s a side lawn, a small piece of what I have to mow…overall about 2 acres in our “yard”. I’m not eager to get started on that with the thermometer beside me showing 107.8º.
is it possible for someone to post pics of the head disassembled? so we can see how the heatsinking actually is.
Like the M3, the pill doesn’t slide in tight against the head. So filling that space with aluminum or copper does indeed give more heat dispersal.
I’ll be back!
Here’s a complete breakdown
And trying to show the reflector fit inside the head, to give an idea of the gap that’s in there
Here’s the copper star, all 32mm of it! Not glued down but on a substance like Arctic Silver 5 that is still gooey, the centering disk is necessary here to move it into the proper position and allow the reflector to hold it tight against the pill.
I’m wondering if the driver can be switched out to give it some oomph! It’s been tested out that this emitter does very well up around 7A+, surely not getting that here.
On the M3 it allows pill swapping. How does the K3 look stripped down? Could these pills be swapped out?
The shallow reflector and large diameter might make it tough to get something else in there. A driver swap might be possible in the pill, but the regulated circuitry and all is over my head.
Wow, what size wire is that, 32AWG?
I wonder if tearing it open and replacing those with, say, 22 ga , would do it any good? 20 ga?
I've used the IOS 22AWG silicone up to 9 amps, length was about 1" or a little over.