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

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!
.
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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*

Yay! The Gold one is thrilled, want’s it’s picture taken. lol The unbranded black one is shy, hiding it’s face behind the much bolder M3 carrying big brother.

Nice choices, that should modernize the opening page pretty well.

And yes, I think asking the companies for a representative shot will give them some pride and give you the satisfaction of knowing you went to the source and there’s no issues with showing them. :wink:

Ah, interesting. I wasn’t sure if the L2P would get third place, or if the two C8s would be added together to take the third spot. It has been basically tied, pending interpretation of the results.

Just a thought, but to assure maximum exposure to all BLF members on this subject (rather than just the ones that participated in this thread), perhaps the top 10 suggestion from this thread should be used to create a poll. (The poll hangs in the side bar until it is replaced by another).

I would be willing to bet that the C8 XML ($10-18) category alone has by far outsold the combination of the top 5-10 flashlight suggestions combined.

What flashlight enthusiast doesnt own at least 1 or 2?…

what he said… but no big deal either way, it was voted on, and the results clearly show here what the people like.

but the only one out of all 3 that i would consider buying is the solarforce. and even then i would probably pick a different model. sipik and SRK dont appeal to me. when the king first came out it was a wow factor, but only in gold. now they have black a little to late as there are many more budget options…

just my 2c, doesnt matter either way to me though :bigsmile:

Got one on my desk, but it’s borrowed from my son . . so I don’t own even just one.

Couple SK68s, few P60s, several straight tube EDCs in several battery sizes, then jump to a 2*18650 T6, various mags, and a DST. Oh, and a free SK68 2*AA extension on its way.

C8
SK68
L2P

All this talk about the SK-68…so I just went and bought one from dx.com!! Can’t go wrong at $8.70!

i have none

It’s not great, compared to many of the other lights we talk about here… but it’s probably the best value for the price (usually sells at around $5 or $6 including shipping). It’s also a great gift for non-flashaholics since it can use regular AA batteries and will beat the pants off almost anything available at local retail stores for 10X the price.

On an Eneloop, it’ll probably get around 140 or 160 lumens on the wide setting and up to 10k lux on the narrow setting. Not bad for a single-AA compact $6 light. With a 14500 battery, it can get more like 240 lumens on wide and 15k lux on narrow, but runs the risk of overheating. Also, the quality and exact features vary quite a bit from unit to unit, and which one you get is often luck-of-the-draw.

I got ten and gave most of them away. Every recipient has been pretty pleased with it, especially the guy who was still using a big 2-D cell incandescent. The SK-68 also was the #1 product on Amazon for a while, in both flashlights and hand tools.

There are much better products out there… but not for $6 or less.

when is the voting over?

Looks like it’s over…

I took this picture of a SK68.

Certainly not the best but I will offer it up if you want to use it. :) I don't currently have a L2P or King though.