Comparison: X40 vs K40M vs K50 vs Old-Lumens MT-G2 Maglite vs TK75 R86 edition, vs TK61 stage 1 vs retard light

It will be interesting to see the beam shots. The Maglite is not the best light for an MT-G2 led. From what I have seen, the 90mm reflector thar MRsDNF used in his big light, just about works for an MT-G2. We know that even an XM-L2 benefits from reflectors in the 60mm-70mm range, so I would believe an MT-G2 in a 100mm-120mm range reflector, would do great.

Which of these lights have an AR coated lens? I only used regular coated glass in the Mag. It would be interesting to see a comparicon between with lens and without lens. Also, it would be interesting to see how much the drop is in the Mag, with the diffferent steps in the ramp. I wonder if it's actually better in the long run, to run it not at the highest setting and how much difference that is.

Anyhow, interesting thread. Thanks for putting it up.

LUX COMPARISON now added to OP! :)

Ill see when I get around to post the beam shots (not today)

Glad you found it interesting.

Your Maglite, and the "retard light" does not have AR lens. The others came with AR lens from the factory.

Did some double checking once again on the Maglite. Im seeing 8,8A at the emitter (with freshly charged cells). Seing 8,9-9 A at the tail. Tried replacing tail with wire, same output, but there might be a little bit resistance in the tail.

Like the retard light, its highly dependent on having freshly charged high discharge cells in order to reach peak output. Due to the extreme heat, and also voltage sag, output will be dropping quickly.

Not sure what others would think, but having it regulated to... say 6A and with room for protected 26650 cells would make more sense to me. That is still a lot of light, and most cells will "fairly quickly" be down there anyway. You will also get less sag due to heat, and difference in output will not be that much. In some lights, I would not mind the more extreme currents, but those have larger heads with cooling. On a Maglite most of the heat will be in the "body", and the area that heats up quickly (above the switch)is not that large. When that is said, its not that important. The user can program high to be whatever he wants, and then he can ramp further up if he wants even more output.

I hope you guys like beamshots. :) I also added pictures of the flashlights in OP.

Id recommend to jump to the mouse over pictures.

I can do more mouseovers if anyone wants to.

I also have beamshots with more zoom (not just wide angle). Those are better for comparing the lights with more throw, but I think these pictures, mouseovers, and all the numbers tell a good enough story. Besides, there are only two proper throwers here. Some of the others just have a ton of throw due to the output.

btw, measured K40M. About 4,8A to the MT-G2 (but it sinks a bit, and then there is stepdown).

impressive pictures!

thanks

:beer:

Wow, I love them all, excluding the Warsun. Talk about precise work. Those pics appear to be completely in alignment on everything.

My fav by far is the TK75 R86 edition.

That Retard is just full on crazy. Perfect for when you want to completely clear an area of nightfall.

What? No love for the Warsun, the guest contenter? :p

Moon "moved". :( As you can see, the Warsun picture was taken a bit later.

I agree. TK75 R86 edition is certainly my favorite. (Although, I would swap the emitters with something NW.) Its also the most expensive light, with the highest amount of time put into it. So it it better be.

The retard is a multi purpose tool. You can use it as a stove as well. :D Very handy for making omelet and such..

Since you already went full retard on that host, mine is still in the box. I’m waiting for a lull before I “tard” it up.

Very nice beamshot, looks like the forest is on fiiiiiiiiiire :open_mouth: with the retard light.

I'll take all the MTG-2 lights and the TK75 just to show I'm not biased. Thanks for the effort.

Yeah, ok, I'm convinced, I need my own little retard :p

Mine can be the "tard", yours can be the "turd". Kinda like yin and yang.

I have yet to find out of the modes and such, but Im still enjoying the "tardness" of it.. MAX 2 minutes at a time. :D

:)

[quote=MRsDNF]
[/quote]

(quote went retard)

Out of the MT-G2 lights the K40M is IMO the better light due to formfactor (which I obviously like based on the lights in this comparison) and reflector, but no way you're getting my OL Maglite! :D You want the/a K40M? Dont you have a couple of lights that spanks it?

I don't think you really need the TK75 R86 edition with your 2014 contest build, unless you have started to get a thing for more pocket friendly output monsters.

The MT-G2 lights are nice. Due to the tint and beam, I prefer the stock K40M over the stock X40.

The stock lights wont be stock for long though. Actually, one is already (lightly) modded, and the other is in pieces, partially modded. Gonna take one for a spin now and see how it turned out. :party:

Everybody needs a bit of retard. :D

Nice comparisons :beer:

In terms of excellent performance with an MTG2, in a fairly compact format, the MX25L3 is still the best option. The K40M does beat it in output, but the performance gap is very small visually.

I was watching Malcom in the Middle last night, a 90/2000 sitcom.

The troublemaker, not so bright kid Reese said a remarkable thing... "You live in a world of "what if's" I live in a world of "what the hell"" :p

Thanks pinkpanda.


