Convoy S2/S3 mini-review
I’ve been thinking about upgrading my EDC, an Eagletac D25C2 mini. It is a 2xCR123 XPG light with an advertised 343 lumens. Although it suits my needs well, I’m moving toward 18650 LiIon cells for my using lights, and perhaps it is time for an upgrade.
I saw the EDC 18650 at intl-outdoor, and being unable to decide between the new XP-G2 and XM-L emitters, I bought both. Then, fasttech added the same lights to their web page. I went a little nuts and bought a Convoy S3 and a Convoy S3 from fasttech, too.
Initial impressions
The three Convoy S3 hosts are identical, as you would expect. The fit and finish is excellent with no significant flaws that I can see. The knurling is on the smooth side, so it certainly won’t wear out your pants. The overall aesthetic is plain, which suits me just fine. The only concessions to ornament are the glow-in-the-dark switch button and lens o-ring, and the stainless bezel ring.
Here is a surprise. Notice in the title picture, the S2 is a bit longer than the S3s? The S2 has a deeper reflector than the S3. It’s hard to judge how much deeper it is, but I’d guess around 8-9mm.
This is the white-wall beamshot setup. The lights are turned on to their highest mode, set 50cm from the wall. From left to right, they are the Intl-outdoor S3 with XP-G2, the Intl-Outdoor S3 with XM-L, the Fasttech S3 with XM-L, and the Fasttech S2 with XM-L. The last light, on the far right, is an Eagletac P20C2. I used it for comparison because it is also an XM-L with a similar sized reflector.
This is the same scene shot in full manual mode, 1/125 at F6.3, ISO 100.
This is 1/80 at F4 ISO 100, intentionally over-exposed a couple of stops to better show the spill beams. I had the white balance set to daylight, thus the orange tint.
You’ll notice that the S3 beams are floody. I don’t think the above pictures do justice to the reality. I would say that the S3 lights are extremely floody, more so than any other XM-L light I own. Even the 2.8A Intl-outdoor version lacks the “wow” factor usually associated with heavily-driven XM-L lights. It constantly makes me want to turn it to a higher mode, even when it is already on high.
The XP-G2 is a little better, but not much. The Fasttech S2, with its deeper reflector, has a beam more like what I was looking for. Unfortunately, it only has a 3*AMC7135 driver, so it isn’t as bright as the more heavily driven lights.
Conclusion
The S3 has the makings of a good light, but it suffers from a fatal flaw. The reflector needs to be optimized for the XM-L emitter, to allow a more balanced beam profile. The S2 seems to have potential, but I’d really need to see one with a driver pushing more current to the LED. An XP-G2 combined with the deeper S2 reflector would have promise.
So, is it time to retire my trusty D25C2? Nope, it remains safe for now. The beam pattern is only half the reason, take a look:
Obviously, an 18650 light is going to be a little bigger than a 2xCR123 light. The Convoy, though crosses an invisible line. The D25C2 clips unobtrusively iinside my front pants pocket. Pocket carry of the S3 is going to generate “are you happy to see me?” comments. Sure, I could carry it in a jacket pocket, but if I’m going to do that, why not carry a P60 class light, or even a C8?
Verdict: 3/5
Objective measurements
Here is the methodology for the following measurements. The tailcap current test was done with a inexpensive Radio Shack DMM in the normal manner. I was using the 20A scale, so the lower readings may have some measurement error. For the temperature test, each light was turned on its highest level, and the temperature was measured with an infrared temp gun once per minute for ten minutes of continuous operation. Finally, a lightmeter was used to measure the brightest part of the beam for each light’s highest mode.
intl-outdoor Convoy S3 XP-G2 R5 2B 3 mode
tailcap current measurement:
L 0.08 A
M 0.43 A
H 1.38 A
temperature measurement:
0:00 25 C
0:01 29 C
0:02 31 C
0:03 34 C
0:04 35 C
0:05 35 C
0:06 36 C
0:07 37 C
0:08 36 C
0:09 40 C
0:10 38 C
lightmeter measurement:
4100 lux @ 1m
intl-outdoor Convoy S3 XM-L U2 1A 3/5 mode
tailcap current measurement:
L 0.16 A
M 1.40 A
H 2.81 A
temperature measurement:
0:00 29 C
0:01 36 C
0:02 41 C
0:03 46 C
0:04 51 C
0:05 55 C
0:06 58 C
0:07 61 C
0:08 63 C
0:09 65 C
0:10 66 C
lightmeter measurement:
5300 lux @ 1m
fasttech Convoy S3 XM-L U2 1B 3 mode
tailcap current measurement:
L 0.08 A
M 0.44 A
H 1.39 A
temperature measurement:
0:00 26 C
0:01 31 C
0:02 33 C
0:03 35 C
0:04 36 C
0:05 37 C
0:06 37 C
0:07 38 C
0:08 40 C
0:09 40 C
0:10 41 C
lightmeter measurement:
3300 lux @ 1m
fasttech Convoy S2 XM-L U2 1B 3/5 mode
tailcap current measurement:
L 0.06 A
M 0.52 A
H 1.05 A
temperature measurement:
0:00 25 C
0:01 28 C
0:02 30 C
0:03 31 C
0:04 32 C
0:05 31 C
0:06 32 C
0:07 33 C
0:08 35 C
0:09 36 C
0:10 37 C
lightmeter measurement:
3000 lux @ 1m