[19-FEB-2013] Help choose three new lights for the BLF frontpage welcome!

Hmm. EA4 is definitely nice, but it doesn’t seem very “budget” since you can get a much cheaper C8 to achieve the same output. Or even a cheap Li-Ion tube light, if you prefer size over throw. Maybe a Convoy S2/S3 gift set w/ batteries and a charger for half as much as the cheapest EA4.

The Thrunite Ti never seemed as appealing to me as the classic iTP A3 EOS / Olight i3, or the cheaper models like Tank007 E09 and all the other similar lights. I like having three modes on my 1xAAA light. The Fenix model is still probably best overall, but it’s 2X to 3X as much as the almost-identical budget models.

+3 cos it’s redundant.

ZY-T13
SRK
C-8

I sold my C8. Why? Because I stopped using it after I got a P60.
Why I prefer P60s above C8 style lights:

-Size of head are not too small, but still small enough to go into most pockets comfortably.
-Beam. More flood. Much better for close to medium range. Does not give tunnel vision like C8.
-The ability to easily change drop-ins:
1- Different emitters (XP-G for throw, XM-L for flood and general use)
2- Different hosts for different use (Going a late evening mountain trip I know I might dent the flashlight a little running down a step mountain, so I take a more abused host)
3- Different tints in the right host for the job (High CRI/warm white for outdoor nature)
-The amount of different hosts. Cheap, bling, camo, colorful, clean, high quality, different shapes, etc…
-The ability the “lego” some parts for you own unique flashlight
-Building your own drop-in is super easy and the total cost is about 10$ with a nice driver.
-Custom drop-ins like triple XP-Gs etc…
-Parts are easily available. SMO/OP reflectors, lenses, rubber caps.

I dont own a L2P (yet?), I have L2T and some others. But I feel the L2P represents the typical high quality P60 host with a classic design. It basically shows that you can buy a budget light but still get a host that can be compared with a much more expensive Surefire host.
I also think a P60 represents some of the modding community on BLF. Many start with a P60 for their modding adventures. L2P is a nice host to represent all the P60 lights on this forum…

By looking at the voting system from the brainstorming site, the two C8 lights have more votes. But if a several P60 style lights L2T, L2N, Ultrafire 501B etc, etc were added I think they would get the highest combined results when comparing P60 vs C8 style lights…

Huh, really? :bigsmile: I’m genuinely surprised, but then again I tend to speak English rather strangely even though I’m a native speaker. So anybody else supporting a motion to remove the word “with”?

At least preliminarily, it’s looking like the SkyRay King will be among the three winners. If it is, what do you think about using the black color version instead? I personally don’t like the yellow/gold color of the standard version at all.

Black SRK all the way.
It would be nice to have something grey or blue(E03) also.

I have and like both :)

The fact that you requested a budget 2x18650 and AA format, plus budget, makes it all to easy.

ZY-T13
SK68

and finally, of course, the SR King. I don’t mind any preference of color, though if we want to keep it original, it would be the gold one.

And that’s 1 AA super-budget-all-purpose zoomer, 1 2x8650-series pure-thrower, and one 4x18650-parallel flooder. All budget.

I agree, the black is nice, but the King is gold since conception and should be shown that way. It is a classic and that is the color of the classic SRK, hate it or love it. It is also the color that most of us have.

2 add-on votes: black SRK, remove “with” (ref post #83)

+1, the main reason I’m into flashlights is that I like to build stuff, so what’s cooler than finding all the parts and assembling them to make myself a light that does/feels/looks what I want. Feel and performance of a higher end light (but without the price) that I can always update to the latest emitter/driver. L2P isn’t my favorite design but I think it sums up the budget P60 the best, not the cheapest out there but it’s universally recognized as durable, utilitarian, and inexpensive.

I don’t think it’s redundant, but I guess I don’t have a strong opinion on this one, sounds the same either way to me

I’d definitely go for the gold. It’s iconic. It also happens to be my personal preference for this torch, but mostly I just think it’s more iconic and recognizable that way.

About the ‘with’… I don’t think I’d miss it. It doesn’t bother me though.

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. I’ve been trying to avoid modding, so that probably makes it totally clear why I’m more interested in a full package rather than a lego system. However, modding is an awfully big part of this community and culture…

My only mods so far are so trivial they can’t really even be called mods… like replacing a headband with a shoelace+velcro for necklace use, or diffusing a beam with translucent tape. Adding a clip. Hopefully, soon, turning a zoomie into a Bat signal. Replacing a broken clicky switch. Nothing involving soldering or drivers or de-doming or a machine shop, though drop-ins are definitely on the easy end of the spectrum.

