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

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.

Thanks!

I’m sorry I missed your post, thanks so much for taking the time to show this to me. I love this forum. Learn something new everyday. :smiley:

I got my Convoy S3 body, XP-G2 3-mode version this week but can’t get lower modes working. As far as I can see I only get one full brightness mode and one almost unnoticeably dimmer mode. No low mode to speak of.
Cell is Samsung ICR18650-28A, charged with ML102 (ie. to 4.2V)

I love my EDC18650. I popped on the stainless steel clip that intloutdoor also sells and it works great. My only gripe is that the reflector isn’t as floody as my convoy S3. My S3 reflector puts out a smoother beam that I really like.

surprised you noticed a different between the IO and Convoy reflectors

Yeah I was surprised to see that too. I was expecting the two to be identical. The orange peel is definitely more aggressive on my S3 reflector.

Found the problem with low lumens/brightness on the EDC 18650! It's the centering ring - not sure if anyone pointed that out yet, it seems to sound familiar.

I've been disappointed with the output with it doing about 525 lumens with an XML U2, 2.8A Nanjg. So, I updated it to a U3 1C on a SinkPAD and 20 22 gauge wire - only improved it to 560 lumens. So looked at that centering ring and replaced it with a low profile type, and added a paper type of ring insulator because it was needed now - stock centering ring left a good gap between the star and the reflector. To raise it all up, I simply unscrewed the pill a bit and got it to a point where I could tighten up the SS bezel really well and have a good amount of pressure on the star (actually used the rubber strap of a strap wrench to tighten it).

So those adjustments raised the lumens from 560 to 795 on a Sanyo battery, both readings at 30 seconds! Now that's what I'd expect! Oh - also got a AR lens in there, but it's been there all along - one of the first mods I ever did...

ooops -- edited the wire gauge above...

well done Tom! :slight_smile:

It's hard to believe it made such a hugh difference.. I got several 18650 EDC style tube lights, and this has been the worse performer, now it's one of the best, only beaten out by my Convoy S4 host w/XM-L2 U2/SinkPAD, 3.5A Nanjg which does just over 1,000 lumens. I did one or two right about there in the 790-800 lumen range, same XML U3 Nanjg 2.8A setup.

I notice from the pics at OI that it appears there are two different LED centering spacers.

Looks like the grey and gold versions have a round spacer with a round hole, whereas the black version has the “butterfly” spacer with a square hole.

Can anyone comment on this?

I’ve been resisting buying the EDC host for months now…and finally pulled the trigger on the black one. I don’t yet have a tube light, as all my 18650 lights have larger heads.

Thinking of building it up with an XP-G2 R5 3C on copper, conservatively driven @ 1.9A (5x7135 380’s), flashed with customized Star1.1 firmware (1-minute turbo timer).

Thanks
-JW