Hi from Australia QLD :)

Hi All

Long time led torch owner here but new time becoming a led torchoholic. I still remember my first led torch off ebay, AAA powered and it wasnt very bright but I was amazed at how long it would run from the AAA battery for and it was brighter then an equivelent incandecent I had at the time. That was about 15 years ago. Over the years I have purchased various cheap led torches off ebay and ali express mostly zoomies with the declared T6 led which i thought were pretty bright when you put a 18650 in there instead of the 3x aaa battery pack.

Recently we had a heap of cane toads in the back yard and I could only find 1 led torch that worked properly to hunt them down later that night I jumped on ali express and ordered a new led torch this time i thought Ill get something that costs a little more then the $6 zoomie and see if its any better. Me being a cheap scape I bought this 7.26€ 65% OFF|Super helle LED Taschenlampe 5 beleuchtung modi Led Taschenlampe für Nacht Reiten Camping Wandern Jagd & Indoor Aktivitäten Verwenden 18650|flashlight cree|led flashlight creeled flashlight - AliExpress it arrived very quick from china and the build quality was pretty good. It was ok brightness but i wanted more so being impressed with that seller (fast shipping and build quality) I purched a slightly more expensive torch, I chose this one. 10.49€ 60% OFF|S114 Super helle LED Taschenlampe 4 core XHP 70,2 LED Taschenlampe Taktische wasserdichte camping jagd licht Ultra Helle Laterne|LED-Taschenlampen| - AliExpress this arrived a few days ago and I really like it. Its the brightest torch I have ever owned Ill write a paragraph about it below. So while waiting for that torched I googled the led its advertised as having XHP70.2 (i know it doesnt have a real one now) and that brought me to this forum, at the time everyone was talking double dutch so i did a google search “best ali express torch” or something like that, it took me to a reddit thread where someone mentioned osmething about a convoy c8 with a sst40. I banged that into the ali express search engine and within minutes I had one on order. Since then I have spent hours reading this forum and looking at torched on ali express haha. I have currently 5 torches on the way from simons convoy store all c8 and c2+ nothing has arrived yet but eagerly waiting.

I am keen on modding the torches that arrive once I see how they work and what I like about the ones that arrive. My prior hobbies include electronic projects using arduino/esp8266 i have boxes of random electronic junk from ali express that I always thing would be a great project but never end up doing anything with lol. So im completly comfortable soldering even small smd chips im not too bad at altho my eyesight isnt as good as it used to but I have glasses these days to remedy that! One thing I want to figure out is how to make the torches more flood and not spotlight, the shustar is more of a spotlight and I want something with some more spread, every torch I look at seems to have the same sort of lens. Anyway ill figure it out.

My impression of the shustar S114 (with fake XHP70.2) - its very bright but too bright to be looking at stuff around your feet its more of a mid range looking at where your going or looking up in the trees for wildlife while out camping. It pulls 2,9amp (11.6watt aprox) on full brightness if i take the cap off the back and use my multimeter in 10a mode connecting the neg of the battery to the frame of the torch and trying to turn it on at the same time. It has 3 modes which is nice and simple - full, half and flashing. The flashing is annoying and useless maybe I will experement with this torch in the future and change the driver. Anyhow I really like it, its my first better quality torch from ali express altho I cant find many threads on shustar torches.

Ive got heaps to learn and so many bits yet to order and play around with I am really looking forward to this new hobby. I am trying hard not to order more toches and wait till what ive ordered has arrived.

Oh and here is my current collection of torches that work! I could probably find a few more around the place but these would be my best ones.

Make yourself at home, northqld38!

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To get more flood out of your lights, search the forum for DC-Fix. It is a film you put on the lens and diffuses the light more.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the info. I have pm’d Boaz to see if he can send me some over. Looks good.

Brisvegan here you have entered the bottomless rabbit hole….Convoy lights are excellent for the price.

” I am trying hard not to order more torches and wait till what ive ordered has arrived. ”
As our friends the Borg say ‘resistance is futile’…

Hi northqld38

It's hard for us Aussies I know but you'll eventually cave in and call them flashlights not torches on this forum....you're better off just conforming now for the sake of the uneducated here who through no fault of their own just happen to live on the other side of the world (arnly jokin).

Welcome aboard

Welcome, your future is looking brighter already.

I’m sticking with torches - my colleagues already recon they look like devices for self gratification (I won’t use THAT word), especially the MF01S with diffuser.

Flashlight does sound very similar to the self gratification kind so I agree im sticking with torch or ill typo the wrong one and get myself into trouble like to a colleage at work, did i mention i work in HR at the moment lol.

Still no convoys in the mail today but according to tracking they left the brisbane post office on the 22nd so maybe tomorrow or friday I hope. Ive charged up a few 18650’s ready to play with them.

Next order will either be a cheapy keychain torch to help find the keyhole for the front door at night. I spent many hours designing and 3d printing an enclosure for a raspberry pi with a motion sensor that sent data via mqtt to home assistant which in turn would turn the porch light on but it had some bugs and I have abandoned the project for now. Until then a torch will do!

My families various sets of keys have Astrolux A1, Astrolux K2, Rovyvon A5U/R, TrustFire MINIX, Sofirn SC01 and Sofirn C01 & C01S

Astrolux K2, TrustFire MINIX & Sofirn SC01 are my recommend - each with its own positive attributes.

G’day cobber, let’s throw another shrimp on the barbie and talk torches! Convoys are great! I’ve had good success ordering Sofirn direct from their website too.

I like my rovyvon keylights, postage time was epic though.

I ended up ordering just 1 more sofirn SP36 pro in 5000k it looks like a nice torch. merry xmas to me if it arrives in time :slight_smile:

Is anyone able to tell me what size boards i need to fit the convoy S2+ and C8+ (16 or 20mm)? I was going to order a couple of leds that I hear mentioned all over this forum to try out. Thanks

16mm for S2+ still to find the answer for the C8+
When i ordered my C8 for some reason i chose 6500 sst40 ill be wanting to swap that out for a warmer light for sure

If you want an Olight i1 rfor a keychain i have a few spare BNIB

C8+ = 20mm :smiley:

Welcome to BLF. I’m from Brisbane, and yes, they are called Torches!

daffyh67 - its xmas give them away or have you saturated all your family and friends with your spare torches already? lol

This morning I received 2 convoy torches c8+ with sst40 6500 its hard to tell how bright it is inside the house but if i shine it at my white desk from about 10cm the reflection is blindingly bright im still seeing spots. I am not sure im getting full brightness i might need a good quality 18650. Testing with 2 diff 18650’s one thats maybe 5 years old not sure on brand its un marked, the torch gets warm, if i swap it out for one i recently purchased from bunnings (solar magic 2000mah $10 for 2) the torch gets alot warmer and it seems brighter. I bought 4 from ali from a recommendation from a thread somewhere they were nearly $10 each still waiting for those to arrive as well.

the other is a c8 with XML2 U2-1A LED not as bright but the color seems a bit nicer i will test them both out tonight.

Welcome to BLF northqld38! I’m sure you will be impressed with the Convoy flashlights when they arrive.