Cheapest BRIGHT 18650 beater light? C8 knockoff with upgrades? Something else?

I have a few C8 clones and for under $10, they’re pretty bright.

The clones have small LEDs compared to the real Convoy and the fit of the reflector is pretty sloppy.

So can I put something brighter in it that I can direct drive? I don’t like modes. I like on and bright. I don’t leave lights on for more than a minute typically for what it’s worth.

thanks in advance for any advice!

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...

Good luck in your search!

Not sure I understand what you want. You can get just any beater light one-mode C8 from China.

I bought a bunch of those C (rap)8s just to use as hosts. Ain’t worth the bother, as decent C8s can be had for cheap.

And by the time you swap the emitter and driver (ignoring the switch, reflector, etc.), it’s probably costing more than a decent off-the-rack C8.

Still, I had to learn my lessons the hard way, and have a bunch of those C (rap)8s. At least you can mod the Hell out of ’em without feeling guilty. One of my faves is a ~4500K XP-E2 with 1-mode driver. Simple on/off, nothing to gum up the works.

The real Convoy is much better obviously, but with knock offs being $7… Is there a cheaper option? Talking bang for buck here. The C8 is old tech now, but it’s the only good cheap light I’ve experienced first hand which is why I ask.

I’m seeing it as $7 for the knock off and no cost to silicone the reflector tight vs almost $30 for a real Convoy C8. That leaves me about $20 to buy a nice LED star (maybe an XHP70) that can be driving with only one mode.

I’m talking quantity here, I need 4 or 5 lights that will be grab and go for different locations (kitchen, car, basement, shop, etc).

Yes… but the reflectors are different sizes. My SK68 or 98 for instance are modded to direct drive and are not as bright as the C8. I’ve even put the same LED in the SK98 as the real C8 (Convoy) and there’s no comparison. The C8 blows it out of the water.

Where in the world are you buying your C8 that it costs 30 bucks? You pay so much less with Simon.

Also, you want on-off at full blast? Biscotti mode group 12.

Just saw that they’re only $18 from Mtn Electronics. Didn’t realize that the real thing was that cheap.

I put an unused xhp70 I had laying around in one just now and ran it direct off of 2 18650s. I’ve only ran it a few seconds at a time. Need to look up the specs on that LED.

A 6v xhp70 ran direct drive off high drain cells pulls big current and is capable of very high output, talking 15A-20A and around 5500 or more lumens. A 70.2 does more lumens. The trade off is huge amounts of heat and short battery life.

Battery life isn’t all that important to me. I usually have max 5 minutes of run time and usually only a minute or so. So this may be the way to go! Thanks.

It becomes an interesting trade off as to when too cheap is more of a problem than just spending more money .

Hypothetically that's what we're all here for in the first place ...or rather that's what this place used to be . One of us "taking one for the team" and reporting on whether it's worth the price of admission,worth trying ,useful as a host or pure garbage .

If you're clever and wait long enough some really epic deals will come along .You need to be ready to jump ..and on some jump with both feet .

I think beater lights are very important and probably get as much or more use than most lights .

Sorry I don't have an answer for you since brightness is the least important part of a flashlight for me.

The last C8 clones I bought were like 4 for ten bucks .Total Lohans . To get bright you need to have good parts and halfway decently designed lights ,and great batteries . Buying trashy lights and modding them to make them acceptable can cost more than just buying a good host .Otherwise you need to buy a switch ,springs ,driver ,mcpcb,emitter etc...and still end up with crappy ano , a worthless pill ,lame wires and a bad reflector. Convoy on sale is hard to beat , Convoys modded well are nice lights .My beaters are 2$ 3 mode zoomies, and $8 /d10 /EHL0628 king of the budget headlamps

Yep, I’ve bought a dozen or 20 china SK68 lights based on a recommendation from someone here. STill have many of them 5 years later. Many of them have needed work, but I have lots of wire and solder so it’s not a big deal really. My kids and I have lost some of them and abused others to where the lenses are so scratched they’re soft and dim now. One real light may last as long as 5 of these… but…

I feel $20 on these was better spent than $300 or more on real lights. I don’t mind having one or two really nice flashlights, but for the quantity side of things. Beaters also have their place as someone mentioned above.

I should also note my experience… the switches on the sk68 clones have lasted. The SK98 clones seem to eat switches for some reason… Maybe the big 18650s vs AAs and 14500s.

Interesting. I ran the xhp70 direct off of 8V today and it seemed to get dim fairly quick (probably less than 5 minutes of run time). Either it’s draining the 2 samsung 18650s or the LED is having trouble. It was pretty bright when I first started running it.

