6000k is too white of a tint, I’m looking for something more neutral.
After more research I’m leaning towards Convoy S2+ with XPL HI in 5000k tint, I think that should be a good balance between throw and neutrality.
Was about to order it but I noticed several reviews where people chose:
XPL HI U6-3A 5000-5200K
with:
7135*6 output current 2100mA
from here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001981991584.html
rather than 7135*8 which would be the highest output driver. Why would you not want the strongest driver? Surely output can be regulated through the software if you want to run it on a lower brightness… so I think I’m missing something.
Oh I guess there’s no 80% mode in the software, so maybe some people didn’t want quite so much brightness?
I looked up the max forward current of the Cree XP-L HI v3, 3A, so I think the biggest driver is the one to get. Will wait before ordering though as I’m sure others on here know more than me.
How about this?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32989670019.html
Only 5000K, but I couldn't find an SST-40 C8 that's any warmer from Convoy or Sofirn.
EDIT:
Oops.
You're looking for a tube light.
They don't throw that far, though.
The original version of the driver had no thermal protection. 2.8A is a bit much for the S2+ host and with 8x7135 chips it could quickly reach very high temperatures. 6x7135 is more manageable.
The newest version of the driver does have thermal management but I don’t know if that is what ships with this light.
Makes sense, thanks. I’ll order the 6x7135 then.
Have you checked out the WildTrail (former LuckSun) BLF-D80v2?
https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/55894
It's a compact thrower that's kinda close in size and shape to a tube light.
(It fits in my shorts/pants pocket just fine.)
Okie doke, have requested cancellation and sent a message.
I also have an S2+ with 219B on the way which seems to only have a 7135x8 driver and no other options, so guessing that one has the thermal protection and I’m guessing it’ll work fine with this one too, so I guess it probably doesn’t really matter.
Actually it looks like the S2 is a better choice for throw, the beam is more concentrated.
Compared to the S2+?
Yes, the S2 has a deeper reflector.
Cool so I cancelled the S2+ order and found an S2 with the XP-L HI 5000k and a thermally-regulated 7135x8. Should make for a nice little neutral mini thrower.
I wonder what the answer would be in the 21B form factor, best throw at 5000k. Will do some research later and probably end up spending more money xD
About ‘throwers’ S2 or S2+
I have both S2 and S2+ with variety of different leds, some with hicri sst20 (the smallest hicri led) and some with shaved lh351d (LES similar to xpl-hi ). And what can I say - both really are not true throwers, because of the reflectors shape and light distribution.
The reflector of S2+ is very shallow with big spill and looks ugly with small leds like sst20. Reflector is made for flood and much light goes into spill not hotspot.
The reflector of S2 opposite is very deep, too deep for its diameter and this also don’t allow the right light distribution for throw. Less spill diameter than S2+ but this spill is more intensive. And this give nothing to the intensity of hotspot. But this deep reflector looks good with small leds like sst20.
So both S2 and S2+ doesn’t look like real throwers even with the small led - to much light goes to spill, not hotspot.
There is one good variant for hicri tube thrower form the box, but it is 21700 - Manta ray S21 on aliexpress
Comes with sst20 and the reflector shape is similar to true thrower like C8 but smaller. It really makes maximum concentrated hotspot with dull spill. Basically it’s the same 21700 variant of S3 host listed above witch is also sold like “Ekoras R7”, but ekoras with sst40 is quite floody and cant throw much. It can be ordered with SMO reflector and with sst20 it produces the beam like little copy of C8 - pure thrower.
Output lens diameter of s2/s2+ is only 17,5mm and this variant of 21700 like manta ray or ekoras is 21mm but due to right shape of reflector and bigger surface it produces a real concentrated beam.
By the way - convoy s21a and s21b is also 21700 and lens diameter is 21mm, but the reflector is very shallow, even more shallow than s2+ and cannot really throw. Just a floody reflector.
I wouldn’t worry about CRI for a thrower. The throwiest S2+ is probably the CSLNM1.TG (6000k).
About 5000k is pretty much neutral white. But a 6000k light can lean neutral depending upon the output (perception can change from turbo to low). There are many, many choices. Just look at the emitter choice options when browsing your candidate lights that meet all of your other criteria.
I’d say it depends on the intended use. For a dedicated thrower that will only be used to view objects hundreds of yards away then yes, CRI shouldn’t matter much. But when walking trails at night with a C8 or D80v2, a high-CRI emitter makes it much more enjoyable. An S2/S2+ is much floodier than both of those lights and I think a high-CRI emitter would work well, as long as it meets all other usage criteria.
If absolute maximum range is the most important thing with no other considerations, then CSLNM1.TG is the best choice. But with those criteria, I’d recommend an entirely different host.
@Rayoui exactly this - I love my PD32v2 for range but everything close-up looks discoloured white which I’m not very keen on. That light uses an Osram emitter which I’m aware are the ideal choice for maximum throw, however the PD35v2 is also plenty good enough throw for me and that has the XPL HI emitter in 6500k.
According to this: what's the measured throw for Convoy S2+ XP-L Hi vs XM-L2? - #3 by Pete7874
The S2+ with XPL HI 3A (same emitter I ordered) achieves 200 metres of throw, so I would assume that in the S2 host with a deeper reflector I should get slightly more than this. So it should roughly approximate the throw of the PD35 v2 but with a more neutral tint, which is exactly what I wanted. It’s true that I do prefer the slightly longer throw of the PD32v2 but I’m very happy to sacrifice a bit of throw for the neutral tint.
You might also consider a sliced 5000K LH351D. The throw would be similar to XP-L HI but the LH351D is available in 90+ CRI and slicing the dome makes the tint quite rosy.