Budget 1000+lm Flashlight with adjustable Beam and USB charging.

I hadn’t heard of Wuben, so I searched and found this flashlight on Amazon. The second image clearly says it has “temperature protection”. Wouldn’t that mean it steps down if left on turbo?

Personally I would be looking for a headlamp instead of a flashlight for camping

Hi 9930wilson!
Welcome to BLF and enjoy your time here :wink:

After hIKARInoob ’s explanation, I guess I’ll follow The Miller’s suggestion on the Convoy BD04.

- it is about 20-25 USD (max 21€);

- it is a push-pull zoomable, not a twisty zoomable, so it’s better to use with just one hand;

- it gives you the possibility to use it with a power bank to recharge the 18650 battery that it will use;

- if you request the seller - Simon, from Convoy store in AliExpress - the biscotti driver can be installed, offering you many using configurations;

- the Convoy lights usually have a good combination of quality of host, leds, drivers…everything, being built as flashlight to last long;

  • you can choose the type of tint you prefer, with 5 variations LEDs at your disposal! :wink:

I don’t know the Wuben light you mentioned, nor any person that has it, so I won’t talk about that.

I do know that having 1000 lumens constantly will - probably - not be possible in a pocketable/compact flashlight; it may be possible on bigger lights, using several batteries, and good heatsinking or cooling fans!

I also know that the Convoy lights offer great quality and that you probably won’t be disappointed!

If you go for it, ask the seller to install it with a driver with 7135*8 chips: it will get hot on the highest, for sure, but it allows you to have some “bursts” in illumination (close to 1000 I guess) and to use it in low modes, ideal for close range and “not blinding” moments!
Also, chose the type of light colour that you prefer (see the link below).

This is just a suggestion, though :wink:
Hope you find a light that suits you the most :+1:

Here’s the link for the flashlight on AliExpress store:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Convoy-BD04-zoomable-flashlight-CREE-XML2-U2-LED-18650-LED-flashlight-torch-lantern-self-defense-camping/330416_32279728868.html

Here’s a link for a “review” on the Convoy BD04:

Here’s the link for other thread in the forum where raccoon city asked about compact zoomie lights:

The HaikeLite HT08 is an interesting looking zoomie. It’s 850 lm. And, with the amount of fins, and the fact that it does not list a turbo mode, it may very well be able to sustain it for a good bit. Gear Best currently has it on Flash Sale for $15.99 HT08

I have the MT07 and the SC01, and I’ve been very impressed by both.

Frankly, unless you’re planning to mount a bunch of them to a roll-bar and go off-roading, you’ll never need 1000lm for anything but short bursts (to scare away grizzlies or whatever), vs continuously.

A headlamp with maybe 10lm-50lm would be plenty to light up your path, and not ruin your night-vision too much.

Even if you “need” way way brighter light, the visible difference between 500lm and 1000lm isn’t all that much. And 500lm (or even 300lm) is much more reasonable as far as heat, battery capacity, etc., than 1000lm.

As others mentioned, having one or more of the features on your checklist is fairly easy, but all of them combined would be really hard to get.

^ Yeah you don’t need 1000+ lumens to surive, true. But then again you don’t need a dozen or more lights either… But it’s just awesome! When I’m in the woods with my 4x18650 soda can flooders, I want my light to pump out as many lumens as possible continuously, which means around 2000 to 3000 lumens. It’s just very satisfying to see everything light up like Christmas…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-geMVv3LKk (link is external)
Check out the comments on that video

The Reviewer says it stays on the Turbo mode till the battery drains out. (Fingers crossed) Hope that’s True

I’d like a long throw option too… If I’m camping on a mountain and if there’s something a bit far, I’ll prefer not to carry another flashlight for it.
Or If I plan on taking a photo of the night sky with my torch pointing towards the sky or something.

I think it’s a bit tricky. I believe to have read on an occasion that he was wrong about a technical issue. An output/time test would show what we (all) would like to see; minor gradual step-down is difficult to notice compared to a discrete step-down. But the Wuben is supposed to blink when it steps down, so dunno… Look at the run time data of the Niwalker MM20EB here: Review Niwalker MM20EB
It’s of course a different light, but there is no active step down present either; the light looses brightness gradually. This must also be the case with the Wuben to obtain the specified runtime.

