Solarforce S2200 MT-G2

What you described sounds like a review to me :)…

And, that site looks great, but don’t fall in the water!

Look at this thread for a pre-review, Foy gave the S1100 a thorough going over, and it’s the same light with some mods. Review: Solarforce S1100

Really looking forward to your review. The Crelant 7G10 has been somewhat of a disappointment to me. I'm hoping it's just a matter of them not driving the LED hard enough.

It's the same light with a fundamentally different LED that's built for a fundamentally different purpose. If you're looking for a laserbeam thrower, you'll be disappointed with the MT-G2. If you want something that makes you laugh every time you switch it on, and go around to random strangers and say "dude, check this out!", you will love it.

So, Comfychair, are you saying the MT-G2 won’t have the throw of the XM-L2 in the S1100? I’m not looking for that “laser beam” pencil thin thrower, but would like a nice enough hot spot for it to throw with a huge compliment of spill.

The reflector design with it’s diameter and depth are very much targeted at throw, so if the larger MT-G2 is going to nullify that, why bother? TIR optics on an XM-L2 give flood if that’s wanted.

Now you’ve got me thinking it won’t hit that gate tower at 770 yds. :frowning: Not a big deal really, 500 yds or even a great amount of light at 300 yds would still tickle me and perhaps cause some coyotes to cease existence.

This is what the Elektrolumens Triple XM-L2 in a 3D Maglight does, with a modified 9A battery drain and something in the neighborhood of 3000 lumens through TIR optics.

Edit: If the MT-G2 causes the S2200 to have a similar floody beam it will be up for sale the following day.

No, it will not have the throw of a XML in the same size reflector - just compare the die sizes between the two. They're completely different. BUT, it is still a very tight beam, and still throws farther than anything I have around here to aim it at. It reaches out something like 3 times as far as a 'good' SkyRay King, even though they're both close to the same amount of light. And don't forget, a 2000+ lumen SRK will be using better than 2 amps to each LED, while the S2200 is only 3-3.3ish. A MT-G2 at the same total power would make the SRK seem like a 3D Maglite with an incandescent bulb.

But throwers are very strange beasts and their fans are rather strange, too... sacrificing output and practicality for extreme distance for nothing other than comparing it to other lights built for the same purpose... I just don't get it. I'll take a usable beam over a white laser every time.

I was not at all happy with the S1100 when it still had the XML/XML2 in it. I fkin' LOVE it with the MTG2. :love:

comfy,

I’ve seen you, among others say that (it’s the same), but thought that was a generality.

Are the S2200 and S1100 really the same physical host from each other? Aside from the emitters, are the drivers exactly the same also?

If so, then SF is charging like $30 premium just for the MT-G2 emitter vs. the XM-L?

I have a feeling it won’t be as floody as the Elektrolumens Triple XM-L2. A tentative prediction: the difference between the S2200 and S1100 is that the MT-G light throws a hugeass hotspot and has brighter spill with excellent tint; the reflector’s prodigious depth precludes it being a true flooder. That said, I (tentatively) reckon it’ll be in the neighborhood of ~60kCd and 500 meters of ANSI throw (distance to .25 lux). Yakkity yak, we’ll find out soon enough :wink:

Thanks for that confirmation Comychair, thought I was gonna get another wall of light. If you’re that pleased with the swap over, I probably will be as well.

I don’t like a light that has nothing but spot. I want to see what’s in the surroundings as well as what’s way out there…don’t want anything sneaking up on me while I’m illuminating one small area.

Jim, the UI is different in the driver and the power output to the emitter is likely different as well. We’ll see. And the only reason it’s a $30 difference at the moment is because the new one’s on sale and so is the old one.

Hi,

Ahh. Ok, thanks for that info. No pressure, but I’m thinking that the S2200 may be my next light, depending on how your “test” goes :).

BTW, SF said they were taking a 2 week vacation (must be nice :)!). Did you get yours after they had gone out?

Man that s2200 does look nice. I like both this one and the Crelant. Eager to see some reviews.

The body is the same between S1100-S2200. Driver UI is different (press & hold to get blinkie modes). 2200 lumens on Match's graph took about the same amperage as I get with mine, which is using the S1100 stock driver, so if there's a difference in power it's likely to be very slight.

Forgive my peabrain, but I do not get this easywhite business. Are all MT-Gs in the 5000k range?

EasyWhite 2-Step falls within the small blue quadrangles and 4-Step EasyWhite falls within the larger red ones. “Steps” refers to quadrangles approximating a MacAdam ellipse (smaller = better). For instance, 4-Step 5000k EasyWhite ensures you don’t get stuck with the tints that fall in the extremities of 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D. 2-Step EasyWhite ensures tint deviates even less than 4-Step from the black body line (desirable).

A note of caution, there are definite differences in tint with MTG2 leds.

The one Crelant used in the 7G10 is just a tad warmer vs xmlt6. Meanwhile the MTG2 used in the EAW OldLumens made, produces a much, much warmer, more beautiful color.

IIRC, Old used a 4000k MT-G2. Crelant probably used a 5000k MT-G2.

The MTG2's "5000k" is somehow very different from the XML2 & XPG2's "5000k". I generally hate both those in that tint, too yellow-brown for my unsophisticated eyes, but the MT-G2 is just byoootiful.

The last hour in a proper CC/CV charger contributes about a third of the total energy pumped into cell. In the digital real-time read-out of my hobby charger, you can see that although the voltage pumped is already in the 4.17 to 4.2V vicinity, the current is still way behind, usually by almost a third of its actual capacity, gradually increasing. So removing a cell that has reached 4.2v early on does not mean it has reached its full capacity, the current pumped will gradually decrease to about 1/10th of the charging rate you set before termination.
Also, a hobby charger will also tell you the health of your cell. Your cell may get to 4.17 –4.2V but you will also know how much current it stored by doing a discharge capacity test. You will notice this is a light that has a timed turbo mode. I have a SC600 that does turbo for exactly 5 min, then a step-down. Some of my battered, tired laptop cells cannot sustain the turbo mode’s 5 min run, dropping to High anytime much earlier in, not finishing the 5min run.

I think I am getting it now. MTGs are still binned by X,000K but tend to be tighter binned with less deviation from the black body line… so the tint is “purer”.

That makes more sense. I think 4,000K would be my preference. Wonder what Solarforce uses? Probably 5,000.