I went with the DT8 in cyan, with 219b 4500k.
The DT8 is ideal for carrying God-tint emitters in a non-mule config. The added max output is extremely nice for lower-output emitters like E21a and 219b.
Welcome to BLF PineyTinecones! You’ve ordered an awesome flashlight. The Nichia 219B sw45k LEDs are one of my favorites.
I ordered a D4v2 (Al) with sw35. I have lights with sw30, sw40 and sw45k as well as E21A in 2000K, 2200K, 3500K and 4500K. I even have a K9.3 with sw40 on Ch1 and sw30 on Ch2 (one of my favorite lights!). Just need to try some sw35 to round out the collection.
I don’t particularly care too much for the sw45k. I find it to be a bit too cool for my tastes (typically measures around 4800K). Also, while I appreciate a nice negative Duv, the sw45k is a bit too much of a good thing. I find it even washes out some muted greens to a more grayish tone. I actually prefer the E21A 4500K to the sw45k.
The exception would be the new E07x. I suspect they might actually be using sw45 rather than sw45k unless they are using a wildly different tint bin than what I’m familiar with. They are a bit warmer and far less pink (but still pleasantly rosy) than my other sw45k lights (including my OG E07). I quite enjoy it.
This is great info for me to read, thank you Rayoui. i am still debating what I am going to get. As certain as i was about just getting sw45k, last night when i was about to order 2-3 lights with sw45k, i thought a couple things:
i'm still worried its too cool
maybe ill just get 1 d4 in Al and check out this emitter before ordering 3 lights with it
i think i need to a sw35/sw45k mix, maybe
and, what about FireFlies? both of the lights i have are also available in sw45k D220 (thats what it says on their site), maybe i should read what thats all about
so.. i still have not ordered. i know i will probably really like sw45k, but my other concern is if i order- 1 light in sw45k, 1 light in sw35, and 1 light with a mix - im worried im going to like one of them drastically more than the other 2. and selling them wouldn't be a problem, but regretting i didn't order all 3 of them the same way would be a problem, for me because at that point it'll be to late to order them again. i guess there is no way for me to know until i order them.
Thank y’all for the warm salutations, as well as the endorsements for my choice in light! That really feels good to hear all that. I’m exceedingly confident now in my decision. I appreciate it, everyone.
@Tom E, thanks for the heads up about the heat. Knowing what to expect makes a big difference.
@Lojik, wow, that Fireflies E07 really is beautiful. I didn’t know there was a 21700 option like that available. I’m a big fan of 21700’s. That extra capacity is noice.
And I was thinking that same thing! It seems like I got really lucky and my adhd hyperfocus shifted to flashlights (and specifically Hank lights) and I stumbled across the right BLF thread at just the right time. That never happens to me! Very fortuitous.
So… I couldn’t bear it. This morning ordered a DT8 in dark gray, with a warm white backlight, and quad SW35’s. I asked Hank if he could tack it on to my first order and ship ’em together. ZeroAir did a review on a dark gray DT8 a couple of days ago that I found this morning, and those pictures in the review sealed the deal for me. Those things look so cool. I had to have one. Not only that, but I really like warm lights and my FOMO has been hard to silence. I really didn’t want to miss out on these 219b options. And until I read all the stuff y’all’ve been saying about the sw45k’s, I had intended to get the sw35’s. Now I’ll have both, and I won’t have to regret not pulling the trigger. It was definitely a splurge and not at all the responsible thing to do, but I am only a man after all. People don’t think it be like it is but it do.
Thanks again for the kind words, and thank you for the wealth of information worth digesting in this thread. Very edifying.
Oh crap, I do have a question, I almost forgot:
What kind of continuous discharge rate do I need in an 18650 for my new lights? I have 2x button tops that are 15A 3000mAh, and 2x flat tops that are 10A 3500mAh. Dang, and I just read that flat tops are required. So is 10A high enough drain, or do I need to order something else?
10A is more than enough for normal use. If you are going for absolute maximum brighness on short turbo bursts, you could use a higher amp cell like a VTC5 or 30Q, but your high capacity cells will work just fine. (Won’t make a difference with the 219b versions of Hank’s lights since the FET is disabled).
Thank you, @Rayoui! That’s good news. I hope I end up liking the sw45k more than you, and I hope we both thoroughly enjoy our new sw35!