Some weeks ago I modified the X40. Just a basic mod. Stock emitters was too CW for my taste (cooler compared to 1A, and the stock CW emitters in the TK75 as an example) The emitters also had that extra bit of red/pink color in them so I considered them good for de-doming. You can actually notice that in the beamshot if you compare to the TK75. I was not a huge fan of the stock emitters.

Here is a quick peek under the skirt of the X40.

Fairly thick aluminium reflector.

Nicely attached copper mcpcb (probably DTP based on the limited sag, I did not test). I forgot measuring amps at the emitter.

The screws that were holding the driver in place had zero epoxy or anything on them. So in my light it was effortless to get the driver out. (I think Acebeam now makes it much more difficult in all their lights.) R082 and R100 looks like sense resistors. I did not play with them. Light is not regulated when voltage becomes too low, its only got 3 cells, I want to use high capacity cells, and Im not that tempted to resistor mod these lights that got fancy electronics for the charging circuit and such. So I left it stock. Got more pictures if anyone likes to see.

De-domed emitters.

Stock O-ring below the lens was a PITA to get nicely in place on my light since it should have been a bit wider.

For some reason I experienced an issue with sometimes activating strobe when setting the light on highest setting. I tried to make sure that the driver was twisted in a way that made sure the strobe was as far as far way from the magnetic field from the highest output setting as possible, but I still experienced that strobe got activated in some cases. Fixed that with drilling up the driver screw holes with a 0,5mm larger drill bit. That meant I could twist the driver 0,25mm further away. Problem solved! I recommenced to not take out the driver if you don't have plans on trying to modify it. Zero issues with accidental strobe activation in the past weeks.

Numbers:

X40 80190cd (2913 Lumen)

X40 de-domed 151200cd (2625 Lumen)

That is about 90% increase in cd and 10% loss in lumen according to my lux meter. Tint became NW. No red in it anymore, its got a little bit of the typical de-domed tint (with hints of more yellow/green), but not much. It turned out decent. Which is pretty much as good as it gets for de-domed XM-L2s.

I have also measured new (stock) RC40 that I just got in.

RC40 134190cd (3591 Lumen)

All numbers can be compared in the bonus section in OP.

Thanks for sharing.

Did you sometimes experience that your modified X60 went into strobe on highest setting? (I think you said that sometime) If so read my previous post. I got the issue on my X40, but fixed it. Its not directly related to modding the light as far as I can tell.

The only light I experienced that issue with, was the first batch of X60's Vinh modded. I actually haven't used it in months :o

The X60 stock is also gathering dust.

The three lights I ended up using a lot last camping trip were a dedomed X60, dedomed mm15, and a modded TK76. With the TK76 pulling most of the weight.

A modded RC40 was also on the table, in the third mode, acting as basically a lantern. If there is a light to go nuts with, modding, it's the RC40... tons of mass to absorb heat, and built like a tank. Mine, admittedly, now carries a few battle scars.

Thanks for the beautiful beamshots & reviews. According to your pics the K40M is much brighter then the X40 in terms of lumens the X40 is slightly more?

Which light have the most side spill out of RC40 and X60? Im thinking about the outer spill that is close to your feet. Is there much brightness difference between the spill from the lights? (comparing domed emitters vs domed)

Light with battle scars > light with dust :D

If you have too many X60 lights, you can send one my way. I can take care of it. ^^

My first impression of the RC40 is like you say, its built like a tank. But still like a lightweight tank, Fenix style.

:beer:

About K40M vs X40 brightness. The X40 measured slightly higher lumen, but the differences is so small that it could just be that my light meter reads higher on CW lights. These lights have pretty much the same brightness.

When you look at the comparison beamshots and see the K40M as "much brigher", I think that have to do with several things. X40 throw a bit further and put out more light down range. Its not that easy to notice on the wide angle pictures which makes you focus more on the close up/mid range. Second, X40 puts out more light in the mid range wider out compared to K40M. K40M puts more light towards the center, which can be perceived brighter. I would also say that the X40 have a bit more light further out compared to K40M that is not seen on the pictures. Im talking about the very outer dim spill light. K40M spill is pretty much what you see, once it goes dark it goes dark. No gradual transition. X40, have a bit if very dim spill light outside of the "main spill". The transition between zero light and the typical spill light is more gradual. I hope that makes sense. Sorry if my bad descriptions made little sense. That is how I remember them when walking outdoors side by side and also some notes to the pictures. I dont need to explain where K40M is brighter since you can see that.

Here is another mouse over comparison with more zoom. (X40 on mouse over).

I think you will see easier that more of the lumens are hitting the trees in the distance, and that requires more light. You will also see more lights at the edge of the picture on the X40.

Id say these lights have very similar in output, they just have a different beam patterns and emitters.

Yes, thanks for the lengthy explanation!