i bought a jetbeam BC40, from shiningbeam, after a friend dropped his in four feet of mucky water, fished it out and went on without a blink. it was under 70usd (just under) and i had it in a few days ( i am a big fan of this company, no affiliation)
2 X 18650, regulated, seemingly impervious finish and simple. two modes, low; around 100 lumens, for general backyard use, and BANG, a high that is impressive, (700+ ??, dont have a way to measure ), battery life seems to go on and on for general use. you can spend less but this thing is built like a tank and will not die.
You guys are coming up with some great suggestions. I'm gonna be researching these tonight when I'm home from work and I'll post some feedback.
But for now, how do you feel about the XM-L emitters for throw? I don't mind some flood/spill since I'm already looking for that as well, so maybe there's enough power, together with the reflector, to push the light out far enough it compensates for throw? All my research seems to indicate XM-L is more suitable for flood. I do already have an L2i XM-L and it certainly does excel in that
I think anyone that is interested in throw should probably get the Uniquefire HS-802 just so you know what it's like. You can get it for about $25 if you don't have to have the HA III finish version.
If you want throw from a XM-L then you need to find one fully driven (at least 2.8A) and with a 60 mm head.
By comparison the HS-802 is driven at less than 1A and has a 45 mm head (as I recall).
To complete your "experience" with throw :) you should probably get a 28 mm aspheric lens ($2) and a P60 host with a XR-E R2 drop-in and you will have a tight beam of light with no spill in a small package.
Also, another option is a decent priced 2x18650 with a big reflector that can be modded. Something as simple as replacing the emitter and driver. I wouldn't mind the practice. It's not so much about saving money but rather squeezing the most out of what might be considered a budget light (for the output anyway).
For a hobbyist, the Masterpiece Pro-1 is a must have in the collection, yes....esp for Solarforce fans so that you can lego it around for the fun of it. But I think for the OP in which he came from the HID fraternity and because he is using in a real-world app, bare minimum is XM-L thrower in a 52mm reflector size. If he has more budget, i'd definitely recommend the TK70, this would match his HID experience. (if he was using a 35W flashlight type HID, even surpass it comfortably)
I have considered the Masterpiece Pro-1 and researched reviews, but I came to the conclusion I'll still want something with more output (I'm not believing the data from the manufacturer). I can't think of the make/brand of my HID spotlight but it's not the 35W flashlight variety. It's a China light that I paid about $60 for on ebay and it's actually a pretty decent deal for what it can do. It's been reviewed by a respected member at candlepower forums and he was collecting about 450,000 lux I believe. Of course it's also a brute.
Thanks for the suggestion and I responded to it in my previous post. I'm actually familiar with that site since that's where I purchased all of my other Solarforce gear :) Definitely the best company to get Solarforce from.
Funny, I was already reading that thread and then edited my post to include that light, just as you made that post
Now I'm wondering about spill between those three. A little spill would be welcomed since it's gonna be primarily a critter light used from the house. But I'm liking the Skyray. Just when I thought the X8 would be a good get I see the STL-V2 seemly blow it away. I just wonder about the spill though.
I really appreciate your review and comparison of the STL-V2 and X8. So what do you think of the spill from the STL-V2? Does it primarily excel at throw and just that or will I get some flood out of it? I would mostly be shining out into a grassy field from the second story of my house with the spot usually striking about 75 to 125 yards. I would like to be able to see in the general vicinity around that spot and up to the house since that's what I get from my HID light.
Ok, so at this point it's between the JetBeam BC40 and Skyray STL-V2
So are there any worthwhile mods to squeeze any more out of the lights mentioned in this thread (i.e. driver swap)? I'm kind of in the mood to mod and personalize as well :)