I know this question has been asked plenty of times on Reddit and here as well, and I have been researching it thoroughly all last night, but I wanted to get y’alls opinion on it too:
If I were to get a KR1, which emitter do you think would serve me best for that host? Also, which one do y’all personally prefer? It wouldn’t be EDC, it would sit on the piece of furniture near the door that I use to take the dog out at night. 100 meters would be a common distance I would want to light up, but the ability to hit a good deal further than that too would be nice. I live out in the country and there’s a lot of critters out here. The only ones I really worry about with my small dog are owls, but I also like to see all the wildlife that always graces us with their presence at night. We have a few foxes, skunks, armadillos, possums, raccoons, deer, coyotes, Chuck-will’s-widow (my absolute favorite bird), as well as some wild cats of assorted sizes, from bobcat on up to mountain lion, although I’ve never personally seen a cougar. They’ve come around over the years though.
From what I’ve read, the W1 Osram emitter has the longest throw, and that’s what I picked for my KR1. The W2 is a bit brighter and has a wider, more useable hot spot but runs much hotter and doesn’t throw quite as far.
To your earlier question about the batteries: I only mostly use my 21700 light’s and buy way more of those batteries so I’m not too well-versed on the 18650 options. But, for my 4 emitter Fireflies PL47G2 (also 21700 yet super tiny) I use a 10A battery. I tried the Samsung 40T which is 25-ish Amps and that one tuned the LED’s purple which is very bad for the emitters. But that same battery on my 7-emitter Fireflies E07 works perfectly fine. So I’d say for a 4-emitter 219B light, stick to 10A. for the 7-8 Emitter 219B lights, the 20-25Amp batteries are usually what will give you full power. One of the things I’m not sure about is how Hank sets his up his lights so it’s entirely possible that 10A will work across the board based on what I think I’m hearing others say, but maybe not so much once the battery starts to discharge.
Now as for your KR1, I don’t have one and I haven’t seen one of these smaller throwers in person with an Osram, but I do know it gets much wider than the same emitter in a much throwier host like the K1. So maybe the Osram would be perfect for what you want. I was gonna suggest the SBT90.2 in that host. I don’t know if Hank does it but I’ve seen a few people have it so maybe he does. It gets hot and steps down fast, but for short bursts, you will love it for spotting animals at night and things like that. Maybe there are more efficient LED’s that throw almost as good and will do what you want, not too sure honestly. But I do know that the SBT90 is monster and would be pretty fun for what you want it for. I love going outside and blasting my SBT90.2 lights.
Maybe a D18 would work even better for outside late-night spotting, it’s a wall of light and should still work great at 100 yards or so. And it might come in handy in may other situations too, but thats a significantly larger light with 3 batteries.
Well let me not further complicate things for you, best of luck. I hope you find something that adds some fun to your walks.
Your analysis on tints and high CRI is definitely top notch! You explain it better than almost all of us do.
Hi Hank
This afternoon I ordered a D4V2 Brass with the Nichia 219B 3500K
Send a e-mail that I want the Antique Brass Version.
Is this still the correct way?
Will I get a confirmation mail that I will get the Antique Brass?
Best regards
Keep in mind Hank suddenly has over twice the normal workload, thanks to 219b. Give him time.
Normally, email the request first, when he says it’s ok, then you order from the site and immediately send a reply saying that you’ve done so.
JFJinCo, thank you for the scoop on the Osrams.
@Lojik, how do you carry your 21700’s? EDCing a 21700 in general seems pretty cumbersome, especially something in copper. Do you use cargo pockets? A pouch? Holster? Fanny pack? I’m curious. I don’t know anything about this SBT90.2! I’m gonna have to look it up. The D18 looks incredible, and is absolutely something I’m going to have to get eventually. And I think your spot on, that it would serve me well for lots of purposes. I don’t mind a big light. If it’s not something I expect to EDC, then as long as it fits in a backpack or cargo pockets I’m into it. I was using 2D and 3C maglites not too many trips around the sun ago. Speaking of, I think it’s weird that there’s so few larger elongated light options these days, like 2x 21700 end on end. Stuff like that. But with all that said, I’m probably not going to get a D18 yet. The KR1 comes in at about half the price, and I’ve already spent so much on the D4V2 and the DT8.
