I agree, after buying 200+ lights I come to realize that lumens is only a minor criteria as part of the light purchase. Actually, quite frankly, the high lumens is a heat creator and battery killer. Much better off with lower lumens and having other important characteristics like CRI, throw, ergonomics.
What lumens is to flashlights, megapixels is to cameras. Its a number whose only purpose is to sell more lights and cameras respectively.
I completely agree, many lights advertise ridiculously high lumen output, but fail to note that that output is available for less than 30 seconds. From a practical standpoint the nextool 50.2 is a great flashlight for very little money. It has only 2000 lumens but it sustains that output for nearly 10 minutes, and is still not unbearably hot. It is not a fancy light, and is somewhat similar in both size and form to conventional flashlights. Will it impress people like my Thrunite TN42V2? No, but it is much more practical, and has a great combination beam that it can sustain for a reasonable amount of time.
I bought it at fasttech a year and a half ago so it’s its an older version of Andural but I’m not sure what you mean about matching the Sofirns programming.
I just checked the price and sorry, it’s up to $69.63 but you can look for discount coupons.
Also, the turbo/lumens issue was covered in another thread. If the the high output is there it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use it all the time but it’s there if you want or need it.
It’s a little bit pricier but the Emisar D18 is also a very nice light. Also takes 3 18650 batteries.
I’m liking the Astrolux FT02S. It really does do 12,000+ lumens (I tested it) and has good sustainability on lower modes. For around $50 US on the discouts it’s a fantastic value.
There’s a coupon for the NSX4E, works on the w/ battery choice too. I ordered yesterday, $65. Not sure I’ll like 6500k, but it will make a very nice gift if not. I agree with D18, FT02S and HK4S mentioned above, as I’ve been looking for most lumens per dollar lately, too. I bought wurkkos DL70 and that’s incredible, but is intended for use in water so doesn’t sustain very well on highest mode (but came with 2 batteries for ~$65).
so far these are the contenders sorted from best bang for buck:
Sofirn Q8 Pro 11,000 lumens $65 (4 batteries puts this higher for me than a single cell flashlight, USB rechargeable, Anduril, it is just the most complete package)
Astrolux Mf01s $96 15,000 lumens! (now this is a beast, it beats the sofirn but it does not have usb charging and costs %50 more for only 4000lm more)
Emisar D18 14,000 Lumens $99 (now this is something, but its missing usb rechargeability which is a disadvantage in my book, its also much smaller so id imagine it gets hotter quicker and also the brightness would drop faster. so the sofirn is still number 1 contender)
disqualified below due to either being one cell or not having enough lumens:
NIGHTWATCH NSX4E 13,000 Lumens $65 (its very nice but single cell is a let down)
Astrolux FT02S 11,000 Lumens $75 (again a nice light but its single cell which was a no no)
HK4S 7000 lumens $62 (this light is only 7000 Lumens and is too low to be on here, its also single cell)
my personal opinion is the sofirn q8 Pro seems like the best buy atm however there is not enough reviews on it specially on run times and heat handling, but its not about which i like better, its more of a comparison for most Lumens flooder per $ in a usable package (usable package means a flashlight that has more than a single cell and is dependable for longer run times than what a single cell provides and has capable thermals to avoid quick overheating.)