Floody 26650 High CRI Convoy Brinyte Teslacom

I’m interested in a new 26650 flashlight to replace my Brinyte WT01 Apollo that failed earlier this month. Brinyte says they are willing to fix it, but only if I ship it back to China which will cost about $30. Since this flashlight has failed for no apparent reason, I question the wisdom of paying $30 to ship it back to them, and then to possibly receive a “fixed” flashlight that may contain the same failure-prone electronics as the original.

It would be a different story if they would pay for return shipping, or if they would simply send me a replacement flashlight — or at least the head which contains the defective electronics so I could fix it myself. But at the moment I’m still trying to negotiate this with them, and even if they ship me a new head I may not get it for weeks or possibly months with all the shipping delays I’ve been hearing about on the news these days.

So here’s the bottom line:

If I have to spend $30 anyways I would rather put this money toward a different brand of new flashlight, perhaps one that has some features I may like even better than the Apollo, such as a programmable UI for example, or even better color rendering than the Apollo.

I love the form factor of the Apollo. It is very well-balanced, and it fits my hands perfectly. Its diameter is the main reason I enjoyed using it daily. I really love a flashlight that’s big enough around for me to get a good grip on, without feeling like I’m trying to hold onto something too skinny like most 18650 flashlights. This is one big reason for me to consider a new 26650 flashlight. The other is because I like the idea of saving a few bucks by re-using the Brinyte battery. :slight_smile:

I’ve been considering Convoy flashlights. Apparently most people like them because of the high quality manufacturing, no-frills designs, etc. And most of them have clicky tail switches which I like better than electronic body/head switches. But no matter what new flashlight I end up with, I definitely want beautiful color rendering, and I want a floody light.

I have a Teslacom 4x18650 flashlight that is very floody, but the color rendering is horrendous, and it’s just too fat for me to get a comfortable grip on. I understand that most people here consider the Teslacom to be a piece of crap flashlight, but it was affordable to me when I bought it, and it has always worked reliably — and it dumps a TON of floody light into the backyard and woods where I walk every night, trying to see wild animals before they see me. But using the Teslacom almost gives me a headache because of its harsh cold light, and natural colors seem practically non-existent with this light.

As far as color rendering is concerned, I’ve been reading a lot about the GT-FC40 bead and its seemingly great color performance, so I think this may be a good choice for me. And it seems I can get this bead in either the Convoy S11 or the Convoy M26C, both of which are reasonably priced and fit into my budget.

Since I like my old Apollo form factor with the comfortable body diameter and larger head diameter, I’m leaning toward the M26C even though it costs about $40 whereas the Sll is only about $30. I will definitely be able to convince myself to spend the extra $10 for the M26C if you all think that it may be the best budget flashlight for me. But I am not adverse to the S11 or any other flashlight that you think might be better for me. So now it’s time to ask:

What do you think I should do?

Should I get the S11 or the M26C?

Or should I consider another Convoy flashlight?

Or should I consider another brand and model entirely? And if so, which ones?

Please keep in mind that I do not want to spend more than $30-40 for a new flashlight at this time, and I do not want to do any modifications. It is possible that Brinyte may eventually send me a free replacement head for my broken Apollo flashlight, and if this happens I can continue using it without spending any money at all. But this may or may not happen, and now that I have done enough research to get interested in a new flashlight again, I feel like I should just buy one …

So I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions. After all, you all know a lot more about decent flashlights than me. I’m just trying to spend a little bit of money, one time, to upgrade to a flashlight that ends up being a bit (or a lot) better than my earlier flashlights.

Thank you.

The M26C will be able to hold a higher light output over the S11 but won’t be as floody.

When you walk every night - what about a headlamp?

Otherwise, what comes in mind:

Both over 40$, yes, both not rear-clicky, but both give you Anduril UI, which makes a flashligh much more versatile.

If you have a 18650 - S11(C) Zoomable Rechargeable Flashlight LH351D 90CRI
great LED, Zoom function, so it will be very floody, and dirt cheap

This is what I suspected, thanks for confirming.

I use Workkos HD20 every night, but I also carry a handheld for flexibility of pointing in a different direction and for truly flooding an area with excessive light.

I prefer $30 or less, but willing to go up to as much as $40 for the right light.

So Narsilm is not as good?

Looks good for a tiny light, and cheap, with high CRI emitter, and simple interface … but how long before the zoom feature fails? Every other light I have seen with zoom is crap, they always fail sooner rather than later.

OK, then 40$ it it.

NarsilM is just as good, but I like Anduril more.

I have no Idea, how good the S11C is, I just ordered two of them. But Sofirn is not known for bad flashlights, so I have no worries about the quality.

26650 is kinda hard to find these days, 21700 is the new gold standard.