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So lemme see if I’m in the ballpark with the emitter options for the KR1:
W1- throwiest option, only cool white, tighter hotspot than W2
W2- brighter, with likely a more functionally spread out hotspot than the W1, but faster battery drain
SST-20- pretty throwy, good balance of cri and power, good tint at higher power, bad (green) at lower power
SST-40- ?
XP-L Hi-?
Not sure how the last two compare to the rest. I have read that the XP-L Hi have better tints than the SST-20 and they have a good color range, but aren’t as throwy and aren’t hi-cri except the warmest one. And I think the SST-40 is what’s in my Warrior Mini, but in a gross 6500k. If I were to use the KR1 most often for shorter durations, and almost always at turbo or high, for the purposes listed in my previous post, am I correct in thinking that an SST-20 would serve me well? Or should I consider the XP-L Hi? Or just go with the Osram for MAXIMUM THROOOOW?
Thanks!
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Mark M, jon_slider’s explanations and pictures have been clutch in helping me pick what emitters I want in my first Hank lights! I just wanted to second what you said. I know nothing, but I do know that that s* has been extremely helpful to this noob.
DrDevil, I was initially going to get the sandblasted Ti D4V2, but I emailed him first and he said that he was out, but that a reseller jlhawaii808 had them in stock. I don’t know if he’s out of the antique brass or not, but I probably would have emailed him first. Btw, it looks like jlhawaii808 does have antique brass D4V2 in stock.
Most will say that a 21700 Light is too large to EDC. I’d say it depends on what you’re used to carrying. I don’t like the idea of getting used to carrying the absolute tiniest lights. You’re naturally gonna think everything is too big. I prefer a light that will work for a while usefully. My Nichia lights don’t need ultra high discharge batteries so I can take advantage of the larger capacity batteries. Also, I have been in situations where if I’d have had a smaller true EDC light, it just wouldn’t have cut mustard. So I really am used to the size. When I got the Copper E07( I used to EDC the clear anodized E07). It took like a day to get used to, but when I went back and picked up my other lights, they felt way too light. Now I really love the weight of my Copper E07. And actually, I think of it as an enhanced roll of pennies for protection. You never know when someone might need a little fist kiss. A punch holding that light would pack a wallop. Just normal for a flashlight to weight this to me now. Also, I just pocket it, I usually have a few packet so that’s where it goes.
And FYI, the Pl47g2 21700 light is somehow still shorter than the D4v2.and other 18650 light, actually even some 18350 headlamps. It’s a great light. Used to EDC it but missed that higher output and went back to more full sized lights.
That´s a good advice :+1:
I will keep that in mind - Thank you
In my case everything is fine. Meanwhile I received the confirmation mail :sunglasses:
Excellent!
Good deal, DrDevil! I’m curious how quickly that tarnish will rub off in a pocket or hand, because I think that will look great! Like, for example, if the really raised portions of the knurling are brassy and the lower space between them is black.
Can someone help me make the choice between going Osram W1 or W2 vs SST-20 in 4000k for the KR1? I would be mostly using it in high, so the poor tint of the SST-20’s at lower levels wouldn’t be as much of a deterrent. But if my other flashlights are already both nice, hi-cri lights, should I just with the Osram for maximum throw and to juxtapose the KR1 with my new 219b lights? Or go with the SST-20 and have nothing but hi-cri goodness?
I went ahead and went with the SST-20 4000k for the KR1. Decided to stay on theme of high-cri goodness. I couldn’t find almost anything on the web as far as photos of beam shots from this set up go. I hope I’m happy with it! Im sure I will be.
I’ve done some beamshots with the KR1 with Osram NM1 (W1), KR1 with Osram PM1 (W2), and KR1 with XPL-Hi 8B (2850k 80CRI)
Longer distance beamshots (~150 meters / 400 feet for opposite building)
- Noctigon KR1 (Osram NM1 W1) beamshot:
[video:]
2) Noctigon KR1 (Osram PM1 W2) beamshot:
[video:]
3) Noctigon KR1 (XPL-Hi 8B 2850k) beamshot:
[video:
]
side-by-side beamshots (shorter distance ~18m / 60ft from opposite wall)
a) KR1 (Osram NM1 W1) [left] vs KR1 (Osram PM1 W2) [right]
[video:]
b) KR1 (Osram PM1 W2) [left] vs KR1 (XPL-Hi 8B) [right]
[video:]
Hank I’m torn between the k1 and the k9.3.Any advice on which i.I should purchase