Introduction, Fraz Labs NLD/Review, and fun with emitters.

Hello,

Long time lurker making my first post. I’ve been a flashaholic for a long time. I like rugged lights with long lasting, easy to source batteries. Started with maglites which were then modded with Malkoff drop-in’s and now I EDC a Peak El Capitan w/ 218b SW40. This light started my obsession with high CRI emitters. I love the search for ever increasing quality. My peaks are absolutely perfect for my usage but I can’t change the emitters myself. I’ve always wanted to experiment with different emitters but haven’t found a light that interests me while also having easy emitter swaps. Then I found the Fraz Labs Nugget. I love QTC and was ecstatic to see a new take on the technology. A month later and I have a 18350 Nugget with a bag of different emitters. Exciting!

First a mini review on the flashlight itself. Overall the light is fantastic. Took almost a month to receive it. Came in the standard wooden box. Machining is acceptable but a bit rough. It only bothers me around the threads and inner area where the o-ring contacts the head. A bit of sandpaper and finishing clothes and now it is much smoother. The QTC is nice. Still finicky but has been improved with Fraz’s new design. I find QTC can be “tuned” up. It works better when everything is smooth, the o-ring is a tight fit, and there isn’t too much lube on the threads and contact points. I also buffed the brass QTC piston and the rim where it contacts the battery tube. Feels much smoother now.

Changing emitters on this light is easy. Two screws and you can pull the mcpcb out. I did sand the sides of the two brass pieces that contact the +/- points so it will slide into the plastic housing easier. I worry that the screws will wear the brass threads over time so i wanted everything to line up easily. I also start the screws backwards until it falls into the start of the threads. Other than that, the light is solid as can be.

Notes on emitters and optics. At the time I took the beamshot I only had the Carclo 10048 which didn’t work perfectly with each emitter. I now only use frosted optics because getting the mcpcb lined up can be annoying.

I think the light came with an SST-20 but I’m not sure.

10048 works with 519 w/ dome, XHP50.3, SST-20, (this led is the easiest to line up with the 10048). 8.

10124 frosted narrow, is my favorite optic and will work with the above emitters as well.

10108 works with de-domed 519’s.

This is my first beam shot. It was hard balancing the outputs with the flashlights I have. The Barbolight Apollo is single output.

WB locked at 5000K

Here’s the beamshot:

My favorites are the 219b and the 519’s. The 519 *5000k was so much more pink than I expected. Enough so that I may have to buy an Opple out of curiosity.

The 10048 optic and 519 with dome make for the most throw with this setup.

The XHP is not surprisingly the most floody.

The XHP50.3 is extremely bright. I wasn’t a fan until I used a frosted optic with this emitter. Very little green with the frosted optic. Definitely low CRI but it has a very pleasant beam that really defines objects.

The 519 4000k has the most pop of the emitters I used.

519 4500k is very neutral. Great daylight emitter.

I have a 519a 2700k on the way that I plan to dedome and a 519 5700k that I’m really excited to try. Also a 219b sw45k for comparison purposes.

I also wanted to mention that I mostly use a CR123 in this light. Works perfectly.

*Edit 9/30. I got an opple and found out the 519 5000k emitter is actually a mis-labeled 4000k emitter. Still very nice.

Thanks for reading and especially all the help this forum has provided over the years.

Matt

You came to the right place, welcome.

I hope you have fun here, M.Dickie!

Well done! Thank you for posting and welcome to BLF.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I’ve settled on the XHP50.3 for now. It makes a nice contrast to my other lights with warm, high CRI emitters.

I also really like the 5000k 519a.

I’ve got an Opple and more emitters on the way so that should be fun.

I’ve also started experimenting with dc-fix and much prefer that to the already frosted Carclo optics. This is just such a fun flashlight.