Please Help A Noobie Choose His First Single 18650 Cell Thrower + Little Flood For ~ $50

There’s a limit to how much a light can perform given an emitter and reflector size.

Most of the money paid for $$$ premium lights isn’t performance per se but incremental build quality, better electronics (very long runtime on low modes), warranty, stuff like that. All those lights you list are good enough and there really isn’t much better than that.

With the length of the c8, a tail switch is fine, I feel if you go above 2 x 18650 series in length you want a side switch, on short lights, tail switch is fine.

Personally, I’ll be ordering a 3 mode nw xintd c8 in December, till then I’ll continue to shill it to death, I love the c8 size/performance and can’t see the benefit in spending more on what is basically an aluminum tube with an hours worth of time on a lathe. Go into production and your probably talking a couple of minutes in a cnc lathe. I don’t feel a laser etched name is worth the extra dollars.

Glad to hear that bro! Again thanks a million for pointing me in the right direction.
I guess ill go for the cheapest and get myself some decent IMR batteries

I hear you buddy! and i totally agree with you! :wink:

What about the Jacob A60 (if DX still has it)? It's the king of budget throwers. Tight throwing beam, with dim spill. Might need some attention to the emitter mounting (see last page of that thread). Or if you want an XM-L thrower, either an HD2010 or a Small Sun ZY-T08. The HD2010 may have issues due to the direct drive driver and possible shorting of emitter leads to reflector (which can be modified). The Small Sun may not be driven very hard, but is still a seriously impressive thrower! I really like it!

-Garry

I love my V9CS.

The side switch is to change modes. A forward clicky rear switch turns on/off.

The side switch when held down will go from 100% brightness down to 1% and back again in 1% increments.

Double click the side switch and you get the SOS and strobe modes.

By far my favorite UI. Something to take into account.

Hey Garrybunk
Actually i did have my eye on the Jacob A60 and sadly its out of stock at DX. The thing is from my understanding that the HD2010 doesnt shine using 18650 cells. and i want to avoid buying new charger + batteries. In regards to modding and fixing new stuff i still didnt reach that knowledge to start playing with my new toys :8) thus having a decenst quality Flashlight for now is a good choice i thinkg
regarding the Small Sun ZY-T08 i dont know how it compares to any of the flashlights i mentioned in the Poll

yeah buddy i watched a review on youtube and i kinda like the UI also!
but i think the price difference is kinda huge compared to the others mentioned in the poll if it performs equally to them also

The UI on the V9CS is worth the extra on its own tbh. It’s also very well built and a clear step up from my budget lights. You really can see and feel the tactile difference in quality.

That said the regulation on the Crelant is non existent on an 18650 (not that it’s really an issue tbh) but is apparently regulated on 2xRCR.

As for throw and flood. Well it throws ok and has some spill. But it’s an XM-L so isn’t a throw master. My 180 lumen XP-E Maglite out throws it. But with a smaller hot spot and less bright spill.

I’ve got the small syn on the way, it’s described as an out and out thrower, it depends what you want/need. I think the small sun looks like a fantastic light, but as an all rounder, I’d always go to a c8 first, pocketable, its pretty small, but with that 40mm head, gives acceptable throw. The xintd just seems to be the best of a good design, an with the options you can either go with cw for maximum output (throw and spill) or nw for far nicer colour rendering.

Look around the site, there are plenty of comparisons (foys blf mini thread is fairly high on the recent posts and gives some nice comparison shots of tint, look at the difference in the colours of the stones and any greenery to get an idea). I don’t mind cw (cool white) but I do find a more neutral tone usefull. In a thrower, I want maximum performance, that’s the point, so I’d pick a more efficient cw emitter to get that, rather than sacrifice some output for nicer colour rendering.

@ Chicken Drumstick i appreciate your input. And i agree the quality seems great plus the UI looks great too. But i don’t think it justifies the price difference.

@ gords1001 Till that moment i am having my eye on the following:
XinTD C8 V3
SANYO UR18650FM 2600MAH

If you dont mind letting me know where i can find the smallsun with some decent 18650 cells to have them both shipped together in 1 package i wouldnt mind checking it out.

Both of your links point the thing, do you have a link for the C8?

Regarding the price difference, tbh I don’t know how much they all cost. I nabbed my V9Cs for $39.99 inc shipping. I like it, although maybe not my fav.

I find it a little too big for a trouser/pants pocket, so you’ll want a coat. But the best thing is the UI, personally I have having to scroll through modes all the time and dual switch of the V9CS means this is never an issue.

I also have a 2x18650 Small Sun ZY13 which is a dual switch and a Klarus NT20 also dual switch. They are by far and away the best UI’s.

That said I think beam profile is important, as a general purpose light I much prefer my L2M p60 XM-L. It doesn’t throw as far, but it throws far enough to be useful, but just lights up a wider area better and is slimmer, smaller and more pocket friendly.

Sorry for the bad link i edited my post for you. The good thing in the XinTD C8 is you can choose your modes.
the whole point of my purchase is to have great throw with a fair amount of flood.

My all time favorite for $24 is the small sun zy-t13 2x 18560 a good thrower with a fair amount of spill too.Hard to beat for the price and no mode memory,so it goes back to high when the light is turned back on.

The HD2010 is by far the most impressive light I have. I have a C8 modded with XML U2 1C and it cant even get in the ballpark with the 2010! Both have the same driver. As long as you get a descent 18650 you wont have any issues.

Thats my 2cents :bigsmile:

@ MLC810WN i am not seeking a x2 18650 =/ but thanks anyway

@ apt323 damn that HD2010 i hear lots of good reviews about it! Is there any preferable brand or online retailer to buy from?
I found these and they all cost ~ $60 but i am not sure about the vendor nor the FandyFire quality.
FandyFire HD2010

TRUSTFIRE 3.7V 5000MAH 26650 LI-ION

TRUSTFIRE TR-005 ALL-IN-ONE BATTERY CHARGER

Hey MarioSS!

I just want to say, I haven’t found a better bang for buck light than the XinTD.

Yes, technically you can pay less and get more throw.
And yes, you can pay more and get a higher quality light. (usually a LOT more)

But it’s just plain an all around winner… You get to choose your modes, and there is no visible PWM (huge plus for me!), AND you can even choose the led tint!

Put it this way… it’s one of my only lights left I haven’t actually had to modify to get to my liking.

XinTD FTW

Thanks for the recomendation buddy!
I guess I’ll go for the xintd for now, and later on I’ll either get a Ultrafire HD2010 or something close.

Which batteries should I go with:
Sanyo UR18650FM 2600mAh

Or

Panasonic NCR18650A 3100mAH

From my reading seems like the Sanyo is a better choice correct?
someone chime in please i need to have the order done ASAP.

But you may very well end up ultimately berating much-vaunted torches in comparison after ya use one. 8)

A genuine TrustFire X8 that is. But given a limited choice, IMO the XINTD hands down.

Just sayin’……