SP36 BLF Anduril VS Convoy M3-C

LED Flashlights – General Info 26650 Flashlights
1

this is my second post here, I have narrowed down my first flashlight purchase selection to these two. mid range flooder all rounder is what I’m after and after few days search its a toss up between these two.

my requirements were:
USB rechargeable
good size (not too big) possible to pocket in a hoodie/jumper
good quality and built
good battery life
good spread and throw
good price under 80 usd ‘with batteries’
somewhat waterproof
can take a fall or two without being decommissioned

so these two lights have come up against the many other models. now im only comparing them in heat performance. i already know how good the m3c performs. the m3c can hold the same light intensity on high level with 1600lms until the battery runs out and the outer temperature would be in the 45C 113F range very acceptable.

But for the SP36 I could not find this information at all and i searched a lot. so my questions are about the thermal side of this model. I know it has multiple gradual light intensity modes, for simplicity lets group them low, med, high, turbo.

so I only would usually use my lights in high mode (one before turbo) so my question is would the sp36 Blf anduril starting from a full charge on high setting (not turbo);

1. would it gradually drop its brightness as its being used on this high setting? or would it not? or would it zigzag?

2. is it possible to set temperature limit in UI to a point where it would maintain the same light intensity ‘high’ until the battery runs out without light going up and down in intensity. (same as the convoy m3c)

3. is the sp36 comfortable to hold without burning your hands while being used until the battery runs out on ‘high’ mode? roughly after how many minutes would you say the heat gets uncomfortable in high mode after turning it on?

any help is greatly appreciated specially from people who used or own one or both of these flashlights.

2

I vote for the Convoy.
One battery (use a 21700 or 26650), one LED and rather simple for a first light. And lower cost.

That said the SP36 is brighter, Anduril and uses 3 batteries so more runtime (and more weight).

BTW my knowledge may be out of date but is 3 unprotected batteries safe to use in one light?

3

the convoy it comes with a 26650 5500 mah from convoy store on aliexpress and comparing the price its actually very similar price so that is not a concern at all. my only concern was the performance lumens and heat in high modes. to me the specs are similar but whats my concern is real world performance.

I did read that the m3-c has stable performance at %40 which is 1500-1600lumens constant till the battery runs out which is about 2.2 hrs. and all of this with manageable easy to hold temperature of 45c (133F)

for the sp36 i found in lumaniac’s awesome review he pointed out that:
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/56105

Quote
“So, further in order it is worth mentioning the heat dissipation. The maximum brightness for such dimensions is very serious and at 100% power flashlight heats up to a VERY high temperature in a couple of minutes. And even after the stepdown (by the way, you can turn off the temperature down temperature in the settings, but I don’t see any sense in it because of the following) it is still hot for a long time. So I highly recommend not to abuse 100% brightness in this model. Really, to keep the flashlight in bare hands is simply impossible. Consider this mode as a normal short-term turbo for a short illumination and use it with caution.

In short, the heat dissipation is good, the flashlight warms up pretty quickly.

In general, I did not see a clear effect of cooling on brightness. I suspect that for 100% you need to use a flashlight on a cold windy winter night, only then you can see some difference in the graph. And so, believe me, you have enough of these 2 minutes in the turbo. For other brightness levels, the flashlight is large enough to absorb the heat generated. As for the use of a flashlight for a long time (if we are talking about the default thermoregulation settings), even in 56% of the mode, the body digs into a frankly hot state. Therefore, I believe that only 29% ois one that can be used constantly. And all that is higher – a variety of turbo, due to the fact that you just can not keep the flashlight in your hands after about 5-7 minutes. However, in percentage terms, this figure is not impressive, but in fact it’s almost 2,000 lumens. So enough for the eyes, frankly.

” End Quote

so going by that review he is saying that even at %56 brightness he is having problems holding the damn thing lol and that he recommends to run it at %29 brightness which equals to 2000 lumens which is higher than the mc-3’s stable %40 mode which is only 1600lumens… so he covered that part of my question, however he did not talk about whether the light beam will maintain the same 2000lms bean strength until battery runs out or will it do that stupid gradual decrease?

m3-c

sp36

4

Convoy, because it have a boost driver like all premium flashlights do. Convoy - cheapest premium flashlights

5

I would not overthink it.
The M3C is a well featured good quality simple workhorse light that will not disappoint.
I have used mine several times today, its now my third most used light (behind Xtar Moon RC2 and Olight S2).

