Review: TrustFire F15-T6

Would be a hell of a lot easier. I do tend to complicate things unnecessarily.

Foy

Foy, I think you still have time to build Match’s lumen sphere.

I know I do and his instructions are so good . . . just need to dive in.

Foy

I would love to see how the Trustfire TF with manafont three mode XML pill would stack up here. Given Match’s new figures it seems that the BAR is what is really making these lights pop vs. P60. (big ass reflector)

For throw I have a masterpiece pro 1 in the mail. I am hoping it comes today. You know how that usually goes. BAR is the way to go, R2 or XML.

BTW... are TIR optics already on the market, that are calculated for XMLs?

Carclo lists TIR lens's for the XM-L, which happens to be the same ones they recommend for the xp-g. Personally I've gotten better results with the Carclo lens that was designed for the MC-E.

Shouldn't the radiant flux vs. angle graph from cree tell the whole story?

I got my F15 today, thought I would make a couple observations.

1) The body looks better than my other C8 bodies due to the stainless, I like it. Annodizing and finish was very good, threads were a bit dry, but seems like I have to lube every light I get

2) I removed the OP reflector and replaced it with the SMO that came in the same order from MF. They are the same size, but the SMO reflector has a bevel underneath the upper (large) lip of the reflector that will have to be worked on a little, not quite a perfect fit because it does not sit down flush on the top edge of the head.

3) Once I put the original OP reflector in place, I started getting iffy connections, the light would turn on then shut itself off. I thought maybe the reflector was pressing too hard on the emitter wires/soldering, so tried to remove the plastic cover, man that thing is on good. Turns out that the soldering on the driver is broken where it connects to the pill, only thing holding it in place is the pressure of the battery against the spring. Looks like I'll have to get a soldering iron after all.

I can keep the light working unless I crank the tailcap all the way down, then it blinks off. Unscrew it two threads, it comes back on. Too bad, because I like this light a lot.

4) I'm getting 2.3A on high at the tailcap (EDIT) with an Ultrafire 3000mAh battery. Swapped it out and put in a HI-Max 2600, got a consistent 3.1A at the tailcap.

Just curious, what color driver board did you get? red or green? that plastics cover is just pressed on so it takes some effort to get off. the driver is also pressed on at the bottom. the led is just loose with thermal grease on a plate. I posted a pic on post#40

JEJ, it is hard to tell what color the driver board is since I have not removed the entire pill from the stainless steel. I think it is green. Yes, the driver is pressed in, but then it was soldered on two sides to keep it in place. Those two spots have broken on mine.

I have not tried much, but still have not removed the plastic around the emitter. It's on there pretty good, as is the emitter. Maybe it is just thermal glue, but it is glued on strongly, it does not move under lateral pressure.

when i popped off the driver it came off with that brass ring the driver is soldered to. maybe ill look at those solder joints to see if it fixes the flicker on low. if its glued on then thats good, underneath that heatsink is just free air between the driver but the material looks copper.

Just ordered one .

Budget light forum.

This place has cost me more money .

( in my best Nick Nolte ) Aw , Jeez !

3.5A? I hope mine comes more conservative. My electricity bills have been high enough.

Interesting...Manafont no longer sells this torch. :(

Seems to be replaced by this one (with smooth reflector):

http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/lumapower-mrv-xml-t6-3mode-memory-led-flashlight-118650-p-7246

I wonder if it’s driven as strongly as the TrustFire. Would be a shame if it was a step down in performance.

Agreed.

My TrustFire F15 should arrive any day now. I hope it won't be one from the Returns shelf.

i ordered 10 days ago, what you mean by returns shelf? ones returned due to customer complaints-defected etc?

Yes, that's what I meant, but in reality I believe Manafont to be above such practices.