Yes, it is. Up until I bought a couple of Convoy C8’s this year, I was mainly using one of my 4xAA lights as a compact “thrower”. They did the job almost as well, but are heavy, bulky, and significantly more expensive.
I really like the C8 format for a compact thrower. Coupled with a FET driver like in the Astrolux, it really throws well.
You can get spoiled if using a multiple-18650 light that both throws and blasts a wall of light. But, they’re not very practical to carry because of their bulk.
The Manta Ray C8 with 12x7135 has arrived. The Astrolux C8 is clearly better in most ways. Astrolux wins in brightness and throw as well as overall build quality.
The fit and finish of the Manta Ray feels cheaper from the finish to the “skinny” threads. The driver has 3 stars, one of which is connected to the outer ring. It looks like the owner could change mode groups between one mode, 3 mode or 5 mode (with strobe and SOS) by breaking the track from one star and soldering another star.
A few years ago the Manta Ray would have been “hot stuff”……not now.
The 12x7135 do put out more light than an 8x7135 setup, at least in the beginning. I have not done any long runtime comparisons.
Just got this light a couple of days ago. Absolutely love the throw. I have trouble getting to the hidden strobe, but its a thrower so not a huge deal. I also ordered the Sofirn c8 yesterday so will find out which I like best soon but its going to be hard to beat the Astrolux.
The hidden strobes can be accessed by a “medium press” from the lowest mode. A medium press is defined as a half-press (or off/on) between 0.5s and 1.5s. First medium press gives you turbo, next medium press gives you the 1st strobe, etc. You can also get to turbo via the regular “short presses” (0.5s or less), but that’s on the normal mode grouping and you can’t get to the hidden strobes from there.
It can take some practice to get it right, but IMO it’s a great way to keep those strobes hidden except when you really want them.
The Convoy allows you to pick from a lot more mode groups, so you can hide the strobes that way. However, then you can never get to strobes (or battery check which is what I use).
My ideal thrower would be a single mode turbo, plus a hidden battery-check mode. AFAIK, nobody has such an interface. I suppose if you have a firmware burner, you could program your own interface. But, I’m content to just use mode memory so it remembers that I’m in turbo.
What kind of LED MCPCB is in this flashlight? Is it copper and DTP? If not both, I would be concerned about burning up the LED with additional current.
Yes I can get to it but it takes practice. Just not something you would probably be able to get to in an emergency, As in blinding an attacker. I wish I knew how to write and install my own code . I am learning but a long ways from there.
You cannot be serious (in my best McEnroe voice)! You have been here at BLF long enough to know that where there is any doubt, buy both, so you can compare yourself.
Well, I love 7135s and prefer them on my EDC lights because of the consistent output they give although at lower runtimes , but they do have their limitation when at higher currents which is why I’ll go with the FET version this time for a thrower.
If you’re familiar with the BLF A6, the Astrolux C8 has the same performance and drain characteristics. Max drain depends on what your cell can deliver, but a rough ballpark is about 5 amps when fully charged. This drops as the battery depletes, due to the FET driver. On medium and lower modes, the 7135 chip uses a constant draw (for example, 350mA on the middle mode).
Due to the 45-second step-down to the second highest mode (which will either be level 6 in the 7-group mode, or level 3 in the 4-group mode), you’ll get decent run times of about an hour or more. But if you run it on max the whole time (definitely not recommended for more than about 3-minutes at a time), it will be about 30 minutes until you’ll want to change the battery. It takes a long time to drain completely, as it will drop output as the cell drops below about 3.0v. IIRC, it doesn’t shut off completely until 2.7v or 2.8v. But, yeah, for a thrower, moonlight mode on a depleted cell isn’t much use.
If you want longer run-times, the Convoy C8 makes more sense. It’s slightly better regulated, and is more efficient than a FET driver. And, of course, it has lower output which certainly plays a big part in run time.
On medium and lower modes, the Astrolux uses its 7135 driver, so performance is identical to the Convoy. Though, the Convoy’s medium brightness is about half the output (and current) of the Astrolux, so you can’t really compare them at the same output level.
Yeah, I know, it’s not much help. But FET-driven lights are really hard to quantify exactly.
. I am learning but a long ways from there.