New EDC 18650, the first flashlight using the new CREE XP-G2 LED @ Intl-outdoor.com

Tom, you are right, there are nearly as many driver preferences as there are members here.

Trying to find the tint bin that I like combined with a driver that I like is too frustrating. I’m just going to build my own in the future.

Allan

That’s right about changing from 3 to 5 mode, it doesn’t switch quite that easily. Took me a few tries to get 5 mode, then a few tries again back to 3 mode. It takes 3 quick on/off or something to switch. Dunno, was glad it went back to 3 mode, and it’ll likely stay there. The off/on flash in low mode is a bit surprising/annoying every time, might take getting used to.

I only have 5-6 different lights, this one I’ve had only a week or so, but it’s one of my favorites…. size, brightness, floody…

Ideal light to try one of my XM-L2's I got coming in this week! T6 3C tint, but comparible to a U3 in brightness (best guess for now).

I still have the classic RexLight V2 which has similar UI and it drove me nuts :frowning: Take that gratuitous blink out of there please!

UF-2100 has three mode with real memory and no pwm and even though build quality is sub par, I like that light.

I tried my stock XPG outside around freezing or below. It didn’t get even warm after 5-10 min
So perfect during winter for outside.

I bought two of these, one black with XM-L U2, and one gold with XP-G2. They’re very nice. However, the XP-G2 one has had some mode and switch issues ever since it arrived.

Sometimes it’ll turn on and operate normally. Sometimes it’ll blink quickly then turn off, or not turn on at all. Sometimes it’ll turn on and flicker at several different brightnesses without being touched. Sometimes on low it’ll blink off briefly every second or two. And when changing modes with a half-press, it’ll often rotate two or three levels per press, flicker as if shorting, or otherwise behave strangely. It seems like something inside must be cracked or shorting or otherwise damaged.

Any idea if a new switch would help, or is this more likely an issue in some other component?

2. Both of my EDC 18650 lights have PWM on medium and low. However, it flashes so fast I can barely see it. It’s faster than my iTP A3 EOS (final rev), which selfbuilt measured at 2.45 kHz, so I’d guess it’s at least 3 kHz. (and yes, I can see that) It’s much much nicer than the common 200 Hz PWM, and most people probably won’t notice it at all.

4. I added a SolarForce L2 clip to both of mine, and it works great! However, you must add a small spacer in the tailcap to make it contact the non-anodized part of the body. A standard paperclip works pretty well for this, if you can find just the right thickness.

(BTW, the switch/mode issues on one of my units was there before adding a clip; it’s not caused by the spacer)

Yeah, it does have 4.5kHz PWM which is so high I count it as no PWM

It still makes a difference in terms of efficiency and beam tint though, as well as how motion looks. I think the only torch I have with true current-regulated constant output is my Zebralight.

If it’s really 4.5 kHz, I’m a little disturbed that I can still see it. That sort of frequency should be heard, not seen…

Efficiency is slightly worse, but no tint shift. I can't see any PWM against computer fan. Do you have older driver with stars or newer 3/5 mode? I have old one.

Buy the host kit, fit this driver for xm-l series emitters

http://www.intl-outdoor.com/ld25-26a-35modes-circuit-board-p-414.html

And this driver for xp-g series emitters

http://www.intl-outdoor.com/ld25-2a-35modes-circuit-board-p-415.html

I really really like these drivers for an edc, I have the option of the flashy modes if I need them, it has true memory, and they are current controlled on all levels, since much of my work involves fans and engines, its nice not seeing things strobing in lower modes. Pwm doesn’t bother me, but its still nice to have it eliminated and in this size of host, 2.6a is all you really need going to an xm-l, 2a is overkill on an xp-g but they accept it, and give a nice amount of throw.

Personally, I’d now try to get the 2 series of both xm-l and xp-g, as they are not so expensive and give higher output for the same input, but I don’t believe anyone would be unhappy with the older emitters, tint wise, I’m liking the 4c tint in xp-g and 3c tint in xm-l is acceptable, I still need to try an xm-l 4c.

It should also be noted, fasttech is keeping the convoy series of lights in a huge selection of drive currents and tints. I love intloutdoor, and tend to order there over anywhere else, but fasttech’s pricing is hard to ignore.

I have a 3/5 mode XM-L and 3-mode-only XP-G2. The 3/5 mode one is nice, aside from the mandatory blink on low. However, that’s not so bad, and it verifies to me each time that I’m on the level I expected. It’s nice to have the option of flash/SOS without having it in the main sequence when I don’t want it.

Thanks. I don’t really see any problem with what I’ve got now though, aside from some flaky behavior on one of the lights. The PWM doesn’t bother me, even though I can see it. That link does explain one of the weird behaviors I’ve seen though… sometimes my XP-G2 light will turn on at low then blink off quickly every second or two. It seems this is the driver’s response to low voltage. Something inside apparently isn’t connecting reliably.

What I don’t know yet is whether this is caused by the switch, the driver, or some other component.

I finally got my EDC 18650. It’s a black one with the convoy s3 marking. It isn’t as bright as I expected for around 700 lumens since it seems to be around as bright as my PD30.

I ordered one with the XM-L U2, is there any way to tell if I got what I ordered? Thanks.

If you post a picture of the LED we can confirm that it is a XM-L. May I ask what battery you are using in it?

The LED should look like this:

He also offers the XP-G2 emitter in those lights, which looks like this:

Other common types are XP-E and XP-G, shown in that order here:

As for the “U2” part, you probably can’t tell without taking the torch apart to look directly at the emitter star.

About brightness, do you mean the center of the beam isn’t as intense as you expected, or that it’s dimmer in a ceiling bounce test? I looked up the PD30’s specs and it’s rated at 145m of throw. That works out to 5256cd, which is approximately what I’d expect from an XM-L EDC18650. The PD30 has a much more focused beam, while the EDC is more floody. However, the EDC should light up the rest of a room much better than the PD30 does.

If you could put a bigger reflector on the EDC18650, it would produce a much brighter, smaller hotspot. For example, the XinTD C8 has roughly the same lumen output, but its beam is 4X to 5X as intense. Or the HD2010… again, similar total lumens, but it gets ~50k cd instead of 5k cd because it has a much bigger reflector.

Ok, I’ll try. I’m using the same ultrafires that I use in my HD 2010, the purportedly 3000 mah ones.

I hope this pic is clear enough for you to be able to tell.

Yep, that is an XM-L. I have a feeling the problem is the battery though. Ultrafires aren't exactly known for their quality.

Thanks. I may just have overexpected after seeing the 800 lumens on both my HD2010 and Fenix TK35. The EDC 18650 is still a pretty good light for EDC. I’m probably going to get a couple more. And some better batts. :smiley:

If you’re comparing against those two lights, the EDC18650 is going to look a lot dimmer even with good batteries. They get about 22k cd and 50k cd, respectively, compared to the 5k cd on the EDC18650. The issue could be the batteries, but I suspect it’s more due to comparing throwers against a flooder.