I got the 18350 battery tube in today from Illumination Gear, worked just fine although the charger portion was a bit different. Didn’t really matter as it came out anyway. I took the new tube and head out to the shop and bored the top of the battery tube where the charger sat so an 18500 could slide through all the way, then I made a couple of brass rings that would fit around the cell and act as spacers top and bottom, 1.2mm in the head and 2.4mm in the tail cap. So now it’s like a twisty, the tail cap screws down onto the cell and if it weren’t bottoming out on the brass spacer it’d crush the cell. No springs either end, direct contact.
So now it does a whopping 3041.7 lumens on the 4 XP-L W2 1D emitters. Crazy little dynamo it is, lights up a room bouncing it off the ceiling!
That is a lot of lumens for a 2x 26650 light. Wow, when you stop and think about it! I still haven’t cracked my pt14 open yet. It’s still in the plans though.
Not sure why but that reflectored version really really interests me. Probably copper or brass, as much as I like Ti I wish they’d kept the same design. So the copper one, ready to handle whatever I throw at it, is probably where I’d go if monies were there for it.
I have mine running on a 18500 by using a pair of brass rings, one on each end, to act as ground spacers. This let’s it do some crazy lumens which is just giggly insane from such a small light.
Is that an optical illusion or does the Ti PT18 have a larger dia head? Looks pretty sweet, for sure, perhaps such a light would be best left in stock trim and just enjoyed for it’s sheer elegance…
there are a couple of differences that might matter to some
advantage SR71
Prices are similar for the anodized version, prices are lower for the Brass and Ti SR71 than the PT16.
The SR71 spec says 5 lumen low, PT16 says 10 lumen (I don’t know if the specs are accurate)
the anodized SR71 seems to use a reflector with glass lens, PT16 has the plastic TIR
the SR71 has a smooth head and tail so easier on pocket wear, PT16 head has cuts in the head to create fins, and the triad tail is more likely to gouge a pocket.
advantage PT16
No copper option for SR71, yes copper option for PT16
SR71 has memory and does not start on low, the v2 and v3 PT16 starts on low, no memory.
The triad tail, pineapple knurling, and finned head are all what makes the design work for me. The SR71 loses out in the design department… if I were buying a copper or brass version it would be in the PT16 style, surely not the SR71.
I agree. Also the pt16 has fins and has some edges but all the edges are very smooth. I can’t imagine it eating away at a pocket. It just slips in. In fact it might be too smooth and slippery for some. It lacks grip but somehow that is what makes it feel “rich” in my eye at least.
The SR71 is a non starter with me because it has V1 UI
I just received a PT-18 modded to N219b, more info here
I think its freaking awesome! The pics made it look much bigger than it seems in real life. The head is so cute!
Love at first sight.
I have shown off the ginormous (relative) output of this very small light by shining it at my hand, so as to give the person in front of me an idea of the total output. It’s blinding! And the heat out the front is intense from the 4 emitters. I even tried holding my hand up at eye level, from a few feet away, and with eyes closed turning the light on in Turbo… the intensity is blinding even through your eyelids! Fortunately it has 64 levels of ramping so all this heat and current consumption can be controlled quite easily. It also has last mode memory, so you don’t lose the setting you were last working with by turning it off. Click on and hold for instant moon, click on then click again for instant turbo. Seems odd to think of a 3000+ lumen light having a moon mode, but it is actually quite low.
It’s not high CRI though. And while I might could help that a lot with a color filter, the filter would undoubtedly melt if running much Turbo. I have other lights for high CRI use though, my favorite being a 95 CRI Cree COB at 2004 lumens in mule configuration to avoid artifacts or hot spots, very helpful in macro photography.
I bought a PT-16 and a spare Keepower IMR 18350.
There is no difference in brightness on Low, Medium and High, between the PT16 and PT18 regardless what battery I swap
however
With the 18350, Turbo is double what it is with the stock 16340 included with the light.
And the 18350 is 27% brighter than the 18650
The 18350 w N219b is close to as bright as the stock 18650 in my PT-18 w XP-G2
Here are the lumen comparisons
and the tint difference
and the sizes
I put the Nichia modded head on the PT16 tube, and modded the tail