I have experience with these emitters (the 70.2) and if you can keep them cool and fed you get crazy output. Texas Ace on here tested a 400k one to like 20 amps and 9000lm and it had more to give. But that’s over 100 watts. If you don’t properly cool it, the output drops fast as it heats up, and your batteries may be sagging depending on the cells as well. Series setups need some kind of bms to keep them safe. 2S also isn’t ideal to direct drive a xhp70. It can be done, but 12v configured xhp and 4S is much better. I’m building a light based on one and the light output is mind boggling.

I’m more than happy with the Convoy C8+ Sofurn and others.
With the C8+ and the C8T sofurn being fav’s.

For cheapies. I go back 6/7 + yrs ago
UltraFire . C8/Q8 Speshuls in beginning.

ONE I kept over the yrs to play with.
Firstly with a 26mm Drop in. XM-l Then XP-l.
Bypassing springs, Thermal grease. and putting decent end cap switches in there.
It’s not too far behind the Astrolux C8 XP-L?.

I’ve got a latest drop in, $14. in mail. Aliexpress…
a (supposed) step UP from the XPL Hi???

CREE XP-L HI V3 1600lm 10x7135 Driver Brass Base LED Drop-in for C8 Flashlight

Model No.: LC-C8-V3-710

Specification:

1. Light Source: CREE XP-L HI V3
2. Brightness: 1600lm
3. Light Color: Cool White 6500K
4. Driver:10x7135 Constant Current
5. Input Voltage:3.7V-4.2V
6. Working current: 3.5A
7. Modes: (1)1-Mode:100%High (2)5-Mode:High>Middle>Low>Strobe>SOS
8. Size: 25.7mm(Diameter)x14.5mm(Height)x6.5mm(Spring Height)
9. Net weight: 25g
10. Application for Ultra-Fire C8 Flashlight

We’ll see when it gets here hey.
Not keen on 6500 Cool White But. Hey. Around $32ish AUD for several variants
on a supposed heap of junk.
That’s still working every week, usually most days by back upstairs door
and fun to do my clumsy playing with.
Well worth it I reckon.
The Convoy C8+ XPL hi cost me similar in the one hit. Nicer body though.

But. They do have a place in things. Not the be all, end all. (though close)

Wanting any stronger. Longer/wider beams.
I just pick up one of my stronger/Longer/wider beam, torches instead.
That’s what they there for.

I’m going to have to disagree here. 4S just has twice as many problems with cell balance, and now you have issues with fitting FOUR batteries in a light. Two is pretty simble with a hosts like L6 or L2 with extension tube, or single-cell hosts with small cells (18350x2 or something).
For voltage mismatch, it’s also twice as bad. This scales linearly. If 8.4V is too high for the 6V emitter, 16.8V is still going to be too high for the 12V emitter.
And as for boost drivers, it’s harder to boost to 12V compared to 6V.

In general, I prefer to increase the V side of the power equation (power = voltage * current), but it isn’t really practical here.

Good points. 4 cells adds complexity for sure, and For 4S a buck driver or direct drive is preferable. Direct drive anything is going to stress emitters, cells, etc. My takeaway is reducing the current requirement and stress on parts like switches that have to take 15, 20 amps. 5 or 6 amps is more manageable.

i would just get convoy s2+ for $10 or so

great light
can get a warm LED
pattern is a bit too ‘throwy’ and i miss anduril - but this is biscotti, it is not too bad a UI

wle

I have a bunch of knock offs now and some were so bad (mainly the shelf the star ‘mounts to’ or should I say sits loosely on) I had to return them. I’d wonder if any of these knockoffs have a billet (or even one piece) shelf.

I put an xhp70 (original) in one and ran it off of 2 18350s direct drive. I only turn the light on for seconds at a time (the heat sinking in this cheap knockoff is not up to the task). But it’s the brightest light I’ve ever seen first hand! I think I have $25 including the little 18350s. I’m pretty happy with it for what I use it for (quickly light up the back to see if there’s a coyote or other predator).

I tried the same light with 2 18650s (full size) and it draws 10 amps vs drawing 5 with the short 18350s. I think 5a is plenty anyways. It is brighter of course with more amps, but it’s nice having it in the normal compact C8 package.

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32889563626.html?spm=a2g0z.12010610.8148356.11.4b677aa061TrxY

Just buy this one, tell Simon youre BLF member and he will even give you 15% discount.
If you buy a knockoff, you will get knockoff quality
This is good Convoy quality