I checked the comments and also saw this, from another comment there:
“My light does step down on the highest setting, something to do with the heat”

to which the reviewer answered:
“I have yet to see my sample cycle down due to heat”

I’m not sure if the reviewer did the cycle down, of course, but I also don’t think a flashlight could hold at 1000 lm from a 4.2V to a 2.8V battery. Neither due to the voltage, nor the heat!
But, I’m not specialist here and I have to go to sleep :smiley:

How about the eagle eye x6r?

It doesn’t.
Pretty much all the Zoomie-lights have the same flaw - the whole head moves - and the heatsink is on this head, but doesn’t really have contact to the part that gets hot (because it has to move without any problems).
The SK98 stands out here - it has the heasink after the moving parts - but you pretty much can’t get a “good” version of this light nowadays.

I would say that you should get rid of the “must have zoom”-thing.
I have 3 SK98 here and barely use them because modern flashlights cover the same stuff just as well - you don’t really need that zooming feature - it’s just a nice thing to have but it drops the possibilities of the flashlight so much that it’s imo nonsense to have.
I would get a C8 + 18650 with inbuilt charger

A zoomie usually don’t have good thermal path to the outside. Especially those still uses threaded pill.
To get palm sized 1000 lumens flashlight running continously until the battery can no longer support (assuming no step down timer built in and it has good thermal path) is easy:
Wrap it in wet small towel or bandana. I successfully did this on occasions.

- Clemence

Modded an SK98 yesterday with FET driver and dedomed SST40 LED. Hollow pill, but I used a copper Noctigon star with extra Arctic Silver 5 at the edges.

The heatsinking is excellent. I ran the light for about 5 minutes on max on a Sony VTC5 today. The moving bezel got very hot and the body tube around the heatsink fins got quite hot. The rest of the body tube was merely hot.

However, even after all that time at max, no part of the light got too hot to touch. Kudos to the Sipik 98 design for having all that heatsinking.

That said, today, I salvaged the H17F driver I had in the SK98 and put it in a different, smaller and more streamlined zoomie. I use my zoomies as pocket EDC lights and the SK98 with its awkward raised ring near the tailcap and sharp crenelated bezel just isn’t pocket friendly.

Too bad the Aleto N8 zoomie is impossible to find. That light was one of the smallest 18650 zoomies around and had heatsink fins on the body like the SK98.

Like everyone says, get two budget lights. One for general use with a nice spread and another for throw. The most budget I can think of for these are Eagle Eye X2R running XM-L2 for general use and X6R running HP-L HI for long distance.

I camp a lot and have never felt the need for anything brighter than 20 lumens around camp. For night hikes, one might maybe need 150-300 lumens, but I usually find it easier to walk with 30-50 lumens especially in a small group.

The only need for 1000 lumens I have is for wildlife watching after dark, and that’s when the X6R comes in. It’s pocketable, cheap, and throws out to a decent distance for 8-10x binoculars.

If you’re still unwilling to change your criteria, a Brinyte B158 XPL-HI is the only thing I can think of, except it doesn’t have onboard charging.

+1
A decent headlamp and a compact thrower is all you need for most camping trips. Add an ultra small keychain light attached to your bag/jacket zip for backup.

Like others have said, there’s no light that fulfills all the requirements. However, to get constant 1000 lumens with a zoomie, the Fenix FD65 might fit the bill. No USB charging, not pocketable, not cheap though.

I do see the advantages of a zoomie for sure.
OP you have to realize 900 or 1000 lumens is both bright.
The difference between 1 and 101 luems is easy to see, 101 and 201 also, but 900 and 1000 ia very close to the human eye.
I’d say the Convoy BD zoomie, stash the little charging clip under the spring of the tail and you have a very nice light that can be charged from a powerbank and can be used during that. It is a clicky side switch so no parasitic drain and it is good waterproof.
A NW tint might give lower official lumen but ypu will still see more and with a diffuser as simple as a plastic drinking cup you can use it as table top light too where the nice tint helps again.

Oh and the BD series fits 26650 cells, so you can use 18650 and if 20700 and 21700 take off and get to high mAh values (with Tesla actively researching this might just be the highest energy dense cells in a few years) you can use it, something a 18650 light will not allow you to do.