“Good thrower” really depends on the requirement - how far, and ahow wide is the beam.
I’ll give some info about LEDs, based on my beamshots testing with various flashlights and various LED types.
LED:
- in general, a bigger LED will produce more light (higher lumens), but will have a wider beam (thicker beam);
whereas a smaller LED will produce less light (less lumens), but will have a more focused beam (thin beam) - thin beam will generally mean more range (farther beam distance) ; whereas thicker beams are usually more “floody” (not so far)
BUT there some characteristics may not be generalized… - flat (domeless) LEDs result in a more throwy beam ; while domed LEDs tend to result in a bit less throwy beam
flat LEDs usually have a big less lumens than domed LEDs (need to consider other factors too)
SIZE ( & depth) of the flashlight head/reflector:
- a bigger head/reflector will result in a more focused beam
- a smaller head/reflector will result in a wider (not so focused beam)
- a deeper/longer reflector will also result in a more focused beam
1) GT-FC40 = somewhat big LED, this is definitely not for a “thrower” type beam, since it’s for a high-CRI (good color rendering), it won’t be as bright and it won’t be as throwy as most of the other LEDs, what it excels is the color rendering factor (usually more useful for nearby-use)
2) SBT90.2 = this is a big LED and has a thick beam; usually big LEDs produce a more floody (not focused beam), but the SBT90.2 produces a fairly throwy beam despite being a bigger LED. Thus this is used mostly for bigger flashlights
3) Osram CSLPM1/CULPM1 = this is a flat LED
4) Osram CSLNM1/CULNM1 = this is a very small flat LED, results in a very focused (thin) beam, that reaches far.
Other ‘thrower-type’ LEDs that are useful would be the XHP35-Hi and XPL-Hi (thus for “throwers”, generally look for SBT90.2 if bigger size light, and Osram NM1 if it’s a smaller size light. But the XHP35-Hi, XPL-Hi, CSLPM1/CULPM1 are good depending on the size of the light. Osram CSLNM1/CULNM1 produces a “pencil-thin” beam that I personally don’t like much (except maybe when it’s on a very small light and need a throwy one).
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For compact-size throwers, I would suggest going for Convoy C8+ (XPL-Hi) for a relatively well-balanced beam.
The Convoy C8+ (Osram NM1) will have a more throwy (farther) beam, but less total light (pencil-beam)
In terms of flashlight head/reflector size:
Convoy C8+ is smaller than M21C, which is smaller than L21A, which is smaller than 4X18A / L6 / L7.
Assuming the same LED is used, then the bigger head results in a more throwy beam. (more throwy beam means less “spill area of light” too.)