SP36 BLF Anduril VS Convoy M3-C

Halfway there…

Now get the other one, too. :laughing:

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!

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

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

ill wait till these 2 arrive till I buy more :smiley: maybe we’ll see a banger deal at the 11.11 aliexpress sales

as far as a choice for a thrower the ‘Convoy 4X18A SBT90.2’ or if simon does the L6 in SBT90.2 would be a great contender for a usable thrower its just close to $106 usd rn so if we see a deal by than ill go for it.

SC31 is an amazing light, what you get for $25 is crazy.

The NTC was removed on the M3 to get rid of the thermal step down, but it also came with the issue of low voltage warning every time it reached x volts. Wasn’t exactly a fix

can these lights be left in the car in a fairy lot climate? like in the glovebox? would it cause any issues for the battery? wouldn’t want my car going up in fire lol

It won’t be a safety concern if they’re out of the sun, but it could cause them to degrade over time

I highly don’t recommend it, it will ruin the battery in a year or two.
I keep lights that run on Eneloop NiMH in the car.

I don’t keep anything with batteries in the car, and I’m not exactly Mr Careful.

Best case, it’ll ruin the cells more than normal use due to extreme cold/hot cabin temps.

Worst case, the cells might leak or worse.