Zooming Model List (2018 Updated) Tell us about your newest zoomie!

LED Flashlights – General Info
569

1) Lumintop Zoom1 doesn’t seem to be in the list on the first page yet? Uses XPL-HD, takes in 21700 or 18650 battery, with built-in USB charging port.

2) Nicron B22W doesn’t seem to be listed: it uses 2xAAA, although the zooming is quite small, and low lumens. I think the LED is LH351B.

3) Sofirn S11-B (uses XPL-HD LED?? need to be verified) and Sofirn S11 v2.0 (supposedly uses LH351D), uses 18650, built-in USB-C charging port, twist head to zoom, cylindrical shape body (including the head)

4) Convoy Z1 (SST40) doesn’t seem to be listed yet. I think it uses 21700 battery.

5) Wuben L60 appears to be the exact same flashlight as the Wuben LT35, same LED, similar UI (very slight difference in UI between the LT35 and L60: LT35 includes SOS in regular cycle, whereas on the L60, SOS mode is not part of regular cycle, but instead accessed via double-half-press. Otherwise, physically and performance appear to be exactly the same.

570

I’m looking into the Convoy Z1. My interest is as a semi-floody walking light with throw capability in one unit.

The only throw figures I can find are on Gearbest, which shows 150 metres. Does that sound right? My 18650 tube light has half the power and more throw.

It comes in 4 mode or 12 group versions. The 12 group (biscotti?) is advertised with thermal regulation. Is that new? I thought it was limited to the 4 mode only.

Also, does anyone know if it’s a push-pull or twist zoom?

571

I use PKCELL 10440, button top. IDK if flat top works but I think it should.

572

Unfortunately the first page hasn’t seen an update for a long while.

573

It looks like twist but I can’t tell for sure.

That throw figure sounds wrong. For the lens size and any decently-driven emitter, 150m should be easy. If that figure were correct, we’d be looking at the following: under-driven emitter (could be due to bad thermals), insufficient lens travel (doesn’t focus fully).

I’m really excited for someone to get one, though. It should throw like the Jaxman Z1 for half the price.

574

Convoy Z1 is a twisty. :frowning:

575

Do we know the throw for Jaxman Z1 models, specifically the XHP50?

576

That would be perfect for hunting purpose(gun recoil) but only with 25.4mm, 1” body. Hope that Simon will offer 1x18650 version of this light in a future.

Simon I like you and your Z1 is probably good start…
But ultimate zoomie(from mine personal hunter stand of view) should have PC or acrylic lens(shock resistance), Aluminum pill with retaining rings for MCPCB and Driver (easier to assemble for manufacturer and easier to modd by us), above mentioned will also lead to great flashlight weight loss, good anodization on threads and body as your Z1 has but only in wrong diameter! 1” body rules for different kinds of mounting solution, and all serious hunting flashlights have 1” body.
Mechanism is something that is personal preference but for larger zoomies is hard to achieve good push-pull zoomie without head wobbling and I think twisty is good solution.

I think your next one could have mentioned properties cause it will not be only good for hunters. It will be good to almost any zoom flashlight user.

577

I also have mounted a lot of lights on ARs, long rifles, and shotguns. I particulately love Lexel’s FET tail switch for triggering them. :+1:

However, I’ve been surprised how older “specialty hunting” lights (I’ve replaced) are NOT 1”. Most are proprietary in size and mount and cost over $100 (just 5 years or so ago). I completely agree that scope rings for 1” scopes make great (cheap) mounts and my older 18650 C8Fs fit perfectly in standard rings which attached to a rail or some other mounting system.

I’ve never had problems with AR glass with recoil on several standard 18650 lights I’ve modded and mounted. Haven’t tried a 300 WinMag or anything over about 16 ft/lbs of kick though (270 Win.)

I do replace springs sometimes with thicker stuff to keep the batter in place during recoil. I also use some of Lexel’s drivers with FULL turbo memory and a single mode option is nice. The C8Fs I just ran direct, no driver… the voltage into the three LEDs is a perfect fit to a high drain 18650. I’ve run C8a and KDLitker C8.2 lights as well and they held up nicely.

