Best zoom XM-L for 2013/2014?

Hello fellow BLF members.

I have a quick question, what is the best Zoom XM-L light right now?
I want something with fast strobe and at least 3 modes.

Something around 6 inches in length and not too thick!
What light would you recommend? My budget is between $20-$30.

Thanks in advance!

:slight_smile:

unique fire uf-t20

+1 on the t-20,compact little powerhouse and lots of mod options.

Yep, or the CANSO zoomie if overall lumen power is what is wanted.

The UF-20 looks pretty good however I don’t like flashlights with that kind of head since it protrudes and I will have trouble mounting it on a rifle.

Um, that link is 2 years old. Cant even find a CANSO on ebay currently. Surely the last few years have yielded better XM-L zoomies. :slight_smile:

Which Emitter would you recommend?

Which is why I wonder what would you guys recommend for 2014 :slight_smile:
I would like something that’s compact and very versatile. Something that looks sleek too!

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, in budget light country (china) new lights are not necessarily better than the old ones, it is just random what comes on the market. Every now and then they come up with something that performs really well, and in xml zoomies the last light that performed really well came out ages ago: the Uniquefire UF-T20. And (although not my cup of tea) I read about several people mounting it on their rifle (and because the zooming part is not sliding but turning, it handles recoil well).

My personal favorite xml zoomie at the moment is a cheap and well build 'tube-style' Cofly light, I did a thread about it:

It will never throw as well as the uf-t20 because of the much smaller lens, but it fits the pocket a bit better.

T20 is really good with large glass lens and above average build quality. TomE beefed up mine to dedomed xpg2 driven at 4.3A. The throw is 128kcd at 1meter.

Where’s the best place for uf-t20? I want :slight_smile:

Not much happening as of late with budget zoomies, accept if anything, they've gone downhill in quality. I've mod'ed several though, but usually more work involved, and you lose so much in lumens, and still can't compete well with reflector lights for throw. Done a couple of T20's and have a couple of them - nice with a de-domed XP-G2.

The SS ZY-C10-S is still a good one too, though the quality isn't there. Mod'ed out one featured here: onestopthrowshop - ZY-C10-S, and they talk about the extra work involved. Again, a nice light to use a de-domed XP-E2 in, and relatively compact. Basically though, the smaller diameter the lens, the less throw - classic trade-off.

I mod'ed this one: fasttech zb-006, and it did really well for it's size, after modding of course- it's very compact and light.

This one looks damn nice, but no experience with it: http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1548

WallBuys and Manafont. If you use the 10% WB code, then they probably got the best price, but haven't checked lately.

Hi and welcome studie. Interesting user name with an interesting question.

Thanks will check it out

Why thank you :slight_smile:

Hmm Tom E thanks for the heads-up.

What kind of mods do we need to do to these lights?
And is it easy to acquire the parts to do so?

I have my eye on this one…

http://dx.com/p/marsfire-z8-cree-xm-l-t6-5-mode-700lm-rotational-zooming-white-flashlight-black-1-x-26650-278312#.Ut3bHxAo6Uk

That MarsFire looks interesting... 5 modes is a PIA, but it does say mode memory, if it works that is.

For modding, well, there's lots of info here on BLF, but I'd change the emitter to XM-L2 or XP-G2 on a copper MCPCB, change out the driver to a Nanjg or QLite, and see how the star is mounted - that may need work, depending on the light. This is for starters - upgrade the LED wiring to heavier gauge, higher quality, copper braid the springs to lessen resistance, etc...

Uf-t20 for sure. Awesome light, uses C8 pills so you can buy a few for dirt cheap from fasttech and mod them and you have different drop ins (screw ins).

I have about 8 of these lights kicking around with anything from de-domed xp-e2’s to XM-l2’s and I’m about to find out how an mt-g2 at 4.4a does in it.