I dont mean to further derail this thread but I think many of us agree with ToyKeeper. The P60’s certainly have their following because of their size and feature an easily swappable drop-in. They are also very inexpensive, which makes them initially seem like an attractive buy, until you assemble the complete light and the real price of ownership is revealed. Interestingly, all but one of my P60 based lights sit mostly unused, buried deep in a drawer (more on that below). I already went through the learning curve and modded all my P60’s. Sure it was fun and interesting, but it was also a huge waste of money that could have been spent on much better flashlights that would still be in use today. So lets take a closer look at the facts (not bashing anyone here. Just pointing out some fallacies and over-sites that often seem to pop up from those that market their own sales hype to themselves). I know Im often guilty of that too!:

  • P60’s: they have the worst heat sinking of any design Ive ever seen (even when the drop-in is wrapped in thick copper foil). If the drop-in is properly wound tightly to help dissipate heat, they suddenly become a real hassle to swap, which circumvents most of the reason for owning one in the first place. :Sp Drive a P60 XML at a commendable 3A for 10 minutes and you’ll quickly have something you can fry eggs on before it burns out. Id call the pretty useless. But not so with your old C8. You can keep right on using it till the battery is discharged. Even at 1.5A for a well heat-sinked P60, they become quite hot to handle… not warm, HOT. If its not getting hot, your make-shift (or non-existent) heat sinking method is insufficient and not doing its job. And what do you get for all of your efforts… a handy pocket warmer?
  • In comparing the C8, the tiny P60 reflectors are inefficient and poorly designed, which means they wont produce nearly the amount of throw/spill of the larger, deeper reflector when driven at the same levels. Your C8 had a way more efficient reflector that would stomp all over your P60 with any emitter combo.
  • There are literally dozens (probably hundreds) of properly designed P60 sized flashlights with useable heat sinking built-in, and with superior reflectors that cost less than the total investment of a descent budget P60 light… they are reviewed on this forum all the time. There are also far more options for host/finish/emitter/driver/tint/bin combos in regular flashlights than P60 drop-ins.
  • While I agree that the aesthetics of some of the nicer P60 based solarforce hosts (and similar) are a thing of beauty, they should have been modified years ago (at the time drop-ins migrated from incandescent to LED) so that the pill screwed into the host to accommodate heat sinking. They also could have used a much better reflector design.

The only P60 based light I still use is this:
(photos compliments of Hrvoje)

The TrustFire TF-R2 accommodates the threads of a P60 pill, all packaged in a well designed C8 sized deep-reflectored host. Everyone with a collection of drop-ins should own one because it truly allows for a quick-change pill swap while maintaining heat-sinking with a great beam.

Hrvoje, if youre reading, thanks again for posting about the TF-R2. Ive bought several for other people (at least 10) and they are a match for any well designed budget C8. At the moment, they are still future-proof. :bigsmile:

My opinion from experience and a non-emotional perspective in comparing other budget lights: P60’s are obsolete, more expensive and inherently poorly designed. Your money is far better spent elsewhere.

The L2P in HAIII is a sure bet. Easy pickings on the drop-in of choice, from $7 to $120 there’s tons of options.

I also vote for an O-L MiniMag, as the most reliable, solid budget performer and spokesmodel for the Budget Forum.

Don’t have any of the others that everyone’s raving about, but with the one’s I’ve got, who needs em?

Noobs 2c.

Edit: Johnny Mac made me order a Surefire HD2010, so I’m starting to join in around here. :stuck_out_tongue:

Love reading everybody’s choices!
.
.
Sipik68/clone
SmallSun ZY-T13
HD 2010
SkyRay King

I second that :smiley:
The Convoy S2 is dollar for dollar, the best BFTB (bangforthebuck) light I own. The quality of the fit/finish is exemplary, for a $14+ flashlight.

SK68
SRK
Thrunite TI

Ok, we now have three clear winners, and they look like pretty good ones.

  1. Sipik SK68 or a clone
  2. SkyRay King
  3. Solarforce L2P

So now we need pictures. Should I ask a vendor if I can use one of their pictures? Or would anybody here like to take some shots for this? (I have the Solarforce L2P, so I can handle that one.) If so, it would simply be a top view of the light laying on a white background (could be a piece of white paper or a sheet). It doesn’t have to be a spectacular high resolution picture, since I will be scaling it down to about the same size as the current pictures.

Thanks a lot!

Yes!!

hehe *gg*