I agree a zoomer might be cool on something like a coyote gun (22-250) and I AM now working with the Sofirn C8G (in 30mm scope rings btw) because it does indeed hold turbo memory “on” in its stock driver and man… does it THROW WAY OUT THERE! 300 yards through good glass is easy with this light, but a zoomer might be easier still.

Try 30mm rings with some shimming and you can step up to a thicker light. Just some ideas for you.

578

Zappaman,
Reflector AR glass(or any glass) has nothing with aspherical glass lens. And sure it will withstand any caliber. Even aspherical glass lens will withstand some abuse but that is not the point. Plastic aspherical lenses are years ahead glass lenses(performance, shockproof) and yet most manufacturers are forcing production with glass lens.

I am specialized for aspherical lights modding(although I did quite a bit of reflector lights) and I find anything below 250KCD not worthy enough for hunting(1000 meters of throw ansi). Zoomie can cover all hunting situation (distant scope hunting or close up hunting situations) it is far more versatile than any reflector light, and I have tried almost every “premium” hunting reflector lights from Maxtoches to Olights and they certainly can’t impress me… They are giving to much light for close up situations and spill out of reflector lights freaks out the game, attracts more bugs to your position, it reflects from sound moderator & barrel which messes with scope vision or night vision device if you use reflector as a host for IR light etc…

For hunting 1” is standard because different popular mounting solutions (magnetic mount, adjustable mount, burris adjustable ring mounts etc.), and while 30mm could pass for some configuration it is not desirable cause 18650 batteries are more standard one and more available on market than 21700 (only BLF and CPF nation knows differences, advantages, etc. but regular people are hardly familiar even with 18650 format ) and because you have as lighter setup on a rifle as possible.

Different kind of zoomie host are no 1. hunting configuration in Europe/UK used from IR lights to flashlights.

Here on BLF are very cool and knowledgeable guys but we don’t have to much hunters here(and that is ok) but on nightvisionforumuk you have hunters from all over the world. Peek a little…

579

I’ll take a peek :wink:

I’ve build a couple of IR lights and was using night vision in ’99 when the first gen stuff was selling public. As a pig hunter (usually using a 6.8 spc) I prefer (a small monocular) night vision to find them right up to the opening shot- then I light the field bright and wide with 4000 lumens of white light and shoot through decent glass at low power. The ONLY thing I’ll shoot over 300 yards AT NIGHT is a coyote, and there are plenty “within range” at that distance anyway- I’m not a sniper :wink:

Yep, I’ve shot through thermal too and it’s nice for around $7k (minimum for the decent stuff IMO) on a loaded rig with a LOT of IR support- usually meaning several people with lights. But when I’m out stocking pigs and yotes without night vision/thermal (95% of the time) I like a nice bright light with some spill on my guns. And many pigs (and yotes) have been shot in that white light over the years since I first put a C8 on my 223 bold gun about 7 years ago.

So for a one man show (and seventh gen. rancher’s kid) who likes to hunt by myself and whenever I want… the C8F (and I hope C8G) do a good job for anyone who can shoot. And while the weight of the C8G is something, I don’t feel it as a lot weight on my rifles. The 6.8 SPC is around 7 1/2 lbs with 10 rounds+light) while thermal scopes and IR gear are heavier, cumbersome and just isn’t something I “grab” going out the back door for a hunt whenever I feel like it. :beer:

580

We have decent thermal rifle scope with build in rangefinder for around 2.5K GBP (PARD T-Pro 12µm 42mm Thermal scope).

So IF you have build your own IR lights than you know how reflector light host is inferior to zoom host. Or you did not try zoomie at all?

Just don’t tell zoomie lacks of this and that… Join to NVFUK and you’ll see that all serious IR lights are zoomies now-days(some with sophisticated multi lens system, some simple glass/plastic aspheric), and new technology for IR light is VCSEL laser(1 mile of throw with 30mm aspheric host).

In one word while reflector lights can be used and are used in a different hunting situations zooming lights (modded of course - very few manufacturers do good zoomies out of a box) are simply better.