3x18650, but otherwise a fantastic flashlight
26650
26650, Side-Switch
26650, Side-Switch

Otherwise, You can’t make anything wrong with any of the Convoy lights.
Convoy and Sofirn have a very good reputation.

I vote for M21B with GT-FC40. I have M21C and it is little big. If you consider to try hi-cri 21700 which is very handy as size compared to 26500 Convoy M21B its great choise. Also I compared my M21B vs Sofirn SP33 v2.0 which is 26500 and they have very similar beams. Also M21B it is very cheap. M26C will have better throw compared to M21B but I also have M21C with FC40 which is exactly the same as M26C but different body. 4500K emitter is great. I have it on M21C with 5500K vesrsion. It is little brighter compared to 4500K. Around 900 vs about 1050 lumens at 35%.

The Convoy M3-C is my outdoor go to right now. It is not high CRI but when I turn it on I like what I see. High regulated output. Heavy but this enables it to handle the 4000 lumen output with ease. 26650 or 26800 with extension. I know the XHP70.2 doesn’t get much love here with the tint shift but I only see it on a white wall. Outdoors the 5000k looks great to me. Good flood and throw. No artifacts. Very impressive runtimes.

Thanks for the suggestions L4M4!

I think most people do. I have zero experience with either, so if I have a choice I should probably go with Anduril since most people probably have good reasons for liking it better.

I have a Sofirn SC31B and it seems well made and all, but I never really use it because it’s too small compared with my preferred flashlight size, and it’s nowhere near as powerful as my 26650 light, so I just leave it on the shelf as a backup.

A few years ago when I bought my first 18650 flashlight the 21700 was not as popular as it seems to be today. But my hand still fits the larger diameter of 26650 flashlights better, and I like their more substantial weight, too. Plus they hold a charge for a long time.

I like the concept of these lights, and if I did not already have a short fat 4x18650 soda can light I would consider them. But the body diameter, even of a 3x18650, still feels a little too big to hold as comfortably as a 26650. I guess I’m looking for the best physical fit above all else.

This one I like. Clicky tail switch, yet the light can still tail stand. Simple UI that hides the (useless to me) flash/strobe/SOS functions. $34 is not a bad price, and I like the very low (5%) setting, but what emitter should I consider for the best color rendition?

Same price as above, but the light looks more attractive to me, and it puts out more light (3600 vs. 2650). But once again, which emitter? Would the 4000K be closest to a 4000-4500K GT-FC40 or produce the best colors? I’m really looking for an emitter than makes natural colors pop.

My (broken) Brinyte WT01 Apollo uses the SST-40 emitter, and I have always been well pleased with its color rendition. But I tend to want to switch to the GT-FC40 in my next light if it is better.

It’s a Convoy! I don’t know why, but the physical appearance of many Convoy flashlights just look better to me than most other brands.

I always tend to go with 5000K, most people here like 4000K more, I think you will like both.
CRI is important, but not that much, especially (in my experience) in the 5000K range - I have LED Modules that produce awesome neutral light, but have a CRI of 70 - on the other hand, I have an XM-L with 3000K and CRI90 and I don’t like that one.

For flashlights, a high CRI is a nice to have, but it is not that important.

I just found another one: Sofirn SP33V3 Rechargeable Flashlight, 3500 High Lumens with XHP50.2 LED light
30.99$ + shipping for a light including a 5,5Ah battery

Or you dump that Teslacom which is crap anyway and go with this instead: Sofirn SP36 BLF Anduril 2.0 Rechargeable Flashlight 5650 lumens, 4*LH351D LEDs and Powerbank Output
I love 26650 flashlights as well, the SP36 is also nice to hold - not super floody, though

WK30. 26650, white ’351 / red / UV, nice balance/feel, unique!

This is good to know, thanks L4M4. The 5000K lights generally put out more light than the 4000K lights too, correct?

I like a heavy flashlight that can dissipate so much heat that it can run a long time on high/turbo. Besides, this light is only slightly heavier than my Brinyte WT01 … which I loved until it broke. Heavy weight doesn’t bother me when the flashlight fits into my hand so securely, and 26650 seems to fit me best.

I won’t be looking at white walls. I only use a flashlight in nature, meaning I almost never look at man-made stuff at night.

Thanks pennzy. Both you and L4M4 seem to be very happy with the XHP70.2. This emitter is available in many more flashlights than the GT-FC40 I was previously focused on … which gives me that many more flashlights to consider (thus making my decision even harder / more confusing)!

The quality of my Workkos headlamp is great so I would probably be happy with another Workkos light, but I never considered a light with three different emitters. I’ll have to give this one some thought, thanks Lightbringer.

Hi icpart, I want to buy 26650 for now, but thanks for the 21700 recommendation.

The Sofirn SP33 is a great light in your price range. It doesn’t have the tail switch that you like though.