The reflector is exactly the same on the C8 and the C12.
Naturally, I like legoing flashlights, so I tried to swap the switches of the C12 and the C8 around, but they are a bit different, the C12’s switch retaining ring screws down a lot more than the C8’s. Using a C12 switch on the C8 tail did not really work for me, because the spring on the C12 puts a lot more pressure on the copper plunger. Also, the C12’s tail works fine on the C8. It is just a little tight, because of the extra length of the plunger. If you are using 18700 batteries on the C8 with the C12 tail, you might want to partially screw the tail on. But the threads seems to be the same.
I did not know that lightmalls did not have free shipping to some countries, on their website it says: “All shipping, free”. Is it paid shipping for a registered article?
And also I gave the C8’s tail away. I had purchased 2 C12’s and I gave one away, I found the C12’s switch to be easier to push, so I changed them.
Now that I think of it, that was a stupid thing to do
C12 with battery in vs C8 with same battery in
This shows how different pressure would be put on the battery plunger spring if you used a C8 with a C12 tail.
C8 pill vs C12 pill
As you can see, the C12 pill is a lot wider, and would be good for efficient energy transfer.
C12 Reflector vs C8 Reflector
I personally cannot tell the difference between these two reflectors, they are absolutely identical.
Heads swapped around
The C8 head does not fully screw onto the C12 body tube. The threads on the C12 body tube are a bit longer than the C8
You can see how there is a gap, it just stops turning when it just passes the o-ring
Here is the reflector from the Keygos KE-303 compared to a C8. Too bad there are other problems with the light.
This reflector throws a nice tight beam with an XM-L, but the pill needs work
Thanks for another great review. I bought a C8 U2 from Lightmalls after reading your review, and agree with your comments. It is excellent quality, and as bright as my 5 x R5 light. I’m waiting to get my TR-J16 and will post some comparison beamshots.
And I’ve just placed an order for this C12 from Lightmalls - You should get some commission from them !
Yeah I should get commission, but the thing is, I do these reviews for the fun of it. Just to let the world know what I think is good. If I get commission, it just gets too serious and makes it seem like a chore to do.
No, I was just joking. Anything to do with commissions will mean the questioning of the bias in the reviews. And as it is, there is enough twisting of the truth elsewhere in Web-review-land !
Really, its thanks to people like yourself and all the other members here that we can come here and find out for sure if a products is really good or it sucks.
The C12 is driven a bit better, and it seems brighter too. Yeah it is pretty strange, maybe it is because the colour tint of the C8 is NW and the tint of the C12 is slightly cooler.
Personally, I don’t really know, since I do not own a KD C8. Both are very good lights. The C12 might be a little better driven, and it does have better heatsinking.
But since I am unbiased, I cannot say for sure.
Replying to the Rusty Joe’s last two comments, I personally think that the C8 feels slightly nicer to hold in your hand, as the C12’s heatsink fins reduce the grippy area of the flashlight. You may find that with the C12, your hand might jut out past the end of the tailcap, which is definitely not that comfortable. That being said, the two flashlight’s body tubes are almost identical, so the knurling on both is nice and not too protruding. For some reason, the C8 also feels slightly heavier, but the actually weigh the same.
Since the reflector is the same on both the flashlights, and the U2 binned XM-L has the same dome as the T6, it might be fair the say that the C12 has better throw, only because it is driven a bit higher and can maintain the same amps to lumens efficiency for longer.
I do not currently own a lux-o-meter or whatever they are called, and do not intend of getting one any time soon, so I can’t tell you the exact lux value.
I just got my C12 in the mail today. It is also very well built, confirming what Chris has found. Nice to know there is some consistency in the manufacturing !
I did a comparison with the C8 (both are from Lightmalls as per Chris’ reviews) and the C12 is noticeably brighter than the C8. I’d estimate between 5 and 10% brighter to the naked eye. (My DMM is playing up, so I can’t provide any measurements) I thought maybe it was the battery (using Trustfire 2400s), but swapping them around gave the same result.
Go figure - supposedly the C12 has the T6 and the C8 has the U2 - not sure what this means ??!