581

Thermal is getting cheaper, but if I build a rig I’d run with something in the $6k range using some other well known brands.

But we’ll have to agree to disagree re. “better” as I would agree the Hubble scope would be “better” than anything :money_mouth_face: But it’s what I’m using it for that defines “better” for me and a lot of hunters I’ve run with.

And oh ya! I AM a hunter (not a sniper). I eat game meat year round out of two large freezers (and my own garden, mostly canned). I can build an AR15 in a 6.8SPC with a good Japanese made (Light Optics Works) Weaver fixed 6x power scope and my Lexel switched tail FET modded C8Fs for about $900. I can kill the same number of pigs or more than a lot of guys with the high end thermal and IR rigs can. This is because I know HOW to hunt and shoot. And pigs in particular, present a WIDE target area that a zoomed in light rig can’t see and track well… after the first pig is shot.

So my 300 yard, WIDE throw C8Fs allow me to make multiple kills quickly without any zooming in or out. The thermal rig I did hunt with last year ALSO ran on a 2x or 3x power- max. Watch some vids and you’ll see that these thermal hunters are not zoomed in. We have to see the whole field at once.

So yes, (any) zoom lights (or scopes) on guns can see further out, but for hunting pigs at night… I want to see where they are ALL at, then work them quickly, at an effective range (under 300 yards), and make ethical kills as I eat what I kill.

So bottom line for me: I can’t LEGALLY hunt any other game animal at night in both states I hunt often, except pigs. As I don’t kill them for sport, I get in close BEFORE “hitting the lights!” then I make the cleanest shots I can usually bagging two or three pigs. It’s all over in about 15 seconds whether using thermal or my lights- doesn’t matter after the first shot what you are looking through- as long as you CAN SEE the field of view and track each shot- and make the kills with them on the run. And you’re not doing that zoomed in at 12x power… through a light or scope.

I know the OP is about zoomies here and so I certainly can agree the zoomer gets WAY out there better than a reflector… but some applications (hunting pigs, the only legal night game I can hunt) don’t nessesarily benefit from a zoomed thermal, IR or white light source.

And no, I didn’t build zooming IR lights when I messed with that rig about 4 yrs. back. The problem wasn’t the lights, but the head gear which I sweat through on hot Texas nights killing pigs. Just too much sh*t to haul around and get a good view through. And the novelty of thermal is appealing, but they are bulky scopes and as I can do no better than my white lights (and I will never kill 5 pigs to have to butcher at a time)… it’s just not worth the money. I just don’t need to make YouTube videos of me slaughtering 20 pigs a night!

That said… IF I wanted to kill coyotes at 600 yards with my target 260ai rig- at night? Then yes a zooming IR or thermal scope on a VERY HEAVY gun, with a heavy, long barrel, on a VERY solid rest with would work. And I have done it with IR out of a blind 20ft high (drinking whiskey and smoking cigars until 3am… several times :confounded:

582

Zappaman,
I presume most hunters knows their hobby and they all gotta to be solid shooters if they want successful hunting. I don’t doubt you know to shoot and bring bacon home… Even I can do that. And sure if we will look that way we don’t need any special equipment at all… We could even shoot on pure moonlight without any light/thermals/night vision devices if you have good classic rifle-scope…

“I know the OP is about zoomies here and so I certainly can agree the zoomer gets WAY out there better than a reflector… but some applications (hunting pigs, the only legal night game I can hunt) don’t nessesarily benefit from a zoomed thermal, IR or white light source.” :person_facepalming:

Zoomies do throw better than any reflector light in same reflector/aspherical head version but they can also be set to cover ALL i really mean all hunting situations (even bird hunt at night if someone do that) cause you simply can adjust fov/light intensity to current hunting situation. I can shoot on a heard of pigs on 60 meters and set it much WIDER than you can set your C8 reflector light and have much cleaner targets at that distance than you with your C8 plus I can shoot up large distances as well when zoomed in.