If you decide in the future you want more lights (if you are a flashaholic you will) then consider the hotrod to squeeze some extra oomph but with complications.

6

I just purchased the convoy with 5500mah battery from aliexpress specially when i asked for a coupon from Simon and he sent it %10 off, it was $48.77 delivered with the 5500mah battery. thanks yall

7

You’re picking apart numbers on paper (or a screen), when Real World Performance likely won’t correspond at all.

1600lm vs 2000lm wouldn’t show any meaningful difference at all to the eye, even in identical lights.

The shape of the beam, size of the hotspot, etc., pretty much guarantees you’d be comparing apple to oranges anyway.

A tighter beam with smaller hotspot at 1600lm would likely look brighter (and throw farther) than a marginally wider hotspot at 2000lm,

Save yourself the ag. Get both.

8

Halfway there…

Now get the other one, too. :laughing:

9

You shouldn't buy both because most people on BLF will tell you to.

C'mon, be practical.

Buy two of each so that you have a backup.

Two is one, and one is none, and I'm pretty sure that 2+2=5.

...

Before I went to Room 101, I didn't really care for Big Brother.

But now, for some reason, I think he's wonderful!

10

god dammit looks like I’m gonna have to buy both lmao

11

Real World Performance beats all that fancy book-larnin’ any day.

12

The stable level depends on temperature; it keeps the temperature steady, not the brightness. Due to the way the circuit works, it gets more efficient (less hot) as the battery gets low. So after it stabilizes, the brightness actually goes up the longer the light is on. At least, until it gets so low that it can’t maintain that much output any more… at which point it’ll drop off quickly and then trigger low voltage protection.

Results are a bit different on different lights, but they tend to have similar patterns. I don’t have a SP36 test with recent firmware, but here are some others to show approximately what to expect, depending on the host, the driver, and the LEDs:




When it steps up, it’s not sudden. It’s generally too smooth to even see without a lux meter. If we zoom into one of the graphs, here’s how those “sharp” step-ups look:

13

I’m not a fan of the XHP50.2 and 70.2 in larger reflectors as there is extreme tint shift/Cree rainbow/”fried-egg” beam.

SP36 w/LH351Ds has a smoother beam, better color rendition, and higher battery capacity at the cost of being slightly larger and heavier.

AFAIK most of the recent CC, boost and buck Convoy drivers have pretty aggressive temp stepdown unless you modify them.

14

The M3 had aggressive step down but the M3-C doesn’t. In winter I don’t notice any stepdown. You can try double clicking for turbo and see no difference. In the summer I see some step down. Double clicking to turbo will show a noticeable increase.

15

When the C model was released I asked Simon if there was any difference in heat management between the 2 lights and he said “no, they are the same”.

I’m going to test my M3 again later today.

16

Not sure what step down is being talked about besides the ‘turbo >to> high’ multiple reviews have shown it to work on high mode %40 1500lms and hold that until the battery runs out after 2.2 hrs without it dropping from 1500lms. That is amazing performance from a single cell flash light without getting too hot to hold at max 113F. Name another light that can do that at similar price with the same specs and usb charging and ill buy that one too.

17

My M3 does a quick drop to 40% at a minute and a half (it’s 29c here) and stays at that level. I looked at dave1010’s review and he says his M3C started dropping at 4 minutes and had a gradual drop to 40% over 16 minutes so if the samples are typical it does look like there is a difference in temperature control/heat management. The M3C seems to maintain a high output longer. Maybe Simon misunderstood me.

18

There was a thread about the aggressive M3 thermal step down here. People were removing a resistor to change it.

19

my m3c has not arrived yet i just bought my second flashlight, SC31 Pro, too good of a edc deal to pass up, $23.09 delivered with battery.

20

You are on your way. Now you need a thrower, :+1:
And a headlamp . Etc.