I am getting my boss a new light for Christmas. I was going to get him a D4V2. He is absolutely stricken with the bug after seeing my two other lights.
However he really likes the idea of being able to start a fire with a small light. We both know its gimmicky and not the best choice for fire-starting, but all the same, it is fun.
What emitter option is the best for starting a fire with the light? Is there another option that I can ask Hank to make that isn’t listed that would be better?
TIA
For something like that, you’d want as many lumens as possible - so go with the XP-L HI options. (They tend to be less greenish than SST-20 anyway, and CRI doesn’t sound like a big concern here.)
A cool white tint will give you a bit more lumens on top of that, but first ask your boss about their preferences on warm/cool light. No sense getting a light with a displeasing colour temperature.
Remember that the colour of what you’re heating matters a lot - white reflects light, black absorbs it. The more light that is absorbed, the hotter it’ll get.
So something like a dark newspaper or receipt (which darkens with heat) would be ideal for that.