But most of the time since I have my scope set at 6X mag like you do I really don’t have any need to zoom out… Light is always zoomed in cause it perfectly covers scope fov on 6X magnification. Everything I see at 6x magnification of mine scope FOV goes down(if I hit it of course :) ). But If I will ever have an opportunity to use AR with aimpoint red dot on pigs( God Bless USA :smiley: , but hope you know that kind of guns/hunt is forbidden in most parts of the world) I will certainly set my zoomie to widest possible beam and do the drill :) .

Zoomie rig is more covert than any reflector light cause there is no spill coming out of the light and reflecting from nearby grass, branches, barrel moderator…

Watch some vids and you’ll see that these thermal hunters are not zoomed in. We have to see the whole field at once. “Zoomed thermal”?
What do you mean? I don’t get you here… Whole point of thermal night vision rifle scopes is that they don’t have to use IR light. And if you like thermal scopes without magnification??? That is ok but it is surely better to have thermal rifle scope with variable magnification to cover all hunting situations. I would personally prefer thermal spotter and night vision device on rifle.

IR light? Only host for good and ultimate IR lights are zoomies nowdays. There is no other host option for high power VCSEL laser illuminators. It can’t be fitted to reflector lights. And it can cover any hunting situation. If you want you can have wide FOV to shoot on all heard of zombies up to 50 meters or you can shoot coyote on 500 meters…

You will see that one day only zooming light will prevail… I can bet on that :beer:

583

Does anyone know the throw numbers for Jaxman Z1 variants?

584

As I said, we will just have to disagree… I know what works in the field.

I do not have time to “dial in the zoom” during my hunts and spill (with a white light) doesn’t matter pig hunting- it helps greatly to find the NEXT pig actually. When you turn on the light, you shoot the first pig (at 50 or 250 yards) within 2-3 seconds, then track one or two more as they scatter. I explained also that you can NOT hit a running animal zoomed in. You have to see them when running like hell— and see in front of them to place the lead on the shot.

I think you are also missing the larger point I am making: Thermal is thousands of dollars and bulky. It’s a tool for the rich to do what I have done for 40 years with one light (used to be the lights of the jeep or a hand held spot light until these LED lights got good).

So for hunting… with enough spill AND throw you see the field WIDE and DEEP. And that does the job better than something I have to think about (and adjust).

Zooming lights have a place, and as I agreed… coyote hunting at long distances they are great. As this isn’t a hunting forum I’ll stop there and just say that in any scenario what will “prevail” is what does the job well and I have explained why I would not use a zoom light (or other higher dollar thermal, IR, etc.) for pig hunting.

’Nuff said I hope :wink:

585

My botanist/naturalist friends hate (and shoot) pigs, they’re so destuctive of native plants.
The bacon is an extra benefit to the conservation.

But they can’t keep up with the hobbyist pig hunters who keep bringing pigs in and releasing them into wildland areas.

586

Hank…

There is a place for the mass slaughter of pigs when they just get too thick on the land. I said I don’t hunt them for sport and part of that reason is because the lands I do hunt have them under control. In other places, if a rancher asked for help with a “big pig” problem, I will kill more then I can eat. But I still try to get the meat to a source that can use it.

15 years ago when we dropped about 15 pigs in a night on a ranch in S. Texas (for a week), I called the neighbors and invited them to come over with a “sharp” knife. We got a lot of the meat to people who could use it. Waste not, want not.

Also, if you have a pig problem, the BEST way to do it IS USE night vision— go in with plenty of fire power (for mama pig) and take out the litter when they are young and still in the brood. Just find the eyes and use a shot gun with #1 Heavy Shot (special tungsten shot).

I once got a letter from the state of New Mexico Dept. of Wildlife allowing me to “eradicate” any and all pigs I find in the BLM and Forest Service managed lands— that was 22 years ago and I still have that letter. I did see sign a few times, but never found one when deer, oryx, or elk hunting there (which I try to do often ;).

OK, I keep forgetting this is a LIGHT forum :blush:

587

NOt sure if this was posted before: Anekim UC50.
It seems to be a push pull zoomie, tail switch and changeable pills/leds.
Link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000181640511.html

588

Still search for AA/14500 zoom host with retainer ring for hold Led mcpcb instead of the classic piece of plastic press fit