+1 for this^ what is your goal? Just to have a thrower? Then I would start with the C8+ with osram, cslnm1 and then you will have an exceptional, inexpensive thrower to help determine what you like /dislike.
cslnm1 is smaller than CULPM1 , cslnm1 throws further, but less bright, theoretically less heat too. That's debatable.
Both of these osrams are smaller leds than the sbt90, so they have much less lumens and do not throw much further though. Reason why sbt90 is so expensive, it throws like and osram with lumens like an xhp50.
of everything you mentioned, for a first thrower m I'd go C8 with osram or L21a with osram, or sbt90 4x18a.
My first "thrower" Was ft03 with xhp50. I still think it's a great contender.
there's a lot to learn, kindve. I'd say spend less, see what you like (pencil beam & more throw, wide spill and less throw, or both and pay $50-$100 more for sbt90), and buy accordingly. Lol
interesting, yeh initially I was tossing up between those two you mentioned, c8+ osram vs l21a osram and what the difference is. but than I read there is a new L21b which is better? i also wonder if convoy would produce the awesome new usb-c charging Convoy 3×21a is 3x osrams? lol right now they have it in sft40 diode. how does sft40 compare to the osrams?
you did say if I wanted throw and a wider spill to go for sbt90 but doesn’t the 3x21a kinda fill that gap of offering 1029m range plus the spill of 3x lights? without the overheating and bad battery life of an sbt90, sweet spot I’m guessing, correct me if I’m wrong
that means picking up a charger, and opening the light up everytime and charging battery, doesn’t that mess up the cap threads overtime or atleast loosen it up? USB-c just seems so much more convenient you can even charge it in the car on the go without taking out the battery. lets just say for a second I forget the usb charging thing.
The CSLNM1 is "brighter" than the CULPM1. Even though it's less lumens it still has more range which means the NM1 is brighter or more intense at any given range. The PM1 has just got a wider beam. Lumens mean very little without also looking at he range spec
Wait for the L21B with adjusted focus for the Osram LEDs. This shouldn’t be too far away.
I’ve tuned the focus myself for all my NZ customers and I get 1,500m with the CSLNM1, and 1,350 using the CULPM1. If you go for the green CSLNM1 I get 1,700m
The L21B was made for the purpose of hunting at my request. It needs to be able to mount on a rifle, the L21A is far too bulky. The L21A with cslnm1 is out of focus and peaks at 1,300m, but with the culpm1 it’s okay at 1,325m
I prefer to use dedicated chargers so that you can keep an eye on battery voltage and internal resistance. The C8+ with CSLNM1.TG option is extremely good value for money.
Get a LiitoKala Lii 100 Charger, or something similiar; that is fairly low cost. It is one bay & will work just fine in your vehicle too
Yep, you have to unscrew the tail cap to remove the battery, that takes about 5 seconds.
And no, it will not “hurt” the threads. Or at least I have never had that problem.
Of course keep the threads clean & lubed, as well as the O-ring(s).
As far as the difference in those two Osram emitters, that has already been explained.
As far as the Convoy L21? models. I cannot answer that, I do not have one “yetc.
Listen to what Funtastic has to say about those. He abviously know his stuff & has practical experience with them.
yeh that seems to be the most recommended, however ill wait for the comparison by Funtastic. btw why is everyone recommending the c8+ is it due to the law of diminishing returns going with the l21a nearly twice the price with not much gains?
I wish there would be some video review on the 3×21a that thing has a 1029m range, and I’m imagining the spill to be pretty good given the 3x sft40 combination? not to mention the long battery life. USB-C charging? what’s not to like? I know its a little more expensive than the other two (c8+ and L21a/b) but damn its ticking all the boxes. but I wont buy until I see some proper reviews and beam shots comparisons, too bad there aren’t any yet…
Like Funtastic said, the CSLNM1 osram is more intense, which makes it appear brighter (at the hotspot in the middle of the beam), but the spill of the CULPM1 is brighter allowing you to see more around the hotspot and theoretically lets you see more field of vision in front of you, not just really far down range / in one small concentrated spot near you.
The 3x21a or 4x18a with (3) osrams would be awesome, and is a modification i am acutally going to do to a different 4 x emitter light, i think it would be cool. It would throw further than the sft40 3x21a, but in my opinion the beam color and quality may not be as good. it is hard to tell with those multi reflector lights until you have them in hand how good the Beam quality is with any given LED.
This light will get very hot, hotter than the single sbt90 light or at least just as hot ( i think the 3x21 is listed at running at 17.8 amps, and Simon said his sbt90.2 driver is an 18amp driver) so they may be very similar, but the 3x21a i dont think would run noticeably less hot. Also, the battery life ( if both are same configuration) would probably be similar because their both running drivers with similar amp output, so one shouldn't be much better than the other here either. The 3x21a is putting out a lot of output, it will be noticeably brighter than the sbt90, and have larger spill, but the 3x21a will not throw as far (a triple reflector light throws around 20% less than the equivalent led in a single reflector light, i think i read somewhere form U/TomE). so the 3x21a could fill the gap between the single osrams or sft40 light and the sbt90 light, but in reality in some ways it surpasses the sbt90 light.
I think you just need to remian focused on what your goal is for this light -
portable?
bright "spill"?
long range ?
long range and bright "spill"?
1 battery or more than 1 battery?
internal charging?
brings me back to this - if you dont need charging then get the C8+ with cslnm1 (price vs performance = this is a winner, as other shave said). if you do want charging get the 3x21a or 4x18a (either triple LED or sbt90, respectively - they will be similar enough in output, throw, and awesome performers, with differences i mentioned above). The L21a is awesome, but heavy and the tradeoff in weight probably isn't worth the loss of portability you get with the C8+, if portability is important to you. this is where the L21b may be a good compromise - lighter than L21a, better throw than C8+, but with performance close to L21a and weight closer to C8+ than to L21a. its just kidn've.. blah looking. lol
