Cheap, "pocket" thrower. Which one should I take?

Hi, I’m looking for “pocket” thrower which has price under 25$. I know that the best in that price should be Convoy C8+ CSLNM1/M21A CSLPM1 but found smaller ones and I would like to hear what you think about them.

  1. Convoy M21B 6A driver with CULPM1. I watched comparison between 6A and 8A and the main difference was in temperature, not power so I think I would stay with 6A. I read that it’s only a little less power than Convoy C8+ while having smaller head because it’s having more powerful LED (CULPM over CSLNM) and this LED is “pretty deep”. Maybe it’s not true and it’s much worse than C8+ CSLNM, let me know then. I read that it should be 700m+
  2. Convoy M2 which was revieved at this forum by @Rusty Joe. It’s less powerful than the others but it’s still very good comparing to the size.

Do you think I should take bigger C8+/M21A over one of them or these should be good too?
Maybe you know other good choices in 25$ budget?

It’s gonna be impossible to pick one.you can debate between the S2÷ and the S21 all day.I have a hard enough time picking a light for myself let alone having someone pick it for me. Best advice, spend a $100 to $150 and get a bunch, see which one(s) you like and sell the rest.

C8 if you ask me.

@zoulas

But I’m not debating between S2+ or S21 :slight_smile: I already have Sofirn IF25A 4000k, Sofirn IF25A 6500k, Skilhunt H04 RC HCRI, Convoy S2+ XML2, Convoy S2+ SST40, Lumintop B01 so I know something about flashlights, now I’m looking for pocket thrower and thinking about one from topic but I’m not sure if it is good choice because there is not many reviews with comparison in Internet.
@sp5it
Thanks for vote :slight_smile:

I have a couple of c8+ lights and they are solid. The osram emitter is pretty special from such a small package. The M2 and M21 should serve well too, I think you have to decide if the extra 10mm of head diameter is worth whatever distance is gained. I don’t have either one of them but I do have an M1 on order for a smaller package and better battery life for the shorter distances that are more commonly needed. I wish I could point you to an apples to apples comparison video, but I have not found one either…

Off the cuff I’d say C8+ Osram for the win. Of course Simon’s version has the 5amp driver, so it gets the most out of the flat white. Other c8s may only have a 2.8 amp driver.

The M21B 8A you referenced was a “mod” done by the reviewer, as Convoy only offers the 6A version as a stock selection IIRC. I have an M21A inbound (due next week), so can’t speak to that in a comparative sense performance wise, but I didn’t consider it as a “pocket thrower” due to the head size. My CSLNM1 lights are both Lumintop GT’s. Although I like them, I think Convoy offers better drivers for the NM1. If it were me, it would be a matter of 18650 (M2) vs. 21700 (M21B) moreso than the difference in emitters. C8(+) is great to have in the glove box of the car, but for stuffing in a pocket, I’d be going with one of the more compact options.
Tough choice…good luck!

Are you sure ;)? Thanks for comment.
@captainkirk
Thanks for comment, I need to think more what I really want :smiley:

Get zero warranty from Convoy and get him to build my custom version for hunting.

- C8+

- Osram CULPM1

- Ramping driver

  • Use a Samsung 30Q for 8-9A

Convoy models usually come with a rubbish spring bypass, so you should redo it yourself. I always install dual springs on the tail.

This build gets 1,300 lumens with a range of 977m

The ramping driver allows you to set your own brightness on the first two settings, so even though it gets hot quick at 100% you can lower it to what suits. Convoy just can’t give a warranty on the LED since the driver has no thermal Regulation. 100% gets approx 2min 20sec before reaching 50°C at a room temp of 23°C.

….or grab the CSLNM1 LED at 5A for 700 lumens at 962m. The NM1 LED just has a narrower beam, so it depends what your preference is

If you can handle the NM1 Green, at 5A it gets 1,150m with 1000 lumens.

Here’s a demo I made for my website featuring the same models above

The Convoy S2+ with CSLNM1 gets 387m. I also have a demo for this below

Just keep in mind that any Convoy model the uses the Osram LEDs will have rings around the hotspot on a wall. These are overlapping ovals around the hotspot, not noticeable in use though.

M2 doesn’t have much waterproofing due to the order and design of the bezel/oring/lens. Would strongly suggest the M1 or M21B over it.

Thanks for videos. I need to buy flashlight, don’t want to assemble it by myself, I would need to have powerful soldering iron and maybe some other tools which I don’t have and at the end it propably wouldn’t be as I want :smiley: Convoy S2+ looks good so M21B could be only much better with CULPM and bigger diamater.

@BurningPlayd0h
Thanks for info. One choice less :slight_smile:

I wasn’t suggesting that you build anything. I just mentioned asking Simon (head guy at Convoy) to build you a custom C8+ . Any model that uses a spring bypass on the tail will snap though, this will require fixing at some stage. You could ask him to install a high current spring instead though.

According to JaredM estimation the M21B (I’m not sure whether 6A or 8A) should do 105kcd, which translates to 2*sqrt (105000) = 640m. The C8+ with CSLMN1 should have 700-800m of throw, but much lower total lumens. Edit: ignore my C8+ throw estimation

If you increase your budget a few dollars, the BLF-D80v2 is really nice for the price, and fits in a pocket quite easily.

@PiercingTheDarkness
Ahhh ok, I will ask him. Thanks.

@ggf31416
Thanks for information, maybe I will go with something less pocketable.

@raccoon city
SST40 or XPL?

You could always wait for the Astrolux EA02 :slight_smile:

@PiercingTheDarkness
It’s to big for me I think. Don’t want bigger than M21A which isn’t pocketable.

A vote here for the M2+NM1. Runs cool enough at 4.3A and settles into a pretty sustainable 80 kcd while still being cool enough to hold. Really a slim light that handles heat very well. Comes with a (strong) pocket clip if you care about that.

M21B is a better host for bigger emitters IMO. Interested in seeing actual measured values and opinions from someone with both.

34-45mm bezel is an awkward size for me. Too big to pocket EDC, and so if its going in a bag or holster, you may as well jump to a 50mm class the way I see it. After 55-60mm, I feel a light should be multi-cell, so that really creates another big step. The EA02 looks like a nice size and configuration. Super deep reflector. I really hate that its a blatant rip-off of an FF design though.

For maximum lumens, I would go with XHP50.2, but it looks like it is no longer available.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000333646371.html

Since that seems to be gone, I'd go with the SST40 version.

50.2 isn’t a thrower. With the thermal limitations of a host this size sustained lux will be worse than a s21b+pm1

@JaredM
Do you know other pocket throwers <30$ or the next is Lumintop X1L which is more expensive?